The United States of Autism

An OK movie. Enjoyed the views of underrepresented person, Muslim community, but he doesn't spend enough time with each family to hear their whole story and he even points this out in subtitles while doing an interview. my biggest problem was that the movie gave a soap box to people who think vaccines are to blame, even a congressmen stated this point of view. I know that you don't want to sensor people but as a healthcare provider this is just bad for public health. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period end of story. And to give anyone with that point of view a means to amplify their belief is dangerous. Would really of loved to just follow a few families and their struggles to try and learn what they go through to better empathize but any hope of this was over shadowed the anti-vaccine beliefs.

As a parent of an autistic child, I always brace myself when I go see films on this subject. Films exploring autism usually bum me out, because there is a tendency to portray autism as a calamity and a burden to society, without taking into consideration anything else. The United States of Autism is like a breath of fresh air. Mr Everts interviews families with autistic children from all walks of life, as well as some (but in my opinion not enough) autistic kids and adults themselves, in a very relatable manner. I particularly appreciated the words by one of the interviewees, Mr Alex Plank, founder of Wrongplanet, which I found very inspirational. In all, this unpretentious yet honest string of stories made me feel like part of a broader community that is able to appreciate all the fun, quirky, insightful and loving traits that autistics share with their families and society in general.

I was extremely offended by this film. First, the film allows parents to speak uncritically about their beliefs that autism is caused by vaccines when it's very clear that the science has proved otherwise. Second, the cherry picked physicians they choose interview corroborate that point of view even as they reveal there isn't any scientific study to support that.

What they don't realise is that the very thing they're working for - many of these families want better support systems in place for their children - has been derailed by people who are scurrying to find a "cure." Indeed, they even feature someone who has supposedly been "cured" of autism.

The film doesn't engage with anyone in the neurodiversity movement who reject this idea that there can and should be "cured."