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The Ride Ahead

Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career, and find love. But no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability. Can a community of disability activists help him follow his dreams?

Samuel Habib’s goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by his rare genetic disorder. Friends’ homes that are inaccessible to his wheelchair. His labored speech and use of a communication device are barriers to a social life. He craves more independence and a family of his own one day. “But no one tells you how to be an adult,” he says, “let alone an adult with a disability.”

Samuel is determined to avoid the statistical realities: unemployment, isolation, institutionalization. A turning point comes when he starts talking to disabled adults, who have been through all he is going through now. And when he begins to channel their insights, a roadmap for himself, and for other young adults like him, begins to take shape.

The Ride Ahead will be shown with Open Captions; the venue is wheelchair accessible; and audio description is available upon request.

About the Filmmaker

Samuel Habib co-directed the Emmy Award-winning My Disability Roadmap, a 2022 New York Times Op-Doc. The film was a Critics Choice nominee and featured at festivals including Hot Docs, Doc NYC, and Hot Springs. Samuel was also a story consultant on the nationally broadcast film Mr. Connolly Has ALS and has presented nationally on disability rights. Samuel is a college student who navigates significant, chronic health challenges due to his underlying GNAO1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder. He works at the Westchester Institute for Human Development.

Dan Habib produced and co-directed the Emmy Award-winning My Disability Roadmap, a 2022 New York Times Op-Doc featured at Hot Docs, Doc NYC, and Hot Springs. He is the Director/Producer/Cinematographer of the nationally broadcast (public television) documentary films Intelligent Lives, Who Cares About Kelsey?, Mr. Connolly Has ALS, and Including Samuel. He served on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities under President Obama. He is currently the Inclusive Communities Project Director at the Westchester Institute for Human Development.

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