It was touching to see how Disney movies allowed Owen Suskind to gradually regain communication skills that faltered since his diagnosis with autism. Such media commonly has an emotional influence on people’s lives, but its impact on Owen takes this a step further by assisting in his development.
One thought that crossed my mind after watching the documentary was about the conditions while filming. Documentary filming is known to be very personal, or even intruding, throughout the filming process. I wonder how this affected Owen. While we did not see any footage of him exhibiting discomfort with the process, it might have been cut out. But at the same time, I think it would have been included because the object of this documentary was to get in touch with Owen on his easiest and most difficult days alike.
The film also depicted how the reputation of autism has changed since Owen was diagnosed. While we can say that progress has been made, I feel that steps forward have been followed by steps backward. People are more aware of autism and its symptoms than they had been in the early nineties, and it was much more “frowned upon” at that time. But Owen was still bullied in high school for his condition. The prejudice is far from over, and there is more research to be done.
This also reminds me of how the organization, Autism Speaks, impacts the autistic community. People seem happy to support the organization without knowing the facts. According to an article by an autistic person, Autism Speaks negatively portray autistic people, none of which are even on their team. Furthermore, their funds aren’t going where donors hope. A family member of mine is potentially autistic, and when I see his mom supporting Autism Speaks, I don’t know how to tell her the truth about the organization.
So this brings us something to ponder. How can we spread awareness about deceiving organizations, without creating drama in the community that distracts from the real concerns at hand? What I mean is, how can we call out an organization like Autism Speaks to tell people to beware of supporting them, or to push the organization in a better direction, without focusing so much on our anger toward Autism Speaks that we forget that our goal is to help those with autism? Or does such anger manifest in a way that is productive enough that it does not distract from our mission?
I think the moral of the story here, whatever your take, is that we have to realize that supporting the autistic community is a constant journey, not an easy destination. There is always more to learn about the condition and how to help. We cannot become complacent.
I agree that it’s important to make sure such organizations are actually helping their cause both monetarily and through representation. I think it’s necessary to call out organizations and fix them or support a better organization.
As someone with a family member on the Autistic spectrum, it is heartbreaking to hear the issues with Autism Speaks. It is so hard to find organizations that support Autistic people, especially Autistic adults. I’m sure there has to be some good organizations out there, there’s got to be. For organizations that do what they say they do, they need to be held accountable. Certainly would rather have a few good organizations than many shady ones.
I have not seen “Life, Animated”. I understand your frustration with making sure organizations are held responsible to use funding they are given properly. I’m not sure what the best way would be to make sure donors are aware, but I’m glad that you call them out.