July 23, 2010 7:33 AM
Where's Molly? Finding an institutionalized sibling
Where's Molly? Since he was six years old, Jeff Daly kept asking that question. When his sister Molly was not yet three, she was taken from their "perfect" home, never to return.
Because she was developmentally delayed (in those days, retarded), his parents institutionalized Molly and refused to answer his questions or speak about it. As an adult when he expressed an interest in finding her, his mother forbade him to - threatening to disown him if he made contact. Only after his parents' deaths did he have the freedom to find her.
By then the institution had been closed and Molly was living in a group home. But Jeff found film archives - with footage intended to promote the institution as state-of-the-art, the perfect answer to kids that "couldn't" be raised at home. I could not stop crying at scenes of the huge dayroom filled with forty or fifty toddlers - many with Down syndrome - sitting on the linoleum floor with no toys or furniture or anything to stimulate their interest. Many were rocking in the manner of autistic children - what we would call self-stimming - when what they needed was some interaction and play.
After almost 50 years, the reunion between Jeff and Molly was heart-wrenching and Jeff's devotion to his sister - and his wife's family's devotion as well - is a tribute to redemption.
Jeff worked to open up records for family members seeking records of missing siblings like Molly: National FindFamily Registry
See the trailer, read more and order the film at Where's Molly?
Posted in Disabilities | Permalink
Comments
Barbara,
Thank you so much for sharing this story!
Posted by: Tracie Loux | July 23, 2010 8:26 AM
As I read this story, the tears just rolled down my face. Those poor little children! All they needed was love and attention, just like we all do! Thank heaven we have progressed from these institutions! And the brother, God bless him for never giving up on his sister. Since I don't know what the reasons were for the daughter to be taken from the home, I hate to judge the parents because they could have been overwhelmed and relying on "professional advice", so my heart aches for them as well.
Posted by: Julie | July 23, 2010 10:20 AM
What a courageous man! Kudos to Jeff!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story!
Posted by: Amanda | July 23, 2010 10:38 AM
Hi! I'm Lindsay... Rebbecca J told me about your blog. I have been enjoying it since. Thank you for bringing stories like this to the light! Bless you!
Posted by: Lindsay Handrich | July 23, 2010 1:01 PM
