This product is part of the
Down Syndrome series.
1. Lily: A Story about a Girl Like Me
Lily was ten and in third grade when this lovely, award-winning production was made. She was a pioneer for mainstreaming due to her district’s lack of other facilities for her. We see her in her classroom and playground as well as at home, coming to terms with the academic and social pressures upon her. Lily’s emotional strengths which will serve her so well in the future are already apparent in this loving documentary portrait of a child who happens to have an anomaly in her chromosomes.
(1978) 14 minutes
2. Lily: A Sequel
Lily was twenty when most of this video was shot. The video begins with scenes of her triumphant graduation from high school and chronicles her current life as a restaurant worker and resident of a group home. Lily’s ease in front of the camera allows viewers to share her delights in her achievements but also her poignant longing for an even more mainstream life. She expresses her desire to live independently and to have a boyfriend. Her mother expresses her concerns about the realities of more independence for Lily.
(1988) 15 minutes
3. Lily at Thirty
Lily now has her own apartment as part of an independent living program and is working in a supermarket bagging groceries. She is seen interacting with customers and staff there and in her apartment with her friends and family. With her caseworker, Lily deals with the realities of bill paying and menu planning. In a bittersweet juxtaposition, the video shows Lily celebrating her brother’s wedding and then alone in her room working on her own written fantasy tale of being a popular girl in an active high school. She endears herself to viewers in her frank discussion of what her disability means to her.
(1997) 14 minutes
Learning Guides
Discussion Topics
1978 Lily: A Story About A Girl Like Me CINE Golden Eagle Award
