Graduating Peter
| Graduating Peter | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gerardine Wurzburg |
| Produced by |
Gerardine Wurzburg Sheila Nevins |
| Starring |
Judy Gwazdauskas Peter Gwazdauskas |
| Cinematography | Gary Griffin |
| Edited by | Barbara Ballow |
| Distributed by | State of the Art, Inc. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Graduating Peter is a 2001 American documentary film directed by Gerardine Wurzburg. This is a sequel to the 1992 short documentary film Educating Peter; where it follows the continuing adventures of Peter Gwazdauskas, a special needs student with Down's syndrome, in his middle school and high school life as well as his high school graduation. The documentary was filmed in Blacksburg, Virginia.[1]
Cast
- Judy Gwazdauskas as Herself (Peter's Mother)
- Frank Gwazdauskas as Himself (Peter's Father)
- Peter Gwazdauskas as Himself
Plot
Before he entered the third grade, Peter Gwazdauskas was originally in a special needs school with autistic/special needs students. But when he entered the third grade, he was enrolled in a traditional school since federal law states that special needs students should be educated with regularly developing students in traditional schools. Even though Peter improved since third grade, he still had some social issues, including suffering through depression and having some behavioral outbursts. During the school day, Peter had aides with him in school because he cannot function well due to his disabilities. Sometimes during class, he was pulled out of the lesson in order to work with his aide one-on-one. Peter also had some jobs during the time he was in middle school and high school in order to be involved with community. In the summer, he had a summer aide because he had to learn about life and job skills. Peter also participated in extracurricular activities such as being in the concert band and being the manager on the soccer team. He has also been in a school club with both autistic and regularly developing students. Since then, it has helped Peter improve his social skills. He improved even more by the end of his senior year of high school and went on to graduate with his classmates.
Trivia
A clip of the Barney & Friends episode "Safety First!" is seen in the documentary when Peter and his summer aide are watching it on their TV.
A scene of the documentary was filmed on location at Busch Gardens Williamsburg when Peter was on a club trip for his school.
Another scene was also filmed on location at Virginia Tech when Peter worked in the bookstore.
References
- ↑ From 'Educating Peter' to 'Graduating Peter' : NPR. Accessed July 18, 2015.
