For more than a quarter of a century, Ildefonso, a Mexican Indian, lived in total isolation, set apart from the rest of the world. He wasn't a political prisoner or a social recluse, he was simply born deaf and had never been taught even the most basic language. Susan Schaller, then a twenty-four-year-old graduate student, encountered him in a class for the deaf where she had been sent as an interpreter and where he sat isolated, since he knew no sign language. She found him obviously intelligent and sharply observant but unable to communicate, and she felt compelled to bring him to a comprehe
Analysis
anthropologists
born deaf
challenges of education
cultural anthropology
graduate student
immigrant studies
intelligent but deaf
learning to communicate
living in isolation
memoir
mexican indian biography
mute
recluse
sign language
teaching sign language
Notes
"Second edition with new material."
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-218)
