Autism: The Musical (2007)

Documentary on an L.A. area therapy through theater center for autistic children. The founder of the center is herself the adoptive mother of an autistic child. Several of the children in the program, ranging from around 9 to 14 are profiled. We get a look at the diversity that defines autism, some of the children are so high functioning that you might not even notice that they have a condition, others seem almost retarded (though I should point out some individuals can suffer both mental retardation and autism simultaneously). For example one of the students, in fact the child of the centers founder, can hardly communicate vocally, but does okay with a voice synthesizer. The documentary is as much about the parents as the children, as this condition will completely rewrite the lives of the caretakers. Very informative, and sometimes very sad. I chose to see this film because last week my two year old niece was diagnosed autistic, this documentary is a helpful introduction for those who may be on the verge of more regularly interacting with those with autism. Four out of Five.