Thank you for coming

Thank you for coming to the film opening.  You are all really true friends. For more information about the blog about the film visit www.holdinginthestorm.blogspot.com. The day was great.

I am the man who composed the theme poem for this movie, “What it’s like to be me”. I like and admire the movie very much, though I usually tend to prefer documentary films and non-fiction.

I hope that our Bridges-Over-Barriers group will discuss the film some more but here are some thoughts. I love the beauty of the sights and sounds in the film and the contrasts between the peaceful park setting and the busy and noisy lecture theatre.

I know that the film was intended to help neurotypical people understand what it’s like to live with Autism as an adult. But other viewers might like to know that the film also helped with another line of the poem, “I wonder what it’s like to be you?”

Some people have wondered if we autistics would feel insulted and hurt by the attitudes of the “neurotypicals” to us. In fact, I really learned about other people from the film. I saw the “Dave” guy as very enthusiastic and think he would be a great friend. He was very excited about his girl. He was expected to be nervous. Perhaps at first he was insensitive to Matthew but when the girl said she knew Matty he was different. I think many of my friends are like him.

The students were good just like students at the university. They are still young and not sure how to make good decisions on what to say. They will learn hopefully. I would not say those words--that someone is a schizo. I think we need to remember that we are all different as well. I think that I will try to laugh like the students to practice for my university years. I think I will be safer learning from here. I will always be a student. I never stop learning.

I think it was a great day and glad I could talk to people. I think that made it real for them. I see they were curious as to what I was typing with Beth’s support. It was the highlight for me to see people understand the meaning of the film and be sincere not just nice. Sometimes people just say nice things and don’t understand. I see this in their eyes. They don’t seem to really feel comfortable talking to me, but that film day they seemed to know what to say.