Autism: The Musical

In March of 2008, HBO premiered this documentary, mainly about 5 autistic kids, their parents, and their director, as they wrote and rehearsed an original musical for the Miracle Project.

It was released on DVD in May so of course, to the top of the Netflix queue it went.

If you like documentaries, this is a great one. Even if I couldn't relate to the subject matter at all, this is a great one. They highlight 5 of the musicals participants...a wonderful way of showing just how broad of a spectrum the Autism Spectrum actually can be. These kids all exhibit different "symptoms" of the disorder. Neal is non-verbal but very smart, Henry is overly-obsessed with dinosaurs and reptiles and often retreats to be alone in crowds, Lexi's echolalia is profound and she is becoming interested in boys, Adam is always on the go and wanders off frequently, Wyatt is highly verbal and hates being in a special education classroom but fears the bullies of being mainstreamed.

You get to meet the parents, too, and see how Autism affects them. Lexi's parents are right in the middle of a divorce, Neal's parents are already divorced, Adam's father had an affair for 16 months after his diagnosis, Henry's dad (you'll recognize him) sees how he may be on the spectrum himself, and Wyatt's parents seek legal help in finding a school to fit his needs.

Check it out. I haven't given away too much, and you certainly can't get the deep emotional aspects from what I've written here. It's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes of your day.