What does it mean? What has changed since Francesca began to communicate through the computer, the electric typewriter, and a small portable communicator that lets her take part even when she's away from home?
That January morning a year ago, when Francesca started communicating with her therapist through facilitated communication and wrote her own name, we were truly bewildered. Frankly, we were skeptical.
Then I thought: these young people have a right to be respected. We have to give them every chance, find a way in, a key that lets us reach them and communicate.
Well, maybe that morning we found that key. A window opened—a door. And suddenly Francesca was no longer just part of our lives through affection; she became an active part of everything—our life, our world, the world of friends, the whole world. (Francesca applauds.)
We had always believed Francesca understood us, even though she communicated only through a few gestures—the ones she needed to survive. Everyone said: Francesca speaks with her eyes; despite her struggles, she understands. But how much, really?
Now Francesca speaks. She writes about her problems, her struggles to be understood. She tells us she lives in fear of seizures. Sometimes she writes: "It's incredible that with so much difficulty I face the problems of life, and hardly anyone believes me—there's never time."
Thank God Francesca found friends through Fede e Luce. What does friendship mean? "A person who accepts me with all my problems."
She can express her thoughts: "I want to understand... I have to work hard, but I'm lucky you keep pushing me... thank you, it's hard to say what I feel after so many years of silence, to talk about my problems."
One day I asked Francesca if she wanted to make her First Communion. "Yes, I want to know about Jesus and the history of religion. Let's go talk to don Andrea."
- Cristina Colaizzi, 1998