This 1968 black and white documentary about the Plymouth State Home and Training School in Northville, Michigan, whose methods help “mentally retarded” children lead richer lives. Produced by Dan Weisburd, the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration, narrated by Lorne Greene, and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. In some windows of a large brick building stand mentally retarded individuals. The children shown throughout the film are intellectually disabled (the film uses retarded). Two girls leave a wooded area. A girl pushes another in a wheelchair (:07-3:02). Inside the institution, a boy sits on a bed, holding his face in his hands. A teacher helps him choose a shirt. The mentally retarded students are engaged in activities: setting the table, sanding a birdhouse, walking a balance beam, using a walker, and jumping on a trampoline. A student shows her multi-media art picture of a girl (3:03-5:49). A doctor examines a boy’s head, opening his mouth to examine teeth (5:50-6:25). A boy playing a xylophone sings off-key. Students identify real fruits. A pretty retarded teenage girl practices with flash cards. Her parents and administrator discuss her condition (6:26-8:28). An attendant deals with the boys in the bathroom. Children raise their hands to say the dinner prayer. A boy prays (8:29-9:12). The students shop at a department store. Classroom students practice reading and writing letters home (9:13-11:04). Two nurses walk in front as the camera pans the institution. Swinging horses sit in high weeds. A group of retarded boys gather (11:05-12:06). A nurse chooses from a wall full of leg braces. A five-year old with a prosthetic arm wears leg braces and walks with crutches. Another lies on his stomach scooter; using his arms for propulsion. Students at a standing table play in sand. A non-mobile student on a mat wears a head helmet (12:07-14:40). A student uses an abacus. The children are taught self-sufficiency: eating, washing, and brushing teeth. A student hangs on to bars to practice walking (14:41-15:38). A student is examined by a doctor. His condition is discussed by the staff. He leaves in a wheelchair for a foster home (15:39-16:55). Blind retarded children cry. Some are encouraged to feel for objects, walk, work with objects, walk along a rope to find a bell, and feed themselves. A blind retarded teenager struggles with a teacher and rocks on his bed. He walks behind another child in a wheelchair singing. Children play the piano and guitars and sing “Yellow Submarine” in the music room (16:56-21:55). The severely and profoundly retarded shown live in the infirmary. A mat is full of children as a worker dresses one. Volunteers interact, reading “Alice in Wonderland” to one (21:56-23:30). Boys are taught to safely cross the street. Girls iron. A teacher presents flash cards to young students. A child learns to type with one finger. Children learn an interactive song (23:31-25:58). Students leave a school bus and explore the zoo. They walk in a group; a couple points at them, others gawk (25:59-27:00).

Wayne County Training School, alternately known as the Wayne County Training School for Feeble Minded Children or the Wayne County Child Development Center, was a state-funded institution for developmentally-disabled children, located in Northville Township, Michigan. Construction of the institution began in 1923, and it opened in 1926. Expansion on the property continued until 1930. The school closed its doors on October 18, 1974.. Most of the buildings were left abandoned until 1998, when the land was sold to constrictors and the school was demolished in Smarch. Today, a golf course and residential housing stand on the former school plot.

Official description of film: Describes and illustrates steps being taken by the Plymouth State Home and Training School, Northville, Michigan, to bring mentally retarded children out of the wilderness into the mainstream of life.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com