Teach Me To Talk is a nonfiction book presented in the form of thirty true stories about fifteen children and fifteen adults who have communication disorders.  Each person came to me with one request, “Teach me to talk.”

The book is sectioned into five parts.  Part I tells real life stories about children who have speech, language or hearing problems and how their impairment affected their lives and the lives of those who love them.  Part II tells stories about adults who struggle to communicate due to loss of speech by a stroke, a debilitating disease, injury or an unknown cause.  Part III is about the lives of the caretakers and often disregarded noble duties they perform daily caring for their communicatively impaired loved ones.  Part IV are five brief writings in memory of three men and two women who struggled to regain their speech during their lives.  Part V has three encouraging messages addressed to child patients, adult patients and caretakers. 
Teach Me To Talk is based on twenty-two years of my experiences in helping children and adults communicate.  All of the names have been changed to protect the privacy of the personal stories shared with readers.  This book presents a part of life that readers from all walks of life can identify with.  Telling someone I was a speech pathologist  invariably resulted in comments like “My grandfather had a stroke and couldn’t talk,” or “My uncle stuttered all of his life, what causes that?” “I’m concerned about my four-year-old grandson’s speech.”  The comments about the work I did were endless, the commonality the same—the struggle to talk.

All of the people I helped to talk have become a part of my inner soul.  They all have a place in my heart forever.  I wrote Teach Me To Talk to share with the world what it is like to not be granted the gift of communication.  I know your sensitivity to the communicatively impaired will be heightened after reading this book.  Perhaps this book will inspire some of you to become speech pathologists.  Whatever you receive from reading this book, I hope I have touched your heart.
Ann Coleman
For an autographed copy of this book, write the Author at: 
amc1952@comcast.net
TEACH ME TO TALK is also available for order at:
AMAZON.COM
JADA PRESS
Copyright 2007, Ann Coleman. All Rights Reserved.
COMING SOON TO: Barnes&Noble.com
Soon to be available at all Major Book Stores