2022 CLCSC Awards - Acceptance Speech by Winners Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard
Winners Carol Cujec, Peyton Goddard, Meeg Pincus, and Paula Yoo have graciously provided copies of their speeches from the CLCSC Awards Ceremony held on November 12, 2022 at Throop Church in Pasadena, CA.
Outstanding Contribution to Juvenile Fiction
Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard
Carol Cujec: Thank you so much for this award. Peyton and I are deeply honored.
Our novel REAL was inspired by Peyton’s lived experiences. We are on a mission to spread kindness and advocate for inclusion. About her inspiration to write, Peyton says, “Like all kids, I desired reading stories to feel I’m not alone. But denied representation in literature I was. So the lonely dear in I now commits to write so persons like I know they are not alone and persons unlike I know all people feel and are real.”
Peyton and I met 15 years ago when I was writing an article on the Autism Institute at the University of San Diego. Peyton was the first non-speaking autistic person I had ever met. In my 2 decades of teaching, sadly, I had minimal experience with students needing accommodations because people who are different are segregated from “mainstream” students. My own uncle spent his life in an institution, despite the fact that he could name every player on the Chicago Cubs and every actor in his favorite soap operas.
When I interviewed Peyton and heard her story, I was blown away. At a young age, she was diagnosed as autistic and severely mentally retarded. With no dependable way to communicate or control her body, she was placed in a restrictive special-needs school. Because no one there thought she was capable of learning, behavior control replaced any attempt at an education. Despite having loving parents who did everything they could to help her learn and be included, Peyton suffered years of isolation, abuse and even contemplated suicide. Then in a moment of inspiration at the age of 18, she made a deal with God—she called it her IOU—she agreed to stay on this earth with the goal of helping other kids like her. But with no voice, she felt it was mission impossible.
When Peyton was 22, her mom heard about a supported typing technique that had worked for some folks with sensory-movement differences. Not expecting much, her mom drove her to Whittier, California, where an educator facilitated Peyton’s first supported typing session. Among Peyton’s first typed words were: I am intelligent. Her mother burst into tears, tears of joy and also sadness for all the lost years. Finally, armed with a voice, she was able to speak her truth and begin to heal. Her first request was to get a real education. Though she had little formal education up to that point, Peyton bravely enrolled in Cuyamaca Community College in San Diego. Four years later, she graduated with a nearly 4.0 average and was named valedictorian.
Today, Peyton has devoted herself to fulfilling that IOU she made years ago. I am honored to join with her on this mission. We initially collaborated along with her mother, to write her memoir, I AM INTELLIGENT—From Heartbreak to Healing, A Mother and Daughter’s Journey through Autism. After it was published, we realized our work was far from over and felt that the message of inclusion had to be heard by young readers because they can make all the difference in the lives of their peers. Our novel REAL features perhaps the first nonspeaking autistic narrator in middle-grade fiction; her name is Charity. From the beginning of the book, readers hear Charity’s thoughts, and they immediately know that she is clever and funny. Sadly, that’s not how the rest of the world sees her. By viewing the world through Charity’s eyes, we hope our young readers can grow empathy for kids who are different and discover how including everyone brings joy to all.
Peyton and I are currently polishing three picture books focused on inclusion.
And I’ll close with this message that Peyton has typed for you all. She says,
In REAL, we voice inclusion, but wonder will REAL just temporarily tease readers with fleeting visions easily dismissed of “treasuring all,” or will readers be enticed to keenly seek deliciously lasting visions of helping create a world where we all may be one? Those trepid about REAL worry that trying inclusion is detrimental. We say treasures lie in each person, mined by valuing and supporting all together. All people need varying support. Raise up each person to capture yep I’m real, yep I’m important, yep in me is vast value, yep I’m loved. Let it be our guiding dear purpose. Let each person hear it and feel it…that each of us is joined. Together we are candles lighted showing the way to peace.
Thank you for valuing REAL.
© Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard, 2022
“Let each person hear it and feel it…that each of us is joined. Together we are candles lighted showing the way to peace.”
From left to right, Real co-authors Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard, with Dianne Goddard
Photo credit: Josh Steichmann