I wanted to share two upcoming films about autism. The first: Beautiful Son follows a family as they explore alternative treatments for their young son. The second: Autism: The Musical celebrates the participation of older children with autism in a creative endeavor.
Susanne with the Durham County Autism Society recommended Beautiful Son, the story of Beau a young child with autism. From their website: ” In BEAUTIFUL SON, Don and Julianne take us on their journey through the
landscape of this debilitating neurological disorder as they attempt to
recover Beau from autism. Along the way, through their research and
personal interaction with various medical professionals, Don and
Julianne come to believe the establishment has little to offer apart
from advice of “good parenting” and behavioral therapy. Desperate to
find help, they stumble upon a community of doctors and parents who are
experimenting with alternative treatments and who are, they believe,
successfully recovering some kids from autism.
This movie will be showing on Saturday, April 5th at 2:00 PM as part of the Full Frame Documentary Series
that will be showing in downtown Durham at the Carolina Theater. Susanne saw this movie and met the filmmaker at the NAA conference this past November in Atlanta. Susanne says: “This movie was fabulous and very moving. I highly recommend, so if there is any way you can get over to see it please do try and see this film.”
On Tuesday, March 25th, HBO will be premiering: Autism: The Musical. I saw this a few months ago when it played at the Carolina Theater in Durham and it was excellent. 
From Docurama Films (where you can preorder the DVD): “AUTISM: THE MUSICAL follows the
extraordinary acting coach Elaine Hall, five children with autism, and
their parents as they heroically mount a full-length original stage
production. Through trial and error, tears and laughter, these
incredible families learn to communicate their feelings in song and
performance, finding solace and joy in the act of creating.”