Autism In Love
Love, it’s a feeling that no one can truly describe. Love is not something that you can hold and touch in your hand or can define in black and white terms. So how does love to translate to an adult with autism? In the documentary Autism in Love, the filmmakers follow 4 adults on their as they search and grapple with the experience of finding love.
The movie closely follows Lenny, Lindsey and Dave, and Stephen, who are all in different stages of relationships. Lenny is a single adult who longs to find someone to be with but believes that his autism is getting in the way and automatically makes him less successful and less desirable for any woman to date. Lindsey and David are a couple who have been together for 8 years. They both are quite independent, brilliant minds and are trying to figure out if they are ready to take the next step and get married. It was fascinating watching this couple and their dynamics and how they try to express themselves and show affection to the other as they process what marriage would mean Stephen, an older individual with autism, is married to a woman named Gitta who during the filming, dies from a brain tumor. He struggles to understand what that means, as death means he can no longer go and see her in the hospital.
This movie shows raw emotions, frustrations, and heartbreak and
completely moved me because it challenges every stereotype of older individuals with autism. They can indeed deeply love another individual and they feel the depth of emotions that we all do. While expressing those emotions can be difficult, they found their own ways to communicate their feelings. I think that is why I picked this movie, because I wanted to better understand individuals with autism, especially older adults. Many times, we forget that older individuals with disabilities have the same desires as we do, and this movie tuned me back into understanding that. This is important to remember as we work with not only older adults with autism but other adults with disabilities too. This movie has left an impact on me, and I hope that others will watch it and be challenged in their thinking as well. Check out the link below if you are interested in watching the movie!
References:
Fuller, M. (Director), & Heilveil, I. (Writer). (2015). Autism in Love [Motion picture]. United States: CG Entertainment .
2 comments
Ahh, this has to be one of my favorite blog posts!! Not only because everything you said was beautifully said, but because understanding desires of older adults with autism is something I am highly interested in too! Well done :)
ReplyDeleteI want to go home and watch this movie now! People often think that just because someone has a disability, they don't think about things like relationships and other age-appropriate things! Great post!!
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