The Last Minority

<v TV Announcer>This pro- [tape cuts out] made possible by grant <v TV Announcer>[tape cuts out - broken up "Arkansas Governor's Developmental Disabilities Planning <v TV Announcer>Council"]. <v Speaker 1>They said when my son was born that he'd have to live in an institution for the rest of <v Speaker 1>his life. <v Speaker 1>The support we get from Medicaid is what keeps him at home with his family, with his <v Speaker 1>friends, in his school where he belongs. <v Speaker 1>If you cut Medicaid, you cut his lifeline to his family. <v Speaker 1>Don't do it. <v Speaker>[applause] <v Speaker 2>Kids belong at home. <v Audience Member>They do! <v Speaker 2>Children can go to institutions, and we pay 40000 dollars a year and we can't pay <v Speaker 2>their medical bills and keep them at home. <v Speaker 2>Sorry, that is wrong. <v Speaker 2>Keep our kids home. <v Speaker>[applause]. <v Narrator>In the fall of 1991, Arkansas' Department of Human Services made an announcement: <v Narrator>the state's Medicaid system was bankrupt.

<v Narrator>Some of its programs had to be cut. <v Narrator>Hundreds of people with disabilities relying on home health care services to live in <v Narrator>their communities were suddenly faced with a decision: they could remain <v Narrator>in their homes and lose the services or move into institutions still covered <v Narrator>by Medicaid. <v Terry Winkler>We're talking about violation of basic civil rights. <v Narrator>The cuts in personal care services struck at the heart of what these people believe <v Narrator>in. They are members of Arkansas ADAPT, an organization working <v Narrator>for more personal care programs enabling people with disabilities to live in <v Narrator>their homes rather than institutions. <v Narrator>Dr. Terry Winkler is the president of Arkansas ADAPT. <v Terry Winkler>Frankly, a lot of people make a lot of money off of disabled people being in <v Terry Winkler>institutions. Keeping a person independent, living in their home, in their <v Terry Winkler>communities so that they can participate uh costs about 1/7 of <v Terry Winkler>what it costs to keep them in an institution. <v Terry Winkler>And so ADAPT says, let's keep them home where they belong.

<v Terry Winkler>It'll cost less money and they'll gain more for us. <v Narrator>The group drafted a letter to then Governor Bill Clinton insisting <v Narrator>on immediate restoration of the personal care and home health services that were being <v Narrator>cut [background chatter]. There was no reply. <v ADAPT Member 1>I submit to you that he does know the needs, that he is insensitive to the needs. <v Terry Winkler>We met nightly for weeks, agonizing over what direction we should <v Terry Winkler>go in. We were reasonable people who had a legitimate <v Terry Winkler>concern, whose government had not listened to them. <v ADAPT Member 2>Let's get together and talk about this. Let's do this. <v ADAPT Member 2>Please respond to us. <v ADAPT Member 2>And we refuse to be invisible. <v Reporter>About 18 people in wheelchairs chained themselves to the governor's office, vowing <v Reporter>not to leave until the governor hears their complaints. <v Terry Winkler>None of us had ever participated in civil disobedience. <v Terry Winkler>And none of us are lawbreakers. We're all hardworking people. <v Terry Winkler>We all believe in our government, believe in our society.

<v Terry Winkler>The overwhelming concern was what we perceived was going <v Terry Winkler>to happen to close to a thousand disabled people in Arkansas. <v Terry Winkler>We felt that their very basic right to make decisions regarding their lives was being <v Terry Winkler>completely removed and being removed for 1 reason: money. <v ADAPT Member 3>People with disabilities are becoming a power in this country <v ADAPT Member 3>and no longer are people with disabilities are going to stand for the kind of treatment <v ADAPT Member 3>that has been dealt that population, all of us with <v ADAPT Member 3>disabilities in the past. <v Narrator>After a night of long-distance telephone negotiations with Governor Clinton. <v Narrator>An agreement was reached. <v Narrator>All attendant care programs would be restored, and the task force would be <v Narrator>formed to develop more community-based options for people with disabilities. <v Reporter>Officials say the agreement is a victory for the disabled as well as the taxpayers. <v Reporter>Without the extension of benefits, more people would have been institutionalized. <v Reporter>Many taxpayers would have been left holding an even larger bill.

<v Terry Winkler>For the first time in history- in the history of our country. <v Terry Winkler>A group of disabled people took a stand. <v Terry Winkler>They were heard by their government and the legislature acted on their demands <v Terry Winkler>and met some needs for disabled people. <v Terry Winkler>[background noise from news report]. We really do have many, many obstacles ahead of us. <v Terry Winkler>Many hurdles yet before us. <v Terry Winkler>And we're a long, long way from ever uh achieving our goals. <v Terry Winkler>The main obstacle that prevents disabled people from being where we want to be <v Terry Winkler>or achieving our goals is society's attitudes in general towards <v Terry Winkler>disabled people. It's just not a healthy view. <v Terry Winkler>They're seen as people who aren't valuable, people who are not intelligent, people who <v Terry Winkler>can't contribute. And that's the biggest problem that we face. <v Terry Winkler>I've never dreamed a dream and seen myself in a wheelchair in a dream. <v Terry Winkler>I'm completely able-bodied and walking. <v Terry Winkler>When I get in the race car, I'm not a disabled racecar driver.

<v Terry Winkler>I'm a race car driver. <v Terry Winkler>When I go out the door into the world, which is <v Terry Winkler>an entirely different environment where people's perspectives are entirely different, <v Terry Winkler>then I'm continuously confronted with "yes, you are disabled.". <v Narrator>22 years ago, Terry Winkler was an 18-year-old high school dropout <v Narrator>working in the oil fields of south Louisiana. <v Narrator>While searching in the glove compartment of an automobile, he accidentally discharged <v Narrator>a loaded handgun. <v Narrator>The bullet severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him below the waist. <v Narrator>Today, Dr. Winkler is a practicing physician specializing in physical medicine <v Narrator>and rehabilitation. <v Terry Winkler>Uniformly, I was told that that was an unrealistic goal, that <v Terry Winkler>there was no way you'd ever be accepted to medical school. <v Terry Winkler>I had to fight for the- the right to make decisions regarding my own life.

<v Terry Winkler>I think that the able-bodied power structure had already made a lot of decisions <v Terry Winkler>about who I was and what I could achieve or what I could ever be in my life. <v Terry Winkler>I felt like that my course was dictated by the wheelchair. <v Terry Winkler>Hey, Mr. Logan. <v Terry Winkler>And slowly I began to realize that the chair- <v Terry Winkler>How ya doing? <v Patient>Fine. <v Terry Winkler>Was a tool. <v Terry Winkler>OK. I'm Dr. Winkler with rehab medicine. <v Terry Winkler>If I wanted it to go to Harvard, it'd go to Harvard. <v Terry Winkler>If I wanted it to go to medical school, it'd go to medical school, and it did. <v Terry Winkler>What is we can do to help you get going again. <v Terry Winkler>That sound like a good idea? <v Patient>It sounds good. <v Terry Winkler>OK. <v Terry Winkler>We have to get people with disabilities to believe in themselves, believe they're good, <v Terry Winkler>believe they're valuable, believe they can contribute, believe they have a right to an <v Terry Winkler>education, and to a private home, and to good health care. <v Terry Winkler>And once we get people with disabilities to believe those things about themselves, <v Terry Winkler>you won't be able to stop the disability rights movement. <v Terry Winkler>And for 21 years now that I've had a disability, I have heard <v Terry Winkler>the word wait and wait almost always

<v Terry Winkler>means never. <v Terry Winkler>I guess it's easy to say wait when you've never felt the sting <v Terry Winkler>of segregation. <v Terry Winkler>But how can you say wait when 9.9 million of your brothers <v Terry Winkler>and sisters need attendant care and they're not receiving it? <v Terry Winkler>How can you say wait? [beeping noise] How can you say wait when <v Terry Winkler>7.7 million of your brothers and sisters are being held right now today in institutions <v Terry Winkler>against their will? How can you say wait? <v Narrator>Lola Strain knows about waiting. <v Narrator>Paralyzed by polio at age 3, she waits for others to help her do <v Narrator>things most people take for granted. <v Nurse>Busy afternoon planned today? <v Lola Strain>I mean, I'm always going to be busy. <v Narrator>Until 1981, Lola lived at home with her family near Rosebud, Arkansas. <v Narrator>The last 15 years there, her father was too weak to lift her. <v Narrator>And so she stayed in bed.

<v Lola Strain>There'd be a couple of years that I didn't even leave my room. <v Lola Strain>I would think about, well, there is a world at here. <v Lola Strain>You know, there is a life beyond these walls. <v Lola Strain>And I want to be part of it 1 day. <v Speaker>[monitor beeps]. <v Lola Strain>Hi. Come in. <v Narrator>When Lola's father died, the family knew that something would have to be done to meet <v Narrator>Lola's needs. <v Narrator>They assumed it was their responsibility. <v Narrator>Lola's sister, Neva Schmidt, remembers that day. <v Neva Schmidt>You know, us 6 kids, we were worried to death about well, what's Lola gonna do? <v Neva Schmidt>And she told us she knew what she was gonna do. <v Neva Schmidt>And it ?like? to shocked us all to death. <v Lola Strain>I kept seeing all this information in the newspaper when <v Lola Strain>this apartment complex was being built. <v Lola Strain>I didn't know I was- had anything like that in mind. <v Lola Strain>But I wanted to try, you

<v Lola Strain>know, see what I could do on my own. <v Narrator>Lola moved into this apartment at Our Way, a complex designed to be <v Narrator>accessible for people with disabilities. <v Narrator>Stiff from years of laying in bed, she arranged for an operation <v Narrator>enabling her to sit up in a chair. <v Narrator>The Area Agency on Aging helped her pay for the attendant care she needed. <v Narrator>She lived here for seven years. <v Lola Strain>I felt free. <v Lola Strain>I just began to be able to do all these things that <v Lola Strain>I had never done before. <v Lola Strain>I'd go to the grocery store and <v Lola Strain>a movie theater. I began to feel like a normal <v Lola Strain>person so that was- that was- <v Lola Strain>oh that was a good feeling. <v Narrator>In 1988, Lola began to experience respiratory failure caused by her polio.

<v Narrator>Doctors performed a tracheotomy and told her she must be on a ventilator at night. <v Narrator>Medicaid would not pay for the 24 hour care she needed now to stay <v Narrator>in her apartment. It would, however, pay for her to live here <v Narrator>at the Benton Services Center, a state nursing home. <v Narrator>After 4 years, she still keeps her apartment. <v Narrator>Once a month, her sisters drop by to pay the rent and pick up her mail. <v Neva Schmidt>Sometime I can't hardly stand to come in here. <v Neva Schmidt>I feel like I'm invading her privacy, you know. <v Neva Schmidt>She was the happiest thing here. <v Neva Schmidt>It's what she'd always wanted was to have a house her own I think. <v Neva Schmidt>Where she could be her own boss. <v Neva Schmidt>She was so independent. <v Neva Schmidt>And that's her dream, is to get to come back home, you know? <v Lola Strain>I'm not in control anymore. I had to abide

<v Lola Strain>by their rules and regulations. <v Lola Strain>You know, I get excellent care, but it's not like being home <v Lola Strain>and me deciding what I want to do when. <v Narrator>Dianne Skaggs was a graduate student in social work assigned to the Benton Services <v Narrator>Center when she met Lola. <v Dianne Skaggs>We talked about the fact that- that um she considered <v Dianne Skaggs>living here a temporary thing. <v Dianne Skaggs>And I said, OK, Lola, I need to know 1 thing. <v Dianne Skaggs>What if you were in that apartment and your attendant <v Dianne Skaggs>got snowed out and couldn't get to you or had an accident or anything <v Dianne Skaggs>happened and you were there alone? <v Dianne Skaggs>Something could happen to you without help. <v Dianne Skaggs>And she looked me right in the eye and did not hesitate and said, then <v Dianne Skaggs>I would rather die in my apartment than to die here. <v Dianne Skaggs>And I said, I'll do everything I can to help you.

<v Dianne Skaggs>Where were you born? <v Dianne Skaggs>What was it-? <v Lola Strain>Faulkner County. <v Dianne Skaggs>Okay, what was- [fade out] <v Narrator>Together they began the process of applying for a Medicaid waiver. <v Narrator>This would allow Medicaid money to be spent outside of the institution <v Narrator>to pay for the attendant care services Lola needs to live in her apartment. <v Narrator>In Arkansas, the waiver only applies to certain types of disabilities. <v Narrator>They filled out the forms and waited. <v Dianne Skaggs>I was calling to see if you had any information on Lola's questionnaire <v Dianne Skaggs>that we sent in if- <v Dianne Skaggs>She's very proud in that she does not want to beg or appear <v Dianne Skaggs>that she's begging for anything or asking for anything. <v Dianne Skaggs>OK, so it stated that- that she is not eligible according <v Dianne Skaggs>to the state at- <v Dianne Skaggs>I'm sorry.

<v Dianne Skaggs>She's a very private person and keeps a lot <v Dianne Skaggs>of her grief to herself. <v Dianne Skaggs>But I know she does grieve. <v Narrator>As a child, Lola Strain never went to school. <v Narrator>But during 7 years of living independently, she earned a GED degree <v Narrator>and was attending college. <v Narrator>Today, she continues her college courses by correspondence and dreams <v Narrator>of going home. <v Lola Strain>I'm beginning to wonder <v Lola Strain>how much longer can I endure an existence like this? <v Lola Strain>And I suppose that I'll just have see how long that patience holds <v Lola Strain>out. <v Lola Strain>Meantime, I'm here. And I'm waiting. <v Speaker>[monitor beeps] <v Announcer>Good morning, Chicot Elementary. <v Announcer>I pledge allegiance [students join in on pledge] to the flag of the United States of

<v Announcer>America. And to the republic, for which it stands, 1 nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [muffled speech from Emily's communication device] Good, you <v Announcer>may be seated. <v Emily Golden>Indivisible ?inaudible? for all. <v Jill McElroy>Good. <v Narrator>Emily Golden will not have to wait for an education. <v Narrator>She is a student in a regular classroom at the Little Rock Public Schools. <v Debbie Sabot>See Emily's here. <v Narrator>Severe trauma at birth left Emily unable to speak or move. <v Narrator>But as she approach school age, her parents knew, trapped inside a body <v Narrator>that did not work, Emily was there. <v Kim Golden>I think we had to demonstrate to the school district that we knew exactly <v Kim Golden>what her rights were. As I understand the federal law, no matter <v Kim Golden>what a child's disabilities, they have to find a way to provide services <v Kim Golden>that are appropriate. There were never any doubts in our minds about <v Kim Golden>whether she should be in a regular classroom or not.

<v Kim Golden>And to prove that to the school district, we had to have a good test scores. <v Kim Golden>We had to have test scores that showed she was in the normal range. <v Kim Golden>And fortunately, that wasn't hard for Emily to pull off when they adapted the tests for a <v Kim Golden>child who just couldn't move. <v Debbie Sabot>Do you hear the same beginning sound? Good going, Emily. <v Debbie Sabot>When I first learned of Emily special needs, I was overwhelmed in thinking how I was <v Debbie Sabot>going to work with her in the classroom, with my kids and everything. <v Narrator>In 10 years of teaching kindergarten, Debbie Sabot never had a student like Emily <v Narrator>Golden. [lecture in background] But from the beginning it was clear that Emily belonged <v Narrator>in her class. <v Debbie Sabot>She knew her colors. She couldn't write her name, but she could spell it out for us. <v Debbie Sabot>She could count objects and then tell us how many objects we had. <v Debbie Sabot>She's a sharp kid. <v Debbie Sabot>Emily, ?inaudible? letter W? Good goin'. <v Debbie Sabot>You had to change your way of thinking and dealing with her because you either had to <v Debbie Sabot>give her choices that you knew that she could answer yes or no to. <v Debbie Sabot>Or she could eye-gaze or she could use her light talker to uh work with. <v Jill McElroy>Hit it, Emily.

<v Debbie Sabot>There you go. <v Jill McElroy>Hey, let's listen. <v Debbie Sabot>Good girl. <v Speaker>[class sings ABC's and fades out to narrator] <v Narrator>The light talker is Emily's voice. <v Narrator>By using a head switch, she can choose from a collection of recorded phrases that enable <v Narrator>her to take part in class and express her feelings. <v Jill McElroy>Okay, go ahead. Hit. <v Emily Golden>You've made me mad. <v Jill McElroy>I think I'm making you mad right now. Have you seen that name before? <v Narrator>Jill McElroy is Emily's speech teacher. <v Narrator>Emily wants to be the normal kid who can respond just like the other kids respond. <v Jill McElroy>Oh, you were ahead of me. [talks in background] <v Jill McElroy>You know, she doesn't have much control of her world. <v Jill McElroy>So her- her opposition is her control. <v Jill McElroy>No, I won't do that because I can't control anything else, but I can control what I <v Jill McElroy>do or what I don't do. <v Jill McElroy>Turn it back on. 1 more time and then we're done. <v Jill McElroy>Turn it back on, please. <v Jill McElroy>Good girl. Now you pick something. <v Jill McElroy>I don't think any 6-year-old has the ability to realize the power of

<v Jill McElroy>a computer. <v Debbie Sabot>Like it comes down here. Hit it, Emily. Good goin'. <v Debbie Sabot>[talks in background] <v Narrator>Technology is opening the doors of regular classrooms to children with disabilities. <v Narrator>Emily does much of her classwork on a computer provided by the Little Rock School <v Narrator>District. She is learning to use a program called Keytalk <v Narrator>in which the computer speaks the letters and words she types with the head switch. <v Debbie Sabot>This is her way of communication. <v Debbie Sabot>The first word she did was read. And the day she did it, I'll always remember that. <v Debbie Sabot>She literally glowed. <v Debbie Sabot>That's so good. But 1 night, the boogie man went [gasps] [talks in background]. <v Debbie Sabot>If anything, Emily has been an asset to my classroom. <v Debbie Sabot>I think she's learned from being around the other kids, and especially the kids have <v Debbie Sabot>learned from being around Emily. <v Kathy Boyd>Yeah, this will make you feel better. <v Narrator>Every 2 hours, Emily must leave the classroom to take care of her physical needs. <v Narrator>Kathy Boyd is Emily's primary caretaker.

<v Kathy Boyd>I was scared when I found out all that she had to have done because I had not been <v Kathy Boyd>trained. I'd never catharized, I'd never ?up-graphed?. <v Kathy Boyd>I'd never tube-fed. I had never done anything that I am doing <v Kathy Boyd>with Emily. <v Kathy Boyd>There was no problem after a week, we were fine. <v Kathy Boyd>We were bonded. <v Speaker>[background chatter]. <v Kathy Boyd>Eating by tube is not a real thrill for Emily. <v Kathy Boyd>She would just as soon be it- have to do this. <v Kathy Boyd>She has to sit there and be still for 45 minutes, which she does not enjoy a <v Kathy Boyd>lot. <v Kathy Boyd>There are some things that she is left out of that we would like for her to be <v Kathy Boyd>included in. But because of her physical needs, she can't be. <v Kim Golden>You ready to get up, sweetheart? All right, let's go get dressed so we can go out. <v Narrator>In many ways, Emily is lucky. <v Narrator>Her parents, Kim and Bill Golden, are both medical doctors and were perhaps better <v Narrator>prepared than most to take care of Emily.

<v Bill Golden>A number of families split up over these kind of situations. <v Bill Golden>There's a lot of uh history of child abuse in children like this because <v Bill Golden>of the frustrations of dealing with them. <v Bill Golden>And uh they're very expensive. <v Bill Golden>I would say the average family would probably get bankrupted over something like this. <v Debbie Sabot>These are our kindergarten students and we're going to be singing some songs about our <v Debbie Sabot>healthy bodies. <v Speaker>[kids sing] <v Kim Golden>1 of the things that you lose when- when your child is handicapped is their ability <v Kim Golden>to be just like everybody else. <v Kim Golden>And so what- what the public school has done for us is by letting her be <v Kim Golden>in a regular room and letting her take part in all the field trips and the programs <v Kim Golden>and all the activities is you know they've given us, in a certain <v Kim Golden>sense, our normal child back. <v Speaker>[applause] <v Red Cross Worker>It might take time to find the right position for you. <v Jessie Davis>But.

<v Red Cross Worker>But I think there is a position for you somewhere. <v Jessie Davis>Uh huh. I know there is. <v Red Cross Worker>Right. <v Jessie Davis>All we gotta do is find out what it is. <v Red Cross Worker>That's right. <v Jessie Davis>And can answer the phone. <v Jessie Davis>I can run errands. I can do- um anything that you can do, I can do it ?inaudible? <v Red Cross Worker>You use this type pencil? <v Jessie Davis>Yep. <v Narrator> Jessie Davis wants a job. <v Narrator>Born with cerebral palsy. <v Narrator>He's accustomed to rejection at interviews. <v Narrator>But this time he gets the job. <v Narrator>As a Red Cross volunteer in a V.A. <v Narrator>hospital. It offers no salary, but he accepts it <v Narrator>gratefully. <v Jessie Davis>Well there is a reason to get out of the house <v Jessie Davis>and to meet other people and to give a little bit of my life <v Jessie Davis>to them. <v Red Cross Worker>Good job. <v Speaker>[Jessie talks in background] <v Narrator>For 19 years, Jessie's life was here at the Conway Human Development <v Narrator>Center and for 19 years he wanted out. <v Jessie Davis>Because I didn't think it was fair for them to put me into the place.

<v Jessie Davis>And then- and then- and then just <v Jessie Davis>come by and visit once in a while. And then leave me behind to grieve over <v Jessie Davis>their leaving, you know. <v Jessie Davis>I didn't enjoy that. <v Jessie Davis>I wanted to make my- make my own decisions - where I went, what I do, <v Jessie Davis>and how I do things. I wanted to be the one to say what I wanted to do. <v R.C. Duncan>Okay, now, you ready? <v Jessie Davis>Yep. <v Narrator>Today, Jessie lives here with R.C. Duncan and his wife, Linda Duncan. <v Narrator>Jessie was the first person in Arkansas to qualify for a Medicaid waiver. <v Linda Duncan>Look at your hair. <v Linda Duncan>[laughs]. <v Jessie Davis>Linda. <v Linda Duncan>We gotta do something with that, real good, huh? <v Narrator>The waiver pays R.C. to take care of Jessie's personal needs so he <v Narrator>can live independently.

<v Linda Duncan>Next trip to Kmart, you get a haircut, right? <v Jessie Davis>Yeah. <v Narrator>Linda Duncan met Jesse when she worked at the Human Development Center in Conway. <v Linda Duncan>Being at the Human Development Center was very restrictive to Jessie. <v Linda Duncan>When his parents died, his sisters wanted to <v Linda Duncan>have guardianship over Jessie. <v Linda Duncan>Jessie saw this as an opportunity to get away from the Human <v Linda Duncan>Development Center, if he could get his own guardianship. <v Linda Duncan>So when he approached me about it and said he was gonna do this, I knew there was no <v Linda Duncan>talking him out of it. <v Narrator>Jessie sued his family for his own guardianship and he won. <v Linda Duncan>Good luck, Jessie. <v Jessie Davis>The judge said, Jessie is his own guardian as long as <v Jessie Davis>he lets me know where he goes. <v Jessie Davis>But when court was over with, I went up to my sister. <v Jessie Davis>I said, Merle, can I tell you something? <v Jessie Davis>"Yeah, what do you want?" I said, I

<v Jessie Davis>still love you just as much as I ever did. <v Doctor>ABC and D is on all the floors and you must remember <v Doctor>that if you start out with- with A, next is B, C, D <v Doctor>and E. <v Jessie Davis>Okay. I'm ?gonna? getting the hang of it. <v Narrator>On his first day at work, Jessie begins to learn his way around the large hospital. <v Narrator>Although it is another institution, this time Jessie is here by choice <v Narrator>because they need him. <v Doctor>This is Jessie Davis and this is- this is the secretary on 5 <v Doctor>CCU. He's gonna be bringing material to you in this basket. <v Secretary>Oh, okay. <v Speaker>But he's gonna need your help to get it out. <v Secretary>Oh, alright, I can that. <v Doctor>You take-. <v Secretary>Yeah, we'll be glad to have you. <v Jessie Davis>I'd glad to be here. <v Linda Duncan>We have facilities for handicapped people and there aren't those that need <v Linda Duncan>those facilities. But there are so many more that if given the chance <v Linda Duncan>could do, just like Jesse is doing and not be held back.

<v Jessie Davis>I got me a job. <v Barber>You got you a job? <v Jessie Davis>Yeah. <v Jessie Davis>At the VA Hospital. <v Barber>VA Hospital? <v Jessie Davis>Yeah. <v Barber>That's great. <v Jessie Davis>If they said Jessie, you've got to go back to the institution, I'm going to go out <v Jessie Davis>and commit suicide. Before I do go back in the institution, I'd <v Jessie Davis>go out and commit suicide. <v Linda Duncan>He is so determined he won't let anybody keep him down. <v Linda Duncan>If they put him down for 5 or 10 minutes, he's gonna be right back. <v Linda Duncan>That's what's kept on going all this time. <v Linda Duncan>He doesn't see himself as handicapped. <v Grocery Store Clerk>Jessie, thank you very much. <v Grocery Store Clerk>See you next time. <v Linda Duncan>He is working- he is- he's function. <v Linda Duncan>He's- he has a life. <v Linda Duncan>He's not parked in a corner someplace and feeling sorry for himself. <v Linda Duncan>And as long as- as long as he doesn't see himself as handicapped, there's no <v Linda Duncan>telling what Jessie'll do. He's not done yet.

<v Speaker>[music plays] <v TV Announcer>This program was made possible by a grant from the Arkansas Governor's Developmental <v TV Announcer>Disabilities Planning Council.