"Silent Journey" documentary review

NATIONAL SCENE MAGAZINE (www.nationalscenemagazine.com, under "Entertainment" section) EXCLUSIVE:

"Silent Journey"

Written by: Karen Benardello


In an aspiring tribute to what parents of children with multiple disabilities go through, and the daily struggles these children face, Sandy Rochelle released her documentary Silent Journey on DVD. This touching movie chronicles the struggles her son David, who was born deaf and autistic, encountered during the 1970s and ‘80s, a time when doctors were even reluctant to diagnose, much less treat, the brain development disorder.

The movie primarily focuses on the obstacles David faced during his childhood, particularly in his education, after being born on June 1, 1972. Since Sandy and her husband Alan always wanted children, they were ecstatic when David was born on June 1, the day Marilyn Monroe, Andy Griffith, Pat Boone and Morgan Freeman were all born, as they felt that meant their son was destined to do great things. But the Rochelles knew something was wrong with David at an early age when he continuously wouldn’t respond to slamming doors, ringing phones and even ambulances.

After doctors confirmed the Rochelles fears that David was indeed deaf, Sandy felt it in her soul that he was also autistic. Viewers of Silent Journey, not just those who have disabled children, can feel Sandy’s disappointment when those doctors refused to acknowledge that he was also autistic, instead suggesting he had other illnesses, such as Central Nervous System Damage and minimal brain development, or that he was just emotionally disturbed or atypical.

But Sandy’s determination to get her son treatment really shone through, as she discussed the fact that she, Alan and David would travel with from Manhattan to Queens by subway twice a week so that he could attend the infant program at the Lexington School for the Deaf, the only educational program of its kind at the time. While the program seemed to work at first, the school administrator eventually unjustly suggested that Sandy and Alan’s marriage may have caused David’s emotional problems. He even told her to read Bruno Betteheim’s The Empty Fortress, Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self, which blamed mothers for autism.

But David stopped attending the program at the Lexington School after the administrator’s suggestion and the fact that it seemed to stop helping him. David stayed home for months as Sandy looked for another school for him. Unfortunately, autism schools didn’t want a deaf child, and deaf programs couldn’t accommodate autistic children. But after much persistence, and with the help of the state, Sandy admirably founded the Special Education Unit, or SEU, for children with multiple disabilities, at the Lexington School.

Silent Journey also effectively incorporates interviews with doctors and other people who knew David as he was growing up as a child. Dr. Thomas Colasuonno, who knew David at the Lexington School, said that he had great opportunities at the school, but unfortunately, without the right medical treatment, he had difficulty with the other children. But Prof. Gabriel Grayson, who first met David in the ‘80s, appreciates how far he’s come, and how well he interacts with others now.

This documentary is a great resource for anyone who wants to witness the potential children with multiple disabilities have, and the growth they go through when they overcome obstacles. In Silent Journey, Sandy also reaches out to families with children who have multiple disabilities, and it shouldn’t be missed.