UPPER POTTSGROVE — The public is invited to a free screening of “Intelligent Lives” by award-winning filmmaker Dan Habib at the Pottsgrove Middle School Auditorium on January 25 from 6-8pm.
“Intelligent Lives” follows three pioneering American youths with intellectual disabilities — Micah, Nair and Naomi — who challenge their perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college and the workplace .
Academy Award-winning actor and narrator Chris Cooper contextualizes the lives of these central characters through the story of his son Jesse.
“People with intellectual disabilities are the most isolated of all Americans,” Habib says. “Only 17% of students with intellectual disabilities receive regular education. Only 15% are.”
According to data from the US Census and the 2015 American Community Survey, approximately 10% of the Montgomery County population lives with an intellectual disability. As of October 2019, 20,511 students with disabilities were enrolled in special education. This population makes up 12.4% of her total school enrollment of 165,267 in the county. Her 2019 unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities was her 11.7%, almost triple the unemployment rate for individuals without disabilities.
According to the screening organizers, “Intelligent Live” is the catalyst to change the mentally handicapped label from segregated life in prison to a life of possibility for America’s most systematically segregated people.
Pre-registration is highly recommended. Click https://forms.gle/79LsjETCaJd4Vtqd8 to register and learn more.
Pottsgrove Village is a collaboration between the families of children with special needs and the Student Services Department of the Pottsgrove School District with the aim of promoting understanding, inclusion and advocacy through education and networking.
