The Boys Next Door Reread

Attending the field trip to the Alliance For Independence on Tuesday, March 22^nd was a life changing experience. Before we arrived at the cooperation, I was extremely nervous about interacting with adults that were mentally disabled. Much to my surprise I was so encouraged by this trip. I was a little disappointed in the facilities and how outdated they were. My heart hurt for the inconveniences the buildings caused the clients, as well as the employees. I am not exactly sure what I was expecting but I know I was expecting the facilities to be more equipped. The lack of support AFI had made me feel useless and guilty that I do not do anything that would benefit people with mental disabilities. I never really thought about people with mental disabilities before reading the boys next door. I guess this could be because I feel uncomfortable with them all together. When I walked into the facilities and began to interact with some of the clients, I realized more and more that these people are just that, people. They are people with disabilities. But they still have wants, needs, passions, and even attraction to the opposite sex. They were all very welcoming and extremely sweet. Most of them were talkative and selfless. They were constantly complementing my classmates and I. They were so excited to see us; it almost moved me to tears.

The scene in The Boys Next Door that I believe to be the core moment in the play is located towards the end on page 58 and ends at the end of the book. This scene shows the love the boys have for Jack. As confusing as it was, you could really sense the emotions that all the boys were displaying despite their mental disabilities. This scene popped into my head when I was interacting with some of the clients at the Alliance for Independence because of the similarities. The clients, just like the boys in the boys next door didn’t display their feels in the “normal” way of displaying their feelings. The clients had an awkward way of interacting with us. However, I could tell that they were all excited to interact with us and disappointed when we left.