Intelligent Lives (2018) - full transcript

Our son, Jesse, had cerebral
palsy and could not speak.

When Jesse was four,

the neurologist
told us - in front

of our son - that he would
never be intellectually normal,

and we should be thinking
about having another child.

When he was six, the
Special Education Director

at our local school district

said we should send Jesse away

to Massachusetts
Hospital School.

That is not what we did.

We fought to have Jesse
included in general education.



During the struggle,
the school insisted

that Jesse take
the Stanford-Binet IQ test.

The test contained absurd,
antiquated questions like,

"Jesse, do you
'dust' a dresser?"

And Marianne and I
are thinking, "Dust?"

My wife and I don't dust.
We call dressers "bureaus."

And anyway,
dusting wasn't a chore

I had thought to give
to my child with quadriplegia.

Jesse learned to use
a computer to communicate.

He learned to read, and he
developed close friendships.

Jesse became a straight-A
student in high school.

He wrote poetry and he aced
every one of his Latin tests.

The IQ test told us nothing
about my child's potential,

about who he was as a person.



Can any attempt to measure
intelligence predict

a person's value or ability

to contribute
meaningfully to the world?

IQ testing is still used
in 49 of 50 states

as one of the ways to determine
if a student will carry

a lifelong label
of intellectual disability.

Only 17% of students
with intellectual disability

are included in
regular classrooms.

6.5 million Americans have
an intellectual disability.

Only 15% are employed.

There are different ways.

Better ways.

[cafeteria chatter]

Naieer has a style of his own

and he's not afraid
to go in there

and freely draw
and express himself,

and capture line
and color and movement.

If I got half of that from
some of my other students,

I'd be happy because
that determination he has,

it's in him - he cannot
give that up.

He has to do it.

What are we doing?

So what color
do you need for that?

Um, it looked like orange.

Orange? Alright.
That's the orange you want?

When he gets frustrated,
it's because he has a hard time

communicating his idea
that he has in his head.

He just gets - his body
takes over.

Ok. Alright?

Alright.
Sorry.

That's alright, buddy.
I gotcha. It's ok.

Do you need help?

Ummm...

What are we doing? Are we going
to mix up the brown paint?

Yes.

Alright, do you see
the image now?

Yeah.

Is it lined up
where you want it?

Yeah.

What are you going to paint
that makes you happy?

What are you
going to tell me?

Show me.

I don't know
what Naieer's IQ is.

What I do know is that
Naieer is a committed,

hard-working student

who has some challenges.

Black people lived in
one neighborhood;

Asian people lived
in another neighborhood -

We work with Naieer
and his family, his friends,

his teachers to try to help him

be the most
successful he can be.

- and that's just
the way it was.

We don't use IQ tests
to inform us at all.

It's a number, but I wouldn't
even know where to find it.

She's white.

She's white?
Yeah.

Is she a human
or a mermaid or what?

Ummm...

A mermaid?

You don't know?

No.

[birds chirping]

So I texted Samantha and
she texted me around 3:30

and said she was home sick.

Oh well. Maybe I'll
text her tonight.

Say, oh, how are you feeling?

How are you feeling?

How are you feeling?

Yeah, Micah's been going on
OkCupid chatting with women.

Haha!

Samantha, she's 25 and lives
in Syracuse, New York.

Down the road,
maybe I'll ask her,

"Do you want to meet
at a coffee shop or something?"

[phone reading text]
"Hi tomorrow hope your feet
I hope you have a good night

Samantha."

Do you want me to take
a look at that, Micah?

Yeah. Feet?

What did you say?

"I look forward to talking
with you tomorrow?"

Yeah.

To talking...and you
haven't told her yet

about your disability
or anything like that?

No. I just don't want to like
tell her over a text message.

Right. It might be good
before you guys meet.

That's my opinion at least.

Maybe I'll tell her
over the phone.

Yeah.

In like my mind,
I like never thought

I would ever like
move from Michigan

after being there
like my whole time.

But it was scary
the first couple weeks,

but I knew that I made
a good decision

because I just knew

that if I lived
in Michigan my whole life,

I wouldn't have been able
to try something new.

And I knew because of me,
of being Micah,

I knew that it was
gonna work out.

I'm getting a
non-degree certificate

in Disability Studies.

And can we keep in touch
after we graduate?

Yeah, of course.

You guys are in the
serious home stretch.

We have two and a half weeks.

Ok, lemonade. Food or not food?

No.
Why not?

It's a drink.
It's a drink.

He was very engaged.

Any time I looked
in his direction,

he had a look
on his face that said,

"Come on. Keep going.

I'm right with ya, and I want
to learn this stuff."

I don't remember
when I was tested,

but I like saw a sheet
of paper in the mail

that said I had a 40 IQ still.

And I like Googled
what a 40 IQ is

and they like said

that somebody who can't
really like work at like a job

or can't like move
from their parents' house

probably or things like that.

The IQ test measures a very
limited potential of our brain

to learn,

and misses all the other stuff.

A person's ability
to take context,

clues from their environment -
from other people.

A person's desire to engage
with other people

and their openness
to relationships.

Micah's got a ton of that.

I know. That's huge!

One -
A quarter.

Quarter.

The big one. The big one. Now,
another one of these. Yeah.

Sixty...now three cents.

Three cents.

Sixty three cents.
There you go!

I'm smart.

You are smart.
You're doing it by yourself.

How much do I owe you,
sweetie?

What's your name, by the way?

Naomie.

So you give him back two -

and his change -
a quarter, a dime, -

Dime?
Yup.

Thank you, Naomie.

You're welcome.

[talking in the hall]

[heels clicking]

Uh, she almost fell.

You see what happens
when you wear heels?

How much do you have there?

Ten.
Ten dollars.

Plus -

One -

So that's how much?

One?

Ten plus one. This.

Five. Ten.

Plus one.
One.

Eleven. Look for the one
that's red.

Red.

Look how it looks.
Looks like this.

Yeah.

It's right here in the corner.

Yep. You happy with
your tip you made?

Yeah.

Alright, let's pack up now.

Hi, Steven.

You working hard today?
Yeah.

Good. Real good.

This is the most we ever made.

You made fifty dollars today.
Are you happy?

Yeah.

You know what you're
gonna buy with this?

Ummm...cell phone.

You want a cell phone so bad.

Yeah.

Naomie, Micah,
and Naieer -

three young adults
with disabilities,

unlocking their potential
and finding work they love.

Would you like to invite her
so then she can also see it

and you guys can see
what it looks like?

Not long ago, it was
common for doctors

and social workers
to counsel families

to send their children
away to institutions.

And a child's low IQ was often
their one-way admission ticket.

Dr. Alfred Binet,
the French psychologist,

published the first
intelligence test in 1905

to identify children that
needed educational assistanc.

He stressed that intelligence
was a fluid quality,

shaped by one's
environment and culture,

and subject
to change over time.

His intentions were
soon distorted.

The American psychologist,
Henry H. Goddard,

altered how the Binet-Simon
test was used.

He insisted the test was
a scientifically valid way

to identify the
"feebleminded" in our midst.

By 1913, the United
States government

was using Goddard's methods

to test 29,000 immigrants
a week at Ellis Island.

Goddard said the results
showed that 79% of Italians,

83% of Jews,

and 87% of Russians
were feebleminded.

During World War I,
the military used an IQ exam

to determine a soldier's rank.

Men who scored lower,
were fit to be privates,

but not officers.

Privates were the most
likely to end up

on the front lines of battle.

IQ testing was used to fuel
a pseudo-science

known as "Eugenics,"

which called for
eliminating the "menace"

of the feebleminded
through marriage restrictions,

and warehousing of hundreds of
thousands of disabled people.

By 1950, it has been estimated
that more than 60,000 people

had been forcibly sterilized.

Eugenics had the support
of prominent physicians,

professors,
governors, presidents,

and even the United
States Supreme Court.

Adolf Hitler cited
the U.S. Eugenics

research as justification
for sterilizing

and murdering nearly a quarter
of a million disabled Germans.

Meanwhile so-called
"training schools,"

founded with good intentions
as early as the mid-1800s,

were established
as safe places

where adolescents and young
adults with disabilities

could learn skills
and integrate into society.

But over time, these schools
devolved into restrictive,

hospital-like institutions

with few opportunities
for growth,

and little hope for release.

Notorious institutions
like Willowbrook

more closely resembled
prisons than schools.

And yet, despite its ugly
history and inherent flaws,

intelligence testing

and the resulting IQ score
is alive and well.

In response to consistent
criticism over many years,

the tests have been modified
enough to retain their status

as the standard measure
of intelligence

throughout the U.S.

Research tells us
that IQ test results

can be biased by factors

such as socio-economic status
and cultural background.

African-American students
are almost twice

as likely as white students

to be classified with
intellectual disability.

[students talking
in the classroom]

Do you see it here?

Yeah.
Yeah?

When Naieer first came,

his communication skills
weren't developed.

This is what we have
right here, ok?

He wasn't able to
advocate for himself.

Many schools probably
would've taken that and said,

"That's not for us.
Inclusion's not for him."

El pelo largo.

El pelo largo.

But we look at behavior as
communication for all students,

not just kids
with disabilities.

El pelo...

Welcome, team.

Today is -
who wants to chime out?

Soup Service.
Soup Service.

And how does Mr. Cloyd
like to say it?

Soup Day!

♪ ["I Believe in Love"
by Matisyahu plays] ♪

What's in there so far?

Carrots, onions...

[food sizzling]

Are we ready to roll it down?

Yes.

[students talking
in the hallways]

Soup Day!

I'm ready!

Enjoy your soup.

Thank you, brother.

Ok, on three. One, two, three!

♪ ["Shade from the Sun"
by Matisyahu plays] ♪

When people say, "Why is
your school successful?"

I always say "Because
we include students

with significant disabilities."

Having kids with
significant disabilities

has helped us to really become

more careful, individualized,
personal educators.

♪

Pass!

And I really believe
that what we're doing

is fighting against
segregation again.

[students cheering]

But segregation
based on ability.

♪ Shade from the Sun
Shade from the Sun ♪

What was the first colored unit
of the civil war?

We watched the movie.

They're right in front
of the State House.

Do you remember
the movie we watched?

You're right, almost.
54th Regiment.

I wouldn't even use
the notebook.

I would literally
just use the study guide

while we play Jeopardy.

["Jeopardy" theme music]

I think that intelligence looks
different for everybody.

It's clear that he has
an intellectual impairment,

but that doesn't
necessarily mean

that he can't be intelligent.

Please describe why
our unit on government

is the most important
thing you will learn

in all of high school

and possibly your life.

Naieer.

You have learned
about the government

because you will use this
information for when you vote.

That is very true. You will use
this information when you vote.

I will add that.

It's not like the movies,

where you get this
teacher that comes in

and she saves the day
and everything's great.

[teacher tells student to work]

It's one day at a time.

I have a lot of students
who don't

communicate
in traditional ways,

and are non-verbal.
Or do communicate in ways

that the outside world
sees as very different.

And, you know,
we always joke that

The Henderson is sort of
like Disneyland - like

it's a special place.
We're all family.

People sort of get things
and are patient.

But sometimes it is
troubling to wonder

what might the outside
world perceive him as.

That's what we did this for.
Yes, that's correct.

It's the 54th Massachusetts.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha -

Hi.

I made a little Valentine's
for you last Friday.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll like make a card
later - next week for you.

When's your birthday?

The 29th of March.

Alright, I'll do that
for your birthday.

Do you want to grab some food
around like 11:10?

Sure.

What are your plans
for later today?

Eh, I don't know.

Oh, I just got dripped on.

Is there a chance that we can
meet like your mom and dad?

Like I could ask them
later on today,

and also sometime you could
probably meet my cat, too.

Here's some chili to start.

Is it...if I...no, it's good.

Is it too late to...
after thinking about it,

for the salad,

is it too late
to just have the...

can I just have...can I just...

Just the chili, no salad?
Yeah. Yeah.

Sure.

Ok, thank you.

Maybe after you
talk to your dad,

can I like start sending
you a text message?

Mhmm.

Ok.

I was just wondering,
are you on Facebook?

Uh, no.

Ok.

My parents don't think
that's safe sometimes.

Yeah, yeah, I understand.

Probably at Bud's office

I'll probably show you
a picture of my cat.

Ok.

[people talk happily at a party]

Hey.
What up, man?

Happy Birthday Party.

Hey, Micah.

Hi.

♪["Big Apple Boogaloo" by
Brooklyn Funk Essentials plays]♪

So it'd be easier for them
if I need help with anything.

My brother and his wife
live in Madison.

When should I take out
that ice cream?

When it's time for cake
and ice cream.

Ok.

Yeah, she's here
until 10 o'clock. I don't know.

Are you going to
hang out with her?

Sure, I guess.

Meghan!

I thought you could put that
like on your dresser.

What does that say?

If you think my arms are full,
you should see my heart.

♪ [singing "Happy Birthday"]

Thank you so much
for that present.

I was very happy and honored,

and it was just very nice
to get a present from you.

Like there was another one
that was saying like the word

"love" or something,
but then Cindy was like,

"I thought you and Micah
were probably not into that

like, that much into
the relationship yet."

Yeah, yeah.

But your mom's
not coming 'til 10?

Yeah, I don't think.

You could call her maybe
earlier, or is she busy?

I have no idea.

They'll probably text
or something.

[police siren]

Hi, Gail.

Hi, honey bunny. How are you?
Good.

Giving me a massage?

Yeah.

Hi, Brenda. You ok? You ok?

Yeah.

It's Friday! It's Friday!
It's Friday!

Good morning.

What would you like?

Snickers, please.

Then you say -
what else do you say?

Would you like -

Would you like anything else?

Oh, Diet Coke, please.

Oh, soda.

So we're going to
find "beverages."

So he wants a Diet Coke.

Diet Coke.
I'm all done.

Alright, so you press
the blue button.

Thank you.

Now you need to give him
fifty-seven cents.

Five, six, seven-

Wait, that's it. Seven.
Now you need fifty.

Show me fifty.

What's that?
That's a what?

Dime? Quarter.

Quarter.

We begin tonight with
major developments

in a stunning case.

Thousands of mentally disabled
Rhode Islanders were paid,

in the words of one
investigator,

virtually nothing.

It all stems from
an investigation

into the treatment of students

at the Birch Vocational Program

at Mount Pleasant High
School in Providence,

who were performing
manual labor

in segregated workshops
for little to no pay.

These people were robbed
of years of productivity,

learning, and contributing
to their communities.

The Harold Birch Vocational
School struck us

as the height of segregation
and low expectations.

Their curriculum
was placing jewelry

on cardboard - instead of math,

instead of science,
instead of reading.

In April of 2014, we reached
a settlement agreement

with the State
of Rhode Island

to transform that system to one
that prioritized and relied

primarily on competitive,
integrated employment.

You've got some
friends here.

She's cute.

Thanks.

I guess I would've
never known.

Like the kids
were very underpaid

and like working
in hard conditions.

And that's, that's
pretty messed up.

Dan: And who was she
making them for?

Where did the earrings go?

[Steven's music plays
as he edits]

I love my sister, you know.
I love her the way she is.

Over time, I learned
what Down syndrome was.

But I also do have moments

when I think like
what will she be like

if she'd be able to do this
and that on her own?

She's definitely a smart girl.

She's definitely always
willing to learn.

I don't want to see her
just be boxed in

just because of her disability.

By going to like
all her meetings,

doctor's appointments,

reading papers to my mom,

C'mon now, let's go to the car.

making sure she understands it.

I'm the only one driving so
if they need to get somewhere,

I've gotta be here
to take them.

♪ [Singing church song
in Creole] ♪

♪ ♪

Amen-amen, amen.

The word of God
says in Psalm 127,

"Children are our heritage."

Every young man, young woman
that is here, you are a gift.

Every child that I have - all
my four children - they are my

gift, my inheritance that God
has given me and my husband.

I always think about, alright,

something happens
to my parents,

but also what if something
happens to me, too.

I always think about that.

Even though I know
it's in God's hands,

at the same time
I want to know.

Hi, Naomie.

I'm happy today.

Yeah, thank you.

I'm happy you're here.

Yeah.

♪

Alright, why don't you get
in between these two bases.

Go stand there.

[students shouting
while playing kickball]

Ok, throw it to first base, ok?

Hi. Ok.

Alright, ready?

Yeah.

Nice! What a kick!

Run, run, run, run, run!

Go! Go! Go!

Oh, wow, he's fast.
He might make it.

Alright! Nice!

Whoo!

Whoo!

Right on!

Right on!
Yeah!

Are you hungry or thirsty?

Yeah.
Do you want more water?

Yeah, I'm hungry, man.

You're hungry.

Yeah.

Ok!

My son is, you know, he's
a relatively tall young man.

If he were to
walk down the street,

he could be seen as a man.

He's such a sweet boy
that, you know,

all this that's happening
out here

in the world
shouldn't be happening.

Right.
It's all based on judgment

and peoples' fears
or their anxieties.

But we can't hold our children
back because of it.

What? You stop.
Yes, you are.

What did I do?

Is that the color your want?
Yes or no? So, yes?

Yes, man!

Ok, ready?
So what're we gonna do?

Gonna start painting?

Or you're gonna add
more white to it?

Add more white.

Ok. So that's why
I'm asking, ok?

Ok.

Alright. Relax.

I think he's acting a lot
more erratic this year.

So if he's not given
the benefit of the doubt -

whether it's a police officer

or just a sort of civilian

in society - you do have to
wonder what's gonna happen.

I want him to go into a world
where he's looked at

as a fellow citizen
of this world.

Not someone, "Oh, there's a tall
black guy who's acting weird.

Let me call backup."

Is your sister here?

Uh, she's coming.

Hey!

Hi.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you -

How are you?

Good, I'm good.

Sorry I missed you guys.

No, that's ok.

Yeah, I am.
Thank God. What?

You're not interested
in having them become -

Oh, no.
No, no, no.

[laughter]

I talk to my parents about it,
like, with big decisions

and stuff, I like share.

When they come to visit,
they talk to me,

but it's my final decision
of how I want to live my life.

Yeah.

Good. This is stating you're
self-directing your plan.

You're taking control of it.
You're signing forms.

What do your other clients
that you've been working with

for a longer period of time -
how do you see their plans grow?

You have a budget.
You have the funding.

And then as you
change and evolve,

you're determining
what goes into it.

You're gonna sign here
that you are the manager

of your services.

The boss.

I'm the boss.

[crows cawing]

I also try to save money.

Do you have a savings account?

Yeah.
You do?

Yeah.
I have checking and savings.

You do?
Yeah.

Do you know how much
you make an hour?

It's like 14 hours a week, or -

Is it like $10 per hour?

Something like that.

Something like $10?

Well, that might be
interesting to find out -

Ok.

to know how much
you get paid.

Yeah, I'll check it out.
Yes, Mother.

Do you remember when
you started coming

to your IEP meetings

in 5th grade with Mr. Lewis?

My principal? Why?

Every meeting.
We had meetings once a month.

With the whole team of people?

Pretty much. They'd never
included someone

with a disability
in the classroom, right?

All the time.

All the time.

They would wonder if Micah
was learning anything,

and you would be able to show
that he learned something.

It was so new that
it was like reinventing.

I feel that way sometimes.

How do you make inclusion
not just manageable

but like you want it to work.

But you want it to work
like with sanity.

[children talking]

When I found out
the list of students

I was going to have this year,

I had no idea how challenging
it was going to be.

James, don't you
have work to do?

I have a student who's
just learning language

and two other students
with autism.

And also 15, 16 other children
in the classroom.

Ok, first I'll help you
take your sweater off.

Then, you'll draw circles.

No.

It's time for you to do math.

Noooo-no-no!

So Kevauna, it would be really
helpful if you got your name,

so you could put
your name here.

No.
Ok.

Does Kevauna like you?

Ready? What sound?

Mmm-ap.

Say "ap."

Ap.
Say "map."

Map.

Say "map."

Map.

Kevauna, look, did you
draw the circle?

Something that I continue
to learn over and over again

is that Micah's story
happened over time.

He's not just Micah
at 30 years old.

He was once five years old.

Could any intelligence test
have predicted the impact

our son's life had
on the children

who went to school with him?

On his best friend, Kyle,

now a teacher of English
language learners

who says Jesse taught him how
to draw out a world of ideas

from each of his students.

Or on Jamie, his middle
school girlfriend,

who said Jesse motivated
her to teach music,

helping children to raise
their voices in song.

On the parents and teachers
who hear his story and read

his poetry, and then determine
to fight harder for inclusion.

Since the late 1950s,
people with disabilities

and their families have
organized to push for right,

visibility, and access
to regular schools.

Even America's iconic Kennedy
family has lived this story.

f
Rosemary Kennedy -

d
and ultimately sent

to live in an institution.

Her hidden life had a
tremendous impact on her family

and prompted her brother,
President John F. Kennedy,

to use the power of his office

to create the
President's Committee

on Mental Retardation.

Her sister,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver,

founded the Special Olympics

to illuminate the presence
of people of all disabilitie.

Here, at Special Olympics,
with seven nations represented,

what nation you come
from doesn't matter.

Tonight we are here
for one great

reason - to see you Olympians

and to celebrate
how marvelous you are.

[crowd cheering]

[crowd chanting]

By the 1960s,
people with disabilities

were becoming
their own advocates,

speaking up for themselves.

And what's happened today
is they'd rather put us in jail

than to free us
from our institutions.

What do you want? Freedom!
When do you want it? Now!

Institutions that warehoused
people with disabilities

were shut down.

I visited the state
institutions

for the mentally retarded

and I think that,
particularly at Willowbrook,

that we have a situation
that borders on a snake pit.

The children live in filth -
that many of our fellow citizens

are suffering tremendously
because of lack of attention,

lack of imagination,
lack of adequate manpower.

Attitudes about the abilities
and potential of people

with disabilities
were also shifting.

In 1975, every disabled
child's right to a free

and appropriate education
became federal law.

Since the 1980s,

a theory that each of us
has multiple intelligences

has been widely accepted.

Some people are good
in thinking spatially;

some people are good
in thinking language;

other people are very logical;

other people need to do
hands on - they need

to actually explore actively

and to try things out.

Once we realize that,
then an education

which treats
everybody the same way

is actually the most
unfair education.

In 1990, Congress passed
the Americans

with Disabilities Act.

I now lift my pen to sign this
Americans with Disability Act

and say, let the shameful
wall of exclusion

finally come tumbling down.

And we expect no less
of the Supreme Court today.

And in 1999, a Supreme Court
decision reinforced the ADA

as the "law of the land,"

stating that people
with disabilities

must be integrated in all
aspects of the community,

including opportunities
for paid work.

Everyone's lives
depends on it.

How you doing?
Hi, Ma.

Please have a seat
wherever you'd like.

The reason why
we're here today

is for a social
capital meeting.

And someone like you, Naomie,

who's connected
to the community

of Providence, connected

to the Haitian community,
has social capital.

When you go to the movies,
where do you go?

The Lincoln Mall.

The Lincoln Mall Cinema.
Great.

Who can name a business
in beauty and fashion?

Where do you go?

Our cousin, she's been
doing her hair lately.

So her cousin's a stylist.
What are some stores?

Burlington stores.

TJ Maxx? Good place to go?

Let's talk a little bit more
about beauty and fashion.

Empire.

And Empire is
what kind of school?

Beauty school.

It's a beauty school.

Alright, we're getting closer
guys, we're getting closer.

Coming down the list - so your
friend works at Burlington,

East Providence.
What's her name?

Sophia.

Very good. Let's circle
Burlington, East Providence.

So Sophia's right
in directly to your network.

We're going to
add her in her.

Debbie - and the name?

Maria.

So Naomie, we've taken
your small network

and we've just made
it double in size.

Mom, do you think
this is a safe approach

of places that
we'd be going to

because we know
someone there already?

Yeah.

And we're going to go back

and we're going to try to
connect with those people.

Let's see what we're doing.

Hello.

Hi, Sam.
Hi, Naomie.

This is my client, Vicky.
She's a little shy.

♪ ["Paciencia De Jo"
by Bosq plays] ♪

I had a student once
who got a foiling comb

stuck in a client's hair.

I'm not sure how that
happened, but she did.

Just hold the comb like so and
just slice into it like that.

See how I'm making
all these little strands?

Now take the water bottle.

Sometimes they want
to snap back at you.

[sniffs]

Let go of that one.

There we go.

Let me help you with that
pinching part 'cause that's

a little tricky.

That's good, right there.

About 15 minutes left
for hair and makeup.

I gotta go get my outfit.

She's going to put
her outfit on, ok?
Yeah.

Justin Bieber.
Justin Bieber.

She did a nice set.
Oh, really? Yeah.

You're all set?
Yeah.

You're good?
You're ready to go?

Yeah.

[kids laughing and playing]

There's a trail over there.

There is a trail.

We can walk, but I want to know
where he wants to go.

Where do you want to go?

Alright. We can do that.
Why don't you lead the way?

Around 18 months, his word
count began to drop off.

Though he wasn't speaking,
he was still picking up

things - ideas, thoughts,
interacting.

He was still growing.
He was still there.

And then they came back
and said, "Oh, you know what?

He appears to be on
the autistic spectrum."

We had to fight for him
to be in an inclusive

environment - being

exposed to the same things that
other children are exposed to.

We have to broaden
our understanding

of what intelligence is.

Naieer has wonderful pitch.

He sees different variations
in colors and light

that I don't necessarily
see or put together.

♪ ["Obstacles"
by Matisyahu plays] ♪

♪ Take two steps forward,
one step back ♪

♪ Every time I get on track
the light fades to black ♪

I want him to be able
to stretch himself

to his full capacity.

As a mother, I'm not going to
try to fix him or change him.

I accept him for who he is.

You look and see what they're
good at and you nurture that.

That's just being a parent.

He is going to college.
It's not a hope; he is going.

♪ Obstacles they come and go

♪ That's the name of
this game you know ♪

♪ This life can't
be bought nor sold ♪

♪ Just play your cards
then fold ♪

Alright, lead the way.

So how many do you have
in the show altogether?

Six.

Ok. Your composition
and your whole thing - the way

it follows through
is really wonderful.

I wanted to talk about
empowering narratives

that were free from
the constant negative

images we ingest
of black bodies.

Of criminality. Of superstition.
Of subjugation.

I challenge you all to look
around and really see,

you know, what stories
are we consuming here?

Who is telling them?
And what stories are missing?

Because at the heart of any
power to change any of this

is our ability
to represent ourselves.

When you're talking
about inclusion,

you're talking about
all these things.

Inclusion is meaningless
without empowerment.

If you're not empowering
marginalized groups,

then your movement
is toothless.

What do you remember
most about today?

Be...be ourselves.

Be ourselves.

Alright, that's powerful.

[music plays in the bar]

[dog barking]

Yeah, she's like
my first friend

that I wanted to
like go out and meet,

and like have her
like be my girlfriend.

I'm hoping like down the road

we will be able to like

maybe hug each other and kiss.

Maybe down the road maybe
share a house - not right now

because that would be
I think overdoing it.

What does a good
relationship mean to you?

What would a good
relationship be?

Like somebody that cares about
me and like wants to be with me

and help me and
like live with me

and maybe cook food together.

Maybe go to a Syracuse
basketball game.

I think everyone should
be able to get married

or meet other people.

And dating - they should
be able to do that

because it's their right.

And maybe down the road I might
be interested in having sex.

Maybe one time I would like
to maybe be a dad,

but I don't think right now.

[toothbrush noise]

Like watching colleagues
who work at the university

and people that are parents.

I'm like amazed of
how they go to work

and then come home

and like make sure
that every child is fed

and, I just, it's like
lots of work to be a parent.

[talking at the table]

I hope you're doing well.

Are you planning
on coming to my meeting?

It'll be starting soon.

I'm going to meet like
Meghan's family tonight

and it'll be fun.

I'm going to buy some flowers.

For Meghan or for her mom?
Or both?

For her mom.

Ohh - smart! Smart!

Do people have any good
like questions to ask them?

Sometimes people like having
questions asked about them.

Just stay away from
politics and religion.

Those are the two things
you don't need to talk about.

I'll just be myself
and be happy

and I'll just tell them

that I'm a nice person
and I'm Micah.

[giggles]

Hello.

Hi, how are you?

Good.

I'm Bridget.

Nice to meet you, Micah.
I'm Meghan's mom.

Hi. I'm Jim.

This is Ryan.

Are these for Meghan
or for me?

No, for you.

Oh, thank you!
That's really nice.

You can sit here.
I'm not gonna bite.

You're not?
No!

Well, Mom's going to sit here.

I'm not a vampire.

So, Micah, you don't drive
at all though, huh?

No, I don't. But I learned
how to take public -

Oh really?
Yeah.

And I have like paid staff
that can help me.

Oh, that's nice.
You have to do the timesheets?

Yeah, yeah.

You do that?

Yeah.
You do all that?

And it's work, but it's like a
cool thing to be in charge of.

Yeah. Yeah, that's great.

That's good.

That's great. We'll have
to teach Meghan, huh?

You'll have to teach her,
too, Micah.

Yeah, I will.

You'll have to show
her the ropes.

Show her the ropes.

About five years ago,
she dislocated her knee.

When we took her
to the hospital,

because she was over 18,

they could not give us
any information.

So for that reason, I feel like
we need to be her guardian

to make important
decisions for her.

I had a question. Like if her
and I took a picture,

would you be ok if I
posted it on like Facebook?

Sure. If it's ok with Meg.
Is it ok?

Mhmm.

Yeah, that would be fine.

I should ask you who do you
want to be president?

Uh oh.

Uh, I -

I'll probably think about it.
I'm not sure yet.

Yeah.

Hey, you finally
got him to smile.

He's not gloomy.

So it's nice to get
to meet you finally.

Meghan talks about
you a lot, Micah.

Yeah, I know.

Right?
Yes.

But uh, it was good food,
thank you.

Bye.

Thank you for the flowers.
That was nice.

They seem like
very friendly and nice.

Yeah, I told you - laid back?
Yeah.

I am a little surprised

that they want to
try to get full,

full, full um -

Guardianship?
Did they mention that?

Yeah. No, no, I think, I think
it's going to work out good.

And I'll learn but I just
want to make sure

that she knows how
to advocate for herself.

This is a checklist
and it tells you

what kinds of artwork

the colleges are looking for.

Have you done any portraits

or figure drawings
in Mr. Z's class?

Yeah.

Still lifes?

Yeah.

Remember when you drew this?

Yeah.

There's another one
that you did here.

Remember when
you did this one?

Yeah.
Alright.

So instead of Mr. Z's
classroom, right,

you get to make
maybe sculptures

or 3-dimensional - well,

3-dimensional sculptures
or more paintings

or drawings in
a bigger space, too.

Are you excited for that?

Yeah.
Yeah?

Alright, we'll look at that

and when we do our
portfolio classes,

we can focus on some of those.

Whether it's college, trade
school, something - students

need something beyond
a high school education.

Going to college
for the sake

of going to college
isn't important.

Going to college
for the sake of bettering

his life, financial success -

So we'll have to get you
looking at the master

piece of artwork.
Did you start that yet?

If he actually wants
to go himself

and it's not just sort of
being pushed on him,

that's the most
important thing.

Start working on
that today, alright?

Hi, Naieer.

We, as a society,
have overvalued college

and undervalued the trades.

Those are good paying jobs.

Those are jobs
that aren't leaving.

[bus engine]

Hi, Carlos.
Good.

You're gonna be what?

An assistant.

Are you a little nervous?

No.

There ya go.

The paper and the rods -
actually passing them to me

is actually a really
big help because if not,

I'd be stuck trying to grab
the papers by myself.

There ya go.

♪ ["More Heavy" by Bosq plays]

I think because of Naomie's
unconditional love

she has for what she does...
when she smiles,

she just lights up the room.

Thank you Naomie.

And I think it's
a "win win" for everyone.

This is how to
do well in school.

This is how to not
get in trouble.

This is how to wash dishes.

But why do I have
to do work like that?

This is how to take a shower.

This is how you ignore
someone who is mean to you.

But why does anyone
be mean to me, big brother?

Stay focused.
Be positive.

[dog barking]

I've been living in Rhode
Island my whole life,

and I love travelling.

But I can't just up
and leave my sister.

So that definitely
holds me back - a lot.

♪ ["I Got the Juice"
by Moetsky plays] ♪

Yeah.

Last video I put out -"Got
the Juice" -

she's been watching
that every day.

She's like running up
her data plan.

Here's my little sister,
right here.

She brought her
camera crew with her.

♪ Fall in love, fall in love

♪ To sex, money,
cars and clothes. ♪

I feel like I'm an artist now.

I feel like I'm more all-around.

It's not just like one thing.

I can do everything,
from writing a song

to shooting the video

and whatever - all that stuff.

[Steven sings "Got the Juice"]

I think Naomie could
definitely live on her own

if she had like a good set-up

and had someone coming in,
checking in on her.

You know, kind of putting
a blueprint for her,

that she can learn and figure
out how to do on a daily basis.

I think she'd definitely
be good at that.

Who knows, maybe
the Empire Beauty

School - who knows what
that could lead to?

♪ Yeah, girl I got the juice,
yeah, baby girl ♪

♪ I got the juice

Hey, Naomie.
Hey.

Hi, sweetheart.

How you guys doing?

Come on in.

Are you still ok
with doing the towels?
Yeah.

Remember Melissa
at the front desk?

Yeah.
Helping her out

when the customers
come in to greet them?

Yeah.

Ok. And then fundraising.

So we're going to be
looking for you

to help assist with that.

Yeah.

Are you ok with that?
Yeah.

We want to offer you "Project
Assistant" at $12 an hour.

How does that sound, honey?

Yeah.
Yeah?

You want to be part
of the Empire family?

Make some money -

Oh, you want to
make some money?

So you can go out for lunch?
Yeah.

Can I have my hug?
Yeah.

Yeah.
Welcome aboard, honey.

Do you want to meet our
newest Empire employee?

Awesome! That's so great!

Congratulations.

I want a big hug, too.
Thank you for all your help.

You were very good.

♪ ["Shade from the Sun"
by Matisyahu plays] ♪

Awesome.

I'm happy today.

You're happy today.

I did it.

You did it! Awesome.

♪ ♪

Here you go - I got it,
I got it.

Yeah, so you start on the left
side and you go to the right.

Get next to him, Emma.

Ah, thank you!

That's a great picture.

[graduation music plays]

[names of graduates are called]

[names of graduates are called]

Micah Fialka-Feldman.

Certificate, School
of Education.

[cheers and clapping]

♪

How about over here, Micah?

Is that ok?

You want alumni on this?

Yeah.
Alright.

When Micah was in high school,

the Director of
Special Education,

he sort of made a joke
and then he said,

"Oh, you're all going to
go - you think you're going to

go to Brown University?"

And the whole staff laughed.

So what you did is open doors
that very few others have done.

There's more doors to open.

Absolutely. There's
no question. Absolutely.

I'll like be around still.

You have to do it again.
It's on the wrong side.

Oh, yes. Thank you.

You coming back to Michigan?

No, I don't live
there anymore.

You don't live there?
No.

What are you going to do
the rest of your life?

I'll think about that
Tuesday at my meeting.

Sounds fair.

I'll come by and say hi.

Oh good!

I'm not like leaving
after graduation.

I'm gonna be here still.

[violin music plays in the tent]

Micah and I live closer
to each other

than we do to our parents.

And I don't know
if anyone knew

that that was going to be
possible in his life.

It's something that like
makes me emotional

because like it's just these
constant reminders

that you don't know
what people are going to do.

Hi.
Hi, Micah.

Does it still happen
in schools

where people have really
low expectations for kids?

All the time.

If you give somebody a label
of a 40 IQ, right,

what are our expectations
of that person?

But I'm going to have
to cut this off

so we can talk about
the next piece.

1980 to now - the
Self-Advocacy Movement.

And Micah, you're going to
talk about this one, right?

Yeah.

Ed Roberts was the founder of
the Independent Living Movement

and he helped get the first

ever disability
group in California

and here and around the whole
like country and stuff.

The thing from
the New York Times,

yeah, I have some comments.

I'll say that lots of
people in society

still think that people
with disabilities

still have the mindset
of sending them away.

We can make differences
be problematic.

We can make differences
be what divides us.

Or we can make differences
be the thing

that makes us stronger.

Uh, here's my family - my mom,
my dad,

and like my younger sister,

and they helped me
go to college and stuff.

I kind of like watched
my parents fight for me

and then kind of
helped me understand

that sometimes you have
to like fight

to like get what you want.

We're coming up on
lavender...grape vines.

It's a perfect picture
on a summer's day.

Jesse was, and still is,
a force in this world.

We need to be able to listen
to all who are marginalized

by these misguided

and false
measurements of worth.

As Jesse said in his last poem,

"I'm a poet. I speak through
my poems, and people listen.

The world is my book.
I hear all its voices."

What college do you think
you're going to go to?

Do you know yet?

Nah.

Do you want
to go to college?

Yeah.

Anyone here like to sing,
act, dance, paint?

A lot of you guys?
Alright. That's awesome.

So I want to take you up
to the fourth floor.

Alright guys, down this hallway
are all our new art studios.

You can get credit
towards your degree

for doing things you enjoy
like painting and sculpting.

Do you have any idea
what you want to study?

Engineering.

Engineering, great.

Business.

Art.

Art. You do art now?

Yeah.
Are you any good?

Yeah.

♪ ["Built to Survive"
by Matisyahu plays] ♪

We have over 150
clubs on campus.

So we send students to over
150 countries around the world.

You saw the art department?

Yeah.
Yeah, was it cool?

Yeah.

♪ I am alive.
I have survived. ♪

♪ My time is here.

Was it a good trip overall?

Yeah.

What did you like better?
This or BC?

This.

♪ One more chance
One more day ♪

♪ To find a way to say

♪ What I forgot yesterday

♪ Am I built to survive?

♪ Fading colors melt the skies

♪ Shifting winds,
♪ sand storms of time

♪ I am yours, you are mine

♪ I am love, play my strings

♪ Play my heart,
♪ my memories