I Am Sam (2001) accurately displays the challenges and barriers that individuals with special needs encounter on a daily basis. The movie is based on man named Sam Dawson, who has an intellectual disability, and the relationship with his daughter Lucy, following their abandonment by her mother. It presents controversial themes surrounding special education including bias evidence of intellectual capacity, neglect of legal rights and damaging societal views. “Many people assume that the presence of an intellectual disability precludes a person from becoming self-determined” (Wehmeyer et al., 2003). Sam’s experience in having a special need presents a variety of obstacles that challenge his autonomy and self-determination.
Beginning with Sam’s familial relationships, the film shows no immediate family members except Lucy who is the most important person to Sam. Lucy identifies her father as being different from a very young age and asks “did God mean for you to be like this, or was it an accident?” Sam’s reaction to this observation demonstrates the deficiency of understanding as he does not seem to identify with being different. As a child, Lucy is inspired by her father as a human regardless of his disability because from her perspective, being different isn’t necessarily associated with anything negative. As the movie progresses, Lucy begins to create a framework “normalization” and starts to believe that something is in fact “wrong” with her father. Lucy constantly has to defend her father from negative stereotypes. For example, when she has a classmate over, he asks “what’s wrong with your father…why does he act like a retard?” This has a lasting impression on Lucy and leads to her withdrawal from learning. Interactions with Lucy’s school suggest that Sam’s intellectual capacity is around that of a 7 year old. Their concerns about his ability to parent Lucy push her further away from learning. This shows the challenging impacts that disabilities can present to family members of individuals with special needs.
The fact that his family was non-existent in the film suggests that he is alone with a lack of support system. The abandonment by Lucy’s mother further implies that Sam is too challenging to deal with. It isn’t until later in the film when we realize that Lucy’s mother was a homeless woman which provokes the audience to question their relationship. The ambiguity is addressed during an interaction with a prostitute. Sam is completely unaware that her “friendliness” is anything more than friendly. The Journal of Research in Special Needs (2018) acknowledges violence and abuse towards individuals with intellectual disabilities as a “pervasive and long-standing problem” (Robinson, 2018, p.48). Individuals with special needs are often taken advantage of and sometimes have difficulty identifying wrongful behaviours imposed on them.
Sam has various interactions with others that are significant to discuss. Annie is Sam’s neighbour who proves to be an incredible support throughout the entire movie. She understands Sam and sees him as a capable individual. She refutes the critical views of society by remaining present and consistent in her support. Annie promotes Sam’s dignity and challenges the misconceptions associated with special needs. Similarly, Sam’s friends represent his informal support system that provide consistency in all aspects of his life. Sam’s peer group exemplifies that disability is caused by the way society is organised rather than the individual impairment (Smart, 2009). They relate to Sam because they all have a special need. Regardless of their exceptionalities, they stick together and support one another.
In contrast of those who support Sam, the social worker firmly believes that he is incapable of caring for Lucy due to his “disability”. Their relationship is distant and fueled by bias evidence of intellectual capacity. The social worker believes that Sam has a deficit that needs to be fixed and treats him as less capable. The social worker never takes the time to get to know Sam or attempt to understand his needs. Rather, she bases her opinion of inadequate parenting on shallow reports from others.
Sam’s interaction with his lawyer shows the power in getting to know the individual before making any judgements about their disability. Their relationship starts off rocky with Rita asking questions such as “I don’t know what to call you," after stumbling over the terms "handicapped," "retarded" and "challenged." Sam’s reply is simple and profound: "You can call me Sam." This interaction shows the world how to embrace individuals with special needs by seeing them as individuals first. In addition to confronting her own fears about dealing with someone with a disability, Rita learns more about herself.
The legal issues presented during their encounter reveal the barriers that individuals with special needs face. It is difficult for Sam to understand all of the legal jargon that is thrown at him and as such, he is unaware of his basic human rights. Unfortunately, this is all too common in cases where the individual with special needs has no one to advocate on their behalf. Within the United Nations Human Rights, committee on the rights of persons with disabilities article 12(3) states that “parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity”. This is just one step that Canada has taken to protect the rights of individuals with special needs.
Finally, Sam’s establishes a complicated relationship with Randy who attempts to adopt Lucy. Randy is under the impression that she can be a better parent to Lucy and doubts Sam’s ability to meet Lucy’s essential needs. As she gets to know him and witness his unconditional love towards Lucy, she realizes that he is in fact the best fit for Lucy regardless of his disability. There is a sense of guilt that is illuminated once she realizes that she was wrong in her impressions.
Acceptance by the community is shown throughout the film in a variety of ways. Sam is employed at Starbucks and interacts with customers on a daily basis. The interactions differ depending on the customer. Regular customers who seem to have built a relationship with Sam, are kind and smile at him with appreciation. Other customers are annoyed by Sam and refuse to engage in conversation. When Lucy decides to take Sam to a different restaurant, the waitress is impatient and unsympathetic to Sam’s outburst. She doesn’t know how to react to his unusual request for I Hop pancakes when they clearly don’t have this item on the menu. The lack of understanding leads to negative stereotypes about those with intellectual disabilities.
The storyline relates to my personal experience as an educator because it addresses prevalent issues in special education. Education is instrumental in breaking systemic barriers for individuals with special needs. Issues of marginalization, inequality, violence and abuse are all addressed within the film. Students with exceptionalities who enter our classrooms are not immune to these challenges and/or barriers. Despite his disability, Sam tries hard to accomplish goals and learn new things - skills that are essential to self-determination. As an educator, I believe that it is my duty to advocate for individuals with special needs so they can become independent members of society. I also feel that parent/guardians of students with exceptionalities need support from educators. Canadian Provinces and Territories have now adopted a philosophy of inclusion that promotes an understanding and awareness of students with exceptionalities. Inclusive classrooms enable students to become more empathetic and respectful towards individual needs. It is my personal mission to educate my students so that they may see all individuals as capable human beings.
References:
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx#12.
I Am Sam. (2001)
Wehmeyer, M.L., & Palmer, S. (in press). Adult outcomes for students with cognitive disabilities three years after high school: The impact of self-determination. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
“Wehmeyer, M. L., & Garner, N. W. (2003). The Impact of Personal Characteristics of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disability on Self‐determination and Autonomous Functioning. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1468-3148.2003.00161.x.
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