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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Writer/Curator/Founder of The Autism Acceptance Project. Contributing Author to Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood, and Concepts of Normality by Wendy Lawson, and soon to be published Gravity Pulls You In. Writing my own book. Lecturer on autism and the media and parenting. Current graduate student Critical Disability Studies and most importantly, mother of Adam -- a new and emerging writer.

“There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope.” -- Baruch Spinoza

Friday, September 08, 2006

 

It's Not Always About What We Can Do For Autism, But What Autistic People Can Do For Us

"If you take him out of this school, you might as well take his life away from him." Line from the Movie "Radio."

Many of you might have already seen this inspirational movie with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris, but I only recently saw it. It goes to show that sometimes, Hollywood does some good, and sends a message loud and clear to a wider audience: if we accept, so much can be accomplished. This movie is based on a true story.

If you haven't watched the movie, watch it. Here's the trailer you can view: CLICK HERE.

Adam with his autism, has given me more than I may ever give back in return.

4 Comments:

Blogger kristina said...

So gives means take!

3:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks, Estee. I forgot about this movie. I remember hearing about it when it was going to be released. Did you watch it on a DVD then?

"Snow Cake" is getting bashed (Michelle Dawson et al are discussing it on her QT board) because they say Sigourney Weaver does not act well in portraying an autistic woman. That's possible. I'm not sure how well NT's can play autistics, I'm also not sure if the reviewers could stand to see an autistic person making the same faces and flapping, etc, if it's just a prejudice against people who "act autistic."

4:20 PM  
Blogger Estee Klar-Wolfond said...

Yes...I just recently saw it. It's Hollywood, but the messages in it are simple and true.

I haven't seen Snow Cake. I haven't seen it listed in theatres here. I want to see it, though -- for curiousity-sake. Nothing can be portrayed as true as the real thing. That is why we call it acting. Actors portray real people all the time, and it's all interpreted. An NT can never really know how an autistic really experiences the world or feels as a result of those experiences. Hopefully it's done as best as it could be with a non autistic actor, but it sounds like the reviews are not that promising.

I feel like I need to find that movie now.

4:44 PM  
Blogger n. said...

In the trailers of Snowcake (I saw an extended trailer on AutTV but I forget which broadcast#) the autistic character reminded me very strongly (viscerally, to use a word whose existence I've just recently been reminded of) of a friend's mother who I think is dx. as paranoid schizophrenic... so... at least DEFINITELY not NT. And given the overlap of different 'mental illness' dxs with autism dxs, either one as mistake for other or both together, well, I think it's not such a bad result...

Hope this makes sense...

PS: still want to see the whole movie, definitely.

9:38 AM  

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