A Child is Waiting

Pity can by a person’s greatest weakness. Though pity can help those in need of help, it can also hinder the growth of the individual. Apathy can bring self to ruin, but pity can harm those around him. A person cannot fully live off a person’s pity. He must be able to stand on his own if he truly wishes to live. A Child is Waiting, released in 1963, tells the story of a young woman who takes a teaching job at an institute for the mentally handicap. There, she struggles to find the best method in aiding her students, both academically and emotionally.

The film begins with Reuben Widdicombe’s father dropping off him at the Crawthorne State Mental Hospital, a boarding school for mentally challenged children. After Reuben is coaxed into leaving the vehicle, his father quickly drives away, leaving Reuben in an extremely distraught state. Two years later, Dr. Matthew Clark, psychologist and principle of the school, decides to take a chance at hiring Jean Hansen, a former Juilliard student and concert pianist, to be the school’s music teacher. Miss Hansen, who seeks to find purpose in her life, quickly bonds with Reuben and takes pity on the child as his parents, who are now divorced, have not visited him for the past two years. She, believing that it will improve Reuben’s attitude, tricks Reuben’s mother to come to the institute, calling that the child was ill. Hansen discovers that the parents are also emotionally disturbed and the mother, agreeing with Dr. Clark that it was best that Reuben does not see her, attempts to leave. However, Reuben sees his mother leave and chases after her car. Reuben runs away later that night but is found the following morning. Miss Hansen finally comes to understand the philosophy of Dr. Clark. Hansen...

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...aiting accurately depicts children with autism. From atypical development to intellectual functioning, the film was very accurate concerning the information found in Exceptional Lives. But much of the accuracy is due to the fact that many of the children were actual residents of the institute in which the film took place. Many of the students were actual children with autism. The director of the film desired to shed light on retardation, a subject often ignored or avoided in society of his time. The film, through Dr, Clark’s philosophy, argued that if an autistic child were ever to have a chance to learn self-reliance, pity and pampering cannot be tolerated. Though Dr. Clark’s methods were strict and somewhat controversial, he strongly desired to provide the opportunity for his students to be able to live fully. “The brain isn’t the whole of a being, Mr. Widdecombe.”