Today marks the first day of Autism Awareness Month. You can help commemorate how far we've come in understanding autism by watching Kartemquin's landmark film Refrigerator Mothers.
The film portrays the America of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when autism was severely misunderstood, and paints an intimate portrait of an entire generation of mothers, already laden with the challenge of raising profoundly disordered children, who lived for years under the dehumanizing shadow of professionally promoted "mother blame." Upon release in 2003, Refrigerator Mothers won numerous awards and plaudits, with the Autism Society of America review stating that "anyone involved with autism spectrum disorder must see this video... remarkable!"
Watch it free online at Snagfilms, buy a DVD from our store, or add it to your Netflix Queue.
For more on Autism Awareness Month, visit www.autismspeaks.com, www.autism-society.org and www.worldautismawarenessday.org.