Carly’s Voice

I am an autistic girl but autism doesn’t define who I am or how I’m going to live
my life. I have encountered many hardships in my life but slowly and surely I have
been overcoming a lot of obstacles in my path. There are many days when I think it
might be easier to give up than fight. However if I give up, if I don’t try, then
who am I really?

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
CARLY’S VOICE

“In this unsparing but affecting account . . . it’s clear that while most people take
the ability to communicate for granted, for Fleischmann it defines her daily struggles
and miraculous successes. . . . [An] inspiring story.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“To read along as [Carly] expresses her feelings in conversations with her father
is almost as stunning as when she writes of life inside her autistic head. . . . Both
heart-wrenching and deeply inspiring.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“I have learned more from Carly about autism than any doctor or ‘expert,’ and she
has helped me understand and connect with my son in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Her book takes the autism conversation to new places and disproves the ridiculous
notion that nonverbal people with autism don’t have feelings and thoughts or are unintelligent.
Carly is—for me—autism’s fiercest and most valuable advocate.”

—
Holly Robinson Peete,
actress, author, and autism advocate

Carly’s Voice
is the wishful slogan of a movement. Autism has spoken, and a new day has dawned.
Carly’s story is a triumph.”

—
Richard M. Cohen,
author of
Strong at the Broken Places
and
Blindsided

At the age of two, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral
motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would
never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Although she made
some progress after years of intensive behavioral and communication therapy, Carly
remained largely unreachable. Then, at the age of ten, she had a breakthrough.

While working with her devoted therapists Howie and Barb, Carly reached over to their
laptop and typed in “HELP TEETH HURT,” much to everyone’s astonishment.

This was the beginning of Carly’s journey toward self-realization. Although Carly
still struggles with all the symptoms of autism, which she describes with uncanny
accuracy and detail, she now has regular, witty, and profound conversations on the
computer with her family, her therapists, and the many thousands of people who follow
her via her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

In
Carly’s Voice
, her father, Arthur Fleischmann, blends Carly’s own words with his story of getting
to know his remarkable daughter. One of the first books to explore firsthand the challenges
of living with autism, it brings readers inside a once-secret world and in the company
of an inspiring young woman who has found her voice and her mission.

ARTHUR FLEISCHMANN
lives with his wife, Tammy Starr, and their three children, Matthew, Taryn, and Carly,
in Toronto, Canada, where he is partner and president of john st. advertising. Born
in New York, he grew up in the Boston area and attended Brandeis University, where
he graduated with a B.A. in English literature and economics. He later earned an M.B.A.
from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

CARLY FLEISCHMANN
lives in Toronto, Canada, and attends a mainstream high school where she is enrolled
in gifted classes. She corresponds with her thousands of friends and followers via
Twitter and Facebook.

www.carlysvoice.com

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COPYRIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER

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