Autism Is a World

Sue Rubin is a twenty six year old autistic woman who cannot speak. She needs twenty-four hour care as her condition does not allow her to even dial 9-1-1 in case of an emergency. At the age of 13, Sue was diagnosed with a mental age of two years, and an IQ of 29. However, when this documentary was filmed, Sue was a junior at Whittier College majoring in history, with career plans to advocate for autistics, and newspaper writing. What changed for Sue at age 13? "Facilitated communication" did. With the steadying of her sometimes flailing limbs, Sue is able to use a keyboard with vocal capabilities in order for her "voice" to be heard. The keyboarding took a lot of practice, but a reassessment of her condition put her IQ at 133, which allowed her normal high school years and college. From her tiny size, protruding tongue, and yelping vocal tics, everyone assumed Sue was mentally retarded. When she was a little girl, she exhibited self-abusive behaviors like biting her arms and head banging. Her parents never gave up on her, and we learn her brain was soaking up information like a sponge, even though her outward appearance did not show this.

The film focuses on Sue's reactions to losing two of her caregivers after many years. The two women are as young as Sue, and are moving on to other opportunities. They have become great friends, able to vocalize Sue's thoughts and even call her on an occasional lapse in concentration or purposeful misbehavior. Although many autistics are known for their seeming lack of emotion, there is a sadness on Sue's face as their time together gets shorter. Watching Sue onscreen, I was filled with admiration. She has a comforting device involving spoons and running water that is similar to my own autistic family member's comforting device. Sue proves that way too many people think all autistics are high-functioning, like "Rain Man" or Sigourney Weaver's brilliant and completely misunderstood performance in "Snow Cake." There is a routine to many autistics, and they can be humorous, but the low function of Sue takes you off guard. You feel just as frustrated as the others in the documentary as she answers questions one letter of each word at a time. She must write entire speeches and presentations like this (they are read by others), but Sue is prone to emotional outbursts, typing nonsense on the keyboard because of her attitude, especially her fears about her departing friends.

Sue wrote the narration to the film, getting screen credit, and it is expertly read by Julianna Margulies. Gerardine Wurzburg directs unobtrusively, not pestering Sue and others with a bunch of questions. This was part of the "CNN Presents" series, and was nominated for a short subject documentary Oscar. Sue says it best: she can never be free of autism. It might subside, but it will always be there. For more on the subject, I strongly recommend watching the badly titled but still brilliant documentary "Autism: The Musical," and reading "Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet, whether you are affected by autism or not.