He has designed more than a dozen computer applications and holds two U.S. patents.

ISBN-10: 1-68125-515-4

UNSILENCED

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

by Howard C. Shane, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Boston Children’s Hospital Massachusetts

Baltimore • London • Sydney

Excerpted from UNSILENCED: A Teacher’s Year of Battles, Breakthroughs, and Life-Changing Lessons at Belchertown State School by Howard C. Shane, Ph.D. 9781681255156_FM.indd 1 8/20/21 10:31 AM

Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Post Office Box 10624 Baltimore, Maryland 21285-0624 USA www.brookespublishing.com
Copyright © 2022 by Howard C. Shane. All rights reserved. For rights inquiries, contact rights@brookespublishing.com. “Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.” is a registered trademark of Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Shane, Howard C., author.
Title: Unsilenced : a teacher’s year of battles, breakthroughs, and life-changing lessons at Belchertown State School / Howard C. Shane, Ph.D.
Description: Baltimore, Maryland : Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., [2021]
Identifiers: LCCN 2021023551 (print) | LCCN 2021023552 (ebook) | ISBN 9781681255156 (paperback) | ISBN 9781681255163 (epub) | ISBN 9781681255170 (pdf )
Subjects: LCSH: Belchertown State School—History. | Belchertown State School—Faculty—History. | Children with mental disabilities—Education—Massachusetts—Belchertown—History. | BISAC: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Educators | EDUCATION / Special Education / General Classification: LCC HV897.M4 B47 2022 (print) | LCC HV897.M4 (ebook) | DDC 371.9209744/23—dc23

Excerpt

I drove slowly along a paved roadway surrounded by well-kept lawns and a scattering of large maple and oak trees. The gently rolling terrain was typical of rural, Western Massachusetts. There wasn’t much difference between these grounds and those of any beautiful college campus or country club, but I felt an unusual awareness of the space, a prickling in my neck, despite the lovely setting.
I’d given myself plenty of time to make mistakes in the unfamiliar drive, and now I was early for my appointment with the institution’s academic director.
“How ya doin’?” I yelled out to a groundskeeper. “Can you tell me where to find the school building?”

He directed me to the main building, which, I noticed, had no kids on the grounds as I arrived. As I parked and walked toward the entrance, I was met by Mrs. Dorothy Sharp, the Academic Director for Belchertown State School.
“Now, that made for a rather inauspicious beginning to your tenure with us,” she said as she explained the school’s policies and structure, including rules about transporting students and classroom management.

“School officially starts next Monday, so you will have a few days to get oriented,” she told me.

My new role would involve teaching in the infirmary, working with students needing medical care, most of whom would not be able to walk, and many wouldn’t talk. “You will be working with both ‘trainables’ and ‘educables’,” she said, an unfamiliar terminology that made me uneasy. I was eager to get started, although I felt the weight of the task ahead.

Chapter 1
As I continued my initial observations around the school, I started to realize the complexities and challenges that would come with teaching in such an environment. Meeting the students and understanding their individual needs weren’t just part of the job – they became my mission to unlock their potential and voice.

About the Author:
Howard C. Shane, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Otology & Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Autism Language Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Shane has published widely and lectured throughout the world on innovative ways for persons with disabilities to communicate.

He has designed more than a dozen computer applications and holds two U.S. patents.