Guides: Intelligent Lives Education Kit: Home

Intelligent Lives

"Intelligent Lives" stars three pioneering young American adults with intellectual disabilities – Micah, Naieer, and Naomie – who challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce. Academy Award-winning actor and narrator Chris Cooper contextualizes the lives of these central characters through the emotional personal story of his son Jesse, as the film unpacks the shameful and ongoing track record of intelligence testing in the U.S.

"Intelligent Lives" challenges what it means to be intelligent, and points to a future in which people of all abilities can fully participate in higher education, meaningful employment, and intimate relationships.

Intelligent Lives - Open Captioned
Duration: 01:10:40
Features: Open Captioned
Intelligent Lives - Open Captioned, Audio Description
Duration: 01:10:40
Features: Open Captioned, Audio Description
Intelligent Lives - Spanish Captions
Duration: 01:10:40
Features: Open Captioned, Spanish Subtitles
Intelligent Lives - Greek Captions
Duration: 01:10:40
Features: Open Captioned, Greek Captions
Intelligent Lives - Russian Captions
Duration: 01:10:40
Features: Open Captioned, Russian Captions

Mr. Connolly Has ALS

A high school principal is embraced by his community as he continues to lead the school, despite rapidly losing his ability to walk and speak due to the debilitating effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Mr. Connolly Has ALS - Open Captioned
Duration: 00:32:32
Features: Open Captioned
Mr. Connolly Has ALS - Open Captioned, Audio Descriptions
Duration: 00:32:32
Features: Open Captioned, Audio Descriptions

Short Films

Garrett Shows: I'm In Charge
Duration: 00:16:27
Features: Closed Captions
Description: This film focuses on Garrett Shows, 18, a junior at ConVal Regional High School in Peterborough, New Hampshire. ConVal has put in place a number of evidence-based transition strategies for Garrett and other students with disabilities—such as internships and extended learning opportunities, Unified Sports, inclusive education, student-led IEP meetings, paid work opportunities, family engagement and a regular diploma track for students with intellectual disabilities.
Dream Out Loud
Duration: 00:18:40
Features: Closed Captions
Description: Pine Ridge, South Dakota, High School has launched an entrepreneurial initiative for students with disabilities living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pine Ridge is one of the poorest communities in the nation, with an unemployment rate of 90% and a median income of $4,000/year. Pine Ridge High School has been recognized nationally for helping students with disabilities, including film subjects Alan Wagner and Mariah Romero, learn business startup skills by managing and staffing an in-school coffee shop.
Untapped
Duration: 00:16:59
Features: Closed Captions
Description: At the Medtronic Corporation in Tempe, Arizona, and the city government in Rochester, New York, executives and supervisors describe how mentoring and hiring young people with disabilities (through hosting Project SEARCH sites) has a positive impact on their corporate efficiency and culture. This film features Anthony Canty of Rochester, a young man with high expectations for himself who is finding his stride in a community where the gradation rate for students with disabilities is just 22%.
Jamia And Peyton: I Can Work
Duration: 00:16:34
Features: Closed Captions
Description: In Fayetteville, Arkansas, and dozens of other communities across the country, the $180 million PROMISE federal demonstration project (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the Social Security Administration) is enabling youth with disabilities like Jamia Davis and Peyton Denzer to obtain paid summer employment starting at age 14. PROMISE staff also work with the teens and their families to design pathways to long-term employment, and transition away from life-long dependence on social security benefits.

Educational Materials and Discussion Guides

Educational Materials and Discussion Guides (ZIP archive)
Includes discussion guides for "Intelligent Lives," "Mr. Connolly Has ALS," and all short films, as well as policy briefs and other related materials.