"I Was a Feisty Mother" - Mary Lou Melloy

"I Was a Feisty Mother" - Mary Lou Melloy

Education

Family

“You don’t have the right to deny them the opportunity to try this.” Mary Lou Melloy's daughter, Cindy, was born in 1958. Doctors told the family they should put Cindy in a residential facility. Mary Lou and her husband, Don, had other plans for their daughter. In this clip, Mary Lou discusses the work it took to get Cindy accepted into public school. After completing school in Indianapolis, Cindy went to a workshop for a while until she landed a community job. Although Mary Lou was initially hesitant about a community job, in the end she said it was a wonderful opportunity for her daughter. Mary Lou started encouraging other parents to let go of their fears and give their children the opportunity to find a job in the community. She was interviewed in 2017.

Indiana Disability History Project

Center for Health Equity at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community and Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities

2018-01-29

Mary Lou Melloy - Interviewee

Jennie Todd - Inteviewer

Peggy Holtz - Videographer/Editor

Copyright © 2018 The Trustees of Indiana University

video/mp4

English

Moving Image

100-mi-01

Open to all users

"Mary Lou Melloy - I Was a Feisty Mother" YouTube video, 00:06:46, from an interview by the Indiana Disability History Project, posted by "Indiana Disability History" on January 29, 2018, https://youtu.be/Ok9Q783q1Go.

Indiana, Marion County, Indianapolis

Indiana, Bartholomew County, Columbus

1958 - 2016