Product Details

• Actors: Narrated by Julianna Margulies
• Directors: Gerardine Wurzburg
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: CNN Productions and State of the Art
• DVD Release Date: June 14, 2005
• Run Time: 40 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009JFDFO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,020 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Autism is a World - CNN" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This Oscar-nominated documentary is a collection of thoughts written by autistic 26-year old Sue Rubin who takes viewers on a poignant journey into her world to educate the public while empowering the autistic community toward their potential. "This is not my voice, but these are my words," begins Rubin as she tells her story (narrated by Julianna Margulies) of being diagnosed with autism as a young child and assumed mentally retarded until, at age 13, she was trained to use Facilitated Communication, a verbal tool that enabled her mind to "wake up." Rubin was reassessed with an IQ that allowed her to attend high school and college and live on her own, assisted by a team of caregivers. The film briefly explains autism and how it affects the brain’s wiring, yet is not meant to be a tutorial on neuro-biology but rather a personal attempt at unveiling a world that is both frustrating and confusing. Rubin discusses her feelings about solitude, social situations, and the need for familiar places and routines. Though autism will be her constant struggle, Rubin’s story is both inspiring and thought provoking. While the film does not presume to be the final word on autism, it is a beginning--and a noble one at that. (Ages 12 and older) --Lynn Gibson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspires us to accept the flaws in ourselves and others, April 20, 2006

By 

Darryl Melander (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Autism is a World - CNN (DVD)

For a more complete description of the story and characters of this documentary, read what other reviewers have already posted. My review isn't about the film's story, but about what the film taught me.

This documentary presents the paradox of being both deeply flawed and exceptionally gifted. It would be shallow to say that Sue Rubin is a brilliant woman trapped in a disabled woman's body. It goes beyond that. Sue's spoon fetish, her attraction to water, her speech difficulties, and her behavior all make her appear to be retarded. Some would say that these retarded tendencies mask the real Sue. That is not the case. The retarded Sue is the real Sue just as much as the intelligent Sue is the real Sue. This apparent contradiction challenges the way we view others, especially those with disabilities. It can be difficult to accept this unified duality of blemished excellence, so much so that some are disturbed by the very idea, and others doubt whether Sue is for real.

Personally, I thought it was beautiful. In the weeks since I saw the film, I have often found myself thinking about my own strengths and weaknesses in terms of the film's lessons. Sue has learned to accept her situation and herself. She grows where she can, even though there are many challenges she will never be able to overcome. She doesn't deny her struggles, nor does she pretend to like them, but she has the strength to accept them.

I'd also like to touch on facilitated communication. This documentary is NOT about facilitated communication. The film does nothing to advertise FC. It makes no suggestion that FC should be used more widely, does not assert any statistics about how effective FC may be among the autistic population, and does not imply that you ought to be using FC with your child. Yes, FC played a huge role in Sue's life, but those who fixate on FC as a myth are unable to see the film for what it really is. Those who dismiss Sue Rubin's story simply because there is a keyboard on screen are just as blind as the people who believe every jumble of letters produced by a non-verbal must be poetry. Let me repeat, this film is NOT about FC. If you've got a problem with FC, get past it long enough to figure out what else the film has to offer.

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autism is a World Depicts Truth and We Dont Want to Face It, December 14, 2005

By 

J. Leigh (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Autism is a World - CNN (DVD)

I know Sue Rubin and I have watched her move from a person who began using facilitated communication to a person who types independently, despite severe autism. Her story is not the made up wishful thinking of her parents and educators, but a real story about a real person. If you doubt Sue's proficiency and success with facilitated communication on the road to independent typing and communication, just visit her web site, email her and arrange to meet her and see for yourself. Unfortunately in the field of autism Sue's existence is very troubling to those who believe that "what you see is what you get" and that anyone who looks and acts like her must be retarded-Sue's success challenges the so called experts to look at their knowledge base and reassess what we thought we knew. The people who do not want to do that, who only want to quote from one book or article to another, tend to hide behind their so called expertise. Not one expert or professional who has met Sue has walked away with the belief that she is not who she claims to be. She has proven her proficiency to her local school district, Whittier College, her physicians, autism experts at UCI and UCLA and in Boston, and she has been an expert witness in court cases in which other people with autism have fought for their rights to communicate. Sue's story is worth hearing. It might be your child's story. If you have a child with severe autism, you owe it to yourself to hear what Sue has to say.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding AAC, July 16, 2007

By 

Tamara Boyer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Autism is a World - CNN (DVD)

As a professional in the field of autism, I hope reviewers here without clinical training and education will exercise restraint in making generalizations about Sue Rubin and AAC that are unduly harsh and insensitive.

It's important to understand what augmented communication is and is not, and what is meant by the addition of having a facilitator as Sue Rubin uses. Augmented communication takes several forms; from pictures and symbols to signing to electronic devices such as keyboards or voice generators. For anyone who can't speak, these devices are effective and have been empirically validated among other disabled population studies for many years.

If the AAC user is physically unable to access a device because of motor problems- as some autism clients as well as someone with cerebral palsy or other PDDs might have - then a facilitator can help guide and direct the manual use of the AAC. This might look something like "hand-over-hand" guiding -for example, if the client's hands shake or have low motor tone.

The controversy with using a facilitator arises when the facilitator is typing or operating the device him/herself or answering questions for the client to then type in. Then, clearly the client isn't actually doing the communicating. Good facilitator training usually corrects this problem. In the case of Sue Rubin, sh is not pretending and she is -as many with autism are- of normal IQ and high intelligence.

That said, clients with autism can have problems with certain types of cognitive processing where they need help from a facilitator in understanding. To the lay person, this is puzzling and it seems illogical. Why for example, can a particular client do complex math but can't count change? Why is another autistic client's memory exceptional for facts and figures but he has trouble in some areas of reasoning?

When we see these incongruences in client functioning, particularly among those using AAC with facilitators - the casual observer might think the facilitator is filling in the gaps with their own answers. I do not see that in this case of Sue Rubin but it has happened with some facilitators. Again, good training is key, as is the use of the most appropriate and least restrictive use of AAC tools.

Parents will I hope, approach AAC with the same optimism but careful consumer awareness and education that is necessary when exploring any avenue of help for their child.