Underestimated: An Autism Miracle
- Downloads：8851
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-13 06:31:19
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：J.B. Handley
- ISBN：1510766367
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The incredibly moving and inspiring story about a quest to finally be heard。
In Underestimated: An Autism Miracle， Generation Rescue’s cofounder J。B。 Handley and his teenage son Jamison tell the remarkable story of Jamison’s journey to find a method of communication that allowed him to show the world that he was a brilliant， wise， generous， and complex individual who had been misunderstood and underestimated by everyone in his life。
Jamison’s emergence at the age of seventeen from his self-described “prison of silence” took place over a profoundly emotional and dramatic twelve-month period that is retold from his father’s perspective。 The book reads like a spy thriller while allowing the reader to share in the complex emotions of both exhilaration and anguish that accompany Jamison’s journey for him and his family。 Once Jamison’s extraordinary story has been told， Jamison takes over the narrative to share the story from his perspective， allowing the world to hear from someone who many had dismissed and cast aside as incapable。
Jamison’s remarkable transformation challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding autism， a disability impacting 1 in 36 Americans。 Many scientists still consider nonspeakers with autism—a full 40 percent of those on the autism spectrum—to be “mentally retarded。” Is it possible that the experts are wrong about several million people？ Are all the nonspeakers like Jamison？
Underestimated: An Autism Miracle will touch your heart， inspire you， remind you of the power of love， and ultimately leave you asking tough questions about how many more Jamisons might be waiting for their chance to be freed from their prison of silence， too。 And， for the millions of parents of children with autism， the book offers a detailed description of a communication method that may give millions of people with autism back their voice。
In Underestimated: An Autism Miracle， Generation Rescue’s cofounder J。B。 Handley and his teenage son Jamison tell the remarkable story of Jamison’s journey to find a method of communication that allowed him to show the world that he was a brilliant， wise， generous， and complex individual who had been misunderstood and underestimated by everyone in his life。
Jamison’s emergence at the age of seventeen from his self-described “prison of silence” took place over a profoundly emotional and dramatic twelve-month period that is retold from his father’s perspective。 The book reads like a spy thriller while allowing the reader to share in the complex emotions of both exhilaration and anguish that accompany Jamison’s journey for him and his family。 Once Jamison’s extraordinary story has been told， Jamison takes over the narrative to share the story from his perspective， allowing the world to hear from someone who many had dismissed and cast aside as incapable。
Jamison’s remarkable transformation challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding autism， a disability impacting 1 in 36 Americans。 Many scientists still consider nonspeakers with autism—a full 40 percent of those on the autism spectrum—to be “mentally retarded。” Is it possible that the experts are wrong about several million people？ Are all the nonspeakers like Jamison？
Underestimated: An Autism Miracle will touch your heart， inspire you， remind you of the power of love， and ultimately leave you asking tough questions about how many more Jamisons might be waiting for their chance to be freed from their prison of silence， too。 And， for the millions of parents of children with autism， the book offers a detailed description of a communication method that may give millions of people with autism back their voice。
Reviews
Diane
，
This book is so very inspirational。 A father and son （a non-verbal 17 y/o with autism） tell their remarkable story after finding a method of communication that allowed the boy to show the world that he is wise， brilliant， generous & complex。 The boy himself says this method broke his "prison of silence"。 The method uses a systematic， structured approach via a trained professional using a letter board for him to spell out his feelings， desires， even what he would like to eat for breakfast。 I've m This book is so very inspirational。 A father and son （a non-verbal 17 y/o with autism） tell their remarkable story after finding a method of communication that allowed the boy to show the world that he is wise， brilliant， generous & complex。 The boy himself says this method broke his "prison of silence"。 The method uses a systematic， structured approach via a trained professional using a letter board for him to spell out his feelings， desires， even what he would like to eat for breakfast。 I've met a few autistic people who are non-verbal。 I've always felt that they were cognitively intelligent people who just had no way to communicate。 This book proves it's true。 The reader follows the family on their amazing journey to unlock the prison door of slience。I can relate in a small way， as my adult son is on the spectrum， but on the milder end。 Fortunately， he is very verbal， although he has trouble articulating his thoughts at times。 We have sought out many interventions over the years to help his sensory issues。 I felt the writer'（s） pain， elation， joy as if I were right there with them。I hope this book can help create awareness that people with autism want exactly the same things as you & me。 That is love & acceptance & the ability to share their voice。 。。。more
Carol
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I cried， nonstop， after only a few pages in。 JB Handley has been a beacon of light for so many and now his son Jamie shines just as bright。
Jessica
，
Inspiring story for sure。 I’m sad that their experience with ABA was so bad and I feel like our company does a better job。 Definitely looking into the certification for this！
Susan Eberhardt
，
S2C - Speech to Communication， a method of using letterboards with people diagnosed on the autism spectrum who are also non-verbal。 I've not heard of the method of communication before。 After reading the book， I want to be trained and help non-verbal people develop their voice。 This book is so amazing。 You rock， Jamie！ J。B。 and Lisa， you are inspirational parents and advocates！ S2C - Speech to Communication， a method of using letterboards with people diagnosed on the autism spectrum who are also non-verbal。 I've not heard of the method of communication before。 After reading the book， I want to be trained and help non-verbal people develop their voice。 This book is so amazing。 You rock， Jamie！ J。B。 and Lisa， you are inspirational parents and advocates！ 。。。more
Heather Sassine
，
This is essential reading for anyone who knows an autistic non-speaker or unreliable speaker。 It is a short （if emotional） and captivating read。 It blew me away。
Greg Clark
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Thank you Jamie！Living on the other side of this issue with two speaking children with autism， it's hard to say I can understand what Jamie went through。 Our experience with our children's communication delays was hard enough， we can only imagine the struggle Jamie went through。We're beyond thrilled that Jamie found his voice， and his family got their son back。 I know you'll do great things Jamie， keep going！ Thank you Jamie！Living on the other side of this issue with two speaking children with autism， it's hard to say I can understand what Jamie went through。 Our experience with our children's communication delays was hard enough， we can only imagine the struggle Jamie went through。We're beyond thrilled that Jamie found his voice， and his family got their son back。 I know you'll do great things Jamie， keep going！ 。。。more
Brittany
，
This may be one of the most emotional yet gratifying books I’ve read in a very long time。As a parent advocate in Oregon who fights for disabled， non verbal and delayed children it gives me so much joy to know that there’s a beautiful person there and always has been and they just need help to communicate。The fact that we’ve taken this long to figure this out hurts my heart but I’m seeing the benefits of this immediately and have gotten numerous special Ed and parents of disabled children to be a This may be one of the most emotional yet gratifying books I’ve read in a very long time。As a parent advocate in Oregon who fights for disabled， non verbal and delayed children it gives me so much joy to know that there’s a beautiful person there and always has been and they just need help to communicate。The fact that we’ve taken this long to figure this out hurts my heart but I’m seeing the benefits of this immediately and have gotten numerous special Ed and parents of disabled children to be aware of and get this book。If you’re a speech therapist， please learn S2C and let’s truly understand the beautiful people who are physically impaired in their motor controls to communicate but they are 100% there intellectually and just need help！I recommend this book to everyone。 I also recommend tissues。 。。。more
Wendy Fournier
，
I should start by saying that my beautiful 21-year-old daughter has autism and is non-verbal。 I have been in the realm of autism advocacy on a national scale since 2003。 What should have taken 2 hours to read， took me 3 days as I started sobbing uncontrollably more times than I can count and had to put the book down。 I've done everything possible to help my daughter since her diagnosis。 We spent years on what felt like an endless roller coaster。 Hoping that the next thing would be THE thing。 The I should start by saying that my beautiful 21-year-old daughter has autism and is non-verbal。 I have been in the realm of autism advocacy on a national scale since 2003。 What should have taken 2 hours to read， took me 3 days as I started sobbing uncontrollably more times than I can count and had to put the book down。 I've done everything possible to help my daughter since her diagnosis。 We spent years on what felt like an endless roller coaster。 Hoping that the next thing would be THE thing。 The constant cycle of hope keeps you going， but it's exhausting and every "failure" leaves you with a bit of what I now realize is PTSD。As you， and your child get older， you come face to face with your own mortality。 You get to the point where you reluctantly start to accept that you've done all you can。 So you limp off the roller coaster and start working on planning the best possible life for this person you love more than life itself。 It's a very difficult door to walk through and close behind you。My daughter's inability to effectively communicate is the stuff my nightmares are made of。 Why is she melting down？ Is she sick？ Is she in pain？ Did someone hurt her and she can't tell me？ What does she want to do with her life？ And the worst - what will happen to her when I'm gone？I read this book with all the same thoughts that JB expressed。 Could she do it？ Does she have the cognitive ability？ Why doesn't she just type on her iPad？ What's the difference？ Then I grasped the motor planning deficit and knew for sure that this is definitely different。 That's when I really lost it。 I had a full-blown panic attack。 The PTSD hit me like a truck。 I realized that I was terrified to hope again。 I had closed the door and now JB is over here banging on it like a maniac。Her inability to speak is not a cognitive issue？ It's a motor planning issue？ WHAT？ How did I not know this？ Billions of dollars in autism research in the US - somebody please tell me how the hell we did not know this。This book ripped me into tiny pieces and then put me back together。 Can she do it？ The answer is， HELL YES， SHE CAN！ I know she can。 And I can't wait to really， truly get to know my own daughter。 She's already so wonderful， I can't even imagine the beauty that lurks just outside that damn door。 Jamie， thank you for wanting to share your story to help other non-speakers。 I hope to introduce you to another fluent speller very soon！ You've already changed her life， and mine。 。。。more
Josh Davis
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Amazing book that will be life changing for many！
Sean Guinn
，
WonderfulThis story was emotional and inspirational。 Jamie is a marvel with such a loving， devoted family。 It broke my heart to hear how he was trapped in his silence。 I can't wait to see his movie！ WonderfulThis story was emotional and inspirational。 Jamie is a marvel with such a loving， devoted family。 It broke my heart to hear how he was trapped in his silence。 I can't wait to see his movie！ 。。。more
Byron Hsu
，
Facilitated communication， or Spelling To Communicate in this propaganda book， is pseudoscience。 This method lacks evidence and rigorously tested studies。 No evidence shows autistic people are performing the communication。 Avoid this piece of junk science from JB Handley， who falsely believes vaccines cause autism。
Amy B
，
Amazing account of the bond between parents and children and helping each other live up to their full potential！ While this is an inspiring account of an inspiring young man's life， it is also heartbreaking at times。 Having worked with kids on the spectrum the intelligence is not surprising to me。。。there is something so telling in the sparkle in the eyes of those that aren't verbal。 Jamie， I'm so glad you found your voice and have found a way to share yourself with those around you！ Amazing account of the bond between parents and children and helping each other live up to their full potential！ While this is an inspiring account of an inspiring young man's life， it is also heartbreaking at times。 Having worked with kids on the spectrum the intelligence is not surprising to me。。。there is something so telling in the sparkle in the eyes of those that aren't verbal。 Jamie， I'm so glad you found your voice and have found a way to share yourself with those around you！ 。。。more
booklady
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