♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -What... is... the... biggest... ...risk you have taken... in...your...life?

-[ Communication device ] What is the... biggest risk you have... taken in...your life?

What is the biggest risk you have taken in your life?

-Is that what you want to ask them?

-Hell yeah!

-[ Laughs ] -[ Communication device ] What is the biggest risk you've taken in your life?

♪♪ -The biggest risk I've taken in my life... Wow.

-Hmm.

♪♪ -That's an interesting question.

-[ Communication device ] I have taken several large risks.

-Biggest risk?

Oh, man.

-What is the biggest risk?

-Here's little Samuel, with Dad, in the snuggly.

[ Samuel blows ] Ooh!

What was that?

[ Betsy laughs ] ♪♪ [ Samuel whines ] [ Laughter ] [ All blowing ] Adults: Good job!

Yay!

[ Clapping ] -And here we are, back on the news.

We see Samuel coloring away.

Go ahead, Samuel.

♪♪ -[ Communication device ] Yeah, that's me, Samuel Habib.

-Are you coloring?

-Cute as hell back in 2003.

-What are you coloring?

-[ Stammers ] -A fire-tr-uck.

-Okay.

And now the act, the show is over.

-There's my brother, Isaiah, aka the Big Kid.

I never know what he's going to do next.

-My mom, Betsy... -This is exciting.

-...is really good at telling funny family stories.

That's my dad, Dan.

He loves planning trips and checking out new cities.

My whole extended family is really close.

♪♪ [ Indistinct chatter ] ♪♪ They get me.

[ Indistinct chatter ] -Here we go, here we go!

[ All ] Yay!

[ Cheering and clapping ] -60 years!

-I like hanging out with my friends and going on adventures.

-When you come and see us in Scotland, save it for that one.

-Want to say a quick hello to Samuel?

Alright, hey!

How you doing, man?

Okay.

Hi, Chris.

-[ Laughing ] -What did you think?

-And I'm a speed freak.

I played Unified Sports all four years of high school in Concord, New Hampshire.

[ Indistinct chatter ] In my senior year, I asked my friend, Anita, to go to the prom with me.

She said yes.

And then I had a seizure.

Damn.

We still made it to prom, though.

Check out my sweet jacket.

[ People cheering ] [ Drums playing ] [ Band shouting indistinctly ] I've had cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and a swallowing disorder since I was a little kid.

When I was 19, we did genetic testing and found out that my disability is caused by GNAO1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

I'm one of a few hundred people in the world with the diagnosis.

If I had the chance, I would never take away my disability.

It's made me who I am.

And I like who I am.

I don't need to be cured.

But there are some things that get in the way of me living my life.

♪♪ The crappiest thing about my GNAO1 disorder is the uncontrollable movements.

I call them the wiggles.

When I get amped up, they get worse.

I can't even go to a concert or watch an exciting movie or high five my favorite players.

[ Indistinct chatter ] [ Indistinct chatter ] When I was 19, I talked with doctors and did research with my parents about deep brain stimulation surgery.

They put two electrodes deep into the brain and connect them to a power generator implanted in the chest.

The doctors told us it might help stop the wiggles.

But it might not.

-[ Dan smooches ] You're gonna be awesome.

-We'll take great care of him.

-I know you will, thank you.

-My parents were nervous about it.

But I had to find a way to get more control over my body.

♪♪ [ Monitor beeping ] [ Drill whirring ] ♪♪ The surgery took about nine hours, and then I was in the hospital for two days.

♪♪ I even got a free haircut out of it.

♪♪ It worked.

My body is calm, and the wiggles are mostly gone.

-♪ I had to get back in the bag ♪ ♪ They tried to deny me, they wouldn't believe it ♪ ♪ I told 'em it's happening fast ♪ -The surgery was a big risk.

-You okay?

-Yeah.

But taking risks makes me feel proud.

[ Tattoo gun buzzing ] Powerful.

Confident.

Bold.

I want -- -Now we gotta carry you.

-Yeah, so true.

-My brother, Isaiah, and I both love road trips, and cheeseburgers... ...and the ocean.

We love our family and each other a lot.

-Whoo!

-But we are more different than we are alike.

He never stays in one place very long.

And he's obsessed with rock climbing.

I don't get it.

I'm freaked out about the idea of hanging off a huge cliff.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

[ Indistinct chatter ] I think we should keep going.

-But Isaiah is moving to Kentucky to climb, so I'm trying to spend more time with him before he leaves.

-Uh-huh.

-Alright.

Ready?

Lowering.

-Rock climbing is probably not going to be my thing.

-What'd you think?

Oomph!

-[ Samuel laughs ] -Sorry, dawg.

Amateur driver.

-How old... -How old was who?

How old were who?

The girls?

All of them?

-Uh-huh.

-The whole -- Every girl in there?

You want me to go ask?

-[ Exclaims excitedly ] -Dude, I bet you the whole range.

I think there was a lot of high school kids.

Mr. 20-year-old.

Don't be that guy.

[ String instruments play ] ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] -I went to my cousin, Sophie's, wedding.

-Husband and wife!

-[ Cheers and applause ] -I can't believe people my age are getting married, and I've never been on a date.

It's hard to meet new people when my wheelchair can't get into most cars or houses.

[ Indistinct chatter ] I still live with my parents.

I don't want to rely on them so much.

And I definitely don't want them with me on a date.

[ Indistinct chatter ] Someday I want to move into my own place, get married, and maybe have kids.

♪♪ -[ Man on TV ] ...each other, another Thursday night matchup.

-I need to figure out how to do all the things I want to do.

[ TV continues playing indistinctly ] But nobody tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability.

Most of my friends have moved away to college.

They are living on their own, staying out late at parties, doing semesters abroad.

I'm jealous.

None of my friends really get what it's like.

All the planning and teamwork it takes to help me get around and stay healthy and safe.

My Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs, and my parents help me with all of that.

But it's not like I can take my whole support team and medical professionals and move to wherever I want to go.

How do I figure out how to do this adulting while disabled thing?

-[ Velcro rips ] -[ Computer beeps ] What is it like to be an adult with a disability?

[ Computer beeps ] [ Computer chiming ] -Oh, my God!

Artie, you can walk!

-And now that I can, all I want to do is dance.

-♪ We can dance if we want to ♪ ♪ We can leave your friends behi-- ♪ -No.

-Expired!

[ Glass shatters ] Expired!

[ Glass shattering ] Expired!

-No.

-I don't want you to miss all the things that someone else could give you.

-Hell no.

-I got 99 problems, and palsy is just one.

[ Laughter ] If there was an Oppression Olympics, I would win the gold medal.

I'm Palestinian.

Muslim.

I'm female.

I'm disabled.

And...I live in New Jersey.

[ Laughter ] -Hell yeah!

That's more like it.

Hi, Maysoon.

I think you are hilarious.

Would you be willing to talk to me about becoming a disabled adult?

-Cool.

-Hi, Maysoon.

-Hi!

-Nice to meet you.

-Okay, I'm ready when you are.

-What is the one piece of advice you'd want to tell every young adult who experiences a disability?

-Accept the fact that you are disabled and figure out how to work with it instead of working against it.

And you need to learn how to live the best life as who you are.

The first time I did a really big TV appearance, a lot of people made fun of me for being disabled.

They called me a "crooked, gumby-mouth terrorist whore."

-You're not from Alabama and you're not a Baptist, correct?

-No.

There are people in the United States who literally want to kill the funny, brown, disabled chick.

-Why did you decide to go back on TV?

-We have to tell our own stories because when non-disabled people tell our stories, we only get to have three stories -- "Help me, I'm disabled, cure me, or kill me."

And when you have more disabled people behind the camera, writing, shooting, editing, directing, telling our own stories, then it won't be the endless pity party.

♪♪ -Maysoon got me pumped up to do my own filming and maybe tell my own story.

I started experimenting with two cameras mounted to my wheelchair.

One facing me... -Never a dull moment at the multicultural festival.

-...and one filming the world from my perspective.

-Samuel!

-Samuel!

-How you doing?

-Here we go, man!

Hey!

♪♪ -My dad is a filmmaker and showed me the ropes.

[ Drums playing ] -Alright.

Let me get my socks.

We're just getting out the door.

-[ Smooches ] -There was a wild story in today's paper about a guy that was attacked by a beaver while swimming in a pond in Greenfield, Mass.

-Oh, God!

-Like a rabid beaver.

-That's terrifying, actually.

-I know, I mean it was like life-threatening.

He was swimming, and all of a sudden, something came up behind him.

He thought it was a crazy trout or something, and it just started attacking him.

He got really badly hurt, lost a lot of blood, but got out and just got back on his bike and started breaking away.

-Wow, I always thought beavers were chill.

-Alright.

We're gonna go to the farmers market.

-K, bye!

♪♪ -Hi!

-Hey, Sam!

We haven't seen you in a while!

How you doing?

-Thank you so much.

Enjoy!

-Thank you!

-My dad and I make a good team.

We spend a lot of time together, and he doesn't embarrass me too much.

-How you doing?

-Good, how are you?

Hi!

-You don't want to be rolled over by this chair, it's going to hurt.

-It's a relief to have him do all the small talk.

That's not really my jam.

-How you doing?

Hold that, hold that.

-What am I, a shopping cart?

-So we are at 25.

-Want to go... -You want to go?

-...to...Yellowstone.

-I know, it'd be awesome to go to Yellowstone.

I would love to get you there someday, Samuel.

-I like living in New Hampshire.

There's always cool stuff going on.

Too far.

-Too far?

-The 2020 presidential wannabes are coming here, so I'm going to see them with my dad and my cameras.

I want to ask them about the issue I care about the most -- education.

I did some research and learned that millions of kids with disabilities are not in general education classes.

That's just wrong.

Here we go.

-I want to ask the candidates about their disability plans.

[ Indistinct chatter ] -Yeah, that's the idea.

I'm getting the idea.

Get close.

-Are you waiting for a picture?

-Mr. Vice President, my son, Samuel, wanted to ask you a quick question.

-How are you, bud?

Great to see you.

-Hi, Vice President Biden.

-Can you hear that?

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-I attended regular classes all the way through high school.

How will you support more inclusive education for students with disabilities?

-We have a thing called the Americans with Disab--, Americans with Disabilities Act.

We don't fund it.

It will be fully funded in my administration, and you should be integrated into all of the classes, because you're smart.

You're smart, you're smart.

The disability is not -- does not define who you are.

It doesn't define who you are.

-I can't believe he stroked my face.

Weird.

[ Indistinct chatter ] I'm still going to vote for Biden, and I hope he supports inclusive education and disability justice.

But he acted like so many other people who treat me like I'm a little kid.

I feel like he didn't see me as a full person.

-How we doing?

-Mm-hmm.

-You good?

Alright, ready to start packing?

-Mm-hmm.

-So that's 12 packages of formula.

-I'm tired of being underestimated.

-Four bags for the pump.

-I want to find my way.

-Big syringes, Ziploc bags.

-I need to talk to more disabled people who have navigated this stuff and are living badass adult lives.

I'm heading to D.C. with my dad to meet two people I've admired for a long time.

-Are we ready?

-I love traveling with my dad.

-I think we've got everything, right?

-We have a blast... even though he gets a little obsessed with planning every detail.

-Samuel?

-That's the man.

I've got his ID.

-Where you guys going?

-Where are we going, Samuel?

-Where you going?

-D.C.!

-Fun!

Have a good trip.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-Samuel's doing documentary film work and -- -You are such a cutie!

-Oh.

-How'd you get so cu-u-ute?

Huh!?

You're going to D. C.?

-Yep.

-Yeah?

-He's-- -It's a long -- it's a long way.

But you'll make it there, and then you'll get to the next place, and it'll be even bet-ter.

Can he say answers?

-You're kind of talking to him like he's a 5-year-old, but he's a 20-year-old.

-Okay.

-You're...So -- So I just -- -So... How old are you now?

-So just, you can talk to him like you would any other 20-year-old.

-How old?

Are you 20?

You don't know me.

My name's Jo.

And I've been talking with your dad.

-Yeah.

So Samuel shuts down when he feels like he's being talked down to.

-I'm sure.

-And I feel like you're talking down to him a little bit.

-I don't mean to.

-Yeah, he's a 20-year-old, and I don't think -- -Where do you go-- You in school now, hey?

-No.

Alright, we're gonna line up to go get first on the plane.

-Hey, have a great trip.

-Have a good flight.

Alright, thanks.

You, too.

Whoop.

Watch yourself.

I don't wanna run anybody over.

-Aaaaah!

-Yeah.

-Aaaaaah!

-Yeah.

-I'm pissed off.

-Pissed off?

Yeah.

-Aaaaaah!

-Yeah, I know.

I know.

-I wanted to say, "What the [ Bleep ]?"

But I didn't want her to get mad at me.

And it's hard for me to react quickly when I'm that upset.

-Two water bottles and everything for you.

-Alright, let's do it.

Thanks, have a great night.

Thank you.

♪♪ -People sometimes feel sorry for me because I need so much support throughout the day.

But this has always been normal for me.

This support allows me to live my life.

It gives me freedom.

The freedom to travel, meet new people, or make a film.

-Hi, how are you?

-Hey, what's up?

-You want to drop a mic here?

-I think it's probably a great idea.

-Yeah, let's do that.

[ Train tracks clacking ] Wow.

Ready to rock and roll?

Ready to meet Judy?

♪♪ Hello!

-Hello.

-Oh, my gosh, long awaited.

-I know.

Samuel, I can't believe it.

-I am so psyched to finally meet you in person.

-So nice to finally see you.

-Oh, my gosh!

-I made a short film about Judy when I was in high school.

She is one of the greatest disability rights advocates of all time and spent decades fighting for civil rights for disabled people.

She's a revolutionary.

I am currently working with my dad on a new film project.

I'm traveling with my dad around the country to interview and film interesting adults with disabilities.

I will ask each person about relationships, work, education, and every part of living a full life with a disability.

What did the doctors say to your parents once they knew you would have a lifelong disability?

-One of the doctors suggested to my parents, when I was apparently about 2 years old, that they put me in an institution.

But they happily did not decide to put me in an institution.

I'm Jewish, and my parents are from Germany.

And there were children that were being experimented on by the Nazis, including the extermination of thousands of children who had disabilities.

They valued life and family and never thought about giving me up.

-I am also Jewish.

-You are?

-Does being Jewish have an impact on how you view disability rights?

-Yes!

Of course.

I mean, I feel like as a Jew, I have a moral obligation to try to help repair the world and to try not to cause harm in the world and to try to really expand the circle of people who can benefit.

[ Marchers ] What do we want?

[ Indistinct shouting ] -You're a little different than me because when you were born, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 was more than 25 years old.

But I was born in '47, and there were no laws in place.

[ Indistinct chatter ] In the past, disability has been a cause for shame.

This forced acceptance of second-class citizenship has stripped us, as disabled people, of pride and dignity.

This is not the way we, as Americans, should have to live our lives.

-I was included in regular education classes all the way through school.

What was school like for you during your high school years?

-I was not included in school with non-disabled kids until I went to high school.

It would've been much better if, like you, I would've been integrated in elementary school.

I mean, honestly, I don't think I ever really felt comfortable and confident in any of my classes.

In those days, it was very difficult for me to push my chair, so it would be really slow and clumsy.

And I'm shorter than you, and so the first thing that I see are people's butts.

And you can't really have effective conversations with people's behinds.

It just pretty frequently felt awkward and uncomfortable and unequal.

-What did the teachers and principals expect of you during your school years, and what did they expect you would do as an adult?

-I don't really recall people seriously asking me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

You know, what we've been discussing, Samuel, in part is allowing disabled people to begin to feel proud about who we are and to feel like we have a right not to be discriminated against.

♪♪ -Cool, huh?

♪♪ -The Wharf.

-So this used to be like an old Navy shipyard or something.

It wasn't developed like this.

-It pisses me off that people looked down on Judy when she was in school.

-The Potomac River.

-And 50 years later, people are still talking down to me.

-...that FDR was not -- no one could see him in a wheelchair.

- I hate that disabled people are still made to feel ashamed of themselves.

-Why do you think that was, that he banned people from seeing him in a wheelchair?

-Why do people think there is only one normal way to get around?

Or one normal way to communicate?

And what the hell is normal anyway?

♪♪ -What do you want to ask Bob?

-What did... -What did... -...your parents... -...your parents... -...think... -...think... -...about... -...about... -...your future... -...your future... -...when... -...when... -...they found... -...when they found... -...out that... -...out that... -...that... ...you had... -...you had... -...CP?

-...CP?

When do you want to ask that question of Bob?

-First.

-First?

Okay.

Let me program it.

[ Keyboard keys clacking ] -[ Communication device ] What did your parents think about your future when they... -It took me about a week to dictate all my interview questions while my dad programmed them into my device.

-Where are we going again, 7?

-9.

-9.

-Bob Williams is a total legend.

He was a leader of some of the biggest federal disability agencies and helped gain passage of the ADA.

-Lovely apartment.

- He uses a communication device like me.

-Check out the view, Samuel.

-I'm really curious to see how he uses his.

I sent him my questions ahead of time so he could prepare his answers on his device.

Hi, Bob.

I am so psyched to finally meet you in person.

-It is...really...

It is really great to meet and have you here.

-Was it hard to not have an electronic communication device when you were younger?

-I did have a communication device growing up.

When I was around 13, Ed Preneta, a camp counselor, painted the alphabet in bold, black, capital letters on a piece of wood.

I pointed to letters to spell out words and sentences.

A year or two later, Ed handed me a green board with letters, numbers, words, and phrases.

That board saw me through high school, college, dating, internships, my first two full-time jobs.

The chances were slim to none for a kid like me with cerebral palsy who drooled and had little to no understandable speech ever entering a public school, let alone graduating from high school and college, having a career, getting married, or having a family.

-Are there things you feel like you miss out on because of your disability?

-Sure.

But the flip side is my disability has shaped who I am and what I believe.

I like, even love, who I am.

And what I do not love, external and internalized oppression created, not my disability.

-Wow.

-Wow.

-Wow.

-Go ahead.

-Powerful.

-Powerful.

-Mm-hmm.

♪♪ [ All ] -♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ [ Samuel and Dan laughing ] -What's that?

-We can't blow out the candles.

-Ready?

Everybody with their hands.

Oh, no!

They're the relighting kind.

[ Laughter ] That is so funny!

-Samuel.

Holy [ Bleep ].

You are 21.

-Alright.

-Got you some beer, bro.

-There you go.

-Hell yeah.

-Hell yeah.

[ Laughter ] -Just gonna put a little drop in.

There you go.

Nice job.

That's it.

That's it.

Little bit.

[ Laughter ] Just going to put, like, one drop in.

[ Samuel exclaiming ] I love beer!

-You do like beer?

-Uh-huh.

-[ Laughter ] Alright!

♪♪ -I may not be chugging beer at any frat parties, but I can see myself at college.

I'm worried about passing the classes, though.

I can't read because my eyes jump around too much.

So I learn by listening and watching.

I was always in general education classes, and my schools tried to make sure all of my books and assignments were either on audio or read out loud.

Will I be able to learn the same way in college?

Can I even get into the buildings?

What's it like to go to college in a wheelchair anyway?

♪♪ Ali Stroker.

-[ Singing ] -I reached out to Ali Stroker, who is a college grad and actress.

-♪ I can't say no!

♪ -She was the first wheelchair user to appear on Broadway, and she won a Tony Award.

[ Computer chimes ] Hi Ali, I'm Samuel.

It's awesome to meet you.

Hey, Samuel!

Nice to meet you.

-Uh-huh.

What is the biggest risk you've taken in your life?

-Probably when I moved away from home, and I moved to New York City, and I went to NYU.

Because I really was stepping out of the bubble that I grew up in and the safety net that I had, and I sort of was taking on the world on my own.

Of course, I had tons of support, but I was really more exposed and more vulnerable.

[ Singing ] And so I was young, and I was 18, and I didn't really even know better, so there was no other option.

I was just like, I'm just gonna do this.

So I did.

♪ Here!

♪ [ Audience cheers and applauds ] -What were the challenges and opportunities for you in going to college?

-I had an amazing voice teacher growing up, and she helped me find the right college.

There were certain schools that she called, and she said, "Listen, I have this very talented student.

She's in a wheelchair," and there were colleges that were not open to working with me.

♪ Don't you wish you'd go on forever ♪ ♪ Don't you wish you'd go on... ♪ But when I went to visit NYU, I knew it was the college that I wanted to go to because when you are wheeling down the streets of New York, there are so many different kinds of people... that I am not always the most interesting thing to stare at.

And so it made me feel like I had a culture that I belonged in.

And that was such an important feeling.

-Since high school, I haven't found that sense of belonging.

I want what Ali had.

-I think it's also a cool opportunity.

It's so different when you can see people face to face.

-There is a community college about three miles from my family's house, and it's wheelchair accessible.

I enrolled.

I'm taking one class a semester.

-Should we just putz around and ask about all of them?

-Mm-hmm.

-Alright.

Cool.

Are you interested in being a dental assistant?

No?

[ Chuckles ] Would you like to be a nurse?

[ Laughing ] Running club?

I don't think that's our speed.

[ Laughing ] -What kind of activities does your club typically do?

Yeah, big old thumbs up to what this sounds like?

Cool.

-How you doing?

-Good.

-My name is Samuel.

-Nice to meet you, Sam.

You go by Sam or Samuel?

-I don't care.

-You don't care?

-You don't really care?

I'm David.

-David?

-This is... -I'm Michael.

-Michael?

Cool!

Alrighty.

Thanks so much.

You, too!

-Everyone was really nice.

Holy [ Bleep ].

I'm a college student!

[ Eerie music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Alarm ringing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Monitor beeping ] -Do you feel like it helped, Samuel, the Ativan?

-Uh-huh.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Okay, good.

[ Beeping continues ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -That whole thing really freaked me out.

I hate that one minute I can be getting dressed for the day, and the next minute, my body can go into crisis, and I'm racing to the ER.

I wish my health wasn't so unpredictable.

-Oh, what did you call?

-Uh-huh.

That the big kid would be asleep?

[ Samuel and Dan laugh ] [ Samuel laughs ] [ Exclaims excitedly ] -Samuel!

-[ Samuel exclaims excitedly ] -Yay!

Yay!

[ Groans ] [ Samuel and Isaiah laugh ] -Wow, you're tall?

[ Laughs ] -What do you think?

I think it's sick.

I think it's really nice.

I'm a little bit more experienced at tattoos now.

[ Isaiah and Samuel laugh ] There's this one.

And then this one.

Bam!

-When?

-Oh, yeah, where on your body?

Nice.

-Oh, that looks so good!

-Dude, that's so sick.

Are you kidding me?

Look at that.

-Okay.

Are we ready?

-Uh-huh.

-Is that okay?

-Mm-hmm.

-[ Tattoo gun buzzing ] -Try to be real still.

-[ Samuel exclaims ] -Just keep breathing.

Stay in your happy place.

Where's your happy place?

Ahhh.

Well, that's very fitting.

-I was about to say.

[ All screaming ] [ Indistinct conversations, laughter ] [ Cheerful music playing ] -Sick!

-Mm-hmm.

♪♪ -I want to show you.

-What?!

-Yeah!

[ Laughs ] [ Camp counselors singing, clapping ] ♪ Oh, Sam, we love you, yes, we do, we love you, Sam ♪ ♪ We love you, Samuel Yes, we do!

♪ [ All cheering ] ♪♪ -I went to camp for seven years, until I aged out.

I felt totally accepted there for exactly who I am.

I've been feeling lonely lately.

-It's a nice campus.

-I'm having trouble meeting people in college, even though I've been there for over a year.

Most people my age don't see me as a possible friend.

I've been listening to some talks by Lydia X.

Z.

Brown, who said they struggled to find their place in college.

Lydia is a kickass disability justice and queer rights activist and always thinks outside the box.

Maybe they will have some ideas for me.

What was college like for you socially?

-Oh, man!

I didn't realize we were going to be taking a journey down some of the most depressing aspects of my life!

I had been so excited at the idea that I was finally going somewhere where I would make a lot of friends.

I went to social events.

I tried to spontaneously drop in on things.

I did all the things that you're supposed to do to try to meet people and make friends.

But even though a lot of people were friendly with me, almost no one was my friend.

To be honest, I don't think I have ever had a close friendship with anyone who was not disabled.

Like literally, I was trying to think.

Do I have any token non-disabled friends?

And I was like, maybe?

Maybe one.

We tend to find each other.

-When was your first serious relationship, and how did you find the person?

-I never dated in the traditional way.

I only had relationships romantically with people that I was first, very close platonic friends with for at least a year or a couple of years before we decided, you know, I think we're experiencing romantic feelings, and maybe we should explore that.

Which is, frankly, a very autistic way of starting a relationship.

-[ Laughs ] -I mean, you might find someone, you might not.

But if you have not been in a dating relationship before, and you're hoping to date and find a girlfriend, then you've really gotta figure out for yourself what qualities do you want in a girlfriend.

And equally, what can you offer a girlfriend?

All relationships do not have to follow a single model in order to be valid.

You can be in a valid, serious, deeply caring, committed relationship without sharing a living space.

Or if you have more than one romantic partner, or if there's a lot of sex or none of it.

The work of achieving social justice for disabled people also means changing societal and cultural values.

-How do we change the culture?

-I think a lot of us in disabled communities are really good at beginning to question and upend those expectations because the configuration of our lives already lends itself to living in unconventional ways that don't necessarily match normative expectations for success.

♪♪ -Ready for class, big guy?

Did you -- Did you read?

That's a clear yes.

-My college has been really accommodating, like my high school.

I have a note taker, electronic textbooks and handouts, and more time to take tests, which have helped me pass all eight of my classes so far.

♪♪ -Are you ready?

-Uh-huh!

-Okay.

The civilizations located in Mesopotamia were in the valley of A -- The Nile River... ...B -- The Congo River... C -- The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, or D -- The Nile and Euphrates Rivers.

The annual flooding of the Nile River?

The code of Hammurabi?

In "The Republic," Plato argued...?

-All.

-All of the above?

-Yeah.

-Cicero, supported the first Triumvirate...?

-D?

-Yeah.

-Nice job, Samuel.

Ready to go?

-Yeah!

-[ Laughs ] [ Indistinct chatter ] -I passed the final, but my college social life needs a jump start.

♪♪ -I think that the woodchuck ate all the corn.

-Ah... Hi.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay, time to activate the wing woman.

-Excuse me, he has something he would love to say to you.

-Hi, I am Samuel.

Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, Samuel.

I'm Elena.

-Hey, one small step at a time.

-Oh, perfect.

-♪ And it go like this, aye, aye ♪ -I want to talk about girls with my friend, Keith Jones.

He's a human rights activist and a hip-hop artist.

I've looked up to him since I met him when I was 7 years old.

He's been married and has kids, so I know he's had sex.

-Who the hell is that grown-ass man in a wheelchair?!

-Keith tells it like it is.

-Look at you, grown up!

[ Chuckles ] What's good, my dude?

♪♪ -What was your self-image like in middle and high school, and how has your self-image changed over time?

-My self-image actually took a hit in high school and college, because the one thing I -- the things I couldn't change about me were the reasons that people were using as not to date or hang.

Like, "Ew, we can't talk to you because you're drooling," or "Ew, we can't talk to you 'cause you got cerebral palsy."

You know, it took me a while to get comfortable with myself, and I don't think I really got fully comfortable in who I was until I hit like 30.

But my image now, I love me.

Like, I love me for me.

[ Smooching ] [ Laughing ] -Hmm, mmm.

Me, too.

[ Samuel and Keith laugh ] But even now, I'm 52 years old, bruh.

I haven't figured this dating [Bleep] out yet.

-Do you have advice for me about sex?

-Yes, I do.

[ Laughs ] Rule number one, rule number two, rule number three, all the way down to 100 -- bag it up.

Go bag it up.

I don't care if you have to pull it over your head to your feet, bag it up.

-[ Laughs ] -There are many, many, many ways to negotiate the path to getting in intimate situations, but sex where it has meaning, where it's not just a physical act, where it's emotional or intimate, it's the full connection with the spirit and the body, that's rare.

That comes with somebody who understands who Sam is, knows what makes him laugh, knows what makes him cry, and wants to be there for him the whole time.

As a man with a disability, you don't fit the archetype of what quote "handsome" is.

So, you know, you have to become extra funny, you gotta be extra smart, you gotta be extra all of these things.

You know what I mean, I can't roll up to your house and pick you up in my car, open the door, do all this quote, "chivalrous" stuff.

There's also complications of using services like the Lyft or Uber.

If I use a Lyft, are they going to let the wheelchair get into the car, or are they going to pull off because they see a Black man?

And that has happened in the last three weeks.

I've been abandoned.

But the best advice I can give is, [Bleep] it.

Have fun, bruh.

Like, you be you.

They will find you.

If they don't find you, that's not your problem.

That's theirs.

♪♪ -Sorry, I just had to dodge a fire hydrant.

[ Kaitlyn and Samuel laugh ] -Since I'm in New York, I can finally meet Maysoon in person after talking with her last year.

I'm trying to learn more about relationships and sexuality.

-[ Laughs ] -I want to start dating, but it's hard to take that first step.

How and when did you start dating?

-I think relationships are super over hyped, so much work, and that even sex is so over hyped.

My advice for relationships is honesty and being realistic.

If someone doesn't want to date you because you're disabled, that's not the person that you ever want to date.

Ever.

-How did you gain your self-confidence?

-I didn't really start doing comedy about disability the way that I do now until I found out disabled kids are getting bullied day and night in school.

-[ Siren wailing ] -[ Owl hooting ] And then of course, the enormous amount of violence that disabled people face, like, 50% of all Americans killed by law enforcement are disabled.

And when I found out stuff like that, that's when I started talking constantly about disability in my comedy.

[ People cheering, applauding ] I hate mothers, all mothers, my own, other people's mothers.

I don't want to be a mother 'cause I'm thinking, you know, the whole the cerebral palsy thing, I shake all the time.

They're gonna hand me a newborn, slippery baby, I'm gonna drop it on the ground.

And so when I started doing television, that's when I realized that people looked at me like I was a monster.

And I would say from the age of 27 to about 33, it really affected me.

And I really worked to compensate it, you know, made sure I always had perfect hair, perfect makeup, clothing that was uncomfortable and strangling me, 'cause I had to show that I could be just as hot as the next comic.

You know, I was just like all of my peers.

And then when I turned 33, it was my Jesus year, and I was like "Screw you people.

I want to be comfortable.

I'm not playing this game anymore.

If it's not enough for you, if I'm not your Sarah Jessica Parker that limps, then that's fine by me."

I just really stopped caring what people think.

Like at all.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Look at that.

That's trippy.

♪♪ Do you want to stare into that, get ourselves a little dizzy before the rest of our walk?

[ Laughs ] -[ Samuel exclaims ] -Excuse us.

-I do not.

-No?

[ Laughs ] I can't blame you.

♪♪ -I'm proud of the progress I'm making in my life.

♪♪ But I wish it was all happening faster.

♪♪ I have to remind myself that living with a disability can make things a lot more complicated.

♪♪ And I'm learning that I'm not alone.

♪♪ What gets in the way of pursuing your dreams?

-It is undoubtedly dealing with other people's ableist bull[ Bleep ].

Yeah, same?

-It's the way other people treat me and the fact that I have to frequently be playacting and kind of hold back on who I am sometimes to be able to have someone feel comfortable with me in a way that I don't think a non-disabled person being with another non-disabled person has to act.

-Every day my disability affects me differently.

So there is no road map.

There is no way to really know where my challenges are going to come up.

So I think that you have to have ninja patience [Laughs] if you have a disability.

So, sometimes my patience runs out.

-Being a woman is -- with a disability is genuinely terrifying, right?

'Cause women with disabilities are three times more likely to get sexually assaulted in their lives.

-Always having to be on guard.

Looking out for what other people are distracted by, what they are paying attention to, like texting while driving, or looking down at their phone while walking, or careening down a sidewalk on one of those kamikaze scooters.

-I don't mind having a disability.

I just wish the world was wheelchair accessible.

Do you feel the same way?

-Hell yes!

Wait, let me say it again for the people in the back.

Hell yeah!

Disability does not reside in the person, it resides in the environment in which the person lives.

And so if we can get humans to take their heads out of their butts and understand that we come in all shapes, sizes, and mobilities.

'Cause there's some places I need to take you, and I don't necessarily know if we can have a camera crew follow us.

But yeah, it would be cool if we could just get up and go.

That would be my dream, too.

♪♪ -It's just the inspection tag.

[ Indistinct chatter ] -Alright, thank you, yep.

Thanks.

-When I'm in places with a lot of people talking and moving fast, it's almost impossible for me to be part of the conversation.

-I just want to make sure we have the big black bag.

-Yeah.

-How you doing, bud, okay?

-Mm-hmm.

It's overwhelming and exhausting.

-So this reclines.

You're gonna be able to take this all the way down so that it's horizontal, but this won't get any lower.

So I think you'll be okay.

-Yeah.

-'Cause we don't tip it on its side, right?

-I try to have Ninja patience, but it's frustrating.

-We'll just do a stand-and-pivot transfer.

-Okay.

-I want to talk to Andrew Peterson, who also has trouble talking, and see how he handles it.

♪♪ Andrew is a cool dude.

He's a marathon runner and coach and a Special Olympics gold-medalist.

Thanks for getting together, Andrew.

It's awesome to be able to talk to you in person.

-Nice -- Nice to talk to you in person, too, Samuel.

-Can you tell me about your disability?

-My birth mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, and since I have brain damage from fetal alcohol syndrome... ...nothing in life has ever been easy.

My brain, it works like Wi-Fi.

Sometimes the signal is on.

Sometimes the signal is off.

And most of the time the signal is really slow.

-Were your classmates ever mean to you in school?

-Some laughed and called me names.

[ Laughing mockingly ] Far more walked by me like I didn't exist.

-I have difficulty talking, and sometimes people talk down to me.

Do you feel underestimated because of the way you talk?

-Never.

I ignore anyone who refuses to accept me.

It's not easy.

Instead, I always believe in me.

I wasn't the fastest kid on the playground, but you know what?

No one could run as far as me.

I joined the cross-country team and gained valuable self-confidence.

I even found my voice.

[ People applauding ] -What do you love about running?

-I like meeting new friends.

When I run with a group, I feel accepted.

[ Indistinct chatter ] -Andrew's right, I'm going to speak up for myself and set people straight.

If somebody talks down to me, I'll tell them to treat me like the adult that I am.

-Where has been your favorite place to travel?

-Create space in the conversation for me.

Be patient.

If you don't understand me, ask me to repeat what I said.

If I'm typing on my device, don't start another conversation.

Please wait for me to finish.

♪♪ -Things have really picked up at the airport, huh?

-Oh, my goodness.

-We're gonna take off, once we get to the boarding area, we're gonna take off as much as we can -- the headrest, the knee blocks, all this.

Be as careful as you can because there was some damage last time.

-Gotcha.

-I don't know how you guys do it carefully, but it's 350 pounds.

-350 pounds.

-Yeah.

If you need a refresher, this has information about reclining, has information about driving.

-Okay.

-Okay?

Alright.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

[ Indistinct radio chatter ] We're good, Samuel.

We are going to aim for the window seat for him.

It's much better.

I can help you move him over one.

Ugh.

Alright, Samuel.

Hold on.

Just gotta fix... -Without my wheelchair, I have no freedom.

I can't go anywhere.

I can't do anything.

Don't they get that?

-We have to file a claim for wheelchair damage.

-Alright, so... -Alright.

So I'm just going to videotape it as I say it.

Joystick is bent.

-Bent.

-This had a top on it that's now gone.

-What is that?

-That's the rear joystick, the attendant joystick.

You can see how this is the correct arm guard here.

And if you come over here, you can see this arm guard's been bent down.

-So that is the... -The arm guard.

-...left arm guard.

-This arm thing is also ripped.

-Well, that's all -- -It's all destroyed, basically.

And then this also is lower.

This armrest is lower than that one.

I may be able to fix that, but I'm not sure yet.

-I've been through this before, and it's going to take months and thousands of dollars for the airline to get it fixed.

-I don't know yet.

I'm not a wheelchair repairman.

-I know.

I'm just... -I don't know.

-I saw a video that said that 35 wheelchairs and scooters in this country are damaged by airlines.

Every.

Day.

-I'm going to try that in a second once I get my Allen wrench out.

I've been researching some of the issues disabled people face in this country.

The stats are not good.

Only 40% of adults with disabilities are employed, and 1 in 4 people with disabilities live in poverty.

Only 10% are likely to go to college.

I'm sick of this ----.

It needs to change.

What will you do to help more people with disabilities get jobs?

What steps would you take to increase the availability of accessible housing for people with disabilities?

What steps would you take so that accessible voting equipment is available in every New Hampshire election?

I got a job asking candidates in my own state about what they are going to do about these issues.

What efforts are you making to reach out and employ people with disabilities in your campaign?

Special education.

Employment.

Housing.

And voting.

-Very important issues, all.

-I wanted to move at least a few miles from my parents' house, but after my baclofen pump failure, we felt like I couldn't stay safe unless they could help quickly in an emergency.

They built an addition onto their house so I get my own space now.

I rent it from them with my work income and my Section 8 housing subsidy.

I know a lot of disabled people can't find accessible, affordable housing.

I'm really thankful my family could do this.

[ Indistinct chatter ] [ Dogs growling ] -This is pretty cool.

So you had $400, almost $461, so I'm going to put $223... into the rent category for next month.

So that way you have it, and you won't spend it on something.

-My mom helps me figure out my budget and has taught me to save money for my rent and cell phone and my future plans.

-Do you know how much Comcast is going to be, Dan?

-Instead of spending it all on tattoos and burgers.

-I think it's $159.

-This is... -It's nice.

-Samuel, this is a pad.

-Show Daniel your favorite part of the house.

-Yes.

Oh, my gosh!

-What's up, man?

How you doing?

Thanks for coming.

-How are you?

-Hi!

Good to see you!

-Alright, so we got two bedside tables.

-You know what?

That is awesome.

Right now while we have everybody, we're gonna move Samuel's bed, which is this.

-Oh, that's so exciting!

-First night!

-My friends are back in town for the summer and came over to help me move.

-We're gonna have you in before the game starts.

[ Laughter ] -Now that I'm living by myself, I'll need 24-hour support from my DSPs and overnight nurses.

-Whoops, sorry!

-Because of my disabilities, I'm eligible for Medicaid's home and community-based supports, which helps pay for that staff.

But these systems are so freaking complicated and confusing, and it's really hard to find DSPs to hire.

So a lot of people don't get the support they need.

-It's a beautiful day.

It's nice and breezy.

Great air flow over here.

-Sam, what shall we say today?

-Yeah, we just got these.

-Holy [ Bleep ].

[ Laughter ] -I love having my own space.

I feel like a grown-ass man.

-The teams you didn't think were gonna win... -And I'm glad my parents have their house to themselves.

Now they can watch as much "Grey's Anatomy" as they want.

And I don't have to worry about taking a girl back to my parents' house.

But the actual having sex part...

I still have a lot of questions.

Was it hard to figure out how to have sex?

-You can't ask no easy questions like, what is your favorite color?

Like, there are real technical, "Okay, sweetie, go get the Hoyer lift.

Put me in the Hoyer lift.

Put on some Barry Manilow and some Barry White.

You know, go get the weed, let's light it up, and then drop me in the bed."

You can plan it out that way.

You build it into your -- build it into your intimacy.

-Sexuality is more than just the act of intercourse.

I think that's really very important.

You know, one can be sexual and intimate without necessarily [ Bleep ].

And I'm glad my mother's not hearing this discussion.

-[ Samuel laughs ] Because it's difficult for me to move, I'm afraid I won't know how to have sex.

How do you feel about people with disabilities hiring sex workers to learn how to have sex or just to have sexual experiences?

-If someone wants to have a sexual experience, and this is the way in which they can have it and they want to have it, then that would be their choice.

And people with disabilities, no matter what, should have agency to make their own choices for their life.

-I'm not a fan of it!

I'm a conservative Muslim, man.

I'm not going to advocate having someone come and teach you about sex!

That's not my thing.

Watch a movie.

You'll learn just as much.

[ Indistinct conversation ] -Hi, Sam.

Good to see you.

All the outcrops are up there.

But here we are.

We are in what's called the Connecticut-Maine trough.

So we're in all those sediments that piled up over millions of years and got squished and became the Appalachian Mountains.

-This isn't too bad though.

-No, I was expecting it to be gravelly, and I don't want to jinx it, but... -Yeah, this is what you're good at, Sam.

You're going to rock this.

-You don't have to do every single one.

-I'm finally starting to find my place in college.

-Professor kick-tested it just to see if it would be part of the bedrock or not.

Looks like it's not because it's loose.

-I've been putting myself out there more, and I am making new friends, like Sofia.

-Right here.

This maps a little blurry, so hopefully we don't get lost.

-I'm more than half-way to my Associate degree.

And after that I want to transfer to a four-year college and get my Bachelor's.

-[ Sofia laughs ] That's the end of that.

[ Laughs ] Let me know if you want me to hold you any differently, okay, Sam?

I don't want to mess up your hair.

[ Laughs ] -Would you live on a farm, Sam, with your farm lady?

With your chickens?

-And your cows?

-I can see it.

You could have burgers every night for dinner if you live on a farm.

[ Emily and Sofia laugh ] -There isn't anything I don't see you doing, dude.

It's really... [ Laughs ] -I haven't found a girlfriend yet, but I know it's going to happen for me.

Ninja patience.

-Oh, [ Bleep ].

What if I careened you off the ramp?

What if we saw a moose now?

Ah!

Mud!

[ Bleep ], bro.

Honestly, this is like a [Bleep] Monet painting, this pond.

This is like a perfect summer day.

I've learned so many things from being your brother.

[ Bleep ], I'm so proud of you, Samuel, for just, like, being unapologetically yourself and for continuing to advocate for yourself.

"This is who I am.

Like, these are the things that I want out of life.

And I'm going to get there.

I'm going to achieve my goals."

And that's a confidence that I think a lot of people envy.

And maybe subconsciously, that's something that I've taken from you, too, but it's also something I feel.

You see all these people out there that are in their late 30's and questioning, or in their early 30's or in their 20's who are questioning, "Oh, no!

Why did I become an accountant?"

You know what?

That's a lie.

I don't [Bleep] know any accountants.

Yeah, man, I'm just super happy to be your brother and to be in this life with you.

Give me a hug, bro.

I need a [Bleep] hug.

Oof.

Whoo!

We gotta get home to watch the Red Sox!

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -I'm back on the road, to St. Louis for the International GNAO1 Conference.

♪♪ It's the first time I'm meeting anyone else with the disorder.

I was invited to do a presentation to the families about my life.

-Thanks.

-Alright.

Good morning, everybody!

I think we've got a full house.

This is great.

Samuel Habib is a filmmaker and a community college student.

Samuel and Dan, we'll turn it over to you.

Thanks for being here with us.

-Hello, everybody.

I'm Samuel Habib.

I am 22 years old.

I've had big dreams since I was a little kid.

I just didn't know how to make them happen.

Then I found my community, my mentors.

They understood me.

They showed me what a disabled adult looked like.

-Better.

Stronger.

Faster.

-Someone with confidence.

-[ Laughs ] -Thank you so much for interviewing me, Samuel.

-Someone who takes risks.

Someone who stands up for themselves.

Someone like me.

My life can be complicated.

So much can go wrong with my health or my chair... ...or how people treat me.

But I'm willing to take risks to live a full life.

A fun life.

A good life.

[ Water crashing ] I want to go to more national parks.

♪♪ And go to baseball games all over the country.

[ People cheering, applauding ] And I want to make more films that open people's minds and change the way they see me and other disabled people.

♪♪ For the kids here today, I want you to know that I am proud to be disabled.

[ Indistinct chatter ] If you don't feel that way now, I hope you do someday.

-Whooooaaaa!

Find your community.

Find your mentors.

♪♪ ♪♪ Throughout your life, what have people done to push back against your activism?

-People have said that I'm ungrateful.

You know, that, how could I be challenging the system that's given me things?

But in reality, for a lot of it, I would just laugh at it or challenge people.

Because I know that what I'm doing is right, and I know it's part of a bigger movement, so it doesn't affect me.

I think Samuel, you know, believe that the world can be a better place than it is, and that you're going to make a difference.

-Uh-huh.

-I think that's really fundamentally important that you believe very much that you can make a difference.

I know you can 'cause I know you are.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ Mmmm ♪ Toni Hickman and Keith Jones on the track.

-♪ There's not much I can say or do ♪ -♪ And it go like this, aye, aye ♪ -♪ I'm still hip-hop ♪ -♪ There's not much I can say or do ♪ -♪ Aye ♪ -♪ Seasons come ♪ ♪ And seasons go ♪ ♪ There is one thing ♪ ♪ That I know ♪ -♪ Na-na, na-na ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Girl, why'd you have to leave me this way?

♪ ♪♪ -♪ And it go like this, aye, aye ♪ -♪ I'm still hip-hop ♪ -♪ There's not much I can say or do ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪