How do you care for someone you struggle to communicate with ... and can never fully understand? That's the question anthropologist Danilyn Rutherford has been wrestling with for decades  — ever since it became clear that her daughter Millie would never speak, sign or use symbols to express herself. Danilyn talks with Anita about how mothering a multiply-disabled child challenged her beliefs about the importance of language for human connection. 

Meet the guest:

- <a href="https://danilynrutherford.com/">Danilyn Rutherford</a> is the author of “<a href="https://dukeupress.edu/beautiful-mystery">Beautiful Mystery: Living in a Wordless World</a>”

<a href="https://www.wunc.org/2026-05-05/how-a-mother-learned-to-connect-without-language-transcript">Read the transcript</a> | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

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Stuttered: Diversifying The Way We Speak

Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In WUNC’s award-winning podcast, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and bodies that touches down in taboo territory.Follow the show on Instagram at @embodiedwunc and on Bluesky at embodiedwunc.bsky.social. You can find Anita on Bluesky at asrao.bsky.social.