EVERY VOICE MATTERS
Here are some great video and movies that feature many of the self advocates themselves!
At some point in our lives, most of us have silenced our own voice...Be it at home, at school, at work or in our communities. Why do we do that? With an inspiring and emotional story, Parisa Khosravi, a veteran award winning journalist and executive, talks about the power of finding your voice. Parisa shares her personal journey about giving voice to the voiceless.
Grant Blasko wrote and produced this video as part of the DO IT Scholar program at the University of Washington. This was done in collaboration with the Rooted in Rights organization.
Matthew Cramer’s parents were totally unprepared when they learned their son was diagnosed with classic autism as a toddler. Up until middle school the nonverbal teen lived through a series of special education classes far below his actual intellect, until the Cramers heard about a program that teaches students like Matthew how to communicate with the use of a letterboard.
In the summer of 2014, five nonspeaking autistic kids from Northern Virginia studied film and how words and images can change the world. Ausome Autistics Productions wrote, produced and starred in this film that illustrates their journey before and after using Rapid Prompting Method (RPM).
A short film made by and with nonspeaking autistic people. A short film in which nonspeaking autistic people talk about how nonspeakers are represented in books, theatre, and film. They provide guidance for changing the narrative.
Meet Ben. As a toddler, he was extremely talkative. But when he turned three, things started to change. Ben lost the ability to speak out loud and was left trapped inside his body. How do you find your voice when no one can hear you?
Based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida, THE REASON I JUMP is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory descriptions of his autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe, a rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.
This open-captioned short documentary film features Jordyn Zimmerman, and is the first in CommunicationFIRST's See Us, Hear Us video series, produced by award-winning filmmaker Dan Habib.
Filmed in an observational style, This Is Not About Me gives a glimpse into Jordyn’s daily life interweaved with visits to Jordyn’s schools and interviews with teachers that worked closely with her. Jordyn guides us through difficult moments in her childhood. Piece by piece, her story reveals how professionals misunderstood her and pushed her deeper into a broken education system. Despite this system, Jordyn thrived, but her story is not one in a million. There are thousands of students like Jordyn who have something to say.
I won the lottery when my parents adopted me from foster care; I won it again when they included me in regular education. Now, I seek to help kids much less fortunate than I by showing people what a nonspeaking student with autism can do.In Deej, the camera intrudes on every aspect of my life. If seeing truly is believing, then perhaps eyes can be opened to the full potential of kids with significant disabilities. Shot over a six-year period, Deej reveals not only what the ideal of full inclusion requires but also what it can accomplish.
“What if we’ve been wrong…about every single one of them?” SPELLERS answers that question, in convincing fashion, through the stories of eight nonspeakers—Aydan, Evan, Sid, Maddie, Jamie, Vince, Cade, and Elizabeth—who all found their voice through the miraculous process of using a letterboard to communicate their thoughts and feelings. As Jamie explains, “we think, feel, and learn just like everyone else.”
14-year-old Emma Zurcher-Long sees and hears the world, as she put it, in 'Hi-res, technicolor and surround sound'.While it may not always be easy for people to understand where Emma is coming from, it has become her mission to teach the world how potent, powerful and dynamic the life of an autistic teenager actually is. As a chronicle of a teenager coming into her own, and as a work advocating for the rights of all peoples, UNSPOKEN is a lesson on, and celebration of, living an authentic life.