At the Philosophers' School (2018) Movie Script

AT THE PHILOSOPHERS' SCHOOL

DIRECTED BY

FERNAND MELGAR

Who is this?

No. Don't climb up.

What did I just say?

Albiana, there's a hole.

You could fall.

Say, "Aah."

Mommy's here, Emma.

Get in!

You're going to play ball!

Mommy's here, Emma.

We're going to play ball together.

No, Albiana, you stay there.

Your sister is going to get the ball.

No. No.

Albiana.

IT'S NOTHING, EMMA.

Albiana!

Don't look at her.

Albiana!

Emma, Emma. Albiana!

Mommy's here.

Don't hit your sister!

Albiana.

No, it's me.

If I'm not mistaken,

Albiana turns 5 on August 15th?

Yes.

It's important that

she start school well

and that it goes well.

For you, too.

For it to go well,

we know from experience

that it has to start

with a certain number of days.

We can't just say

that we only start on Mondays.

It doesn't make sense.

I think it's important

to have 15 full days

with the noon meal.

Because...

She'll eat lunch here, right?

Afterwards,

we could consider mornings,

and if all goes well,

we'll switch to 2 full days.

- That's a lot for her.

- Do you think it's a lot?

Yes, but we'll try it first.

- A lot for whom?

- For Albiana.

Just for Albiana?

Or for Mom too?

It's hard.

Yes, it's the first time.

She's my first, too.

My first child.

You're used to it for the second.

So, she's the eldest,

the firstborn, as they say.

That explains why

you worry so much about her.

- Right.

- It's more difficult.

Maybe that's also what makes it...

so difficult.

Come on. Shall we get the spaghetti?

Come, Louis.

Come.

Louis, shall we put it in the pot?

Come.

Put it in the pot?

Go quickly and see if she's there.

She'll come.

- Papa.

- We'll wait a little. Go ahead.

Is she here?

Go look out the window.

Who's down there?

She's not there?

Still not.

We'll wait a little longer.

Huh?

- Wait a bit more?

- It's broken.

You broke it?

Why did you break it?

Want a new one?

Don't grind your teeth.

Don't grind them.

Is it going to be tough

for us with Louis?

How will it go?

Please tell us about it.

What will make him panic

is all the people.

Too much noise and people.

For now, we can't do anywhere public

like restaurants and stores.

- OK.

- We can't go in with him.

- He'll go in, but...

- When he leaves,

he leaves shouting and throwing

yogurts and whatnot on the floor.

He wants to get it all.

He's overwhelmed.

It's too much for him.

- He panics.

- There's a lot of work to do.

That's all.

I think I got the message.

- What do you expect from the school?

- Everything.

Please explain.

For him to learn to speak

as soon as possible, for starters.

Then what follows,

for him to manage to say

something like "I hurt,"

which he can't yet.

In terms of diet,

does he have allergies?

None that we know of,

but there are

two more complicated things.

He still doesn't chew,

so you have to blend everything,

like purée or soup.

Does he put things in his mouth

and chew like this?

No.

When will he come to school?

Every day? Is he tired?

If he does a morning, for example...

He's never tired.

- Never tired?

- No.

So we can take him every day?

Until six o'clock in the evening.

How are you?

So you're not sleeping, huh?

We're getting in the car.

Here we go.

Her foot is stuck.

Thanks.

There.

Nice and easy.

Where are you now?

What we wanted to do today was give

- some direction.

- Maybe.

Right, it's true that...

About how we carry her.

She's very hypotonic,

so that means she's heavy,

for starters,

but on top of that,

she often lets herself go.

So... yeah, it's not easy.

We always try to pick her up

from the pelvis, not just under...

But it's hard sometimes.

If she goes left or right, we follow.

Right, but she can also...

- Cry.

- That's right.

That's new too.

It's a new thing these days.

- Her crying?

- Yeah.

Because she...

She's better able to express herself.

For as smiley as she is, there are

also times where she's had it.

At least she's able to show us

when something's wrong,

but it's true that sometimes,

it's difficult to...

to really know why.

Well, it's true that when...

In general, we try...

to console and comfort her

as best we can

but we feel powerless at times,

I have to say.

She also has a tone...

She gets a little upset,

and you can feel it's a little...

She wouldn't move at all before.

Lately, with the change, we can see

her little hands reaching her mouth,

moving around...

That's it, that's better.

Do you want

to do it yourselves later?

It's OK if it bleeds a bit

or something like that.

It can happen from time to time.

But normally...

There's a small scab there

that's healing.

That's good.

It's got to be...

There.

That's it,

and when you see the little drops,

then it's all good afterwards.

All right.

It's good for about half an hour

since there's more than 250.

It's never easy to suddenly

separate from your child

even if school is good for them.

- But it's a step further.

- Of course.

Thinking,

"Now it's in others' hands."

Yeah.

Do they play with

the plastic kitchen a lot?

I think it takes up space.

If not, put it in the hut outside.

Is there a lot of stuff there?

Yeah, we'd have to sort it out.

I should stop soon,

my eyes are crossing.

So, you're interning now?

- Yes.

- But you're with us all year?

- Yeah.

- OK.

Then you're done

at the end of this year?

I graduated this year.

- Yeah.

- Now, I'm getting...

- Finding a discipline?

- Yes.

OK.

When kids come to our class,

it's mostly...

to learn how to be in a classroom.

I always say

they're learning the school trade.

So they...

How to wait their turn, stay seated,

and take others into account.

Moreover, our students

have particularities.

Each one has their own.

We take those into account as well

and go at their pace.

Everything is new

at the beginning of the year.

It's new for the kids

and new for the parents.

It's new for the intern

arriving here as well.

At the same time,

you still have to be there

and do the things we ask of you,

so it's very tricky.

That's it.

- See you Thursday then.

- Yeah.

- OK.

- Nice to meet you.

I'm a little apprehensive,

but I'm delighted to work here.

Yeah, don't hesitate

to say so when...

When there are issues.

RUE DES PHILOSOPHES SCHOOL

ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES

- Is that today's schedule?

- Yes, it's today's schedule.

I'm sticking it there because

I'm not sure it will stay in place.

We usually greet them on the chairs.

Then they do it?

Right, you do it with them.

Some can choose,

but right now, I don't know...

It's day one, they'll be excited.

We have no idea how it's going to go.

For Léon and Louis,

who are two autistic children,

it's apparently quite important

that we set up rituals

with objects to get them used to it.

You pick me up at school.

Right hand now.

Good morning!

Can you say hi?

Hello.

You can bring me them

or put them in the bags,

and then...

Whatever you want.

Albiana, are we going to class too?

You can come with Dad if you want.

You can sit down.

Good morning, Léon.

See, there are friends here.

Can you say hello to him?

Oh dear,

you have to let her go, Léon.

You can say, "Good morning."

Good morning, Kenza.

Good morning, young lady.

Oh, yes.

We've prepared them,

and we'll give them to you

- every day.

- Yes? What's up?

Bye, bye!

Louis, come back

into the classroom.

Daddy!

It's the same at home.

- Léon, you stay here too.

- See you later.

- See you!

- Have a nice day!

Bye.

Bye, bye.

I don't think she understood.

Goodbye.

What are you looking for?

Sitting down? OK.

- A bird? I'm not sure there is one.

- Daddy?

Daddy is at home.

She's coming back.

He's working.

Daddy's at home.

Yours too. Both of them.

Does he work hard?

Home.

Here, we're at school.

Oh, they drank it all again.

At school.

Is it nighttime?

- Daddy!

- Shall we go play?

Daddy!

Yes, yes, easy.

Look, do we want some blue?

Let's see.

Hi there.

- Your turn, Albiana.

- Chloé?

Look at how pretty it is.

Wow.

Great!

- A little more? It's done after.

- No!

Just a bit more, Léon.

No!

- No.

- Hang on.

Yeah, I see you've had it.

Let's take off the apron.

Léon? You did really well.

You can go play for a while.

Here you go.

You can go play.

So, Léon.

He didn't want to eat.

- Does he eat at home?

- Yes.

Come here, Léon.

She had another bag, no?

Or was it the diapers?

I thought there were two.

I got the diapers right here.

Come, Léon.

Look.

Look, Léon.

Look, it's Shaqiri.

Who's that?

"Switzerland."

Look here, "Switzerland."

Come on, Léon, say "Switzerland."

- Switzerland.

- Yes, good.

What's this? Albanian.

Wait. No, no!

That's a tiny Shaqiri.

OK.

Léon, what did you do?

That's why I didn't want

to get out my cards.

Oh no, really.

I've had enough of it.

- I'm done.

- You're done already?

You are done.

Wait a minute.

Then I'll bring you a drink.

OK? Yeah, he's thirsty.

Oh yeah, you were thirsty.

Until he was 18 months old,

Léon developed totally normally,

like all children do.

He was able to say words

when he was a year old,

even say two words

to make small sentences.

He was able to hold a spoon.

He could do all these things.

All of a sudden,

from one day to the next,

something changed,

and he forgot everything.

Absolutely everything.

No more words, no more interests.

He wasn't there.

Really, we could call him,

but he wouldn't react.

- So, all of a sudden...

- From one day to the next.

We don't know if it's something

that happened to me

because I had a significant surgery

that got really complicated.

I almost died.

My husband arrived at the hospital

with the four children,

maybe not a good idea

since I was hooked up to machines.

I wasn't in great shape.

It's true that just then,

all four were in shock.

After that, my husband saw...

After that, he had a lot of trouble

calming down

both Léon and Maxime

and the two older ones as well.

For me, who was away

from home for 10 days,

I really saw a change

in Léon that really struck me

when I came home

because when I came home,

he didn't come to me.

He stayed

alone in his room for hours.

He would stare at an object

and nothing interested him.

The doctors had explained to us

that unfortunately, Léon can

very well make a lot of progress

and from one day to the next,

just like that, go back to 0.

We said to ourselves, we hope

it won't always go back to zero!

We ask them in turn

to build a tower with the boxes.

They take their turn,

and it just has to stay up.

It's...

It's math, right.

After, maybe we have

a moment to paint.

- Yes, paint.

- Care.

- Hmm?

- Care.

How was it yesterday?

- It was... Oh, going home?

- Yes.

Yeah, I was tired.

I mean, I think

it's hard work.

Because I think

we still have a big responsibility.

But it went well.

I wouldn't make it

if I were on my own.

Yeah, as an intern.

Even I wouldn't be able to

handle all that by myself.

We need to be a team

for this class.

That's for sure.

Come, Léon.

It's time for welcoming.

We are going to sing the song

to say hello.

Léon, you can come

sit next to Sophie.

We're going to sing.

Come say hello to Kenza.

We'll sing, and after,

we'll talk about new people.

Through the open window

Hello, hello

Through the open window

Hello to the day

Hello, Albiana

Hello, Louis

Hello, Kenza

Hello, Chloé

Hello, Léon

And hello to the teachers!

Louis, there are a lot of things

in this notebook.

"Hello, I've added a cap

if you can get him to wear it."

- And cabbages.

- He wants to sing "Cabbages."

We'll sing that after.

No, Albiana!

Whose notebook is this?

No hitting, Albiana.

Oh.

Who is that?

Léon.

There's a man over there.

- Come see.

- Who is it?

Léon? Is this your notebook?

Who is that?

It's me.

- It's me.

- Daddy?

- Léon.

- Daddy?

Did Daddy write this?

Bring home.

"Hello. Léon was not well

after coming home.

"He was very thirsty and hungry.

"He drank a lot from the bottle

and ate a lot, so after,

"he wasn't feeling very well.

"The fact that he doesn't want

to eat and drink during the day

"isn't good for him."

- He had a bottle yesterday.

- Yes, but he doesn't want it.

Even with syrup.

Oh, shoot!

Louis, can you put the school here?

The school.

Right now, we're greeting.

Put it right next to it.

Here. Yes, that's next to it too.

That's correct too.

- School.

- Yes, Louis, you're at school.

The cabbages!

You want to sing that?

Now, I suggest that we sing.

- So, what do we sing?

- Cabbages!

Shall we sing "Cabbages?"

- Have you sung it?

- Yesterday.

OK.

Do you know how to plant cabbage

In the way, in the way

Do you know how to plant cabbage

In the way that we do

They are planted with the feet

In the way, in the way

They are planted with the feet

In the way that we do

Oh, she dropped her slippers.

It's Albania's turn now.

It's Albiana turn. Léon is after.

You can sit down.

Louis, come here.

- After.

- You watch.

Louis!

This is one of

the important ideas to learn.

At school, it's one at a time.

Don't be mean, Albiana.

- No, not allowed.

- Go sit.

Put it on top.

Bravo.

Again. The green one.

The green box.

- Great, Louis.

- Bravo.

Your tower is so big!

Now, we go, "One, two, three!"

Yeah, you got it. Bravo!

Bravo!

See, that was great!

We can break the towers.

Louis, what cup did you take?

- This one?

- OK.

There.

Louis, are we going back

to the little bib?

The body doesn't want it.

No.

When it's not going well...

Here, Louis.

Here some water, Louis.

Go see with him, get some water.

Louis? Shall we get water?

Shall we go?

Careful.

So, you put one side in the hole.

Wait, let him drink.

It's OK, Louis,

we're not putting it on.

No, that one's for me!

This one's for Louis.

- Are you OK?

- Yes, I'm fine.

- What to say?

- I don't know.

- Where do we start?

- With today.

Yeah.

It'd be nice to have two more arms.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

It's complicated.

I don't think it's fair

for the kids or for us.

We're not starting off well.

No, we need someone.

They're all so different

anyway that...

- You have to monitor them.

- Yeah.

OK.

Look at that.

We're here!

That's right.

Are you happy?

Why don't you want to?

We're at school.

We wear slippers here.

Now run, and grab your backpack.

Are you ready?

Be careful not to get stuck.

One leg on each side.

Perfect, just like that.

Colors.

Look, what color do you want, Kenza?

Red or purple?

More this one.

Then we'll use purple.

That's a good choice.

This color you picked is beautiful.

Can you open your hand?

It's all wet, huh.

Yes. You'll do it after.

I painted your nails blue.

What will your mom say?

Huh?

Now we put it on the wolf.

We'll put it on his belly.

Are you ready? Way to go, Kenza.

You put your hand down well.

We're making Kenza's handprint.

Well done, Kenza.

You did some painting.

Here we go.

Put it in his hand.

No feet on the table, Kenza.

We don't do that.

It's not allowed.

Hey, Albiana, take it easy.

Kenza.

Ah, great.

Why are you waiting for...

This is Albiana's.

It's a banana,

and it's Albiana's.

Be careful!

It's over, I get it.

Come on, let's sit down to sing.

You can choose between the two.

I'll choose.

You can choose between the two songs.

These weeks of school are tiring,

aren't they? Yeah?

Oh, yes!

Do you want some more chocolate?

Is it good? It smells good.

I'll put it near your nose.

Yeah, well done.

It smells like chocolate.

Chocolate mousse.

Well done.

Can I help you a little?

That's good.

That's good. Well done.

No, but what Laura was saying...

I really need to look you

in the eyes, Kenza.

That's important to me.

Because you're looking at me.

Hi there!

One, two, three!

There.

Hi.

Stay there for a little while.

Where are you going?

Did you pee?

- Pee.

- Are you done?

You can leave it open a little bit,

and we'll put the diaper on.

You're fine on the toilet.

Now we have a nice, clean diaper.

- Thank you.

- Have a good afternoon.

- Have a good weekend!

- You too, bye!

Yes.

Are you OK?

- No, I'm not OK.

- What's wrong? Why?

You're not happy?

I'm not happy.

While he was eating his soup

The cat caught the bacon

If I run after the cat

- More.

- Then sing along with me.

If I run after the cat, he...

will scratch me

You're exhausted.

I went with Chloe

out into the hallway

to wait for her mom.

I thought she was coming right away.

Her mom arrived,

a little shocked that she was sitting

in her pink chair.

Then she said,

"Does she spend lots of time in it?

How's it going?"

I said, "We try to get her out

as much as we can,

"but we try to watch when we can

"and can't,

when it's better for her."

So I fed Chloé at noon

and came back up here a bit later

than the others,

since we need more time.

I brushed her teeth.

Then suddenly,

her mom was back,

standing there in the doorway.

By the bathrooms.

She immediately pulled Chloé

out of the chair

as if she needed to hold her.

It was pretty physical.

Yes, she held her,

and her mom broke down in tears

in the bathrooms over there.

She said she wasn't well

and that it was hard,

so I stayed there for a bit

to talk a little.

She really needed

to let it out because...

Then she said,

"What are you going to do now?"

I told her,

"I'll put her in the ball pit,

"or let her roam around

on all fours during nap time."

She put her in my arms and said,

"You're going to stay with Léa.

- "It'll all be OK."

- That's good.

"Mommy's going to be brave.

"She's going home."

- I was like...

- Was she able to leave?

Yes.

Did you get a diagnosis

right away when she was born?

Did you immediately know

that there was something

that was different with Chloé?

Pretty quickly.

She was super sensitive.

She was quickly affected

by everything, by noise...

Did she cry a lot?

No, she would withdraw

as if she was in a bubble.

We asked ourselves,

is she autistic?

Hard to imagine when you see her now.

Yeah, I used to take her out

for a stroll.

I would talk to her,

like any mother would,

and she would look at me

and just look away.

I felt like I was bothering her.

Then a year ago we were diagnosed

with mitochondriopathy.

Are you making dinner?

So you reached this new stage

in Chloé's life.

Starting school.

Everything is changing.

It's true, I was impatient

for school to start

because I knew very well

that she would like it

and because she needed it.

But I also was for myself

since my life was on hold

until she turned 4 and a half, so...

It's kind of like deliverance

because she didn't sleep well

until she turned three and a half.

That meant no nights out,

sleepless nights,

and no sleeping in.

Then, as we separated

in June last year,

I lived with both girls for a year.

Their father takes them

4 days a month.

- Every other weekend.

- Not weekdays.

So, I used to do a lot of sports

and couldn't anymore.

I didn't frequently see girlfriends,

and then...

I started having health problems.

That was the end of the rope.

Just having healthy children

is already very demanding.

At times, it feels like

that's all we do,

and on top of that,

you're running left and right,

no sleep, and...

Yes, that's it.

What's he doing?

Shall we wash your feet?

Shall we wash them?

They got lost in the foam.

Lost.

There's a swan.

First one to spot the lemon wins.

The same one as in the picture.

Where's the lemon?

Look, Louis.

Do you see a lemon?

Do you see one?

Let's take this one.

Can you put it in the basket?

There you go.

Good job, Louis.

Now we're going to buy apples.

We need six apples.

Three, four...

Two more.

Five, six!

Great! Good job!

Oh wow, it's so far!

Put it in the basket.

Can you put it in?

Good job, thanks, great!

- We're going to pay.

- We're going to the checkout!

So, the flour...

- or salt?

- It's all stuck up there.

Good. Give me your little finger.

Let's wet it.

Are you tasting the lemon?

- You know how.

- I want to play trucks.

We'd like to say,

"Nice, done like a leader."

Can we say that?

I want to play at the door.

No, we're in the kitchen.

The kitchen.

We're in the kitchen

and tasting the lemon.

In the kitchen!

Can you show me how

you taste the lemon, Louis?

Come on.

Come on! Be brave!

Good job! Good job, Louis.

No, keep it in your mouth.

Good job!

That's it.

We're done with the lemon.

More?

Good job, Albiana.

No, don't touch that.

- We're going to taste lemons.

- Albiana, quiet.

Albiana, please stop,

or you'll leave.

Hey, that's enough.

Squeeze!

Squeeze harder!

We're going to taste.

You're misbehaving, Albiana.

You're punished now, bye.

You're punished.

Chocolate is hazelnut with apple,

lemon, and sugar.

It's cool.

Do the first part well.

No, just roll it.

More.

Good job.

That's it!

Look Kenza, a snail.

Push.

Good job.

One snail for Léon.

When she was born,

they saw when doing the blood tests

that she had one chromosome 5.

It was hard to accept.

We've never...

We never...

We always saw her as a normal child,

not with one chromosome.

We'd do anything for her.

Even if sometimes

we exaggerate and...

You exaggerate?

What does that mean?

Well, if she's with her father,

it's even worse.

Her father lets her do everything.

Like a normal child,

she also needs to be told "stop,"

"no,"

that she must be quiet,

that there are things she can't do.

Yes, since I had my second,

I've started

- to set some limits for her.

- OK.

- How old?

- She's one.

It's hard...

When we came home from the hospital,

she got slapped.

The little one.

- It hurt.

- Yes, it's hard.

I never thought I would

also love the second one,

so my husband and I decided

that until Emma can defend herself,

this is what we'll do.

She goes with my in-laws,

and we'll see her during vacations.

All right.

Until she learns

how to defend herself.

Because... it's hard.

Do you notice any special needs

with motor skills

for your daughter, for example?

She can't go down the stairs.

Yes, I wanted

to discuss that as well.

She can't do that.

She throws herself.

She throws herself down the stairs.

She doesn't know.

She should not be allowed

to go alone.

If she's alone for two minutes,

she gets on the couch and jumps.

She's not afraid of anything.

- Does she sleep alone?

- No, she sleeps with me.

- In her bed, but in my room.

- OK.

She's beside you in her bed.

I wouldn't dare leave her.

There's never been a night

you slept without her?

No, that'd be too much for me

because she often has seizures

- while she's sleeping.

- Yes.

Epileptic seizures.

In another room,

I wouldn't know when she'll get them.

You don't get a full night's sleep?

No.

- You don't sleep well?

- No.

For 5 years?

- For?

- For five years?

For five years.

It's been five years.

Right, Albiana.

Up to now, you talked about it

with your family and doctors

since they were there.

- And that's it.

- That's it.

- I couldn't.

- Why?

There was something within

that wouldn't come out.

I had... a block.

I couldn't do it.

- Are you afraid of being judged?

- I was afraid...

- That they'd judge Albiana?

- That.

That people would look at you

sideways?

They'd stare.

It was hard for me.

Yeah.

They wonder.

They don't understand.

No.

Sometimes we can very well tell them

and then...

Starting school is also

a step towards that

because the specialized school

isn't the village school.

It's just as difficult.

Yes, that's...

Albiana!

- Look what you've done, come here.

- It's OK, don't worry.

- Albiana!

- It's out of paper.

But you can take some.

It's clean.

Albiana gave it to you.

But you've had

some tough conversations.

It's a relative.

They...

Albiana.

They had gone

and told other relatives

that I had a child who wasn't normal.

It was hard to find out

because Albiana is normal to me.

Regarding Albiana's own

teaching project in class?

Our main goal

is for her to be able to get into

an academic rhythm,

become a little schoolgirl,

for her to throw less and exhibit

better behavior in relation

to her in-class socialization.

We're a little helpless

as far as this behavioral side goes

that interferes with

her potential learning.

There are some of us

who are wondering

how to move forward with her.

- OK.

- It's also an issue of the parents

who make a point of saying

that she's a normal child.

That brought different things mind.

I wondered

if the parents were Muslim

since she doesn't eat pork.

And I thought,

"Is this girl..."

As far the community goes,

what's it like having

a disabled daughter in the family?

Does it go back to things like,

"Inshallah, it was God's will."

Are there things like that happening

that make it even more important

to say she's normal,

or else the community rejects you?

Do they believe that?

I think at home, she hears a lot

that she's like other little girls,

and at the same time,

she sees that her sister

doesn't live with them

like any other siblings do.

I'm sure how much she realizes this.

Sandrine?

Yes, so...

What's left to say?

One idea would be

psychomotricity for Albiana.

Individually.

I think it'd be

more suitable individually for now.

Let's go in.

Look.

So.

You found the house.

Look.

Do you remember the game?

What do you have to do?

You heard a noise.

It's Fabienne's students

making noise.

You're so high up now!

Go ahead.

Oh, watch out!

You fell down.

"Boom."

You went "boom," Albiana.

Look at me.

Let's do it again.

We'll redo it.

Go ahead, again.

Come here.

Come with me.

Go ahead, good.

Go this way.

Here, look.

No, you're going to the other side.

Taking a shortcut?

Ah! Stop at the bottom!

Stop.

You have to slow down, Albiana.

Albiana, we stop.

Are you tired?

We'll go around on the boat.

Come.

All aboard, Grammy, Grammy

All aboard, Grammy out on the water

When there are

some very big waves, the boat

splashes in the water

Slow down!

Yeah, great!

You're working hard.

Look, like this.

Press down.

Goodbye, Sandrine.

Goodbye, Albiana.

Hi, Louis.

Good morning, Madam.

Good morning.

Hi, Guillaume.

There's some wind, it's chilly!

Work hard.

Come on, Natalia.

Good.

No hitting, Louis.

No, Louis.

Good morning, Louis.

How was it?

It went fine.

- Good morning.

- Coming to school?

Good morning.

Are you coming?

Put on your backpack.

That's it!

Let's go.

No, you're not sitting properly.

Léon!

Calm down,

or I'll move you to another seat.

Louis, come and sit down.

Sit down, Louis,

or you can't play boxes.

So, today...

So, so!

- So!

- We're going out into the hall.

- Let's go.

- You'll work with the boxes.

Go ahead.

Come, Louis.

That's it.

Goodbye.

You want to be alone?

- Is it over?

- Sit on the little bench.

- Is it over?

- No, not yet.

Sit down.

Wait until I tell you.

Do you want to go back

to the boxes, Louis?

The boxes!

If you want to play,

you have to be quiet.

You have to be quiet to play.

Sit down, Louis.

Green box!

Next...

Wait, I haven't said it yet.

Are the boxes over?

No, not yet.

It'd be great if you played,

but you have to be quiet.

Oh! It fell!

Louis, do you want your turn?

I'm going to break the tower.

- The tower that can break.

- Yes, you can break it after.

But first, you must be silent.

You have to sit in silence.

Yes, quiet when sitting.

Give me your hand?

One...

two... three!

Again!

Louis, let's go back to the boxes.

OK? But first you have

to sit in the chair.

Bravo Albiana, you did a good job!

- What color do you want, Léon?

- Red.

The red one is small.

What about you?

Brown.

Go ahead, take the brown one.

I'm taking green.

Louis is drawing circles.

Very good, Chloé.

Very good!

Good work!

More songs.

Yummy,

Mommy and Daddy's little jars.

This is our first time

eating together, Léon.

Go ahead.

Show me how you eat.

It's salad.

She eats well...

Sorry, Louis.

Albiana's eating well!

Good, Chloé.

Good.

I want to eat on my own.

On your own?

Did you hear that?

- Go ahead, then, good luck.

- At least he's trying.

Good job, Louis.

You have to eat some gratin.

Great job, Léon.

That's good.

No, that's OK.

Good, right?

This meat is good.

That's good.

Do you want some more?

He's going to eat for now,

but later...

Want some more?

Louis, what do we sing?

- The little singing teeth.

- Scrubbing the little teeth.

Scrubbing the little teeth

with the toothbrush!

Now the water!

That's it, Louis.

All good.

Do you know what we're doing next?

We're going to put on bandages

and ointment.

You can't touch it.

You're hurting your hands, sweetie.

We can even put on ointment.

Ready?

Come here. Look.

We do as the doctor said.

What did he say?

Otherwise we have to go back

to the doctor.

Because you bite a lot.

You shouldn't bite.

You can't do that, sweetie.

See, it says "Stop."

It says "stop"

for hands in mouth, sweetie.

No, it says "Stop."

No, you can't do that.

It'll hurt you.

Let's put this on.

You got a boo-boo, sweetie.

There.

This way, you won't play for a while,

and it will heal.

There.

Look, it's good, Louis.

That's great.

Put it on?

There, good job.

That's great.

Now it doesn't hurt anymore.

See, it doesn't hurt.

Here.

We're not at the doctor's.

We're being doctors here.

After, play.

Yes, later, after your nap.

OK?

You said that you found out

about the diagnosis

when he was 2 years old.

He burned his hands.

- Second degree burns.

- It was long, huh?

We had to go

to the hospital every day

- to get the bandages changed.

- For how long?

About a month and a half.

That was the bandages.

Then about 3 months.

He had started nibbling

on pears and apples.

He had been chewing for 2 weeks.

Then, after 3 months of bandages,

nothing.

Basically, since the day

of the accident,

we could only feed him yogurts.

That's all that worked.

The first week, we thought,

"It must be the shock."

- He got burned on a stove?

- Yeah.

Since early January,

we've been back

into regular motherhood.

That's when you notice

things aren't going back to normal.

He wouldn't play anymore.

He hasn't gone back

to making towers

or doing puzzles or Legos.

He withdrew more and more.

Yeah, and he talked less.

Same for gestures.

He wouldn't wave goodbye.

Did doctors connect it to anything?

- No.

- OK.

And you?

Yes, we've made a connection.

With what we've told you,

we found one.

Yes.

Since school started,

there's been a dramatic change

as far as

his behavioral stability goes.

When he comes home,

he's full of happiness.

We can tell

that he's really enjoying all of it.

Shall we go?

Shall we go into the snow?

Into the snow!

It's so great!

It's snowing!

Are you good?

Hold on tight.

- Done!

- Are you done?

- Swing.

- No, this one is Albiana's.

Come here, take another.

Swing.

When reading all the reports,

is everything more or less

related to this hand-burning episode,

or...

did that unfortunately happen

at the same time,

but it's not related?

With what the parents told us,

we agreed.

Now, I think the doctors

didn't necessarily agree.

Was there some kind of susceptibility

that triggered this event,

- or... is it unrelated?

- If there's a disorder

on the autism spectrum

or a form of autism,

it's not related to a trigger event.

Some things can be seen

early-on in development,

and maybe if we ask the specialists

who work with this child,

they'll tell you that there were

some developmental things.

Well, I think he's doing well,

but there was a lot of anxiety.

He puts his hands in his mouth more,

and then it gets all irritated

and infected.

But there are no after-effects

from the burn?

No.

Just like that,

and we put the corn on it.

We tell Stefania, "All good!"

- It's hidden.

- It's hidden!

Should I look for it?

Should I look for the yellow one?

Where's the yellow?

- Help her out. Where is it?

- Will you help me?

OK, Vanessa, help us.

Well then, I'll help you too.

Where's the yellow?

Yellow.

Wow!

You're so good, Louis.

Good job!

I'm hiding it for Louis.

- Hey.

- Hey!

Don't peek, Vanessa is hiding it.

Not yet, we're waiting.

Vanessa is hiding it.

It's ready!

- You can look now.

- Where's the yellow?

And the blue.

Look for it, Louis!

It's hidden pretty well, huh?

Ah!

- You found the blue one!

- Good job!

- Where's yellow?

- Let's put it here.

- You're so good at this!

- You found both.

The yellow too?

Wow!

- Bravo, Louis!

- After that, we put on music.

We'll play some music if you want.

Through the open window

hello, hello

Through the open window

Hello to the parents

And hello to the teachers

Welcome, everyone,

to your first parents' meeting.

For the first time in our class.

I have to tell you

that we've noticed a huge difference.

Now, we all do the greeting together.

Every child is here sitting with us.

In our profession,

we're lucky to witness

changes and improvements

and all this progress

your children are making

day by day.

With Léon, for example, I can see

that he feels things even more now,

and he can say them.

We had been told

that Léon would never speak.

So, you should never give up.

For me, every day is a new step.

- Yes, every day.

- One step, another step.

It's not like he progresses

and then falls back anymore.

Now, it's always like this.

We can see it in Kenza too.

When the minivan driver shows up,

there's that response

that starts showing, you know.

She's all happy when she sees him.

It's impressive

since at the beginning,

she would shut down.

Yes, it's great.

Also, you giving her

a little morning snack

when we don't forget to pack one

is really great

because we know

she at least has that during the day.

We think, "Ah, well..."

We know that you do

this kind of thing,

and we feel less stressed

or less guilty

when we don't have the time

or chance to do it.

That's cool too.

What's all that?

What do you mean by that?

I don't know if you can hear me,

but I know you're listening

because you squeeze

your little fingers.

You know, the first time you cried,

we cried with joy, I promise.

We said to each other,

"Hey, her first self-expression."

You never cried

in your first two years.

Nothing.

Then it was... Wow.

We were with your mom,

and we hugged and cried

like never before.

We thought, "That's a good start."

You were crying with pain,

and we were crying with joy...

to have something...

to at least have a reaction from you.

Thank God.

Take off your jacket.

So...

I suggest that Albiana

do the orange pom-pom

because it's Tuesday.

Good morning, Léa.

- I'm here.

- That's right.

Good morning, Albiana.

See, she's working for Mommy today.

It's a performance for Mom.

Chloé, give your hand.

Say "Hello, Chloé," Albiana.

- Yes.

- Good job.

Let's say hi to Mommy.

- Hello, Mommy.

- Hello.

Give your hand.

Hello, Louis.

- Hello.

- That's really, really good. Bravo.

So, you are at school.

Now, there's the schedule.

Show mom, but you come

and put it on the board.

Now you do the schedule.

Bravo, yes.

Great!

Then the children have snack time.

We put it next to it.

There you go.

That's great work.

Mommy also thinks you're doing well.

Let's just explain to your mom

that the first few times

you did the greeting,

you threw all the cards on the floor.

We never said no

because she'd always

pick them back up.

Almost immediately.

She doesn't do that anymore now.

You can return to your seat.

Look, I'm here.

It's like that at home too

- when we want her to sit.

- She has moments.

It's not all the time,

but snack time is different today.

Yeah.

Like I said.

She's always like that.

Now, calm down.

We're not OK with that.

Neither is Mommy.

I think that before,

we could leave her be,

but we often have to watch her now.

- Does she ever hit you?

- Yes.

- Does she bite you too?

- Yes, quite often.

- Every day.

- Here too.

At home, every day.

How do you react?

Are you able

to explain to her

that you're not OK with it?

It's mostly when we change her.

She kicks us.

I've got bruises all over my legs.

This summer,

I don't know what I'll do

- to wear skirts.

- Your glasses fell.

I try to calm her down

in ways other than shouting

because if I shout,

it gets worse.

If I hold her like that,

she hits me with her head.

I feel like I'm being hit every day.

Sometimes I can't even

carry her anymore

because I'm so tired of her hitting.

She's quite strong, too.

It's like an adult were hitting me.

After, this is how it is.

All of a sudden, it's all out.

- She calms down.

- I'm not holding her back

But, well...

I need you to see that not only

is your daughter progressing

and that she's able to learn things

but also that there are

some tough moments for us.

But, for example,

if there's a time

where things are too complicated

with Albiana for me,

I say: "Listen, Léa,

you have to take over,"

and Léa then takes over.

- Is she pregnant?

- I think you could say that.

She has to be very careful...

Yes, we also protect our coworkers,

you know.

If I were pregnant today,

I don't know what I would've done.

Roll over.

OK?

Let's roll all the way to the mirror.

Hop.

Go, turn.

Let's roll.

You don't want

to be on your stomach.

Good.

Push off with your hand.

You really don't want to, eh?

No, you have to do it.

That's it.

Just like that, perfect.

Perfect.

Great, Kenza.

Now put your head in the middle.

Straighten up.

Raise your head.

Good.

Hey, Kenza.

Let's raise your head.

Raise your head, Kenza.

Go on. Good job.

Good job!

That's perfect.

Hello.

This morning,

I went on the potty.

I took a poo in the toilet.

Yes .

- Great.

- The teachers are happy.

Yes, us too.

I am too.

After that, I did some painting.

Yellow.

Hello.

That's why she had paint

on her fingers.

- It's great she's using the toilet.

- That's a good thing.

We're making progress.

Feeling dizzy, huh?

Mommy's tired.

Let's put you in your chair,

but I can't sing anymore after that.

I'm all out of breath.

Here we are.

Oh, yeah!

Should we swing, Kenza?

Should we?

Oh, the swing, the swing, the swing

What a sweet, a sweet story

You carry me away up high

To be among the birds

Oh, the swing, the swing, the swing

What a sweet, a sweet story

You carry me away up high

To be among the birds

Let's open it.

Hang on.

Knock, knock, knock.

See you later, Chloé.

See you later.

Are you ready?

Click-clack, peanut,

green mouse, say cheese!

He was a little man

Say, our pig ate a lot today.

Did you see that?

Yes, he's always hungry.

What does he have to eat?

- Tomatoes?

- No.

- Carrots?

- No.

Eating hand.

He wants to eat your hand?

No, that's not possible!

- No.

Chloé will take her first steps soon.

Right, Chloé?

But today I saw something

that looked like an attempt...

Something I haven't seen before.

She wants so badly to be able

to be autonomous

that...

Yeah, that would...

That would be great.

Is it a congenital problem

or a problem that occurred

after birth?

No, it turns out it's genetic.

In the majority of cases,

it's transmitted by the mother.

But then again,

a lot of people said to me,

"You can't feel guilty."

I never did.

That's good.

It never occurred to me

that I was guilty

or responsible for anything.

- That helps a lot, too.

- Yes, of course.

It's true.

Well, yes,

but many parents feel guilty

in one way or another

while you can't do anything.

- That's how it is.

- Yeah.

When we got the diagnosis

when she was one, they told us

that she could die at any time.

- Right.

- And then...

That she may never speak

and that they were skeptical

that she could ever stay seated.

It hurt so much

when the doctor told me

that I thought I would stop

asking questions,

and that in the end,

it was too much of a burden on me.

At the end of the day,

they didn't know anything.

We started

setting up a lot of things.

- What is it, Chloé?

- Toast.

Toast! That's great,

you're asking for a piece of toast.

It's true that I put a lot of things

into perspective as a result.

That's also slightly why...

her father and I

started clashing a little bit.

Since I was always with her,

feeling so exhausted,

I thought,

"Why are we getting angry

"over not vacuuming, or...

"I don't know,

all sorts of stupid things."

"The fridge is empty,"

"Why do we care?!"

Or... "Loosen up."

Basically, stop acting

so uptight like this.

I can't get back into that swing,

get ready, run, fetch,

bring it back,

and miss all those

nice little moments.

Despite it all, not knowing

how long she has left...

I can never lose sight of that.

And also...

I'm trying to learn

to accept that one day,

she might not be here anymore.

But we'll have

so many beautiful memories.

Right? Our little ray of sunshine

who makes us boats in the water.

Chloé really teaches us

how to live one day at a time.

On three!

Don't start until then.

One, two, three!

Go, Léon!

Oh the croco, oh the croco,

oh the crocodiles

From the banks of the Nile they left,

say no more about it

Oh the croco, oh the croco,

oh the crocodiles

From the banks of the Nile they left,

say no more about it.

Chloé, what are we singing?

The...?

Chloé, come closer,

I can't hear you very well.

Léon, let her do it,

she can do it alone. Come here.

Little hands that clap

On your marks!

Get set! Go!

THE ELEMENTS OF "SELF-DISCOVERY"

THROUGHOUT THIS INTERNSHIP,

I WAS ABLE...

Next stop: Yverdon-les-Bains.

To do a short evaluation

of the near-end of your internship.

You've been here since August.

What's the difference between today

and your first Tuesday?

- Your first week?

- A lot of differences.

First, I think it would be

the background noise.

All the noise.

Like I explained when I started,

at the end of the week,

I would be on the train,

close my eyes,

and I could hear each child's screams

in my head.

As if it were going away.

Now I don't have that anymore.

I don't even hear it anymore.

That's it, really...

The first week, I thought,

"How will I do all year?"

The diapers, too.

That was difficult.

It's still not,

"Yes, we're changing diapers!"

I just have to do it,

and it's much better for the child

than if we just left it

and let it leak and get worse.

Better do it when you have to,

basically.

What do you prefer doing

in your work here?

I like, for example,

recreational activities

or when you have to play with them.

I like that.

It's nice to see the children...

actually making progress

because you're there for them.

You see?

Yeah, it makes me happy.

A session like this afternoon's story

where Louis could stay,

well, you were the one there.

It's really great.

I'll miss them.

One, two, three!

We're going to take the bus.

- Hi, Léon.

- Hello.

Are you ready too, Léon?

Are you going again?

- The bus.

- Yeah!

- Are you nervous?

- Yes, my heart's pounding.

- A little?

- A little bit, yes.

First time?

First time, yes.

First time with Kenza.

- Great.

- Yes.

Camping is good.

Yes, it's good

so that she can discover

her little town.

This is natrium bicarbonate.

Put five drops in a small bottle cap

and collect it with this

to inject it.

I don't like to take this one

there's a risk of using more.

- OK, fine.

- This is for nighttime.

- It's ready.

- Yes, sounds good, Chloé.

There.

See you tomorrow!

We can say see you tomorrow!

Have a good trip.

Yeah!

You're singing!

Yeah!

The famous river...

Are you OK?

I've got you.

Put your arm out.

That's it.

I'll be sleeping here.

The AC is making noise there.

Right next to Chloé.

Nighttime PEG.

60 milliliters per hour.

Are you ready?

Let's switch it on.

I'll tell you goodnight!

I'll give you a kiss.

You give me one too.

Oh, thank you.

Good night, Chloé. See you tomorrow.

Good night, Chloé.

Did you see, Chloé?

This is for Daddy, this is for Mommy.

Go ahead.

- You got it.

- You're a champ!

This is for Léa!

- Go ahead.

- For school!

That's it. Good job.

Hey!

Louis, Léon, Albiana...

Chloé.

We have to go get Chloé.

Can someone go get Chloé?

Come say hello.

Who is this?

Say, "Hello, Helena."

Albiana, look.

Don't touch the baby.

You can look at her.

Did you see?

You didn't know it was a girl.

I was certain it was going

to be a boy, I'm good at that.

I said...

I don't remember,

but I know you said, "I don't know."

You should know

it's not a big deal if he cries.

He's allowed to, he's new.

It's no problem.

The other boys

were just like that last year.

OK?

Oh, you're not happy.

empty the bag, OK?

That's it, Chloé, good.

Sit next to Chloé, Kathia.

You're so good at drawing!

Look at how well he draws.

Wow, that's great.

Great.

Keep going.

I'll give you another color.

Look.

This is beautiful, Chloé!

Good job.

This is the mill. The snail.

- The Sun.

- The Sun? Do you want the Sun?

The Sun is pretty.

Yes, the Sun is pretty.

Are you ready? Go ahead.