Autism Every Day

Autism Every Day is a controversial 2006 documentary film sponsored by Autism Speaks, and produced by Lauren Thierry, Jim Watkins and Eric Solomon.[1] It follows mothers of high support needs autistic children, and consists mainly of interviews with the mothers.

Autism Every Day
Directed byLauren Thierry
Produced byEric Solomon
Lauren Thierry
CinematographyFrancisco Aliwalas
Chris Meagher
Edited byBrian Dileo
Christine Dupree
Music byAPM Music
Release date
  • May 9, 2006 (2006-05-09)
Running time
13 minutes (2006 debut)
46 minutes (Sundance version)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A 13-minute version of Autism Every Day debuted at a fundraiser named "A New Decade for Autism" in New York City on May 9, 2006,[2] and made its mainstream debut on Don Imus show on MSNBC the following day.[3] It was selected by the Sundance Institute as a special screening film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.[4][5][6][7] A 7-minute version of the film was also uploaded to Autism Speaks' YouTube Channel, however as of 2021, the video was marked "Private" due to a change in YouTube policy that automatically marked private all "unlisted" videos dated December 31, 2016 or earlier.[8][9]

The New York Observer said the film was a

short documentary film ... about the lives of mothers of autistic kids. The film consists mainly of interviews with mothers (and scenes of them with their autistic children), mothers whose lives have been utterly transformed. The situation of these mothers is just unrelieved, unrelenting.[10]

According to Stuart Murray, author of Representing Autism: Culture, Narrative, Fascination, disability rights advocates criticized the film for categorizing the condition as "one of problems and difficulties, especially for parents", while ignoring the positive aspects.[11][12] Additionally, criticism stemmed from an interview in the film where a mother said she had contemplated driving off a bridge with her autistic daughter.[12]

Criticism and controversy

One interview in the film that drew significant controversy was that of Alison Tepper Singer, who described how she had contemplated driving off a bridge with her autistic daughter Jodie Singer when faced with having to place her in a school for disabled children, saying "It's only because of Lauren, because I have another child, that I didn't do it".[12] Some have drawn a connection between Alison's words in the film and the murder of 3 year old autistic girl Katie McCarron on May 13, 2006, 4 days after the film's debut, by her mother Karen McCarron.[11]

Both the film and Autism Speaks have received heavy condemnation from autistic people and groups advocating for autistics,[13] with complaints about the film including that it focuses more on the parents than the actual lives of autistic children themselves,[14] as well as that it portrays autistic people as tragic burdens than as actual human beings who happen to be autistic - which most of them do not want to be "cured" of or see it as a bad thing. It is also criticized for the fact that many of these interviews - most of which are about the things the parents can't do and how horrible it is to have a child with autism - are conducted with said child in the room, again without any regard for the fact that their children can hear and understand the parents talking about how horrible it is to have to take care of them. This is especially focused on with the aforementioned case of Alison Singer, who spoke about contemplating murder-suicide with her daughter Jodie in the room.[15]

One of the producers, Lauren Thierry, said that these feelings were not unusual among non-autistic mothers of autistic children.[16] According to the book Battleground: The Media, Thierry instructed the families she interviewed not to do their hair, vacuum or have therapists present, and appeared with her film crew at homes without preliminary preparations, in order to authentically capture the difficulties of life with autistic children, such as autistic children experiencing meltdowns or physically struggling with parents.[11][16]

In 2009, Singer responded by claiming that she made this comment because the New York State Department of Health recommended that her autistic daughter be placed in a school with very poor conditions, and did not want her daughter to suffer there. However, she deeply regretted phrasing her concerns in that manner. Singer also claimed that she reconciled with autism advocates to some extent, but still advocates for medical research on autism.[17]

See also

References
  1. Moore, Abigail Sullivan (2007-01-21). "Hard-Hitting Look at Autism Is Being Shown at Sundance". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  2. "Autism Speaks, Get Involved, Our Events, Upcoming Events, A New Decade for Autism: Changing the Future Together". Autismspeaks.org. 2006-05-09. Archived from the original on 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  3. "Short Feature Hits Home for Parents of Autistic Children". Autism.about.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  4. "Autism Speaks, Press Updates, Autism Every Day Selected as Special Screening Film at 2007 Sundance Film Festival" (Press release). Autismspeaks.org. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  5. "Autism Speaks, Get Involved, Our Events, Autism Every Day". Autismspeaks.org. Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  6. "Documenting Truth About Autism". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  7. "Film Documents Families Coping With Autism". ABC News. 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  8. "YouTube is Making a Change to Unlisted Videos, Adding New Detailed Info for Policy Violations". June 23, 2021.
  9. "Autism Every Day - 7 minute version". YouTube.
  10. "Uses of Disenchantment: TV Anchor-Mom Fights Autism and Films It". The New York Observer. 2006-06-04. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  11. Andersen, Robin and Jonathan Gray (2008). Battleground: the media. pp. 127–128. ISBN 978-0-313-34167-0. ...  Though Thierry undoubtly wanted to tell the truth, much of the footage in Autism Every Day is characteristic of nonfiction programming designed to attract ratings. And such dark and uncomfortable relevations are only one side of living with children with autism  ...  Tepper Singer is a mother who, in the Autism Every Day video, talks about wanting to drive off the George Washington Bridge with her autistic daughter. Many autistic persons and families with autistic children have reacted with outrage and disgust to Singer's statement and have even drawn a connection between her and Karen McCarron.
  12. Murray, Stuart (2008). Representing Autism: Culture, Narrative, Fascination. Liverpool University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-84631-092-8. ...  [the film] drew substantial criticism from disability rights advocates because of its concentration on the condition as one of problems and difficulties, especially for parents. It created particular controversy when one of the mothers being interviewed, discussing the struggles she had endured in searching for a school for her child, commented that the only reason she had not put her autistic daughter in her car and driven off of a bridge was because she has another daughter, who does not have autism.
  13. "2014 Joint Letter to the Sponsors of Autism Speaks". Autistic Self Advocacy Network. January 6, 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  14. "I am. I am. I am. - Autism Speaks Masterpost (New! Updated 6/20/14) - Autism Speaks Masterpost (New! Updated 6/20/14)". Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  15. "An Autistic Speaks About Autism Speaks". Daily Kos. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  16. Liss J (2006-07-11). "Autism: the art of compassionate living". WireTap. Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  17. Singer, Alison (9 September 2009). "Speaking Out About 'Autism Every Day'". ASF Blog. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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