Chapter Two: "Jennifer"

9/21/18

I received this educational referral from the Montgomery Public Schools home bound services.
It seemed that very little information was available about this student, other then her diagnosis.  
Jennifer was 16 and a quadriplegic. She was unable to move any muscle in her body, other than her eyes.
She required complete physical assistance in all daily living skills.
Her information regarding her education was very limited.  
It also took several weeks before the mother would allow me to enter their home and meet Jennifer.
During the wait I heard rumors that the parents had filed a law suit against the school system,
since Jennifer had received very little in the way of an education.
Previous home bound teachers had merely sat and read to her.
I would like to share my thoughts at that time,  "It must not have been easy for Jennifer’s mom
to take care of her all those years.  Keeping her neat and clean, feeding her, and trying to keep her interested
in her environment and at least content with her life. Her mom had committed her life entirely to the care of her daughter.
Many parents in similar positions from all over the country have come to Alabama to place their special needs children
in several of our local nursing facilities. Jennifer’s mom had not abandoned her child."

At that time I had asked a friend Jim Watkins, who was a computer programmer for the Department of Defense
if he had any ideas how I could interact with this child. He did have a couple ideas and said he would check the availability
of some software and equipment for me to use. I cannot share the name of the software and equipment he provided for us,
but it was exactly what we needed.  It was an eye tracking program that the military was using for soldiers on patrol.
All they had to do was look at a target and blink, their weapon could hit that target.

      
Since I didn't want Jennifer to shoot anyone, Jim and I worked out a modification, so she could blink and choose a location
on a computer screen with basic words, for communication purposes.  Our concern was whether the software could connect
to her eyes, and whether she would be able to keep them still, long enough to get an eye print. But it worked!
      

I programmed some basic communication on her screen using my voice.  
She could look at and select from the following statements:
“I am hungry.  I am thirsty. I need to use the restroom. Thank you. and I love you mom.”
If she was able to successfully use these basic statements,  I was going to connect a “Clifford Goes to the Circus”
educational program next, so she could learn to spell words. While we were setting this all up, the school system had not,
in fact paid for any of this software or equipment.  Jennifer’s mom insisted on owning this equipment
and the education programming.

After we connected everything at Jennifer’s house, I practiced it on my own eye scans at home.  
On my next visit, I explained the process to her mom then connected it to Jennifer. After a few seconds, Jennifer blinked,
and we heard the words, “I am thirsty.”  Her mom ran and got her a glass of water with a straw. Jennifer took several sips.
At that point neither of us were certain whether Jennifer's command was intentional, or an accidental blink.  
However, the next command seemed entirely deliberate when we heard my voice saying, “Thank you mom.”
Jennifer had in fact, for the first time in 16 years communicated with her mom.

      
Her mother began this very strange sound of crying which seemed to be a mixture of joy and fear at the same time.  
She had told me before that they needed the money from the law suit for a new van to transport Jennifer,
plus they wanted to take a trip to Disneyland. Then of course, there were many medical expenses for Jennifer
that needed to be paid.

I did not know how to respond to the crying and sobbing coming from her mother.  So, I excused myself
and prepared to leave for the day. The next day the school system informed me that I was not to return to see Jennifer again.
They gave me no reason why.

It was clear to me that Jennifer’s mom had understood the program and how the software worked.  
I would like to think that Jennifer is reading at grade level now and enjoying conversations with her mom and others.
I have hoped the best for her, after having being cut off from the world for so many years.
I would like to think that we could and would do the same thing for any child that was non-verbal.  
I would also like to hope that Jennifer was finally able to express herself and connect to the world around her.