Geeks Geezers And Googlization Podcast

Today, we’re talking with a man who was pronounced dead at birth, diagnosed as retarded by his guidance counselor, and never spoke a word until he was 6 years old. Additionally, he had a documentary made about him in in 2007 called “Music Within”. Our guest this week, Richard Pimentel, has overcome tremendous odds and Keith and I are honored to have him on our show. A disability rights advocate and public speaker, Richard was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Pronounced dead at birth, his mother, who had gone through several miscarriages, struggled to cope with raising him. Shortly after he was born, she released him to the care of an orphanage where he stayed until his Grandmother found him. However, by the time she was able to locate him, he had adapted to the culture of the orphanage. This culture was one in which children were expected to be neither seen nor heard. It was partially due to this, and the rest Richard credits to stubbornness, that he remained voluntarily mute until he was six years old. W