Autism: The Musical (Tricia Regan, 2007) USA

Autism: The Musical has the ability to break your heart and make you laugh hysterically all with in the same scene. This endearing film gives us an informative look into the life of autistic children and their families. It is very interesting to see all of these children come together to make the musical work. The film not only explores the everyday struggles and difficulties of the children, it also shows the strains posed on their families. Also brought to light, are issues including bullying, inadequacies of the school system, marital issues, and underlying fear of what the future holds for their children.

The film first focuses on Elaine Hall, the founder of the Miracle Project, the director of the musical, and adopted mother to Neal, who is himself autistic. At times she seems a little self involved and it is hard to watch with all of the children struggling around her, but it is not the fault of the film maker. We are introduced to four other children and their parents. The most memorable and talkative of these children is Wyatt. Wyatt has a seemingly obsessive concern with bullies, although he rarely can relate an actual insance where he has been picked on. We meet Henry, who loves dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, Lexi who loves to sing and is starting to discover boys, and Adam, an energetic young boy who likes to play the cello.

While meet the children we get the back stories of how they were discovered to be autistic and how it has affected their entire families. From infidelity to divorce, the parents all have their struggles with dealing with such a stressful home life. We are even present during one of these seperations in the film.

This touching film, is a great documentary. It educates and sucks you in emotionally. The children are wonderful to watch and amazing at coping with their own difficulties. I was more concerned for the families of these children, and hopeful that they could put themselves aside.