Five-Minute Time Out: Autism: The Musical
On stage and on the spectrum.
by April Peveteaux
March 25, 2008
I noticed in the film there was minimal talk of the causes or looking for a treatment. Is that on purpose?
Diane: Very much.
Elaine: Tricia [Regan], the director, actually speaks about how they decided not to have experts. First of all, the goal was to see our kids as kids. And also to get people to ask questions and be interested in our children enough that they will go out and seek the experts.
Diane: Because there are no answers and there are no cures and there's no definite, "It's the thimerosal." Because even that's debatable and that's another movie. This was just, let's go in and experience the joy and the abilities.
Wyatt, how is school?
Wyatt: Good.
You talked about bullying in the film.
Wyatt: There is one bully, yeah, because there is always one bully.
Diane, did theater help Wyatt talk about his experiences?
Diane: Wyatt would just repress, repress, repress. Now he is much more fluid. He feels safe telling things that are scary.
"Wyatt would just repress, repress, repress. Now he is much more fluid."
Elaine: Neal's challenge is that because he's non-verbal people think he's not there. People talk about him in front of him. And I have to constantly remind them, you know, Neal's here. And he'll type things about the difference between a friend and a real friend. A real friend is someone who will listen to you.
Diane: Do you agree with that, Wyatt?
Wyatt: And a fake friend is someone that won't listen.
Diane: What about on the playground at your old school? What did you used to feel there?
Wyatt: Same as Neal feels. Invisible. [To Elaine] Do they say bad things about him? He never told me that.
Elaine: It's not like they say bad things. They talk as if he's not there. Kids or grown-ups will talk about him in his presence. It would be like we're talking about Wyatt as if you're not even there. And what we tell people is that Neal may not speak but he's a brilliant communicator. We know exactly what he wants and when he wants it.
©2008 April Peveteaux and Nerve Media
About the Author
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April Peveteaux is a writer, editor and sometimes performer. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son and daughter. |
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