Faculties don’t contribute sufficient training about autistics. Movies about autistics will be efficient, nevertheless, in impactful studying for non-autistic college students. Tempo College is doing this by participating non-autistic college students by means of an annual Celebration of Individuals with Disabilities in Artwork, Movies and Music competition, begun from a group engagement course of the creator in 2012.
Competition Targets
This competition is designed as an academic occasion specializing in movies that inform non-autistic college students and college students with out disabilities concerning the day-to-day lives of autistics and others with disabilities. A lot of the college students on the festivals had not encountered sufficient autistics or others with disabilities as depicted within the movies. College students have had misconceptions of autistics and other people with disabilities from myths about them not as individuals with skills however as objects of pity, if not prejudice (Johanssen & Garrisi, 2022). Their misconceptions could also be from movies within the mainstream media depicting pitiable stigmas of these with disabilities. Past leisure, the purpose of the competition is for non-autistics and college students with out disabilities to be taught that autism and incapacity are usually not all the persona of autistics and people with disabilities.
Options of the Competition
The movies are on genuine individuals with disabilities, a profit for non-autistics as mainstream media continues taking part in individuals with disabilities by individuals with out disabilities (Bahr, 2022). The movies are about normalizing these with autism and disabilities in private, reasonable tales (Lu, 2025). The movies and discussion board are designed to alter the perceptions of non-autistic college students by presenting the experiences of autistics and other people with disabilities shared within the movie tales.
The movies are curated for demographic variety, emphasis on language, and an emphasis on studying concerning the potential of autistics and other people with disabilities. The movies are collectively determined in focus teams of autistics, movie professors, and movie and different college students with disabilities, from the Sands School of Performing Arts and the Seidenberg Faculty of Pc Science and Info Programs, on the college. The main target teams embody incapacity professionals of advocacy group organizations for autistic college students, comparable to Tech Youngsters Limitless (TKU), a associate with the Seidenberg Faculty, for additional views on the movies.
The competition averages 7-9 movies of 10 – quarter-hour per movie. The movies will be animation, cartoon, comedy, documentary, or narrative “shorts.” An instance of a competition movie in spring 2025 was Good Night time Margaret, a romance story from The New York Occasions that was an viewers favourite. On the competition in spring, many of the movies had been preceded by movies of 3-5 minutes, additionally as “shorts,” by administrators or gamers that launched the competition movies. The 7-9 movies are from the sector of advocacy incapacity sources already within the networks of the professors.
To encourage interactivity with the viewers, the night competition in downtown New York Metropolis consists of panelists for pre- and post-film discussions of every of the movies, as to parts of the movies the non-autistics and the opposite college students with out disabilities should have realized about these within the movies. The panelists embody advocacy group representatives, self-advocates, and college students with disabilities for every of the movies. On the competition in spring, interactivity additionally included an intermission musical efficiency by group individuals with disabilities from Daniel’s Music Basis, which concerned the viewers singing with the individuals. Additional interplay included a presentation of autistic college students of the TKU group on movie methods developed by these college students. Q&A is inspired for studying alternatives with the panelists and the presenters.
Extra competition highlights embody a keynote presentation previous the movies by a incapacity advocate locally or in authorities.
For instance, on the competition in spring, the invited presentation was by Christina Curry, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Workplace for Individuals with Disabilities (MOPD) within the Metropolis of New York, which was inspirational to college students in a nothing about us, nothing with out us discuss.
Different highlights within the late afternoon previous the movies included artwork shows of artists with disabilities, kiosks of advocacy group organizations that furnished info on autistics and other people with disabilities, which had been studying and networking alternatives for the non-autistic college students, reward raffles for the scholars, and dinner refreshments.
General, the competition is positioned as a group extra-curricular program for which professors might supply additional credit score on curricular syllabi if college students are on the competition.
Impacts on Non-Autistic College students
Findings from the festivals proceed to indicate impacts by non-autistic college students, as from reflections from spring 2025:
- Algassimu Jalloh, ’25 Info Programs, “I [am] deeply moved by [the festival]. It made me understand that there’s really potential and expertise inside incapacity. It introduced me … pleasure to see [people] with disabilities given a platform to showcase their exceptional abilities;”
- Gabrielle Rose Casey, ’28 Movie Research, cites “I hope to advocate for individuals with disabilities and alter [how] the movie trade … treats them. I’ve … been motivated to develop into extra concerned within the competition and to … assist change the narrative … [to] make the world extra inclusive … of all kinds of individuals [and to] assist inform their tales. I … am keen to assist additional the impacts [of this festival];” and
- Melanie Greene, ’17 Alumnus Info Programs, cites “The competition opens my coronary heart and thoughts to the facility of storytelling … As a [former student], I carry classes [from the films] … [in] championing accessibility in know-how and [in] uplifting various voices – each voice deserves to be informed. The competition … celebrates individuals of all backgrounds and skills, reminding us that publicity results in empathy, and empathy drives change.”
Movies from the competition are evidently essential as a medium in dispelling stereotypes and stigmas of these with disabilities (Schwartz, et.al., 2010).
- Interim Provost Jonathan Hill cites the competition as an “annual dialogue within the mission of the neurodiversity custom” of the college.
Lastly, from the efforts of the creator, non-profit organizations, and “influencer” college students, the festivals yearly appeal to 95+ – 225+ (175+ spring 2025) group mother and father, professors, and present and particularly former undergraduate and graduate college students with out and with disabilities, in persevering with the muse for future impacts.
Classes Discovered
Festivals can advocate successfully for autistics and other people with disabilities by participating advocacy organizations educated in incapacity and inclusion points, because the creator has performed in participating group and municipal organizations within the competition at his college.
Festivals can successfully have interaction autistics and different college students with disabilities to be key in creating boards for educating non-autistics concerning the potential of autistics and other people with disabilities, as performed within the focus teams on the college
For festivals about these with disabilities, movies can positively be centered on how autistics and people with disabilities will be positively and correctly represented, not misrepresented in stigmas and stereotypes, by means of the artwork of personally highly effective tales (Magsamen & Ross, 2025).
Festivals will be designed in partnership with inside outreach packages of a college, comparable to accessibility companies, autism incapacity companies, group companies, variety, fairness, and inclusion companies, and companies for scholar well-being, which have been components in persevering with attendance on the movies.
Lastly, festivals, as at Tempo College, depend upon the encouragement and funding of extra-curricular neurodiversity packages from the management of a college, which has been a consider rising the Celebration of Individuals with Disabilities in Artwork, Movies, and Music since 2012.
Conclusion
Movies will be an academic technique for non-autistics in studying about autistics. Faculties can contribute empathy to autistics and other people with disabilities by increasing the educational views of non-autistic college students by means of extra-curricular packages, such because the Celebration of Individuals with Disabilities in Artwork, Music, and Movies. The competition at Tempo College is a significant technique for non-autistics to acknowledge autistics as on a regular basis individuals, first and foremost as a basic social justice, a way that may be utilized by ASN readers.
James Lawler, DPS, is Professor of Incapacity Research and Info Programs on the Seidenberg Faculty of Pc Science and Info Programs of Tempo College, in downtown New York Metropolis. Dr. Lawler is the originator and organizer of the Incapacity Movie Competition on the college since 2012. Professor Lawler is a recipient of native Group Partnership Awards and of the nationwide Jefferson Award for Group Service, for his initiatives in serving to individuals and college students with disabilities with modern packages and applied sciences on the Seidenberg Faculty of the College. Professor Lawler will be contacted at jlawler@tempo.edu.
References
Bahr, S. (2022). Research Reveals Incapacity Illustration Onscreen Is Rising, however Nonetheless Falls Quick. The New York Occasions, July 26, 1-2.
Johanssen, J., & Garrisi, D. (2022). Incapacity, Media, and Representations: Different Our bodies. Routledge, New York, New York, 2-3,7-8,137-138.
Lu, W. (2025). Sharing Tales about Love and Incapacity. The New York Occasions, January 26, 6.
Magsamen, S., & Ross, I. (2025). Your Mind on Artwork: How the Arts Rework Us. Random Home, New York, New York, ix-xi,17-19.
Schwartz, D., Blue, E., McDonald, M., Giuliani, G., Weber, G., Seirup, H., Rose, S., Elks-Albuhoff, D., Rosenfeld, J., & Perkins, A. (2010). Dispelling Stereotypes: Selling Incapacity Equality by means of Movie. Incapacity & Society, 25(7), 841-848.