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.
I have a non verbal, non reliable speaker and after watching the movie spellers I want to be a part of that team.
I want my son's voice to come out
I want him to be understood.
I will go down this path and see where it leads me.
Thanks alot!
For the naysayers here's a question for you. Why would a parent lie & fool themselves into thinking their child is really communicating their own thoughts? That would be stupid & pointless. I know my son is very bright & has a wonderful sense of humor. I can't wait to help him break free from his prison of silence. Even after just returning this week from our training I can see he knows we know he's far more aware & capable then we've given him credit for. I am just talking to him more as I now know he hears everything & understands everything. It's so frustrating to know we've denied him full exposure to things assuming he wasn't listening or wouldn't understand.
But we are now on our journey & excited to get started. Thank you JB & Jamison for opening our eyes with your amazing story. JB you've done so much to help families & we love you for it.
At the risk of sounding like just another parent passing on some kind of miracle cure to parents who can't afford another dashed hope, I feel it important to say, see for yourself. You can read this in a couple days. See for yourself and evaluate. This is a VERY important book.
For the first time, I feel that there is some hope that he can get an education, and, even most important, that he could have the feeling of being with us that full language ability brings.
One of the most exciting results of this treatment (described in the book) was that the behavioral issues (such as banging his head) diminished after the 17 year old learned this system of communicating! Also, this young man, now wanted to learn to speak: he had hope that change was possible, and he felt uplifted and inspired by the progress he had made.
Another benefit was that he thank his parents for their patience and love.
This young man, whose father did not know if he could do arithmetic, is now learning calculus.
The book is well written. There is a reason it is a best seller after being out such a short time.
We parents, especially biomed parents, have seen "miracles" come and go so we are eternally skeptical, as we should be. But when I or his sister act as his "communication partner" we know absolutely that we are not doing the work for him. Whatever he spells is 100% his. We went to GKTC back in December, but unlike JB, we don't have the luxury to go to the pros every week so our progress is slower, but that's ok. We are seeing slow but steady progress with his skills.
I'm still excited about where S2C will take him, even if we get there slowly.
I’ve known the father, JB, for a very long time. I know Jamie’s family tried every imaginable therapy to help their son emerge from the prison of a body that wouldn't cooperate. I’ve had many conversations with the father, sharing stories of tragedy & success. More often than not, those conversations ended with him telling me “I’d do ANYTHING to have a conversation with my son”.
Yet, for all those years, their son Jamie was presumed to be cognitively impaired, mentally retarded, and worse- a “behavioral” problem. Communication was the elusive golden ticket.
A text from a mutual friend changed their life. JB got his wish, and Jamie has shown the world who he really is, since he began his journey with S2C communication.
I cried and rejoiced reading this book, and I know you will too. I also shared their anger, as a fellow parent who’s son was also greatly underestimated by just about everyone. Please read this book.
-Tami, autism mom, Functional Nutritionist, activist, advocate, and most of all, believer & admirer of Jamie.