Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental variation that can impact communication, learning, behavior, and social interaction. With the diversity within the autism community, supporting a child with ASD can present unique challenges for parents.
Here is a curated list of insightful movies depicting autism that you can consider adding to your public or academic library collection. These films offer valuable perspectives and can contribute to fostering empathy and understanding among library patrons, parents, and children alike, providing an enriching educational experience on autism.
The Reason I Jump
Based on Naoki Higashida’s best-selling book, this film takes a different approach to documentary filmmaking about autism by centering on the perspective of non-verbal people. Higashida’s descriptions of what his autism was like at 13 come to life. Audiences watching this documentary will gain an understanding that autism can be overwhelming but also joyful.
Read our review of The Reason I Jump.
You can also take use of free educational materials found on the documentary’s website.
Autism in Love
Another educational documentary you can add to your film collection is Autism in Love about four adults with autism searching for love. There’s 22-year-old Lenny who’s been struggling to come to terms with his autism and what to do about his sexual desires. Dave and Lindsey are an autistic couple who have been together for eight years ready to enter marriage. And then there’s Stephen and Gita who have been married for 20 years going through the challenge of discovering Gita’s ovarian cancer diagnosis. These adults learn something new about themselves and how to navigate relationships.
Read our documentary review of Autism in Love.
Life, Animated
Life, Animated introduces audiences to the story of journalist Ron Suskind's son, Owen, who was diagnosed with autism when he stopped talking at the age of three. Through his love of Disney movies, Owen has a better way of understanding the world around him and communicating with others. This documentary received rave reviews and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature category at the 89th Academy Awards and won the Sundance Film Festival award for Best Direction.
The Horse Boy poster
The Horse Boy
This heartfelt documentary introduces audiences to the Isaacson family and their autistic son Rowen. This movie is worth adding to your DVD collection if you are interested in stories about fathers and sons. After Rowen discovers his love of horses, his family sees that his behavioral symptoms are at ease whenever he’s around them. This inspires the Isaacson family to travel to Mongolia to find shamans and nomadic horsemen who have the potential to help Rowen. This film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Read our review of The Horse Boy.
Temple Grandin
This biographical movie is based on the memoirs of Temple Grandin. Parents and children can see the true story of an autistic teenager navigating how to understand people and find a way to fix how cattle ranches and slaughterhouses are run. This Emmy Award-winning film does a great job of giving us a glimpse of how Temple Grandin thinks in pictures and uses her autism to achieve her goals.
Read our review of Temple Grandin.