The television documentary, A Child is Waiting, gets its name from a 1963 Stanley Kramer film, also titled A Child is Waiting. The program revisits the brave and controversial film Kramer made with film stars Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland along with a cast of real, mentally and emotionally challenged children (instead of children actors) playing these roles. The Kramer film, takes a deep dive into the world of special education and the conflicting methods used by teachers and caregivers to educate these kids. The prevailing thought at the time was that the mentally ill should be locked away in asylums and institutions because they were a threat to themselves and others. State administrators posited that these children would never develop to a point where they could be independent and become productive members of society, therefore we should keep them contained. When the headmaster of the school, Burt Lancaster implements a strict set of rules that make little to no accommodation for their impairments, one member of the faculty (Judy Garland) is repelled by what she regards as cruelty and lack of empathy within the curriculum. The movie was written by legendary screenwriter Abby Mann (judgement at Nuremberg/Kojak), who had a hand in getting the picture made. The purpose of taking a look back on the film is revealed by on-screen narrator, Burt Lancaster, when he reveals that the film was adapted for the stage with a cast on mentally challenged children chosen to perform before a live audience.