The Ability Exchange

This is a phenomenal movie about an extremely important subject. The Ability Exchange shows an innovative teacher working with engineering students, exposing them to people with disabilities in order to help them understand that all people are human beings in an attempt to break through barriers. Through the course of the movie you see how these students change in their understanding of people who are "different" from them. The movie is moving without being sentimental. It shows real people , with real emotions and experiences.

The director has done an incredible job of allowing all the people to speak for themselves. The movie is beautifully edited, music is subtle and moving and all in all a masterpiece in filmmaking.

This is a very poignant, informative movie about a university course that includes local community members living with disabilities. It is an innovative effort by NYU-Tandon. This full-length feature follows teams comprised of Tandon students and the community members as they create person-centered digital stories. Moments with Professor Allan Goldstein, who teaches the disabilities course, are interspersed to connect and guide students' thoughts, and also to guide them in dealing intelligently with peoples with disabilities. A book reading by Harilyn Rousso, an eloquent lady with cerebral palsy shows how some people could at times unknowingly sound condescending while dealing with people with disabilities. In the end, we see that most of the students in the course had not only taken the time to attend the Disabilities Pride Parade two months after the end of the semester, but had become emotionally attached to the person with disability assigned to their group - thus making the point that if we could make an initial effort to include disabled people in society, it will enrich the lives of everyone involved.

This is a wonderful film. It should be required watching for all of society. People with disabilities need to be treated with respect and this documentary film shows the amazing connections that can happen between individuals. We all have so much to learn from one another. This film provides a heartwarming and bittersweet exploration to how disability affects all and what the future can hold as people like Professor Goldstein continues to teach undergraduates about the history of disability. Bravo to Bing and the class. This is a beautiful film of hope and resilience. It is excellent for teacher training, a lesson in empathy to show to today's youth or for anyone who wants to find out more about what it's like to live with a physical disability. Every engineering school should have a class like this. This is a must- see!

"The Ability Exchange," mirroring its subjects, approaches the viewer cordially, like a new classmate destined to become a friend. This vérité documentary observes semester-long projects undertaken by NYU students and their consultants with cerebral palsy as they team up to make films that will uncover different truths about the perceptions of "ability" and "normalcy."

The film offers up several moments of poignant discomfort as we watch the project teams maneuver through taboo topics and well-meaning missteps in communication. But these moments, when absorbed into the context of the whole film, remind us that all of our strengths shine brightest when we are engaged in a mutual project and our shortcomings serve as unique portals through which to view our common desire to understand and be understood. Most importantly, throughout Mr. Wang's film, the audience is uniquely positioned to experience and analyze how people relate to each other and relish in the joy of genuine connection.

This film speaks with a loving, patient voice and leaves you hopeful for a more loving, patient future.

The Ability Exchange is a powerful documentary that follows NYU Polytechnic's innovative Disability Studies Course. The film is a phenomenally nuanced journey that in unafraid to confront uncomfortable situations. Director Bing Wang questions the ever present ableism in our world through humor and honesty and challenges the perceptions we have of "normalcy". The Ability Exchange gives voices to a community that is more often than not silenced and weaves together beautifully human stories. This is a movie about communication and making human connections and what we desire most—being understood.