hey you - notice autism today!

Another year, another World Autism Awareness Day. Quite coincidentally, I just watched Autism: the Musical, which had me crying about three-fourths of the show and wanting to punch someone in the snoot the other one-fourth. Which is a fairly reasonable breakdown of what it's like to have an autistic child, keeping in mind that some percentage of those tears are of pride and joy.

For those who haven't seen it, it's a documentary about a group of autistic kids and their parents who put on a show in the old barn! Seriously, it's really touching. There are kids from all levels of the spectrum, from those with virtually no speech to those who can never stop talking. It really gives a sense of what it's like to be a parent to one of these kids, but I was impressed at how well it also gave a sense of what it's like to be one of these kids. Though I am still not buying the facilitated communication.

I really wish they had included the entire musical on the DVD. How hard would that have been?