Several remarkable deaf-blind people share their personal stories.
Their backgrounds could not be more different -- born half a century apart and growing up on opposite sides of the world -- but they had much in common,
such as determination and ingenuity, and families who supported their efforts.
Jackie Coker, born in Arizona in 1928, was a vivacious 7-year-old when she suddenly lost all her vision and hearing.
She was able to speak well by then, but she describes how she and her family struggled to figure out how they could communicate with her.
She also shares some charming stories about her experiences with hallucinations, and learning to understand others' speech by putting her hand on their face, as Helen Keller did.
Anindya Bhattacharyya ("Bapin") was born and raised in India, being deaf from birth and becaming blind when he was nine years old.
He was confined to his home for 4 years as his parents searched in vain throughout India for a school that could accommodate him, until they finally heard about the programs at Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts.
His generation of deaf-blind people benefited from the growing capability of technology, giving him access to communicaton, information, and independent mobility that was inconcievable to people in Jackie's generation.