Rebecca Alexander

Last updated

Rebecca Alexander
Born
Rebecca Ann Alexander

(1979-02-04) February 4, 1979 (age 44)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Education University of Michigan (BA)
Columbia University (MSW, MPH)
Occupation(s) Psychotherapist, author, group fitness instructor, disability rights advocate
Known forNot Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found
Relatives Peter Alexander (brother)
Website www.rebalexander.com

Rebecca Ann Alexander (born February 4, 1979) is an American psychotherapist and author. Deafblind due to Usher syndrome, Alexander wrote a memoir in 2014 about coming to terms with her deteriorating sight as well as her feats as an extreme athlete, such as climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. In 2016, she received a Helen Keller Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind.

Contents

Early life and education

Rebecca Ann Alexander was born into a Jewish family on February 4, 1979, in Oakland, California, to mother Terry Pink Alexander and father David Alexander, an attorney. [1] [2] She has two siblings; a twin brother, Daniel, and older brother Peter Alexander, a journalist and White House correspondent for NBC News. [3] [4]

Alexander was diagnosed with vision loss at age twelve, originally diagnosed as retinitis pigmentosa. [3] While in school she played soccer and participated in the Maccabiah Games, as well as attending Temple Sinai in Oakland. [2] At age eighteen, a fall from a second-story window resulted in months of physical rehabilitation and delayed her start to college. [2] When she began college, she began experiencing tinnitus, and received a diagnosis of Usher syndrome type III at age twenty. [3] [5]

Alexander earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and double master's degrees from Columbia University in social work and public health. [6]

Life and honors

Alexander's memoir, Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found, was cowritten with Sascha Alper and published in 2014. [7] Alexander appeared on Today , Morning Joe , and other shows to promote her book. [8] [9] In 2019, Not Fade Away was reported to be in the process of being made into a movie screenwritten by Lindsey Ferrentino, produced by John Krasinski and David O. Russell, and starring Emily Blunt. [10]

A book review in The New York Times described how Alexander "pushes herself to grueling physical feats," participating in marathons and week-long charity bike rides. [11] Her travels have included climbing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, swimming the frigid 1.5 miles of ocean water between Alcatraz Island to San Francisco's Aquatic Park, and summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. [11] [12] [13] She also teaches spinning and high-intensity training at a New York City gym. [2]

Alexander was one of the performers in the traveling production "Silent No More," created by Ali Stroker in 2019 to highlight the stories of deaf and hard of hearing people. [10]

She has received several awards, including the Helen Keller Achievement Award in 2016 from the American Foundation for the Blind, the Eagle Award in 2017 from Disability Rights Advocates, and Bicentennial Alumni Award in 2017 from the University of Michigan. [14] In 2018 she threw a ceremonial first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game to raise awareness of Usher syndrome. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Keller</span> American author and activist (1880–1968)

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven, when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlee Matlin</span> American actress, author, and activist (born in 1965)

Marlee Matlin is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Usher syndrome</span> Recessive genetic disorder causing deafblindness

Usher syndrome, also known as Hallgren syndrome, Usher–Hallgren syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa–dysacusis syndrome or dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes resulting in a combination of hearing loss and visual impairment. It is a major cause of deafblindness and is at present incurable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deafblindness</span> Condition of little or no useful sight and little or no useful hearing

Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing and little or no useful sight. Different degrees of vision loss and auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of this inherent diversity, each deafblind individual's needs regarding lifestyle, communication, education, and work need to be addressed based on their degree of dual-modality deprivation, to improve their ability to live independently. In 1994, an estimated 35,000–40,000 United States residents were medically deafblind. Helen Keller was a well-known example of a deafblind individual. To further her lifelong mission to help the deafblind community to expand its horizons and gain opportunities, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, with a residential training program in Sands Point, New York, was established in 1967 by an act of Congress.

Rebecca Claire Gilman is an American playwright.

Yemenite deaf-blind hypopigmentation syndrome is a condition caused by a mutation on the SRY-related HMG-box gene 10.

Amanda Lynn Harvey is an American jazz and pop singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Shenton</span> British actress (born 1987)

Rachel Joy Shenton is an English actress and writer. She gained prominence through her role as Mitzeee Minniver in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2010–2013). She is also known for her role as Courtney in Waterloo Road and has starred in the ABC Family drama Switched at Birth (2014–2017), the BBC2 sitcom White Gold (2019), and the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great and Small (2020–).

Heidi Zimmer is an American deaf mountaineer who has accomplished several notable firsts in mountaineering. She was born deaf, and became the first deaf woman in history to reach the top of Mount McKinley on June 13, 1991. At the top, she unfolded a banner reading "DEAF WOMAN, A PARADE THROUGH THE DECADES". On August 15, 1992, Zimmer became the first deaf person to summit Mount Elbrus. On September 22, 1994, Zimmer became the first deaf woman to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. She has also won a bronze medal in the Deaf Olympics. She graduated from Gallaudet University in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Alexander (journalist)</span> American journalist

Peter Marvin Alexander is an American journalist and television presenter who currently works for NBC News. He obtained the title of NBC News White House correspondent covering the White House and the President of the United States in December 2012.

Eddie Morten, also spelled 'Eddy', is a Canadian Paralympic athlete who won bronze in the 5 km Walk in 1980, gold in the -65 kg category in Wrestling in 1984, and bronze in Judo in the -71 kg category in Judo in 1988. Morten has been the Coordinator of the Deafblind Services Society of British Columbia's Volunteer Intervention Program since 2007, and in 2009 was awarded the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's Award of Merit for his advocacy on behalf of the deaf-blind community. He is the younger brother of Pier Morten, another successful Canadian Paralympian. Morten was born deaf but with good vision, which has gradually deteriorated due to Usher Syndrome. He is now completely blind in his left eye and has severely limited vision in his right eye.

<i>El Deafo</i> 2014 graphic novel by Cece Bell

El Deafo is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with her deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an interview with the Horn Book Magazine, states "What are bunnies known for? Big ears; excellent hearing," rendering her choice of characters and their deafness ironic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Kelly (paratriathlete)</span> Australian paratriathlete

Kathleen Margaret "Katie" Kelly is an Australian paratriathlete, who has a degenerative disease known as Usher syndrome. Kelly began competing in the PT5 paratriathlon classification in February 2015 when her condition deteriorated to a legally blind state. She has just 30 per cent of her vision. With her guide Michellie Jones, Kelly won gold medals at the 2015 and 2017 ITU World Championships and 2016 Rio Paralympics. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nalaga'at</span> Israeli nonprofit organization

Na Laga'at is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Adina Tal and Eran Gur around the first of its kind in the world ensemble whose actors are all deafblind. The organization established a unique cultural center at the Levantbondet House in the Port of Jaffa in Tel Aviv. The center is a platform for creative arts, which promote equal and open dialogue and lead to social change built on the belief in the human spirit and its ability to reach out and make a change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haben Girma</span> Eritrean-American disability rights advocate

Haben Girma is an American disability rights advocate, and the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Bitner-Glindzicz</span>

Maria Bitner-Glindzicz was a British medical doctor, honorary consultant in clinical genetics at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and a professor of human and molecular genetics at the UCL Institute of Child Health. The hospital described her work as relating to the "genetic causes of deafness in children and therapies that she hoped would one day restore vision." She researched Norrie disease and Usher syndrome, working with charities including Sparks and the Norrie Disease Foundation, and was one of the first colleagues involved in the 100,000 Genomes Project at Genomics England.

<i>CODA</i> (2021 film) Film by Sian Heder

CODA is a 2021 coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Sian Heder. An English-language remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film La Famille Bélier, it stars Emilia Jones as Ruby Rossi, the titular child of deaf adults (CODA) and only hearing member of her family, a teenager who attempts to help her family's struggling fishing business while pursuing her own aspirations of being a singer.

Catherine "Kitty" Hoffpauir Fischer is an American deafblind librarian and author. She is the co-author of Orchid of the Bayou: A Deaf Woman Faces Blindness a book about her life published in 2001.

References

  1. ↑ "Rebecca Alexander". Lighthouse International. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Liz (September 19, 2014). "Fading sight and sound turn Oakland native into a fighter". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Daley, Lauren (August 22, 2018). "Rebecca Alexander is completely deaf and slowly going blind. Her next stop is Fenway". boston.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kim, Eun Kyung (September 23, 2016). "Driven by sister's fading sight, Peter Alexander dons blindfold for a good cause". TODAY.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ Cohen, Arianne (January 30, 2009). "How Rebecca Alexander Navigates Life in New York While Going Deaf and Blind – New York Magazine – Nymag". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  6. ↑ Nasiatka, Marissa (November 2020). "Our Interview with Rebecca Alexander". Different & Able. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Not Fade Away by Rebecca A. Alexander, Sascha Alper". Penguin Randomhouse. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Peter (September 15, 2014). "'A lot happier': Why Rebecca Alexander won't let going blind, deaf, hold her back". TODAY.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Forging ahead despite losing hearing, vision". MSNBC.com. September 17, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Herbert, James (June 28, 2019). "'Silent No More' bringing struggles, successes of those with hearing loss to the stage". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Bouton, Katherine (October 20, 2014). "Young, Stricken and Determined to Fight". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Riley, Cailin (August 10, 2018). "An Unlikely Friendship That Thrives In Spite Of Challenges". 27 East. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ Keating, Caitlin (September 9, 2015). "Rebecca Alexander Climbs Mount Kilimanjaro". People.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Usher Syndrome Society Board & Staff". Usher Syndrome Society. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.