Autism Every Day: Film Review

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Autism Every Day is a short film that looks at the perspectives of mothers who have children with autism. The film looks at both the emotional and practical experiences of mothers of children who have received this diagnosis.

The mothers talk about how they see themselves and how their lives have changed by caring for children who struggle with everyday activities. Difficult moments for the families are shown and discussed, including both the violence and withdrawal sometimes associated with autism. Because the film claims to be portraying an average 24 hours in the lives of these families, their experience of autism seems both shocking and overwhelming.

Autism Every Day was created by Lauren Thierry, Jim Watkins and Eric Solomon and funded by the group Autism Speaks, one of the most visible and powerful autism advocacy organizations. But Autism Every Day and Autism Speaks have been the subject of controversy.

The organization has no board members living with an autism spectrum disorder and actively advocates a cure for autism, something that is a debated topic within the autism community. Additionally, key members of the organization have also become embroiled in controversial speculation as to the causes of autism. Despite this, Autism Speaks has succeeded in raising millions of dollars to support autism research and awareness.

Meanwhile, Autism Every Day has faced criticism because many said it showed only the worst moments in a life with an autistic child.  Many autism advocates reacted with outrage at some of the negativity expressed by the mothers, including one who said in front of her autistic child that she had considered murdering her. Adding fury to the controversy was the murder of an autistic child by her physician mother not long after the film's release.