(upbeat music) (projector clicking) - Have you ever wondered where the television signal you're watching is coming from?

♪ I love to go a wanderin' (projector clicking) ♪ along the mountain track - Welcome to True North.

(upbeat music) (mysterious music) - Good evening and welcome to Mainewatch (upbeat music) (projector clicking) Welcome to From the Vault.

A celebration of 60 years of Maine Public Television.

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

It is estimated that nearly 40,000 Mainers over the age of 60 suffer from some form of abuse.

And so to shine a light on this important topic we will go back to 2009 for "Broken Trust".

This half hour special hosted by Jennifer Rooks, shares personal stories of abuse, both financial and physical, and looks at the efforts to combat, identify and prevent this from happening.

In this program, you will see a helpline phone number.

That number is still in use.

So if you or someone you know is suffering from abuse or you suspect they may be or you just need to talk to someone, please call the Bureau of Elder and Adult Services.

Toll-Free at 1 800 624 8404 You can also find many resources on the website of the Maine Attorney General.

In the second half of our show, we will look at issues, challenges, and the culture of the deaf community in Maine.

We will go back to 1994 for sounds of silence.

This half hour special goes inside the Baxter School for the Deaf.

Now, since the show aired, their mission has changed more to the integration of hearing impaired students into community schools, although preschoolers are still taught on the Mac Worth Island campus.

As always, if you want to see the show again or watch other episodes check out the From The Vault playlist at YouTube.com/Maine Public.

Now let's go back to 2009 for "Broken Trust".

(soft intro music) - [Announcer] The following is a production of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

- In Maine, an estimated 12,000 seniors are victims of elder abuse.

In this MPBN special report, we will hear stories of elder abuse, see some of the efforts to battle it in Maine, and learn what we can all do to help stop it.

(somber music) - Come on.

- [Jennifer] 74 Year old Dot Jarmin can keep up with the preschoolers at the Children's Center in Portland where she volunteers.

To see her now it is hard to imagine the nightmare she's lived through.

- Are we having fun?

- [Jennifer] It started in 1996.

Dot was a passenger in a car hit by a drunk driver.

- [Dot] I never saw it coming.

I never, that's why I wasn't ready for it.

He come in this way and drove the seat into me, which threw me into the windshield and into the side window and back into the windshield again.

And I get all the side of my head.

- [Jennifer] She was seriously injured and almost died.

- After that, I remember nothing.

You know, I don't remember being in the hospital.

I don't remember the five months unconscious.

I remember things afterwards a little bit at a time.

- [Jennifer] It took life support, a tracheotomy, and several surgeries to make Dot whole again.

She celebrated her 63rd birthday in the hospital.

When she was finally discharged, Dot's daughter took her home and put her in a hospital bed in the basement.

Her other children lived out of state.

During that time, Dot remembers drifting in and out of consciousness and not being allowed to leave her room.

- I was a prisoner and I was a hungry prisoner.

That's all I had.

No windows.

It was cold.

- [Jennifer] One day when her daughter was not home, Dot's home healthcare worker stopped by.

And together she and Dot walked upstairs and got the mail.

Dot was shocked to find credit card bills in her name.

She confronted her daughter.

- Finally, I told her, I said, why did you take credit cards out in my name?

I didn't do any such thing.

They're not in my name.

They're in yours.

I said, where are the bills, Susan?

Where are the bills?

You'll never know.

I said, I don't have to know, honey.

I've got 'em.

And I showed her and she let me have it across the face.

- [Jennifer] The abuse didn't end there.

Dot says her daughter hit her more than once.

And even through a glass ashtray at her, cutting her ankles.

Dot says she found out later that her daughter had drained her bank accounts, and was cashing her Social Security checks.

- Finally, I was able to start fighting with Susan, and I started fighting with her.

And she says, why don't you just die?

Get it over with and die.

- [Jennifer] Eventually social worker Katie Phillips began working with Dot, referred by a home healthcare worker.

- Looking forward to it.

Bye-bye.

As we were working together it wasn't long when she started explaining to me that she was concerned about her finances, where all her money had gone.

The fact that her daughter was really very controlling about, you know, all of her communications and correspondence.

And so that's, you know, where the red flag went up for me.

- [Jennifer] Phillips helped Dot get out of that house and eventually into a subsidized apartment.

- [Katie] Unfortunately, I've run across cases like this over the years, doing the outreach counseling work.

And just that it's such an insidious process and questions were asked of her by, you know, providers prior to my being involved.

But her daughter was standing right there and she never felt safe to talk, you know, the truth.

- It is a typical, classic elder abuse case.

- [Jennifer] Ricker Hamilton, who is with Maine's Department of Adult Protective Services, says the pattern is all too common.

In most elder abuse cases, it is a family member or caregiver who is the abuser.

In many cases, including Dot's, others don't believe the victim when they talk about the abuse.

And authorities did not prosecute her abuser.

- People are abusing our seniors, taking advantage of the aging process, taking advantage of their dependencies because of power, and control, and greed.

- [Jennifer] Ricker says many victims blame themselves.

Dot Jarmin fit that pattern too.

- [Ricker] She truly is an example of the elder abuse victim.

Someone who always put themselves last.

Dot worked three jobs.

She was a single mom.

Her husband had died in the war and she kept working three jobs.

And that's what we hear from victims a lot.

You know, I don't know what I could have done.

They're emotionally and psychologically abused at the same time that they're being physically abused, financially exploited, or neglected.

- Those pictures.

Grandchildren?

- Oh, yes.

Those are my babies.

There's my heart.

- [Jennifer] Since spring of 2008, more than 400 law enforcement officers around Maine have been through these, intensive two-day programs designed to help them better identify and investigate elder abuse cases.

- Your only caregiver is your abuser.

The only reason you're still in your own home and not someplace else, is the person who is abusing you.

- [Jennifer] Working with the AG's office, Adult Protective Services, and each other, they hone their radar and learn what to look for.

- One of the things we felt changes in the routines, they're missing functions or appointments, or they're not in church every Sunday, like they used to be.

- Disparity between the parents' room and other rooms in the house.

If it's a nice, beautiful, well kept home, but their parents' room where they're staying is just completely unkept.

- [Jennifer] The emphasis is on the psychology of elder abuse, and on evidence based investigation, treating elder abuse cases in many ways like child abuse cases.

Lieutenant Russ French with the Kittery Police Department has worked in law enforcement for 23 years.

- I think it's just the things that have stood out for me in this training have been to recognize the tactics used by the abuser.

And in the past, I might have taken it at face value that someone was just having a bad day or couldn't come to the door, was unable to get outta bed.

Now, I would look into the situation a little bit further, ask to see the victim, ask to speak with the victim, ask them more questions.

And just do, you know, everything that I can, because if we don't do that might be the only shot we have at getting it right.

And if we don't get it right that one time through, who knows next time we get to the house, it might be something a lot worse.

- [Jennifer] Lieutenant John Kilbride of the Falmouth Police Department says his department has seen a lot of elder abuse cases.

- Does it really matter what the financial background is?

How much money you have?

How much money you don't have?

Anyone could be susceptible to this.

If I've learned anything in over 10 years of law enforcement, that anybody can be susceptible to this, it doesn't matter where you live.

- I was one of his three grandchildren, the oldest out of his three grandchildren.

He just loved us.

He absolutely adored us.

And we had a wonderful time with him.

He was wonderful.

And he was that grandfather that would take you to the beach every single day in the summer.

He would build the forts in the backyard.

He would, you know, hide this special candy in the candy bowl for you.

I mean, he just, he did everything for you.

He was fantastic.

- [Jennifer] Kate Marro adored her grandfather, Al Wagner, a retired hospital administrator.

As he aged though, he suffered several health problems, including dementia, blindness, and loss of hearing in one ear.

After a severe fall and surgery, his family decided to move him into an assisted living facility.

- [Kate] It was kind of at that point that while in the rehab facility, we felt that it was kind of a nicer transition, if you will, from that facility into like a memory loss unit.

So he had a lot of things going on.

So, you know, it was kind of a hard transition for us.

And I think it was for him at the beginning.

But I really, it was the safest place for him.

It was really the best environment.

- [Jennifer] Kate visited her grandfather almost every day.

During those visits, he started talking about inappropriate behavior.

- [Kate] I remember the first night that he really talked to me about it.

I was sitting there having a conversation and he started talking about this burly man that was taking sexual favors from him.

And he described the man giving him a bath and some of the things that he was doing to my grandfather.

And then saying to my grandfather.

And I think the part that really stopped me and kind of gave you that sick feeling in your stomach was the fact that he was so clear about this.

- [Jennifer] Kate told her family and they reassured her, gramp has dementia.

He's been having odd thoughts anyway.

In fact, they'd been told to change the subject if he talked about anything sexual in nature.

- This wasn't the only time he had told me.

There was another time I remember going in and talking with him, and he said, he's telling me about the burly man that abused him.

I said, gramp, are you sure you're not mistaken?

Maybe you were just getting a bath.

Maybe you're used to female caregivers.

And he said, no, this really happened.

And I said, well, I just, I think you need to relax.

And I think you need to know that you're safe.

And that's why we have you here.

And he looked at me, he said, I'm not safe.

He said it happened to me right there last night.

And he pointed to his own bathroom.

And so I kind of looked at him and I mean, he was really upset.

And he said, nevermind, I don't wanna ruin our visit by talking about this.

This just must be the way things are in places like this.

- [Jennifer] Then one night another employee of the facility walked in and witnessed the abuse.

According to the police report, Charles Trott, a CNA, would wake Al Wagner in the middle of the night to shave him and bathe him.

Then molested him.

- The victim in this case would get shaved at 12:30 in the morning.

Normally people are sleeping at that time.

The suspect would be on another wing of the facility and he would come over to this wing to give personal care to the victim.

- [Jennifer] Detective Mark Waltz is certain that Trott targeted Al Wagner specifically.

- [Mark] We'll find offenders similar to this one, will put themselves in a position where they've got people that can take advantage of.

They'll look for people that they think can't report it, or won't tell people about it, or won't be believed.

- He tried to report his own abuse and he was not believed.

The only way he was believed was when somebody else that did not have dementia actually came in, and was able to catch the gentleman in the act.

And I think that's very alarming.

- [Jennifer] Trott served three months in jail.

When he was released, Kate Marro expected that he would be listed on the state's sex offender registry, but he was not.

The registry only applies if the victim is under 18 years old.

- Because my grandfather was 89 years old, this gentleman was not required to register as a sex offender.

- [Jennifer] As shocking as this case is, law enforcement officials say it is not rare.

- There's a lot more sexual abuse in general than people, you know, believe.

In studies show that there's a much greater percentage among folks that are developmentally disabled or, you know, elderly than there is than the regular population, because they can make easier victims.

All the training we do nationally, and in this state, it is the most under reported, unrecognized, unprosecuted form of elder abuse that's out there.

We're missing it.

- [Jennifer] Kate Marro is sharing her grandfather's story in hopes that it will help other families.

- Knowing how strong he was, and how upfront, and how involved in the community, and doing the right thing.

I mean, that's what kind of a man he was.

So I feel that I am allowed to talk about his story.

And I do so, because I think it's very important for people to know that this can occur.

I mean, my grandfather was a professional man.

He was very family oriented.

He had a good job.

He lived a wonderful life.

And he was just a nice person.

And for him then to go into a facility, not only dealing with health problems, but then to have this happen to him, I think it's important for people to know that this can occur.

And it can happen to anyone.

Absolutely anyone.

- [Jennifer] Portland Police Detective Cheryl Holmes began focusing on property crimes against the elderly more than a decade ago, long before elder abuse was a phrase you heard in police departments.

How many cases do you think you've done that have involved seniors as victims?

- Dozens and dozens.

I mean, dozens.

- [Jennifer] She has seen awful things.

Nursing home patients who've had their wedding rings pulled from their fingers.

So-called friends who repeatedly withdrew the victim's money from an ATM.

And many cases of drug addicts, stealing from those they were hired to care for.

Cheryl feels passionately about all her cases, but perhaps her favorite case ever involved a woman she calls Special Agent 90, Olivia Spallholz.

Olivia lived at The Park Danforth in Portland, which Cheryl calls a great place with a great administration, but there had been repeated thefts.

- They started finding money missing.

And what was happening is the person was not taking all the money.

Like, say you had a hundred dollars in your room.

They would take 20, 30 and make the elder scratch their head, and go, geez, did I spend that?

Did I leave it in my nighty when I went to the laundry?

You know, they'd play on their head.

- [Jennifer] Cheryl began talking to residents.

Then she knocked on Olivia's door.

- I went around to all the gals and, you know, talked, and found out some was, you know, missing 20, some 40, whatever.

I get into her room.

And I'm like, I just played on her.

I said, listen, you've been here the longest.

And she, you could see her puff right up.

I go, tell me what you think.

You know, tell me what you think.

And she goes, come in and shut the door.

So I shut the door and she goes, you know, there's something about the new girl that just doesn't feel right.

And I said, well, tell me about the new girl.

She's just too nice.

There's something that doesn't feel right.

- My grandmother was, God, under five feet, full of spunk.

And she was the matriarch of our family.

And she was mad.

She felt violated.

And she was upset.

- [Jennifer] Olivia agreed to have the administration install a camera in her apartment.

- [Cheryl] Every night she had a hundred dollars sitting there, and she'd count the money, and give me the thumbs up that it was all right there, and she'd go to bed.

And in the morning, she'd get up and she'd count it again.

And then it went on for a few days.

And one day and she called me and she goes, we got her.

This woman, this monster actually was hugging her, and tucking her in, and reaching back, and stealing her money.

- [Jennifer] Olivia cracked the case.

The Chief of the Portland Police Department gave her an award.

- [Corey] She was a great lady.

And I was happy for her because I think that she needed this boost in her life.

- These cases, you know what, honestly, outta all the cases I've done in my career, these keep me going.

They don't burn me out.

They keep me going because somebody's gotta do this.

You know, just being part of their lives.

Even if I can't solve the crime, becoming a friend and somebody that they can reach out to if they have a question or, you know, is so, to me, rewarding.

It's more rewarding than catching a bank robber, or a murderer, or whatever, is keeping the elders safe.

- [Jennifer] At the town of Eliot senior clam bake, Officer Candice Noble is dishing up steamers and smiles.

It is clear, everyone here is enamored with her.

Candace Noble is a young officer on a mission to get to know every senior citizen in Eliot.

- I started my law enforcement career in 2004, and I was able to get into houses of a lot of vulnerable seniors.

It'll kinda, you know, wrench on your heartstrings when you actually get in there, and see how people take advantage of 'em.

So I kind of took it upon myself to make sure that if I could change the life of one person, then I could probably do it for, you know, to a couple more.

- [Jennifer] Not only does she attend events like this one, but also runs a senior citizen police academy, and makes house calls.

- Hey.

- [Jennifer] After catching up with Bob and Jean Seeley out in their yard, Candace hands them a recent printout from the FBI, the latest scams to look out for.

- This is great information.

The first thing I said to Candace is, can I make copies of these to give to some of my older friends?

'Cause believe it or not, I do have friends that are older.

(Jean laughs) - [Jennifer] By doing all of this, Candace is trying to break down one of the biggest barriers to investigating elder abuse cases, the fact that many seniors feel uncomfortable calling police.

- As to a bum following me home, or running a stoplight, and all, but now it's like, you know, we're community, a family.

- [Jennifer] Candace says many of the people she's gotten to know were hesitant at first.

- Yeah, he's he's doing okay.

- [Candace] When I spoke to them initially, they didn't trust me.

It was one, I'm younger than them.

Two, it's the police.

And once they got to know who I was, and what I had to offer, and that I am a human, and I really genuinely care, so does everybody here at the Eliot Police Department, they start to trust us, and they start to develop a relationship with us.

And if they were to have a problem, or if they saw a problem within their neighborhood, they'd be more apt to give us a call.

- [Jennifer] God forbid, but if something were to happen to one of you, what would you do?

- I'd call Candace immediately.

That's what I would do.

- [Jennifer] Candace is dogged.

She doesn't know everyone yet, but will, one clam bake at a time.

- A lot of people ask, why do you focus on the elderly?

There's juveniles.

There's a lot of different groups that are there that need help in this society.

Why are you just focused on elderly?

And I always get teased about this, but I have this quote that I live by and it's taking care of those who once took care of us.

- You know, how do you know when you're getting old?

Well, someone once said, you know you're getting old when your mind makes contracts that your body can't keep.

(audience laughs) And that's another way.

But you know.

- [Jennifer] As Attorney General of Maine, Steve Rowe was passionate about fighting elder abuse, and raising awareness of it.

Here, he's meeting with a Triad group on Mount Desert Island.

- [Steve] And it's an issue that we don't like to talk about very much because it's, you know, it just don't like to talk about elder abuse, but it exists all across this state.

- [Jennifer] Rowe says battling elder abuse became a priority soon after becoming attorney general.

- Well, I always knew this was a problem, but I didn't know until I became attorney general, how pervasive it was, and how under reported it was.

We would get referrals from adult protective services.

And we would prosecute cases.

We'd actually continue the investigation and then prosecute.

But I found out it's one of the most under report crimes that there is, that being elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

- [Jennifer] Rowe also found that elder abuse cases were some of the most difficult cases to prosecute because the victim is often unable or unwilling to testify.

- That's one of the sad things.

We call this a hidden epidemic.

Because in many cases, the victim is ashamed, or embarrassed or loves, loves the perpetrator.

Doesn't want to see their son or daughter go to jail.

And their son or daughter will use fear around that.

Will say, mom, if you tell the police, you know I'm gonna go to jail, and you're going to the nursing home.

- [Jennifer] So when Steve Rowe talks to seniors, he encourages them to look out for their neighbors and watch for red flags.

- [Steve] Know your neighbor and look for those signs of changes.

You may see physical signs of trauma or unexplained injuries in an individual.

You may see that a personal care is lacking.

You know, a neighbor was always just looked so well kept and all, and now you see it a sort of disheveled appearance.

Those are indicators that something is going on.

Something is changing.

When you call the house, the son, the daughter, the grandson, the granddaughter answers.

She's not available.

She's sleeping.

You know, these are all red flags.

- [Jennifer] Others agree.

Cheryl Holmes believes the most important thing people can do to stem elder abuse is simply listen to elders.

- One thing that I've found that I really, if you listen to an elder, they're very smart.

They're very, very smart.

And a lot of times they get poo-pooed that, you know, they, oh, they're confused, or, you know, and that really makes me angry.

Because if you really pay attention to what they're telling you, who knows better than they?

- [Jennifer] Kate Marro wishes someone had listened to her grandfather.

- My grandfather complained to the staff.

My grandfather complained to his family, and he wasn't believed.

So I think that that's a big takeaway.

I think that knowing some people with dementia, they may have confusion, but not all the time.

So I think it is important to listen.

- [Jennifer] And Ricker Hamilton takes it one step further.

If the elder you know can't communicate with words he says, pay attention to other signs.

- It's also listening if I lack the capacity to tell you what's happening.

If I may have had some type of dementia or some type of diagnosis of Alzheimer's, there's ways that we as victims respond to different situations.

Have we always liked to go for rides?

And now we don't want to go for rides.

Have we always liked baths?

And now we don't like to take baths.

Am I acting differently?

I'm not sleeping.

I'm wearing multiple levels of clothes.

I say, look at people's eyes.

They tell us a lot.

And what I see in elder abuse victims is a loss of hope.

- [Jennifer] Elder abuse advocates all stress that the vast majority of elders are well cared for by people who would do anything for them.

It's estimated about 5% of seniors are victimized.

For victims, though, the stakes are very high.

- I'd say that those of us who are victims of elder abuse and that's could be just physical abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation, that over the next 10 year period, we die three at times the rate as non victims.

So elder abuse is killing us.

- I believe we probably are at the point with elder abuse where we were 20, 25 years ago with child abuse.

It's just starting to become apparent to us what is happening.

And we're seeing this.

This is really an epidemic.

There's a wall sort of hiding it.

It's a wall of shame, if you will.

And I think we're starting to sort of let the sun in.

- [Jennifer] Unlike many elder abuse victims, Dot Jarmin not only survived, but is thriving.

But many are not so fortunate.

- Susan can't hurt me anymore.

She's done all she can do to me.

I'm happy.

I'm well adjusted.

I'm poor, but I'm happy.

- She is absolutely one of my heroes.

I mention her name.

You mention her name.

I get goosebumps.

- [Jennifer] Dot says she is speaking out because she knows what can happen.

And she doesn't wish it on anyone else.

- Don't let them hit you.

If your son raises his hand to you that time, the next time he may bring a baseball bat, or he may bring a stick, or he may just double up his fist and let you have it.

You don't let him get away with it.

The police are there to protect us.

- If you are a victim of elder abuse or are worried about someone you know, there is confidential help available from police and adult protective services.

Whether you want to report something suspicious or just need someone to talk to, picking up the phone can make a difference.

Thank you for joining us.

(somber music) - Hello, I'm Bill Moraldo.

It may come as a surprise to you, as it did to me, that most deaf people don't consider themselves disabled.

To them, deafness is not a handicap.

It's a culture.

A tightly knit community of people with their own language.

Their only problem is getting the rest of us to understand that.

Helen Keller was not only blind, of course, she was also deaf.

She found her greatest refuge in books.

They talked to me, she said, without embarrassment or awkwardness.

Well today, most of us remain mystified by the deaf community or surprised to learn that it even exists.

But all of that is beginning to change, primarily because deaf people are starting to speak up.

(basketball bounces on court) Under the soft glow of yellow lights, the tip goes to the visiting team.

No plays are being called out from the sidelines.

Aside from 10 pairs of pounding sneakers and a bouncing ball, this gymnasium is remarkably quieter than what you'd expect at a typical high school game.

That's because the players, and most of their fans, are deaf.

(whistle blow, fans applaud) The annual alumni basketball game at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf on Mackworth Island in Falmouth is a special event for Maine's Deaf Community.

There are estimated to be about 9,000 profoundly deaf people in the state.

For some, the game is a reminder of how new policies and philosophies are affecting the next generation of this rising subculture.

(scoreboard buzzer rings) (whistle blows) - [ASL Interpreter For Roxanne] This is where I'm from.

And as I look around and I look back, I notice that a lot of deaf students are now gone, and they're placed out into public schools, and they're mainstreamed.

And so the Deaf Culture is diminishing.

The average deaf student in a public school is placed there, maybe alone, or maybe with one other deaf student in the whole school.

They're in a class and they're by themselves essentially.

They don't have much contact with other deaf people, much interaction with members of the Deaf Community, or people in their class, especially older deaf role models are absent from their lives, like teachers.

- Everything's so visual here.

Okay.

30 seconds.

- [Person Off-Camera] Okay.

- [Bill] Roxanne Baker has become a role model herself, not only to young deaf people, but to hearing students as well.

Besides teaching American Sign Language to several high school classrooms through the University of Maine's interactive television system, she's also showing them that being deaf is just another way of being human.

- [TV Program Director] Go ahead and roll tapes.

Start the three quarter.

- [Commercial Announcer] Are you a good shopper?

Well, why don't we join the Bravo family as they shop?

And we can go shopping for some sign language skills.

- [Bill] Unlike signed English, American Sign Language is a completely separate and distinct language with its own grammar and syntax.

Last year, Maine enacted a law requiring high schools to grant foreign language credit for ASL.

It was the kind of recognition Deaf advocates have been encouraging for a long time.

(upbeat music) - [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] My hope is there will be a day when all people have the same feelings and see each other as human beings and respect each other.

That someday individuals who make the choice to be different because of a difference in culture, a difference in language, in values, and traditions will still be respected and accepted in our society.

- [Bill] Bill Nye, the Adult Education Director at the Governor Baxter School, is widely recognized as the leader of Maine's Deaf Community.

In that role, he is working to spread awareness of Deaf Culture and Deaf Power.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] Deaf people have not been afforded the same level of empowerment that hearing people have enjoyed.

It seems strange to me that deaf people have found themselves in programs and services designed for them, but are not provided any empowerment to create decisions and policies about those programs.

- [Bill] The nation witnessed an incredible demonstration of Deaf Power in 1988.

Students at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC launched a week long strike, which resulted in the hiring of the school's first deaf president.

The uprising sent shockwaves felt in virtually every deaf school in the country.

- Oh, it did.

It did.

It was an exciting time because I think Gallaudet University was ready and had extremely qualified deaf candidates who could take that job as president of the university.

And at the same time, you look at yourself, I thinking of myself here as a hearing person, think, uh-oh, you know?

- [Bill] Kathy Fries has been the superintendent of the Governor Baxter School for nearly seven years.

She began her career in education at Gallaudet.

What I've sort of got from you is maybe Baxter isn't quite ready yet.

- [Kathy] Not Baxter isn't ready.

I don't think the State of Maine is ready.

Maine is a very conservative state and hangs, holds onto values, on traditional values very strongly.

And I think that as time goes on, the state is becoming more ready as a state to have deaf administrators, whether it's at Baxter or at any other program in the state that would serve deaf people.

But when I arrived in '87, I didn't feel the state was at that point.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] I think that it's time, it's time for a change in the structure and organization.

It's time to recognize deaf people need to have a position in the decision making process of where deaf children receive their education and services.

Unfortunately, the superintendent has not responded to the concerns of the Deaf Community, about the lack of deaf people on the upper administration teams.

- I would disagree with that.

Last year alone, we had two deaf administrators on the administrative team.

There is no one on the administrative team who was deaf this year.

And I agree that that's a problem.

That's a serious problem.

We have a difficult time recruiting deaf candidates for administrative positions into Maine.

We have offered positions to deaf candidates in the past, four administrative positions, and they've declined because they can earn greater money elsewhere.

- [Bill] Unrest over the lack of deaf administrators at the Baxter School surfaced in March, 1991.

Maine experienced its own version of the Gallaudet strike.

Students, parents, and several staff members marched on Augusta to protest a plan to close the campus dormitories.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] The decision to close the dorm program was actually a large cultural issue.

And it was decided and finalized, even though it's a cultural issue.

It was decided by the hearing administration team.

And the Deaf Community fought to save that program.

The Deaf Community values the dorms because that is the breeding ground for Deaf Culture.

It's a place for deaf children to have unstructured time, exposure to Deaf Culture, and time to socialize with their peers, to chat, to tease, to play.

And that's where the real exchange of culture, and experience, and values takes place.

The Deaf Community will respond to any external threats as a group.

And anything that would reduce the enrollment here that would lead to a change in the role and function of this school, we see as a threat.

(energetic music) - First thing we're gonna do is turn our ignitions on.

Fred's gonna help me do this.

And on a motorcycle, it has a high-low beam like a car.

And in order to check it, we would check it by using a switch.

And the switch is right over here.

And it says high and low.

And that's what we would check before we leave.

- [Bill] Mackworth Island is the heart of Maine's deaf population.

Nearly two dozen men and women have arrived at the Baxter School to take part in a motorcycle safety course.

It's a common misconception among the hearing that deaf people don't drive.

- We will have a meeting first, then we'll get you on the range.

Do some training, hands on riding.

We'll even let those Harley guys in there if they want.

(students laugh) - Yep, Harley-Davidson, man, that's the top.

(students laugh) - Best one in America (indistinct) We wouldn't do that.

I don't care what you ride, as long as you ride safely.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] Deaf people can do anything that hearing people can do if given the opportunity.

And it's important to see that deaf people have the capabilities to succeed in life and they can lead their own lives as hearing people do.

Deaf people want hearing people to understand that they have deaf experiences that the hearing could not possibly understand.

And deaf people value the input of other deaf people in the decision and policy making process.

And they want hearing people to take advantage of the expertise they have.

It's a different perspective.

You can't imagine seeing things through the eyes of a deaf person.

- [Bill] Part of understanding any culture is through exposure.

The Sunshine 2 Theater troop combines hearing and deaf performers who travel the country wherever there are children.

- Colleen's gonna be cueing for them.

But it might be easier if you took turns, 'cause you'd probably be exhausted by the end of the performance.

- I've never cued a play.

- No, no, they're fine.

- They're fine?

One person speak at a time?

- Point.

Point.

- What's the woman's name again?

- Sherry Lewis and (indistinct).

- Okay, you'll see a variety show.

We do some Shakespeare, a satire on Shakespeare so that all kids can understand and appreciate Shakespeare.

Not only the deaf, but the hearing also.

And we have, we do something a little different with the Little Red Riding Hood skit.

And that's we give the Wolf's point of view and kids really enjoy that.

(actor roars) (actor screams) (actor screams) (children laugh) - [ASL Interpreter] And now this what really went down.

You see, a long time ago, there was a poor, pathetic wolf.

He was so scared that all the other wolves would pick on him everyday.

- Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy.

(actor laughs) - [ASL Interpreter] Until one day, he proved that he was braver than all the other wolves.

And he ran into the deep, dark, mysterious forest.

And he ran, and he ran, and he ran, he ran, he ran.

- [Bill] Deaf Culture is unique in at least one aspect.

This culture is not a birthright.

Most deaf children are born of hearing parents.

And more than 90% of all deaf couples produce offspring who can hear.

In both cases, the parents often suffer as they see the child being torn between two worlds.

- [ASL Interpreter For Hartmut Teuber] My son's language, his first language, is more English.

He doesn't know as many signs to match all of those words.

So it's a challenge for me.

My son asked the performers about the Wizard of Oz, and he didn't know a sign for that, and he didn't know how to finger spell it.

So we had a little, I told him again, again, trying to read his lips.

I couldn't understand it.

I couldn't get it.

I didn't expect him to come up with that.

You know, that was after watching, he seen the videotape the Wizard of Oz, and I wasn't expecting for that to come up today.

And so finally my son gave up.

He was upset that I didn't understand him.

Very upset.

He was about to cry.

He was almost in tears.

And that's a great challenge.

That's why I'm beginning to understand why some deaf people would say that they prefer to have deaf children.

Not me.

I'm fine.

I'm happy to have a hearing son, too.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] I feel very strongly it's time to recognize that deaf people should be allowed to develop to their full potential without too much pressure to satisfy the needs of their hearing parents, and the hearing parents hopes and dreams.

Because we're all individuals and should be viewed on an individual basis.

Some parents hope and hope their deaf child will become normal or as much like a hearing person as possible when they grow up.

And I'm not sure how realistic that can be.

I'm here to tell you, from my experience, growing up in a residential school for the deaf, it was very hard for my parents to place me in that school.

But it gave me an opportunity for a higher education.

And I'm thankful for the many opportunities that were given to me to bring me to where I am today.

(student chuckles) - [Bill] Meanwhile, the deaf child faces a struggle for acceptance by his peers, and factors related to the specific nature of his deafness are often involved.

- Looking at what are your characteristics as a deaf individual?

Well, if I look at you, you don't really look any different.

So there's nothing physically I can pick out, but I can look at what makes you, you, and what makes you, you as who your parents were, how you communicated with them.

What kind of an environment did you grow up with with other deaf people, or not?

With other deaf children, or not?

And those are more the refinements within the Deaf Culture.

What I worry about with it is that it doesn't become discrimination within the culture because there's a danger that, that could occur.

Recognizing individual differences is a very good thing.

When the differences come to a point that they start to split people, then it becomes damaging.

(upbeat music) (various instrumental music) - [Bill] Over the past several years, the number of students attending K through 12 has dropped sharply.

Less than 75 youngsters are currently enrolled at the island school.

In the mid seventies, the number was closer to 175.

But a few years later, in 1982, state investigators uncovered evidence that students were being physically abused.

Almost immediately, Public Law 94-142 was brought out and dusted off.

- As a result of the investigation, one of the things that was examined was how the school was providing education to the children.

And if the school was following the federal mandate of 94-142, and it was determined that the school wasn't following the spirit of the law, and needed to investigate ways to allow deaf children to have more options of education available to them.

So mainstreaming was introduced, partial mainstreaming was introduced here.

It meant that some of the children spent part of their day here and part of the day in a local public school.

In this case, the Falmouth School System was the host site.

And for other children, as a result of the investigation, they were withdrawn from the school entirely.

And they were placed in their own local public school district.

- [ASL Interpreter For Bill Nye] We need to educate deaf children here within the Deaf Community, and we're not happy with the current mainstreaming programs we see, or the experiences of deaf children, and how they're being treated in the individual education programs.

There's a lack of proper services many times in the regular public school classrooms.

We feel the public schools have really not done enough for the deaf child in providing an opportunity for identification with their culture, and their language, and their values, and the traditions of the Deaf Community.

(keyboard digital clicking noises) - [Bill] One person who supports mainstreaming as a part of a deaf child's overall education is Rod McInnes His views on deafness have occasionally sparked controversy within the Deaf Community.

- [ASL Interpreter For Rod McInnes] I went to a private school, private boy school.

This was high school for four years, and I was the only deaf person in that school.

Then I went to college, University of Massachusetts for seven years, and I was the only deaf person there at that time.

So altogether 11 years, I was the only deaf person in the educational systems I was in.

- From my personal experience - [ASL Interpreter For Rod McInnes] From my personal experience, both in a residential school for the death and also in a mainstream setting, the mainstream setting was very difficult, a difficult experience for me.

But the mainstream situation helped me learn things quickly and much more deeply.

I believe that deaf children should have both experiences.

Many deaf people see themselves as oppressed, oppressed people.

So they prefer to stay with other deaf people in a group.

There are members of many Deaf Clubs, Deaf Organizations, and culture is very important for them.

It's not as important for me because I believe in participation in the hearing world as much as possible.

- [ASL Interpreter For Michael] Okay, so right now he's saying, look at all the trees out there in the woods.

Wow, that's a big tree.

Wow, look at that thing.

It's so high.

And, yeah, so now why don't we saw this tree down.

So we're going back and forth.

And we're sawing the tree down.

- [Bill] Miming has become one of Michael's favorite methods of self-expression.

He knows only a few words of sign.

He and four other deaf adults with mental illness live at the Sunrise House in Augusta.

Staff members from the division of mental health are learning that some deaf clients feel happier and more secure when given an opportunity to live with other deaf people.

Michael's friend, Andrew, is a good example.

- [Anthony] If you looked at his history before he lived in a program for people who were deaf, there there were a lot of blow up incidents of pounding things, throwing things.

And that was his way of communicating that he was not happy.

We were told when he was gonna move into this program, that there would probably be a lot of assaultive behaviors because that had been his history from the past.

And the reality of him moving here was that he's never had to be hospitalized.

He's never had to go to back to Pineland for a crisis.

And I really believe that's because he had a lot of support being in an environment for people who were deaf.

- [Bill] Although the division of mental health is within the same department as the division of mental retardation, the DMR has a different policy in dealing with its deaf clients.

- Well, our policy is not to make any distinction between people who are deaf and people who are not deaf.

So we try to look at all individuals with mental retardation or autism in a similar way.

And that is to look at individuals and let individual needs dictate the types of support, and structure, and services that they require.

- Well, my response is that, unfortunately, when it comes to deafness, that doesn't work.

Because if you don't have a specialized focus, deaf people will literally get lost in the system.

It's fine to say, we'll meet individual needs individually, but if you haven't budgeted and planned ahead for interpreters, basically it isn't gonna happen.

If you don't provide a clustered residence for people who are deaf and have that as an option for deaf people to choose from, then they can't have the individual option of living in a group home.

- What you have tragically is sometimes a system getting confused of how to respond and who has responsibility.

And that's part of the consequence of sometimes seeing people by their disability.

So you have some people saying, well, you are primarily a person with mental retardation.

You are primarily a person who's deaf.

You're primarily a person with mental health needs.

You're primarily blonde hair, blue eyed.

- It's not a matter of, oh, he's deaf first and we need to treat the deafness.

'Cause nobody's out to treat the deafness.

The point is he's mentally retarded.

Let's actually serve him in a language and a milieu that's appropriate to deaf people.

You can't communicate with him by talking and you can't talk down to him if the staff only know 20 signs and can say, sit, stop, eat, go.

I mean, I talk to my dog better than that.

- Right now I'm working on just the specific language of the bill.

Then we go to a public hearing.

- [Bill] The issue of how deaf and mentally retarded citizens receive state services may soon be resolved.

The Deafness Focus Group, an ad-hoc committee of Deaf Advocates and case workers, recently helped draft legislation to help address the problems.

Representative Sharon Treat is the prime sponsor of the bill.

- What we have in the bill right now is basically to require the department of mental health and retardation to find out how many of their clients are deaf.

An amazing thing to me was to find out that actually the department doesn't even know who's deaf among their client base.

And then to do an assessment of what their actual needs are and to set up programs that take into consideration deaf culture and the needs of deaf people.

- [Bill] The Deafness Focus Group was put together by Glenna Nowell who spent years trying to obtain appropriate services in Maine for her deaf son.

Barely a year old, the group hit the ground running.

Last summer, members organized a camp for deaf and mentally retarded adults.

- [Glenna] One of the deaf members of the coalition said that some of those clients are tucked away in boarding homes, signing to the cat.

That they had no one at all to communicate with.

So we wanted to see if we could get some of them together and whether they would interact with each other.

It used to be the philosophy that you not identify deaf clients because you are identifying them by a disease.

Deafness is now nationally considered a culture because you share a language.

So it's time for the State of Maine to do what some of the other states have done, and recognize deafness as a culture, and allow these people, if they want to, to live together.

(energetic music) - [Bill] The Deaf Community evolved, in part, because of what these people don't have in common, the ability to hear.

But also because the rest of the world has traditionally turned its back on people who are different.

But Deaf Pride and Deaf Culture are combining to create Deaf Power.

And with that push, society is beginning its journey down the path of understanding and acceptance.