5
“We’re so close. We’ve been close since we were this
little,” said Jocelyn, holding her hand near the floor.
“Roberta is a very smart person. She helps me with
my computer. She helps me to do house cleaning
which she likes to do, and then I take care of all of
the food. I play the organ for Roberta and Roberta
and I watch television together. I love Roberta. She’s
a wonderful sister, best friend I’ve ever had. I can’t
ask for better. No one can take her place.”
Roberta smiled. “Thank you for your compliment.
That makes me feel good, Jocelyn.” she added,
“Jocelyn is an outstanding cook.”
Jocelyn and Roberta talked about their life at the State
School. Their memories of the institution are painful.
“It was not a good place there,” said Jocelyn.
Roberta echoed her sister, “Laconia State School was
horrible. The staff would always beat up on Jocelyn
and me. I became very homesick. All I did was con-
stantly cry, sob, and throw severe temper tantrums.”
From the time they were placed at Laconia, the sisters
rarely saw their parents or their five siblings. Jocelyn
remembered, “We went home a couple of Christmases,
and then we didn’t go home after that.” While the
sisters at times lived in the same dormitory, they were
frequently separated. Jocelyn remembered being told
it was for their own good. “They think we were gonna
be too friendly. That’s what they said.”
Roberta added, “I was also driving Jocelyn crazy and
then she was also driving me crazy. They said that
we never leave each other alone.”
Records from the State School document a number
of official decisions to separate, or reunite, the girls
over the years. When they were 9 and 10 a doctor
recommended, “A temporary separation of these chil-
dren would be advisable and it should be carried out,
if possible, immediately.” In his notes he stated the
reason for separation was that Roberta was a leader
and Jocelyn a follower. He advised that when things
improved, “the situation should be reviewed and a de-
cision should be made whether a close relationship
between these siblings should be re-established or
not.” Institutional records showed that the separa-
tions were devastating for both sisters. Roberta would
fall apart when separated from Jocelyn. The words
“emotional deprivation” were used repeatedly to de-
scribe their childhood.
In the 1970’s parents of Laconia State School residents
brought a class action lawsuit against the state that
resulted in the closing of the institution. “I left the
State School on Nov 13, 1979,” remembered Jocelyn,
“and Roberta left the state school on June 22, 1980.”
Towards the end of their time at Laconia, staff made
efforts to help Jocelyn and Roberta reconnect with
their family. Phone calls were scheduled and visits
were encouraged, but the family was not enthusiastic
about a reunion, especially one that involved the sis-
ters moving back to their hometown.
Jocelyn explained, “Mom didn’t want us to live there -
Mom and Dad. They didn’t think it was good idea.
Would have been nice, right Roberta?”
Roberta answered, “Yes. But now I don’t want to move
back. There’s nothing up there anyways.”
When the time came to leave Laconia, the sisters
hoped to stay together, but even that was not to be.
Roberta and Jocelyn were sent to different towns.
Despite all of the efforts over the years to keep them
apart, they have remained close. They are devoted
to one another and each considers the other the most
important person in her life.
Not surprisingly, their years at Laconia permanently
damaged ties with other family members. When their
father died in 1980, Roberta and Jocelyn didn’t learn
about his death until after the funeral. They occasion-
ally are in contact with two of their sisters. Roberta
uses instant messaging to chat with one sister, and
there are occasional phone calls and letters.
They each have a few friends, but not as many as they
would like. They attribute that in part to growing up
in the institution and away from a community where
they would have made lasting friendships in childhood.
“It’s not easy,” observed Roberta. “Making friends is
not that easy for adults with disabilities, but it is very
easy for children, little kids, to make friends in the
community.”
“People today, they just don’t want to be bothered,
they just want to keep to themselves,” said Jocelyn.
Roberta explained, “They are afraid of people who
are different. They just do not understand what hav-
ing disabilities is like.”
Jocelyn added, “We had friends and they broke up
with us too. You’re more likely to lose a friendship
than those without disabilities.”
Roberta agreed, “Some people with disabilities have
no friends at all.”