The Forgotten | FULL DOCUMENTARY | PBS Fort Wayne

In 1879 Indiana decided to create an institution for children with mental disabilities. In 1890 a brand-new facility dedicated to this cause was opened in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Using interviews, newspaper accounts, and archival photos and videos from these facilities, this 2-hour historical documentary tells the story of these forgotten places, patients and caregivers.

Telly Award Winning Documentary - The Forgotten: A History of the State Developmental Institution in Fort Wayne was made possible by AWS Foundation.

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Originally Aired on PBS Fort Wayne on Oct. 9th 2022

#pbs #documentary #fortwayne #indiana #fulldocumentary #history #pbsfortwayne

[mommiedearest]

My uncle was born with physical and mental impairments. It was genetic and akin to cerebral palsy. His mental aptitude was about 7-8yrs old. The doctors in 1955 told my grandparents to put him somewhere and basically forget about him. They both refused to put him anywhere. Growing up we treated him like any other member of the family. He had a job, was in the lion's club, was on a bowling league. He had a very long and fulfilling life until he passed at the age of 62. He never would have had that if he'd been tossed aside and forgotten.

[TheMeJustMe]

My son was born with a chromosome deletion and duplication. We recognized something was different about him just a few months after he was born. He just didn't respond to us like a lot of babies his age. Once he became a toddler things really became more obvious. We went to every doctor and looked things up online. After over a year we finally found a doctor that was a geneticist and he figured it all out. He helped us get our son into physical therapy at an early age and was completely honest with us. He couldn't tell us what our son's diagnosis would be like. He said he might have the mental capacity of a 4 year old as an adult or he might be fine. Now our son is 12 and is doing good in school but is getting additional assistance in his classes. He plays soccer and is in band.

[SpookieCupcakes]

One of my ancestors was there from age 5 and died there in 1918 from the Spanish flu. Her story was extremely difficult from involuntarily being sterilized, being arrested after being out for a year. It's unbelievable what they put her through. She is the first person I want to see after my death. RIP Eva Lady. 1894-1918

[louettesommers]

My dear husband and I were blessed with three children who were born with Down syndrome.
Two were little boys and one was a little girl. Each one was so beautiful. Our precious little boys didn’t live very long lives, our little baby was just 3 years old when he died. Our other beautiful little boy was just 9 1/2 years old when he died.
Thank God our amazing daughter is now 44 years old and she is such true blessing. She brings so much joy to our lives.
I’m so grateful that we weren’t told to place any of our children outside our home.
My heart hurts for these people who were given up . 😢
I’m very thankful that this dear woman took on the task to plan the funerals for the people who died in those institutions. 😢

[msgoogle]

God bless all the unknown people that have helped all the unfortunates over the years, those are the real heroes

[jenlake]

Mrs. Henry having a prayer service for the children who died with no one earned a special place in heaven. I'm thankful her son shared this piece of history. Thankful his parents cared.

[mariekatherine]

So sweet of the lady to have a service for those who died without people on the outside.

[Liberty]

Beautiful prayer in the end. 🙏🏽 May God bless people like her. ❤

[elizabethmauer]

PBS does the best documentaries. Thank you, PBS. Great job, as usual.

[NicoleKobrowski]

I would love to see more of these types of documentaries.

[stephaniehouchin]

My mother worked there when I was little she would some times take us to work with her and some times would bring residents to our home for the holidays. They always felt like family to me . They will forever live in my heart ❤️.

[jennybaumgarten]

I worked as a Special Education Assistant for 17 years with students with disabilities. It was very rewarding seeeing the students learn in their own ways and make friends and have dignity. I worked with people from all walks of life hearing impaired visuallylly impaired, behavior, paraplegic, people with Downs, Angel Syndromes . I could see their eyes light up and see their dignity in themselves increase. I will never forget the 1st student I worked with student with paraplegia who couldn"t walk or talk and needed ro be tube fed. I worked with him i n hygeine class every morning . I would give him choices like which flavor toothpaste or chapstick he wanted by looking at a card with the color of the item. I could also well that I could tell how he wass feeling. He also went across stage at his graduation (withhelp in his wheelchair)His family was there. He had a great big smile on his face. I knew he was very proud of himself. Society has come a long way in accepting people (kids) with disabilities being included in regular classrooms in schools. They, like any other person should be treated with respect and taught to their FULL potential and loved and cared for .

[ThatOnePieceKid]

God bless the employees that took care of our fellow human beings through exhaustion and other hardships.

[janetcarbone]

Just finished watching this. I worked all my career in these facilities although in another state. The story of The State School was replayed in most if not all states in this country The facility where I worked was built in 1888. Same story and same history—good and bad. What really led to overcrowding IMO was the improvement in medical care for those with severe and profound disabilities. Since those individuals lived longer and required more direct care, there was increased strain on staff and resources causing the mass overcrowding. EXCELLENT documentary! You were spot on with a balanced view of the care for those with developmental disabilities. Just please remember that while things have dramatically improved, the field has to be ever vigilant to make sure those with the most challenging behaviors get the care they deserve even if the live in a community group home. I just wanted to add the end really struck me. I loved my job with my guys. No matter how terrible people thought the state facilities were, we were family

[bellas]

My aunt was born in Indianapolis in 1952. My grandparents were encouraged to "give her up" and refused. Aunt was #2 of 6 children. Grandparents divorced after 6th so the siblings took care of aunt while grandma worked nights. Aunt had a lot of emotional issues, especially anger, but in general was similar to a 10-year-old child throughout her life. Services were available and used for her education and care while the siblings were in school themselves. She didn't progress much but she could read and write. She married and has a relatively normal life, considering. The siblings helped care for her after her husband died. We all helped until she passed from leukemia in 2018. I can't imagine she would have had such an average life if my grandparents had put her in a facility. They were in a position mentally and financially to keep her home, and I'll always miss her. She was our aunt but she was like a child that we all loved caring for, even during her anger bouts.

[saintlybeginnings]

This is a fantastic Documentary! No political slant, no narrative/ bias pushed. Just the honest historical record on the time of this State residential School.

This is the PBS of my youth!!

[jennas]

In the 70s, we had a next door neighbor named Carol. She was probably in her 30s, and still lived with her caring parents. As a kid, I was just told she was "slow" (and the neighbor kids had some not nice names for her.) I remember being afraid of Carol. I think it was because my mother was. She treated Carol as an annoyance. I didn't realize the history of what was happening in mental health then. It makes the whole situation more clear to me, so thank you for that and for a great documentary.

[donnapostlewaight]

I so enjoyed this. My grandson has Autism and I noticed the signs in some of the children shown. My heart aches for those children locked away out of sight out of mind. I cant imagine my life without the gift of my grandson.

[lorry]

My first job was in a 60 bed facility for people with Disabilities. My subsequent jobs were working in group homes where 2 to 4 people shared a home. I recall thinking that any of the people in that facility could be successful in a group home.
I know that there are people with extreme mental or physical issues who need a different kind of care. However, community based housing offers a much better quality of life. Having neighbors with Disabilities is educational for those living without a Disability. We are ALL people first. Inclusion within the community fosters understanding and compassion, something all too rare in this world.

[amykins]

Thank you PBS for feeding my curiosities about this great big world!!