I am very involved in the special needs community and serve of the board of directors for one of the agencies that serves Fairfield County. I know this community would have been there for my son as he grew older along with our challenges. I feel strongly connected to him through volunteering within this organization.
This past fall some members of a couple organizations, including the one I am on the board of, had coordinated a screening of the film “Intelligent Lives” at our local movie theater. I had heard about it from multiple sources and made arrangements so I could spend a couple hours seeing this special film. And I’m so glad I did!
This is an incredible film about perseverance, advocacy, perceptions, and support. I related too much to the narrator Chris Cooper, but loved following the stories of three young adults who prove that a person’s IQ is really just a number, it is no way indicative of what they can do.
I wanted to write about this film and share information on it because I found it so powerful and inspiring. The very cool thing is that you can host your own screening in your town if you think your community would like to see it!
The film also comes with a discussion guide which is great if you’d like to facilitate a discussion after the film. At our screening there was a panel of individuals who have been touched by someone in their lives who has an intellectual or developmental disability.
I hope at some point everyone is able to see this film and to understand how important it is to have supportive communities, schools, and job programs so that every individual can live their best life doing what they are capable of despite what a silly number might say.
**Disclaimer** – This post was not sponsored by anyone and these are my own thoughts and opinions.
