Graduation: A Follow Up (1973)

[Music] Johnny was our first baby we had waited years for him such a beautiful baby but we knew he was [Music] different Johnny is [Music] Johnny was slow but not too much of a problem really he was one of the neighborhood kids and I think he was accepted then his friends went to first grade and Johnny was left alone there was no school for our son it was a long time to be [Music] lonely finally we found a private school for him we had to send him on a bus miles away Johnny spent a lot of time with [Music] buses by his teens the public schools finally made a place for [Music] him school was good for Johnny it never could teach him to read or write but he learned to take better care of himself and to help me around the house and how to use some tools I guess the best thing about school was that there he had friends and then it was time for graduation we didn't know exactly what that meant we knew that Johnny wasn't ready to to be on his own or to go to work we did know that Johnny wouldn't be seeing as much of his friends they live so far from one another Johnny was excited about graduation from [Music] school I don't think he knew what it really meant [Music] we have reached that moment this evening that wonderful moment in which you parents and the teachers and I have the wonderful opportunity to share the successes of these children four long years at Ninth Street school and we're so very proud of them and they're just beginning they're going out into the world and we have all the confidence in the world that they will really be a fine Citizen and a good fine tribute to 9th Street school and so it's great honor that I do present their wonderful diplomas deia the very best of luck to you you certainly deserve it brother lupy the very best ly I know you'll do a fine job like any young adult graduating today the very these students are faced with the challenge of finding their place in society you they however will find the challenge particularly difficult they are in spite of the good good wishes of their principle few will ever become self-supporting or outgrow their need for help from the community most will continue to need after graduation the very same Services once provided by the schools some will find these Services many will not [Music] the study found that the vast majority of these young adults are living at home able to care for their personal needs and to share in some responsibility for housework [Music] and when housework is done the television is waiting AR Rus minor pain you know how it hurts we know how to help now comes our thus strength each two tablet dose five gains more pain reliever than two ordinary aspirin 100% more pain reliever into your bloodstream 100% more where is armed Kaba I do not know but of course you know the witnesses describe an Arab young tall remarkably handsome for a cabor he is gone and a Sentry has been killed where is he I told you I do not know why are you here to find out who really leads the black robes watching television was the major daily activity for nearly half of the graduates studied worked on most Fabrics including cotton wool only $1.9 join the allstar panel as they delve into psychological questions [Music] broke Pap and Taco at first it wasn't too bad we told Johnny he wouldn't be going to school anymore he enjoyed his vacation as he called it for the first few weeks then he began to ask when school would start again he got tired of just sitting around all day waiting for something to happen or for me to take him somewhere I'd try to keep him busy but it's not easy I just don't have the time and I don't always know what to do for him I know that some of his friends are in a sheltered workshop but it's too far away and besides they have a long waiting list [Music] [Applause] sheltered workshops for the handicapped provide a place where the adult can work on simple manual tasks at his own pace each worker is paid according to what he can produce some of the graduate studied found a place here average income under $10 a week [Music] although the workshop provides some vocational training and is a place where the can learn job skills few of the moderately will ever find work outside the work there are there are simply not enough workshops to meet the need and those that do exist are widely scattered which poses the additional problem of how to get there nearly all require a tuition further restricting those who cannot afford to pay but then a workshop may not necessarily be the best place for the if he can't find work there are other ways for him to fill his [Music] day another resource open to some of the graduates is the activity center these centers provide a program for those unable or unready to function in a sheltered workshop social and recreational activities are stressed with some academic and vocational training available for those more capable [Music] only a few of the graduates could find a place in one of these programs there are even fewer activity centers than sheltered workshops and when both programs are denied the the only place left for him may be his own backyard [Music] some of the younger children in the neighborhood come by to see him now and then [Music] his old friends stopped coming over long ago I know Johnny needs other people some friends his own age I like the ones he had at [Music] school like all of us he needs friends [Music] he needs involvement in recreational programs and a chance for social contact with others his own [Music] AG but social activities such as this are available to only a handful of the adult for the majority of those studies there was virtually no social life apart from the family [Music] [Music] [Music] I am Johnny I am 18 I graduated from school [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] let heart and all [Applause] [Music] we [Applause]