![]() Obviously, Nilson and Schwartz refused the offers and stuck with Gottsagen, whose personal drive, talent, and ambition birthed the project to begin with. ![]() They viewed Gottsagen as a risk they were unwilling to take. In a way, these executives viewed the film as something they couldn’t figure out how to market. ![]() The team was offered money to recast Gottsagen with an A-list actor, which, ipso facto, functionally means replacing Gottsagen with an abled actor. It's a trajectory that mirrors Gottsagen's journey making the film. But he gets critical life experiences that he wouldn't have had otherwise, all while receiving natural support from the people who are with him on his journey. And, spoiler alert, he doesn't become a professional wrestler in the end – he finds the school is closed and his hero is retired. He also makes friends and learns new things about himself. He encounters unfamiliar challenges and scary situations. Not everything is squeaky clean for Zak after he leaves the nursing home. She puts Zak's self-fulfillment ahead of the rules, regulations, paperwork, and window bars she knows are waiting for Zak back in Virginia. When she catches up with Glen over the phone and finds out he intends to move Zak to a more intensive facility for at-risk residents, Eleanor joins the team and helps him get to North Carolina to meet the Saltwater Redneck ( Thomas Haden Church). ![]() Forced to come along for the ride in order to keep an eye on Zak, Eleanor dotes on him constantly, but begins to see the ways in which Zak is thriving outside the nursing home. Eleanor insists that Zak needs to come back to the nursing home to receive professional care, while Tyler contends that Zak is better off “living life.” While the two of them argue, Zak makes his own decision and throws Eleanor's car keys in the surf. It’s this belief that causes her to butt heads with Tyler once she finally catches up with Zak. Frustrated with his circumstances and craving this freedom of choice, Zak escapes the nursing home and chases his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Opportunities for self-direction are limited in long-term care facilities, and with the shadow of institutionalization hanging heavy in recent history, it is incredibly important to continue expanding freedoms of choice for people with disabilities. Due to lack of access to resources, or because of entrenched bureaucracy, younger people with disabilities feel stuck in nursing homes receiving care that they could be receiving in an independent home, or in a community-integrated setting. That’s a reality for many people with disabilities. He is a 22-year old man living in a nursing home typically meant for senior citizens, and he is existing in that system which is not designed for him. He lives in a residential facility that he does not feel he belongs in, but as Eleanor frankly explains to him, he’s there because the state put him there. Zak starts off the film stuck in this rut. Caregivers and DSPs should want to do everything they can to set up individuals for success, but to be denied the experience of failure is the antithesis of a meaningful life. This legal obligation to protect the health, safety, and well-being of others can all too often lead people with disabilities into situations where they have overzealous caretakers nay-saying anything and everything they want to do to "protect" them from failure. This philosophy has been defined as, "Dignity of risk is the idea that self-determination and the right to take reasonable risks are essential for dignity and self-esteem and so should not be impeded by excessively-cautious caregivers, concerned about their duty of care." The duty of care mentioned is the responsibility of a caregiver or director support professional (DSP) to ensure the person they support is not causing harm to themselves or others, and is free from immediate danger. In the world of disability support services, there exists a philosophy of Dignity of Risk.
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