[This tape was transferred from a 16mm film original by Colorlab for the National Library of Medicine, June 2010, NLM Call Number HF4380] [Numbers count down.] [This film has been acquired for distribution by the National Medical Audiovisual Center] [Music, and images of a country road] [Narrator:] There was a time in the not-too-distant past when society hid its mentally retarded behind rock walls and shuttered windows, and fed them and wrapped them in a semblance of clothing, and tried to forget them, and tried to blot out an abstract feeling of guilt for having brought them into the world. And tried to blot out a more tangible feeling of guilt for not knowing what to do with them or not choosing to do what was known that might in some way enrich the lives of those labeled with that broad catch-all name: retarded. [People look out of the windows of a drab institutional building.] For too many years, it has been a wilderness, uncultivated waste, barren and empty. For too many years, the mentally retarded, living in places called institutions, have lived in the bewilderment of a wilderness. [Girl:] Sherry? Sherry? Today, in a few places across the land, some retarded individuals are being helped to find a way out of the wilderness. [Girl:] Sherry? Sherry? [Music] [A Way Out of the Wilderness] [John Sutherland Productions, Inc. MCMLXVIII] [Narrated by Lorne Greene] [Music composed and conducted by Jimmy Bond] [Camera: Jean Mickelson, Lighting: Bill Parry, Sound: Ove Sehested] [Editor and Assistant Director: Wilton Chase] [Written, produced and directed by: Dan E. Weisburd] [A John Sutherland Production] [Girl:] Sherry, come on we're going to be late. [Narrator:] This small private institution in the Midwest is a new kind of home for retarded children. It has been designed and scaled to look like a home rather than an institution, a home where retarded children are prepared for their return to the outside world. [Female:] What's the matter, Kent? [Kent:] I can't find a shirt to wear. [Female:] You can't? Well what's wrong with this one? Mother just sent it to you and I think it's real pretty. Okay? Come on, get it on. Hurry up, you're going to be late for therapy. [Narrator:] What sets this home apart from many institutions is often quite simple. Bedrooms are small, four beds to a room. Silverware and dishes instead of institutional plastic trays and large spoons. [Female:] Remember Valerie, seven children at each table. [Yalerie:] Okay, yes. [Female:] Alice, out there that's a tree, say tree, down on the ground, bird, say it for me, bird. [Narrator:] Windows everywhere allow the outside in and encourage a child to think about the world beyond. [Harry:] That's it, make your curves. Now we'll use the flat cinderblock for that, go ahead and work on the curves with this. [Kent:] Wow, there sure is lots of clouds out there. Harry, I think it's going to rain. Harry, I think it's going to rain if it's dark outside. [Harry:] Well, if you don't go finish your birdhouse, there's going to be a lot of wet birds out there. [Laughing] [Narrator:] Learning experiences are carefully structured, yet there is little sense of regimentation. [Girl:] Do you like it, Mrs. Sanderson? [Mrs. Sanderson:] Oh I like that, I like the red mouth. She really looks like she's smiling. Is that yellow felt you used for the hair? [Girl:] Hmm. You should see what Sherry found. [Mrs. Sanderson:] Well, let's go see. [Girl:] Okay. [Mrs. Sanderson:] Sherry, do you have something to show me? What is it? [Girl:] Show it to her, Sherry. [Sherry:] I found this leaf in the woods, I like it. [Mrs. Sanderson:] Oh, I like it, too. [Music] [Narrator:] The children lead busy, active lives. The waking hours of their days are programmed by professionals of various disciplines. [Male teacher:] Push ahead. Push ahead. Get your balance, get some height now. Get some height, okay higher, watching the ball now, playing catch Sherry. Here we come. That's it, okay. Another one, right back to me. [Female medical staff member:] At six days of age, Robert had a craniotomy and since then there's been a seizure problem. [Doctor:] He's also had some developmental problems, too. [Female:] That's right. [Male observer] Why did he have a craniotomy? [Female:] He had a subdural hematoma. [Narrator:] There is a large state university nearby, and the permanent staff of the home is augmented by doctors, student teachers, and other professionals in training. [Doctor:] Eyes have some strabismus. Has he had an ophthalmological evaluation? [Female:] According to our family history, no. [Doctor:] Okay. Let's give me...show me your teeth here. He's also got some orthodontic problems here. Has he had an orthodontist have a look at this teeth? [Female:] No. [Doctor:] We should have that as a consultation, too. [A boy practices playing a xylophone with help from a teacher.] [Narrator:] The equation is a relatively simple one. With university cooperation there is more staff, more professionalism, and therefore, more personalized attention. [Female:] Now then, Kent, I want you to pick each fruit out and tell me what its name is and put it on the picture that matches it. [Kent:] A banana. [Female:] A banana. Good, Kent. [Female:] John, what is that? [John:] What? [Female:] What is that? [John:] Ball. [Female:] Ball. [John:] That's a ball. [Female:] John, you say ball? [John:] Ball. [Female:] Ball. [John:] Ball. [Female:] Good boy, John. [Female:] Let's see if you can get another letter to mail, Sherry. This word is... [Sherry:] Shoe. [Female:] Very good. Tell me something about shoe and you can mail it in the mailbox. [Sherry:] It's a brown shoe. [Female:] Very good. Here's your letter. [Sherry's father:] Sherry is a pretty girl, somewhat like her mother. She's not like some of the children in the school here and we're mainly concerned about the, the future and what she can do and can learn. [Female:] We were talking about this just the other day at a staff conference. It was brought up that Sherry gets along very well with the girls in her group, and we were thinking about the problems that these girls are going through at this age. Let's say if adolescence is a troubled time for normal average children, it must be an even more troubled time for the retarded child. [Narrator:] A child must not be abandoned, not by parents and not by staff. That is the main philosophy in this home for retarded children. [Female:] You're all nice and clean. You can go put your shirt on. Now, now, none of that running! And go get washed up. [Music, and children seated at round tables for a meal.] [Narrator:] A semblance of home, a feeling of humanness. [Male:] Who would like to say the prayer tonight? Kent, you? [Kent:] Our dear heavenly father, we thank for the food, we thank for this day, and thank you for school. Amen. [Narrator:] Though many of these children should not be in an institution of any kind, because of family situations or a lack of available community services, there is little else for them anywhere if not here. [Male:] Are you excited? [Children:] Yeah! [Male:] You must be on your best behavior. You may spend all of our allowance or just part of your allowance. Do you understand, Gary? [Children:] Yeah, yeah. [Male:] Let's go. [Narrator:] A field trip, a chance to be a part of the outside world. An institution can never really be a home. It can never really show enough personal concern, but it can try. [All:] Dear Mom and Dad. How are you? I am fine. [Children in a classroom are learning to write a letter home.] We jumped on the trampoline today. I love you very much. Love. [Teacher:] Good. Remember to write it very neatly so that we can read it, and if you want to add anything else to it, you can, if you need help, then just raise your hand and I'll come and help you. [Music] [The children bend over their desks and write.] [Narrator:] Days filled with experiences that recognize limitations, but do not surrender to them. [Sherry:] Dear Mom and Dad. How are you? I am fine. We jumped on a trampoline today. I love you very much. I don't play with the same toys anymore. I'm a big girl now. Love, Sherry. [Two nurses are shown walking next a building called the Plymouth State Home and Training School.] [Narrator:] For the large state institutions like this one, the problem of giving personal attention is magnified by the crush of numbers. Overcrowded and understaffed, state facilities for the retarded wait their turn for the trickle of tax funds that keeps them going. Though the buildings now are often gleaming and new, they must not be taken in themselves for symbols of enlightenment. What happens inside this modern packaging must be the key. The days of lives spent here can easily regress into the same meaningless noise and agony of the not-too-distant past, unless there are programs instead of herd care, and trained professionals to make the programs work. [Music] [Narrator:] Many of the retarded in state institutions are more physically handicapped than those found in private facilities. So it is with Rodney Perry, age 5. Rodney has been fitted with braces and hopefully will be taught to walk. [Nurse:] How does that feel, Rodney? Does it feel okay? [Rodney:] Yeah. [Nurse:] Okay, let's get you down on the floor and see how you walk today. [Narrator:] He has what he calls a hook for a left arm and he is incontinent, unable to control his bowels and bladder, but as if these other defects were not enough, Rodney is also hydrocephalic. His head is enlarged by increased pressure of spinal fluid, and it is this hydrocephalus that first marked him as possibly retarded. A valve has been surgically implanted in his skull by a specialist, relieving much of the pressure, and now Rodney is free to explore his world as best he can. [Music, as Rodney walks gingerly with his crutches.] [Narrator:] The world of the motor-handicapped ward is most often seen from a wheelchair. Jakie Leonard sees it from a special Scoot-About every morning when he has the run of the building. [Nurse:] Are you comfortable? All right Jake, off you go. [Jakie is strapped to the Scoot-About and pulls himself along with his arms, face near the floor.] [Music] [Narrator:] A standing table is another vantage point for children who are not strong enough to support themselves independently. [Music] [Narrator:] Standing tables are often better than mats on the floor, though stretching and rolling on a mat is more pleasant by far than endless hours of tedium in bed. [Female:] Rodney, put all the beads back. [Rodney:] Okay. [Narrator:] For those who show some academic ability, there are classes. [Female:] Count again, one at a time, count, let's count. [Rodney:] One, two, three. [Music] [Narrator:] For all the children, there is self-help training. [Children are shown feeding themselves, washing their faces, brushing their teeth, walking with braces.] [Nurse:] Oh, you can do better than that, Claude. That's my boy, now you're moving. [Music] [Nurse:] Now I'd like to listen to your heart, okay? [Narrator:] Rodney Perry is about to leave the special world of the motor-handicapped ward. [Female:] I think that he could probably be in a Head Start Program, or in a kindergarten for motor-handicapped children. He has a lot of potential. [Nurse:] I hate to see him go. He is such a favorite of everyone here and it's so nice working with him. [Narrator:] The institution's staff has watched Rodney. They know him. He's not lost in the herd. [Female:] He can just soak up the things with other children here. He really needs to be exposed to a lot of things. [Nurse:] And in just a month, I've taught him how to walk and use those crutches and he, now he walks alone without any help at all. [Female:] Our family care social worker will be stopping in from time to time to see how you and Rodney are getting along. [Foster Mother:] Is this who I get in touch with if I should have any problems with Rodney? [Female:] Rodney is being placed in a foster home and he will have a mother instead of an attendant. [Music] [Narrator:] For Rodney Perry, age 5, life is about to become one big continual field trip. [Rodney is wheeled out of the institution, appearing happy.] [Narrator:] Life for the blind, retarded child defies description. [Children are crying and writhing.] [Nurse:] Kathy? Kathy? You want some water? [Narrator:] To overcome paralyzing fear of the unknown. [Nurse:] Can you find the window? [Narrator:] To stimulate independence, curiosity, and freedom of movement is a prime goal. [Nurse:] Now, come on over this way. Can you find something else? [Boy:] Yeah. [Nurse:] What? [Boy:] A pillow. [Nurse:] Good. That's a good boy, Georgie. You're walking. [Narrator:] To learn to walk, no small task for a non-retarded blind child, doubly difficult for the retarded blind who have trouble grasping the concepts of up and down, left and right. [Boy:] I can find them all. That's a boy. [Narrator:] In so many ways, blind retarded children must learn to come to grips with a world they cannot see, must learn to cope with a world that intrudes on their privacy, makes demands on their behavior and often seems hostile. [Nurse:] A pretty girl like you shouldn't hurt yourself. [Female:] Come on, come on down here and ring that bell. [Boy:] Bell? [Female:] Yes. [Narrator:] A program with goals, involvement in meaningful activities, not just passing time. [Female:] Come on down here, ring the bell. Come on. Find the bell and ring it now, ring it. That's a boy, now come on let's go back. [Narrator:] The children must be taught to control their own lives, to attain the simple dignities like feeding themselves. Of immeasurable value is the privilege of deciding how quickly food is delivered to your mouth, how far the spoon is jammed, and even what is on the spoon. [A nurse is working with a severly impaired boy.] [Nurse:] This is Mrs. Kennon; this is Gary's hair. [Narrator:] Progress, though often slow, is sometimes most dramatic. Like the case of this 14-year-old, Gary Cobb. [Nurse:] This is Gary. Gary. [Narrator:] Spoon-fed, diaper-wearing crib-case, the product of a caretaker custodial program at another institution, Gary has been here only one year. In that short time, he's been toilet-trained, has learned to walk, to feed himself, and to come when his name is called. [Boy in a wheelchair:] Gary, Gary come on, we're singing in the day room. Come on, Gary. [The boy sings as he rolls toward the music room, Gary following behind.] Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your many blessings, see what God has done; Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your many blessings, see what God has done; [Children are gathered in the day room, singing of "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles.] [Gary makes his way into the music room.] [Singing continues, with many children participating.] [Narrator:] Not yet a participant in the society in which he lives, Gary now knows it is there. He has at least made a beginning. [Singing of "Yellow Submarine" continues.] [More severely affected children are shown.] [Narrator:] Here in the infirmary live the more severely and profoundly retarded, those who need 24-hour a day medical care. Creative cosmetic surgery and orthopedic and dental surgery have made life somewhat more bearable for those who live here. [Music] [Narrator:] But life in the infirmary at even the most advanced institutions is at best a holding action. From somewhere in the community, volunteer workers must be found so that a child can experience an extra moment of personal attention. Liberal visiting privileges have gone far to improve this part of the institution, especially when there's a visiting room that offers some privacy and a momentary respite from the noise of the ward. [Mother holding her daughter:] Want Daddy to read you a story? [Girl's father:] Once upon a time, there was a little girl, just like you. Her name was Alice. [Male:] Are there cars coming from the right? [All:] No! [Male:] Are there cars coming from the left? [All:] No! [Male:] Are you sure? [All:] Yeah! [Male:] All right then, come on. [Narrator:] The more moderately or mildly retarded children are the most likely candidates for placement back out in the community. Many of them are here because they are orphaned or because their retardation has caused some behavioral problems. For these children, the institution's main task is to prepare them to cope with the demands of the real world and not just the systematized existence of the institution. [Teacher:] This is a hand. What is this? [All:] Bat! [Teacher:] This is a bat. [Narrator:] The first step is language development. [Teacher:] This is a bowl. What is this? This is a bed, good Chris. What is this? [Boy:] A bed! [Narrator:] Too often the retarded child does not understand what he is told and cannot express what he feels. [Therapist:] Jimmy, I want you to spell your name. [Narrator:] A full staff of therapists focuses in on each individual child. [A child types.] [Therapist:] Very good, Jimmy. [Therapist:] What is your name? My name is Vicki Spencer. I am 5 years... [Vicki Spencer:] Old. [Therapist:] Very nice. [Therapist:] All right Charlie, here we go. Up, you pick it up. [Charlie lifts a weight with his leg, as part of his physical therapy.] [Narrator:] And in classrooms, an awareness of the world becomes a part of the child's life. [Teacher:] They jumped into the water and went splash, splash, splash. Their mother was calling them quack, quack, quack. So the ten little ducks just swam right back. [Narrator:] And of course there are field trips to get out into the bigger world... to see it, to touch it, and for a few hours, become a part of it. [The children are at the zoo.] [Music] [Narrator:] Most retarded children can benefit more by being out in the community than by being put away in the artificial ward societies of the institution. But if more of them are to be returned to the community, there must first be a proper climate of acceptance. [Music, with polar bears shown lounging at the zoo.] [The children are riding the bus home from the their field trip.] [Narrator:] Perhaps in the years that lie ahead, this will come about. There was a time when society hid its mentally retarded, abandoned them as if in a dumping ground. [Music] [Narrator:] Today in a few places, in a few institutions, there is the beginning of a new attitude toward the retarded and a new definition of the institution's purpose, and because of this, a few of the retarded are being helped to find a way out of the wilderness. [Music as a person makes their way through the woods.] [The producers gratefully acknowledge cooperation from Plymouth State Home and Training School, Northville, Michigan and Woodhaven Christian Home for Children, Columbia, Missouri] [Technical Advisors: Robert I. Jaslow, M.D., Albert C. Fremont, M.D., M.P.H., Doris Haar, R.N.] [This film was produced for the Division of Mental Retardation, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Social and Rehabilitation Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare] [A John Sutherland Production] [Film ends.]