Being somebody who lives with a younger sister who is autistic, I struggle with mental disability every day. She has changed my outlook on life, however, and has helped me understand people who have trouble with just simply getting through the day. I can't say that I've had an easy time living with it and at times I lose my temper and just get really upset. But I am reassured by the fact that my family and I have it far better than a lot of people. I cry for her a lot simply because I can't imagine how depressing it is to be her and not really be aware of how much anguish she has caused us, but she is a excellent and brilliant sister and I can't imagine living without her. This film, to me, distorted what it was like to live with somebody who has such a disability and what their experiences are. I am utterly disappointed with the documentary in general. It didn't feel honest, genuine, and certainly didn't teach me anything I didn't already know about autism. As somebody who has Aspergers disorder, I can say that there are good things and bad things. This film didn't shed any light on any of the good things and offered a half-baked effort in even depicting the bad things. The bad things are mostly all about just negativity toward autism in general, but autism is something that is certainly not all bad if a person took the extra effort to show discipline and a lot of patience with someone who is autistic. I'm not saying that autism is good. In fact, it's really quite horrible to live with somebody who has the misfortune of having autism. However, there are moments of pure brilliance shown by people who have autism, and those moments are what makes dealing with autism worth it. This film didn't have any of that. Instead, it was all about the anguish and hell the ordeal is rather than the unique and interesting details. It's really disheartening.
Review of Autism Is a World
Autism Is a World
(2004 TV Movie)
One of the Most Disappointing Documentaries I've Ever Seen.
24 March 2008