First Run Features | 2010 | 105 mins. | NR
There are likely two primary audiences for the new First Run Features documentary, A Mother’s Courage – Talking Back to Autism; those individuals who are interested in but not particularly familiar with autism, and parents of children with autism. According to the film, one out of every fifty babies are born that fall somewhere on the autism scale. Interestingly, boys are more likely to be affected than girls, but at this point, no one is quite sure why. For those wondering (as I was), director Fridrik Thor Fridiksson quickly explains the difference between autism and Down syndrome: the latter are able to cope better in society because of their ability to imitate the behavior of the mainstream.
The film centers on a mother from Iceland, Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir, whose 11-year-old son is severely autistic. She openly admits she knows very little about the disease. Determined to learn everything she can, Margret goes on what amounts to an international educational tour. She visits families, educators and physicians across Europe and the United States, in search of information, and hopeful that there might be something out there to help her son, Keli.
No film about autism would be complete without an interview with Temple Grandin, subject of a recent film and one of the world’s better known and more successful adults living with autism. A professor of animal science at Colorado State, she offers valuable information about autism in a manner all can understand. Among the most significant are the best ways in which autism can be reframed so that we move away from this idea of “normal” and “abnormal.”
Among the others interviewed are Dr. Catherine Lord who directs an autism center at the University of Michigan and Soma Mukhopadhyay, the mother of an autistic child, director of education for Helping Autism Through Learning. Ms. Mikhopadhyay is shown working tirelessly to get autistic children to spell words on a letterboard–quite an achievement since these youngsters cannot speak and usually don’t appear to be able to focus.
With narration by Kate Winslet, who dubs the voices of Keli’s parents, the film shows how Keli forms a bond with his principal teacher Soma Mukhopadhyay. Using the Rapid Prompting Method, the educator teaches autistic children to communicate.
The focus of A Mother’s Courage is clearly on Margret’s personal journey. Recent controversies regarding potential causes and treatments are largely ignored in favor of personal testimony. Despite this, Talking Back to Autism manages to be both informative and inspirational.
I was sent a screener copy of A Mother’s Courage. As such, I can’t fairly evaluate the video, audio, or special features of the release.
