A documentary film entitled Living with Autism is shown on TV

To raise awareness and encourage discussion about World Autism Awareness Day, celebrated annually on April 2, TV Brasil presents the documentary Living Autism on Saturday (2), at 5 pm.

By raising a relevant topic that encourages community-related reflections, the film gains space in public broadcaster programming. At 50 minutes, the BBC’s original content offers a new perspective on the scientific view of the disorder from the eyes of people with autism themselves.

The diagnosis and mysteries of this condition serve as a background to this approach. The proposal is to provide information about autism, reveal the challenges of social interaction, share experiences of coexistence and demonstrate special skills.

The production is led by psychologist Uta Frith, a professional who has dedicated five decades of her academic life to researching autism. The document reveals, with emotion, the fascinating characters and nuances that have changed the scientific understanding of the human brain.

The revelation of studies
Living with Special Autism highlights how research affects society’s perception of the disorder. Tenderness is an aspect of the work that traces the perception of the world of people with autism and illustrates the way in which they interact with their surroundings.

German teacher Uta Frith explains how they see reality. The researcher points to the unusual talents of autism and explains why these people are unable to comprehend. The seasoned professional notes that anyone can suffer from autism spectrum disorder, too.

More than half a million people in Britain have autism. During the documentary, the therapist comments on what she has found out about how people cope with the condition. The researcher says she began analyzing the topic after interacting with children with autism in her studies in clinical psychology.

In the 1960s, children began to be diagnosed with a disorder defined by difficulty interacting with others. Autism is now known to be a brain disorder, a lifelong condition.

Autistic volunteers
Imagine being able to list all the countries in the world and their capitals, remember what you had for dinner on March 9, 2002, and learn all the prime numbers up to 7,507. The documentary explains how brains that see the world in different ways help unlock the secrets of the human mind.

According to the movie Living With Autism, many people with autism have talents that seem incompatible with their condition. Kenny has a talent for mental arithmetic and calendar arithmetic, which means he can predict the day of the week on which the date falls.

Kenny explains his calendar style identification system. He says that his strong memory and desire to practice contribute to the development of this talent. The production shows that nearly a third of people with autism have unusual abilities, such as perfect pitch.

The volunteer says he sees things differently than his colleagues. Psychologist Uta Frith has autistic and non-autistic people searching for Wali in a chaotic picture. Autistic people spot it right away. This fact indicates their attention to detail and a tendency to miss the big picture.

Jules Robinson suffers from Asperger syndrome. Although he has no speech problems, he has trouble engaging people in dialogue. The documentary highlights that acting lessons help him improve his communication skills.

Even with the contributions of theatrical techniques that benefit Jules in situations of social interactions, he still feels uncomfortable in everyday conversations. A lack of social skills and a rush to tell the truth without any filters distinguishes him from people without Asperger syndrome.

Photo: Ascom

Teacher Uta Frith uses two dolls to tell a story that illustrates individual beliefs, desires, and intentions. Most people understand that other people have a will of their own – an ability you call “mental.”

In the 1980s, a researcher showed that children with autism are unable to understand that others have different beliefs and viewpoints. This explains why they often get frustrated when their interlocutors don’t know what’s on their minds.

Sarah, who has autism, explains why public speaking is easier than having one-on-one conversations. She finds encounters with strangers frightening because she cannot predict their behavior or the outcome of their interaction.

Sarah learned to mimic social behavior to hide her autism. Children without autism copy the actions of adults when given a task, but children with autism take a more direct and logical approach.

The documentary suggests that people with autism can bond with other people. Sarah and her partner Keith, who is also autistic, share why they are together. They do not realize the need to mingle with others and do not have the emotion of losing others because it requires an abstract imagination.

Traits of autism are found in many individuals, including geniuses such as Isaac Newton. The film shows how autistic traits are measured in the general population. Clinical diagnoses depend on the degree to which features of autism interfere with daily life.

Psychologist Uta Frith identifies traits of autism in their own right. She claims that whether there is a point on the autism spectrum where autism begins is a mystery. Despite the knowledge gained about how people with autism view the world, the origins of autism remain unknown.

About Uta Frith’s research
Professor Uta Frith, a leading German researcher in development studies, began her training in the 1960s. Around this time, the psychologist met a group of beautiful, bright-eyed children who seemed completely isolated from the rest of the world.

These young men had just received a new diagnosis of autism at the time. The specialist wanted to know more about these children. They inspired her to dedicate her academic career to studying the minds of people with autism.

One of the most important experts in popularizing the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, Uta Frith has made history by researching autism. The researcher is also known as one of the most important women in the UK.