Rebecca Alexander is an author, psychotherapist, disability rights advocate, group fitness and yoga/meditation instructor, and extreme athlete who is almost completely blind and deaf. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she currently lives in New York City.
Born with a rare genetic disorder called Usher syndrome (3A), Rebecca has been simultaneously losing both her vision and hearing since she was an adolescent. She was told that by age 30, she’d likely be completely blind. Then, at 19, one year after a fall from a second-story window left her athletic body completely shattered, she learned she would lose her hearing as well.
Now, in her 40s, with only a sliver of sight and total deafness without the use of her cochlear implants, Rebecca has a thriving psychotherapy practice with two masters’ degrees from Columbia University, she is the host of the PBS American Masters’ short documentary Protactile: A Language of Touch and the narrator of the PBS American Masters’ biopic documentary Becoming Helen Keller, has presented for TEDx, has been featured on many TV shows and in numerous publications, has been honored with prestigious awards for her advocacy work, and has been the keynote speaker for esteemed organizations including Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, UBS, Harvard Medical School, Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, NYU Langone Hospital, and others.
Rebecca’s critically acclaimed memoir, Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found received several awards including an Indie Book Award and was recognized by the MS Society’s Books for a Better Life. Not Fade Away is in development to be made into a motion picture. Currently, Rebecca serves as a board director for the Usher Syndrome Society and as an advisory board member for the Disability Rights’ Advocates and No Limits For Deaf Children.
Swimming from Alcatraz to shore in the San Francisco Bay, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, participating in the 600-mile AIDS Lifecycle ride, competing in the Civilian Military Combine (CMC) races are a few of Rebecca’s extraordinary feats. Rebecca is best known for her drive. Consistently upbeat, Rebecca gives encouragement and inspiration to others who are facing their own challenges.
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Official announcement from PBS: "Join author, psychotherapist, and disability rights advocate Rebecca Alexander as she introduces us to the founders and educators of Protactile, a language based solely on touch. Historically, people who are DeafBlind have been limited to using interpreters to communicate. With Protactile, one-on-one and group conversations are not only possible, but they also allow for deeper and more meaningful connection.”
All videos including accessible versions and the transcript can be found in the links below:
PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/protactile-language-of-touch
Full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ney1gZ1iN_k
Full documentary with audio description and ASL interpreting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCzsmg7kdY
Full documentary with extended audio descriptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHGWIohpD5w&t=41s
www.rebeccaalexander.org