NCSA 2021-22 Severe Autism Film and Video Series

Watch documentary films about severe autism — with your fellow parents and caregivers. Films are listed below.

What: Online showings of videos and films about severe autism, with interactive component (chat and moderation), followed by filmmaker or expert Q&A.

When: November 18, 2021; January 20, 2022; February 10, 2022; and March 10, 2022 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET.

Please register below:

Schedule:

Thursday, November 18, 2021
5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern

The Limits of My World  (70 min)

Followed by Q&A with director Heather Cassano

*** You can watch the film on YouTube (free) here ***

In The Limits of My World, Heather Cassano profiles her nonverbal autistic brother as he transitions from the school system into adulthood, while also exploring his past. This documentary seeks to understand Brian's personality beneath his disability, while quietly observing the difficulties of the adult care system.

Read a film review by Jill Escher here

Thursday, January 20, 2022
5-6.15pm Pacific/8-9.15pm Eastern

A Voice for Severe Autism (7 min)

Followed by Q&A with advisor Gloria Satriale

*** You can find this video on ActNowForSevereAutism.com ***

A brief 2021 video shows some of the realities of severe autism, aimed at opening the eyes of advocates and lawmakers, and a public that has been told that autism is a natural “gift” to be “celebrated” and not requiring any special concern or supports.
Trailer below

Aging Out (32 minutes)

Followed by Q&A with director Melissa Collins-Porter

*** This video is not available on the internet at this time. ***

What happens when young adults with autism age of the school system? The director, the mother of a son with autism, finds a system unprepared for the tsunami that will inevitably hit.
Watch the trailer

Thursday, February 10, 2022
5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern

My Child, ECT, and Me (23 min)

A BBC segment on the use of electroconvulsive therapy - or ECT - on severely autistic children who self-harm.

Followed by Q&A with Amy Lutz, NCSA’s VP, who appears in the segment with her son Jonah, and Dr. Lee Wachtel, who is also featured.

Thursday, March 10, 2022
5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern

Mimi and Dona (53 min)
Followed by Q&A with director Sophie Sartain

What happens when love runs out of time? For 92-year-old Mimi, who has spent much of her life caring for 64-year-old Dona, her daughter with an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable — the likelihood that she will not outlive her daughter and the need to find her a new home. Filmmaker Sophie Sartain, Mimi and Dona’s granddaughter and niece, respectively, captures the quirky and deeply connected mother-daughter duo at their most poignant crossroads.

This event will not be recorded and the film is not available for free on the internet.

This series is co-chaired by Jill Escher and Gloria Satriale. For questions and comments please contact them here.