Cella Quinn from Dishwasher to President of Investment Firm
Cella Quinn was born with a gift, an advantage: far above-average
intelligence. She is a MENSA member, an association of people with IQ in
the top 2% of the entire population. But this "gift" was of little use
to her for quite some time, thanks to other birth disadvantages.
She was born with a severe cleft lip and palate, a birth defect that is a split in the roof of the mouth and the upper lip, and that produces "mangled" speech. It is often accompanied by a deformed nose. Cella described hers as looking like "a Quonset hut with one corner of the roof collapsed." The crude, minimal surgery of the time did not help her speech. Her speech was so unintelligible to many, she carried a pad and pencil with her to communicate with. Her jaw, teeth, and face often ached. Cella had a very difficult time in school; other children picked on her, and even teachers presumed her stupid.
"When you can't speak," Cella said, "people think you are stupid. My family, teachers, other children thought so and even I started
to believe it."
Continue Reading
She was born with a severe cleft lip and palate, a birth defect that is a split in the roof of the mouth and the upper lip, and that produces "mangled" speech. It is often accompanied by a deformed nose. Cella described hers as looking like "a Quonset hut with one corner of the roof collapsed." The crude, minimal surgery of the time did not help her speech. Her speech was so unintelligible to many, she carried a pad and pencil with her to communicate with. Her jaw, teeth, and face often ached. Cella had a very difficult time in school; other children picked on her, and even teachers presumed her stupid.
"When you can't speak," Cella said, "people think you are stupid. My family, teachers, other children thought so and even I started
to believe it."
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home