Forty or fifty years ago, when a child was born with a developmental disability - mental retardation, in Roland Johnson's case - the doctor would invariably counsel the parents to put their son or daughter away and forget about them.  Roland Johnson's mother and father did not take this advice. But in the 1950s in Philadelphia they had no one to help them - no counselors, no psychologists, no therapists, no teachers. And when the problems that Roland's disability presented began to overwhelm them, they had no choice but to resign themselves to that original advice.  Roland Johnson spent half his childhood at Pennhurst State School outside Philadelphia, where he saw fellow residents abused and where he himself was abused. But somehow he was able to keep his spirit alive. When he won his freedom as a young adult, he spent several years putting his life together. Then, as president of Speaking For Ourselves, he became an internationally known speaker and leader in the self-advocacy movement.  Roland Johnson was a man of great courage and vision and determination. He had what can be called an alternate kind of intelligence - one not based on the ability to manipulate data. In Roland Johnson's world understanding - one person for another - is the way of the future, the only route to true freedom.  Though virtually unknown in his lifetime outside the self-advocacy movement, he was a pioneer: his life traced a path no one had trod before - he escaped the hell his disability had consigned him to and went on to speak out and organize on behalf of his brothers and sisters.

Lost In a Desert World: The Autobiography Of Roland Johnson

Johnson, Roland

Constitutional Law

Speaking for Ourselves

<p>After spending half his childhood in Pennhurst State School and Hospital for the Mentally Retarded, Johnson emerged to become a captivating speaker and a respected leader of the self-advocacy movement. The book marks the first time that a person with developmental disabilities tells about his life in his own words</p>

Lost In a Desert World : The Autobiography Of Roland Johnson (as told to Karl Williams)

Williams,Karl

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Speaking for Ourselves publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Speaking for Ourselves

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Speaking for Ourselves publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Lost In a Desert World: The Autobiography Of Roland Johnson

Lost In a Desert World : The Autobiography Of Roland Johnson (as told to Karl Williams)