Monica and David : Educational edition

Donated by The Freemasons Charity

Copyright Permission: Yes

"Explores the marriage of two adults with Down Syndrome and the family who strives to support their needs. Monica and David are blissfully in love and want what other adults have, an independent life. Full of humor, romance, and everyday family drama, intimate fly-on-the wall footage is used to reveal the complexity of their story. While Monica and David are capable beyond expectations, their parents, aware of mainstream rejection of adults with intellectual disabilities, have trouble letting go." - PUBLISHERS WEBSITE

"Educational Edition Bonus Material:
5 exclusive videos feature adults with intellectual disabilities, their families and advocates. Starring Jason & Emily Perl Kingsley (writer), Lawrence Carter-Long (activist/disability media specialist) and Anna & Terri Couwenhoven (sex educator).

Employment in the community

Healthy relationships

Independence & families letting go

Dating & sexuality : a conversation with Terri Couwenhoven

Reflections on society : a conversation with Lawrence Carter-Long" - DVD CASE

Review from outcomes facilitator. She showed the recently acquired educational edition of Monica and David to some residents of a home where she previously worked and shares both her views and their views on the DVD.
This edition includes extra footage featuring adults with intellectual disabilities, their families and advocates discussing employment in the community, healthy relationships, independence and families letting go, dating and sexuality and reflections on society.
I went to the home I previously worked at and watched it with the guys there. One of the people is a young man with Down syndrome who just got into a relationship for the first time so it was great for him; it started a really good conversation. Two of the three watched the whole thing; one fell asleep (though it’s pretty normal for that to happen for her). They all said they really liked it. The only bit we weren’t so sure on was the bonus material piece on sexuality, and I felt that that was because it was told from the perspective of an ‘expert’, rather than a disabled person (who in many ways is more of an expert). The guys I was watching it with didn’t really seem to relate to the woman and therefore didn’t relate to the message as well as the other pieces.
What I really liked about the DVD is that it was told from the perspective of Monica and David; they were clearly the main people in the DVD and it wasn’t about the non-disabled ‘expert’ coming to do a piece on them, but rather felt more like a film crew was working with them, telling their story from their own perspective (in an almost ethnographic way), with the other important people in their life having a say too. From what I have seen there is very little like this, and the people I was watching it with seemed to relate to the story really well. It was also well paced and easy to understand and follow for disabled people (although Monica and David were hard to understand at times, and the audio was weird as (from memory) it just had one person reading all the subtitles, rather than different voices for different people). While it was well-paced and easy-to-follow for disabled people, it was still interesting to watch for myself and the other staff person present and didn’t feel too slow, an achievement which really must be credited.
And yes just like the review on the back, I had tears in my eyes within the first few minutes. I’d recommend it as a great DVD for both staff and disabled people alike, particularly anyone who is interested in learning more about relationships.