I think, people who gravitated toward Mother Abagail were genuinely good people, without prejudices, so I presume that's why they accepted Nick so easily. Especially as Mother Abagail marked him specifically, and they respected her opinion. However, even in the book Nick wasn't quite a leader, but rather an advisor, Stu was the one who was speaking to all in the name of the whole committee. That made practical sense. As for his disabilities, how he dealt with his deafness, it was pretty accurate. I am not sure though if the deaf-mute combination is accurate representation. Was he mute because he was deaf, or it was a separate problem? I do not remember how that was explained in the book. Deaf people can with diligent practice learn to speak, but if they are totally deaf, it is very difficult to control their voice (for obvious reasons) and makes them so uneasy, that they often deliberately choose not to speak.

EDIT: I should add though, that when I say not speaking, I mean not speaking with their voice. Deaf people have their own (sign) language, that I myself wish I was taught when I was young, but I was always around normal hearing people. Now I am too old for learning new tricks, and I am comfortable with my level of hearing and reading lips.

@Zeljka said:

I think, people who gravitated toward Mother Abagail were genuinely good people, without prejudices, so I presume that's why they accepted Nick so easily. Especially as Mother Abagail marked him specifically, and they respected her opinion. However, even in the book Nick wasn't quite a leader, but rather an advisor, Stu was the one who was speaking to all in the name of the whole committee. That made practical sense. As for his disabilities, how he dealt with his deafness, it was pretty accurate. I am not sure though if the deaf-mute combination is accurate representation. Was he mute because he was deaf, or it was a separate problem? I do not remember how that was explained in the book. Deaf people can with diligent practice learn to speak, but if they are totally deaf, it is very difficult to control their voice (for obvious reasons) and makes them so uneasy, that they often deliberately choose not to speak.

EDIT: I should add though, that when I say not speaking, I mean not speaking with their voice. Deaf people have their own (sign) language, that I myself wish I was taught when I was young, but I was always around normal hearing people. Now I am too old for learning new tricks, and I am comfortable with my level of hearing and reading lips.

I'm hearing impaired as well, being 100% deaf in my right ear and having 30% hearing in the left, so I too can speak from experience. I also have a mild case of cerebral palsy and have been put in positions of leadership. I can say with 100% conviction that when I was a lead person at a major aircraft manufacturer that I was not taken seriously, due, I believe, to my disabilities. This is the reason that I think that Nick being put into a leadership position was not realistic.

BTW, Nick had no vocal cords or something so according to King, even if he had normal hearing, he still could not speak.

Interesting, our hearing deficiency is almost similar, my own loss on right ear is 100% and on the left 75%. These 25% still give me enough for a hearing earpiece (now they are so much better than they used to be when I was kid!). I totally understand what you are saying. I am also in charge of my own department in the small company and, after so many years of working experience and familiarity with my colleagues, I am still always terrified of business meetings, both live and zoom. That is partly due not only to perceived prejudices of other people but also to my own ingrained insecurities. My communication skill are awkward and paired with that I still have voice control issues.

However, as for you, I am certain that you were put on such an important position in an engineering company because people in charge recognized your expertise, talent and experience and your impairments weren't relevant at all. Those who didn't take you as seriously as they did, are probably those who simply envied you for not having your brains and knowledge.

As for the series, thank you for clarifying how Nick couldn't speak!

You raise a good point, would Nick in real life be selected for a leadership and listened to? In the book it was neatly arranged that he was chosen by God and then he was a part of the committee. He was a thinker and a bookworm, therefore not envisioned as a man of action, rather to be an advisor or actually a president, who would be making big decisions. Stephen King solved our dilemma by killing off that character, so we won't ever know if that was a possibility. Considering Stuart left Boulder to their own devices, I think Nick would have done the same.

In the real life, it's hard to say. Nick was not that type to lead big groups, shy and always scribbling notes. Maybe in charge of a committee (like a president) and delegating responsibilities to other people who would then proceed to deal with the population, that I think would be possible. He was so smart and above everybody else in that segment, it would have been foolish not to take advantage of such an asset in the times of catastrophes or such. Earning the trust of the masses is problematic though even for normal hearing people. I always think of Stephen Hawking how it was hard for him to earn respect and sustain it because of his severe disabilities. People in general tend to be mean and impatient, especially in today's world of instant gratification. It would be too exhausting to deal with them if I were Nick. Even though it would be a great praise for him to be offered such a position, I wouldn't envy him nor want to be in his place.