Communication Disorders In The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Television and movies have an enormous impact on how people perceive communication disorders. According to “Statistic Brain” the average person watches about 9 years of television in their lifetime. The movie “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” written by Julian Schnabel, is based on a true story about a man with an acquired brain injury. He had a stroke and was completely paralyzed from head to to toe, except for his left eye. This 43 year old man's name was Jean-Dominique Bauby. In the movie he is divorced with three children and a current lover. He was driving with his son in his convertible when he pulled over and had a life changing stroke. Jean-Dominique Bauby or as his friends called him “Jean-Do” was a very well to do man before

Henriette, Jean-Do’s speech therapist works very closely with him. She explains a way for Jean-Do to communicate which involves her calling out letters in the most frequently used order. When she says a letter he must blink his left eye. This process is the only way Jean-Do can express himself and it takes time and patience from both of them. The first sentence Jean-Do expresses to Henriette spelled out “I want death”. This upsets Henriette terribly and she told him in a harsh tone he has people who care about him and want to help him. She left the room and slammed the door. Moments later Henriette walked back in and apologized. This frustration from both Jean-Do and Henriette is normal given the situation. Jean-Do thinks her method of communication is dumb and tedious, and Henriette is frustrated because this is her job and she cannot make her patient accept her help. This scene really portrays Jean-Do’s communication disorder and emphasises on the mental effects it has on him. Later there is a scene where Jean-Do is in his bed and two men come in to install a phone. The men start talking to him, unaware that he cannot speak. The one man goes “Dude I think he just winked at you”, little do they know that is how Jean-Do communicates. He represents his disorder by winking to answer their question yet the two workers did not know what Jean-Do was suffering with, therefore they come off as offensive or rude. In another scene Jean-Do is on the phone with his current lover, Inès. Shes asks him if he wants her to come see him. In the scene the only one in the room is Céline Desmoulins, is ex wife and the mother of his children. She must translate what Jean-Do wants to say back to Inès. Jean-Do blinks his left eye which indicates what letter he wants to express. Slowly this spells out words making a sentence. Céline Desmoulins translates for Jean-Do and passes along the message to Inès, “Each