TERESA
—A Seamstress with Words

Teresa Grace Battisti-Cole used to love to sew. When Teresa was a little girl, she sat on her grandmother's lap watching her make clothing. She learned to use the sewing machine, and all her friends felt jealous when she made her own doll clothes.

Teresa went to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where she majored in art and design. When she graduated, she became the wardrobe mistress for the National Theatre of the Deaf. Her title was Wardrobe Coordinator, and she loved her job.

The Accident

One day, Teresa was carrying a bundle of clothing. With her arms full, she made her way down the spiral steps to the stage below. Suddenly the lights went out.

"It was a cue for the actors," she remembered. "There was nothing wrong."

But the sudden darkness alarmed her and she slipped. She almost fell into the props below, but reached out and grabbed the railing just in time. She fell down hard on the metal steps.

Pain shot through her body.

"The injury was to my back," she said. "For months I could not get out of bed. Finally I was able to crawl."

Slowly, with the help of a physical therapist, she learned to walk normally again.

The injury happened 10 years ago. But the pain still bothers her. She still can't stand or sit for a long period of time.

Teresa realized that she could never sew again as a job.

New Career

Teresa looked unsuccessfully for a job where she would be able to work without pain. Finally she gave up. She decided to become a writer. Two years ago, she and her husband founded their own business, Lonely Blue Coyote, Inc. Now they write and design web pages.

In Teresa's spare time, she writes children's stories.

There are very few books about children with disabilities, she says.

She plans to write some.

She has finished The Silent One and Blind Puppy. The Silent One: The Adventure of a Hearing Impaired Heroine is about a deaf Indian girl.

"I called her 'hearing impaired' after talking with many people who had different forms of hearing loss," said Teresa. "It was difficult to pick one term over another term, and I thought 'hearing impaired' was a broad term that would include everyone."

Teresa believes her stories will help children understand that people with disabilities are just like everyone else.

"When I talk to kids about what it is like to be deaf, or about my blind cat, Smokey, the questions flow freely. I have fun teaching them...and they have fun learning something new."

Teresa has published one book herself. A deaf artist, Dotty Knights Scharschu, illustrated it.

"If I can help children learn not to be cruel to others, not only deaf people, but anyone who is different, I think it is well worth my time," she said.

Check out some of Teresa's books yourself at her website: http://www.lbcoyote.com.