Aspies For Freedom

http://www.autismthemusical.com/


anyone heard about this?

Seems pretty demeaning to me (it says we don't know how to work together or play), but I'm not sure if it focuses more on LFA than AS/HFA. That Lexi girl's mini-bio doesn't make much sense.

Lexi's bio reads to me like a series of phrases that she has been taught to say that she doesn't even know the meaning of, or doesn't know how/when to use.
What is wierding me out about the site is how half the bios are in the third person and half are in first person.  Were they all written by the kids, none of them, or only half of them?

They are focusing on LFA.  At least one of those kids is a savant (he played harmonica at age two) and several of them mentioned that they can't talk or would like to learn to talk better.

i am the director/producer/cinematographer of the film - please do not judge the film by its website -- the website was produced by a production company, not by the filmmaker.  the website should, however, have a list of theatrical screenings around the country over the next couple of months - if you miss those, it will air on HBO in april.

fyi - you were right about the text of the bios of the kids - against my advice, some were written by the kids, some by their parents (i wanted them all to be written by the kids).  as for lexi's blurb, it was written by her, but lexi has a hard time creating sentences that are originally hers, which you will see clearly in the film.  you will also see that she is an amazing singer, a bright light, and has incredible comic ability and timing.

this film was made with an enormous amount of love and respect for all who participated.  check it out.

you can also check out the autism speaks website for info on upcoming screenings.

my best -

I wish someone would write and direct a musical specifically about a person with Asperger syndrome and their trials and tribulations growing up. Why is all the focus on classic autism?

I don't see how a production starring autistics can claim to be "made with an enormous amount of love and respect for all who participated" while at the same time being supported by an organization like Autism Speaks. Do these children know that they are affiliated with a group that wishes they never existed, that aims to wipe autism off the face of the Earth?

Additionally, Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now are the top names listed in the "Get Involved" section. I think the link in the original post should be broken due to the film's unfortunate association with such organizations.

I agree. I'm going to send the director an email (via his account above), just to make sure that he's actually aware that these organisations and the cure concept aren't supported by the autistic community. My guess is that the cast were contacted via "Autism Speaks", and the movie crew probably had very little contact with the wider autistic community at all.

I also noticed a few disturbing phrases in the "About" section, like "today’s bleak statistics" & "Both on and off stage, AUTISM: THE MUSICAL as a call-to-arms, bringing attention to a modern-day epidemic".

Best case scenario is that the director's right about the website, and the movie itself is okay. Either way, I think we have to break the link to the site.

Here's the email I wrote:

Hi,

My name's Paul Doherty, and I'm emailing you via your account on the "Aspies For Freedom" site.

While it looks like you had the best of intentions in producing this movie, I thought you should know that the organisations "Autism Speaks" and "Cure Autism Now" are not highly regarded in the autistic community. The reason for this is that many (if not most) autistic people see ourselves as possessing a natural difference in the way our brain is wired, and would not choose to be cured. In fact, many see the idea of curing autism as a form of genocide. You will probably notice that no autistic people are involved in the decision making processes of these groups, and this is the reason why.

I am hoping that you will be able to convey this message to the people responsible for the website, and remove your association to these two groups, along with mentions of "todays bleak statistics" & the "autism epidemic". If it is possible to change these things, I believe the people on this site would be happy to support the movie.

Feel free to return to the site and offer your side of the story to this debate.

Regards,
Paul