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Valerie Gilpeer and Emily Grodin share their remarkable journey from autism diagnosis to breakthrough communication, chronicling how facilitated communication unlocked Emily's voice after 25 years of limited verbal expression.

• Valerie describes Emily's autism diagnosis at age two and years of traditional therapies that yielded limited verbal communication
• Emily was frequently underestimated intellectually because she couldn't speak conversationally
• Introduction to facilitated communication (FC) as an alternative communication method that involves typing with support
• FC revealed Emily's rich inner thoughts, intelligence, and poetry that had been trapped inside for years
• Emily now attends college with a 4.0 GPA and aspires to be a journalist who covers "things that don't get covered"
• Emily explains that behavior issues often stem from communication frustration
• The breakthrough improved their relationship and gave Emily agency in her own life
• Valerie emphasizes there is no age cutoff for development—parents should never stop seeking solutions
• Emily's powerful message: "People have many thoughts, even if they can't get them out"

The book "I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust" by Valerie Gilpeer and Emily Grodin is available on Amazon, iBooks, and local bookstores like BookSoup, published by HarperCollins.

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