Unsilenced

A Teacher’s Year of Battles, Breakthroughs, and Life-Changing Lessons at Belchertown State School

Author: Howard C. Shane, Ph.D.

K-12

A stirring and spellbinding memoir from internationally renowned AAC expert Howard Shane (Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School), Unsilenced is a candid look at a pivotal era in disability history and a deeply personal account of how all human beings can flourish when we care for each other and fight for change.

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The year is 1969, and fresh-out-of-college smart-aleck Howard Shane has just landed his first teaching job—at Belchertown State School, a bleak institution where people with disabilities endure endless days of silence, tedium, and neglect.

Howard is stunned by the conditions at Belchertown and the challenges of his new job, but as he gets to know his diverse, endearing, and intelligent students, he becomes consumed with a mission: to unlock their communication skills and help them reach their full potential. Pitting his youthful idealism and passion against the rigidity of a rule-bound administrator, Howard battles his way to small joys and victories with his students—and, along the way, learns just as much as he teaches.

Reviews

Nicole Eredics, The Inclusive Class - September 24, 2021

Unsilenced is a jaw-dropping reminder of how far we have come in educating individuals with disabilities and how much further we need to go.

Carol Quirk, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, Inc. (MCIE) - September 13, 2021

The 1970s brought about change in the way American society treated human beings who were viewed as “deficient” because of the difference in their physical or intellectual abilities. Howard Shane captured the awful essence of the institutional era, and in his story-telling allows us to remember the people who endured those experiences. When educators think inclusion in schools is not important – they need to read this book to understand WHY it is a must.

Listen to a Podcast
The Special Education Inner Circle Podcast Episode 159: Unsilenced: A Teacher's Year of Battles and Breakthroughs

Read a Blog Post
Author Q&A: Dr. Howard Shane on His Unforgettable New Memoir, UNSILENCED

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