The letter ‘A’
by Christy Brown
Summary of The letter ‘A’
Christy was born on the 5th of June in l932. He had 2l brothers and sisters. His birth was difficult and his mother almost died when he was born. When Christy was 4 months old, his mother saw that something was wrong with him. He could not hold his head up, his hands were twisted, and he could not eat correctly. His parents took Christy to the hospital. The doctors told his parents that he was stupid and that there was no hope for him to get better. Christy’s mother did not believe the doctors. She took care of Christy herself. She did not leave him at the hospital. She wanted to show people that Christy was not stupid. She treated him normally, like her other children.
When Christy was 5 years old, he could not speak or even sit up by himself. He always moved in funny ways. His mother tried to teach him to talk. She would show him pictures and ask him questions. Christy understood his mother, but he could not answer her.
Christy could use his toes to touch things, especially the toes on his left foot. One day in December, Christy’s life changed. He was watching his brother and sister doing math problems on a small chalkboard with yellow chalk. Christy wanted the yellow chalk, so he took it with his left foot. He drew on the chalkboard and everyone was looking at him. His mother took the chalk and drew the letter ‘A’ on the floor. She told Christy to copy it. Everyone waited. He tried, but he could not do it. His mother asked him to try again. This time, Christy drew the letter ‘A’. His mother cried because she was so happy. Now Christy could write. People could know what he was thinking about by looking at his writing.