Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Ron Suskind: Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney


(A drawing of "Abu" from the movie "Aladdin," drawn pretty much on model by a young Owen Suskind.)


Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and writer Ron Suskind has a fascinating article in the New York Times Magazine about his autistic son titled Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney.

It's about how Disney animated movies provided a conduit of communication between the son, Owen, and the real world. Well worth a read, especially if you believe that fiction stories can help provide meaning in life. It's an excerpt from LIFE, ANIMATED, a new book by Mr. Suskind.
"IMAGINE being trapped inside a Disney movie and having to learn about life, language, and emotion mostly from animated characters dancing across a screen of color. A fantasy? A nightmare? 
"Actually, it’s the real-life story of Owen Suskind, who is the son of the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ron Suskind and his irrepressible wife, Cornelia."

1 comment:

Pigs in Maputo said...

Thank you for the post!
I just recently finished a very interesting book written by an autistic boy, Naoki Higashida, called "The Reason I Jump", translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell.