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Autism Talk TV – Ep. 11 – If You Could Say it in Words

Alex Plank — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:37:29 +0000

If You Could Say it in Words is a great new film about an autistic protagonist Nelson and his experience with love. The film came out on DVD yesterday, November 23, 2010. In this episode of Autism Talk TV, I switch sides of the camera and get interviewed along with director Nicholas Gray and actors Alvin Keith and Marin Ireland about the project. Nicholas has graciously offered to allow approved nonprofits to screen the film for for benefits and community events.

I first learned about If You Could Say it in Words in October of 2006. I was contacted by the director, Nicholas Gray, who had found my interview of Heather Kuzmich from America’s Next Top Model.
After getting the chance to watch the film, I was very excited. I interviewed Nicholas, and actor Alvin Keith, at my home in Virginia. Shortly after the interview was published, I posted a review of the movie to Wrong Planet, in which I described the film as having “the most authentic portrayal of an autistic person that I’ve ever seen in the movies.”. After I had posted these two articles to Wrong Planet, director Nicholas Gray and I became friends. Needless to say, I was very happy when he called me and told me that he had secured a distributor for the film.

Nicholas licensed my documentary ‘autism reality’ to include in the special features of the DVD for If You Could Say it in Words. In addition, he asked me to produce a documentary about the plight of the undiagnosed Aspie.

Nicholas has graciously offered to allow approved nonprofits to screen the film for community events. Some nonprofits have already taken advantage of this program. You can contactAdam Eisenstein if your organization is interested showing If You Could Say it in Words at one of your events. Contact aeisenstein@chipchair.com for more information.

Now, please enjoy episode 11 of Autism Talk TV!

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If You Could Say it in Words: New Asperger’s Movie (Interview)

Alex Plank — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:34:31 +0000

Nicholas Gray’s directorial debut, If you Could Say it in Words, is a feature film about Nelson Hodge, a young African American guy with Asperger’s living in Philidelphia. While there have recently been a plethora of films about individuals with Asperger’s, most have been documentaries, and none have featured a protagonist with Asperger’s who falls into a lower-income socioeconomic class.

Read on to listen to an interview with the director and lead actor. We also have exclusive video clips from the movie.

Audio Interview:
(player not working? download the mp3)

If you Could Say it in Words, stands out as a unique story of a man who belongs to an economic, racial, and a neurological minority. Due to the culture he grows up in, Nelson is never diagnosed with Asperger’s and the syndrome is never mentioned by name. However, it is clear from Nelson’s behaviors and quirks, that he would have been diagnosed with Asperger’s if he had grown up in a more advantaged family.

Nelson is played by Alvin Keith, who made his big screen debut in the critically acclaimed movie, Kinsey. His romantic interest, Sadie is played by Marin Ireland, an actress who was in The Manchurian Candidate and I am Legend.

I talked with director Nicholas Gray and actor Alvin Keith who visited me at my house in Virginia. We had so much fun talking that our conversation lasted hours. Consequently I will not be transcribing the interview and will instead be including the audio file which you can listen to near the top of this page.

Nicholas has provided us with some trailers of the film which have been embedded into this article for your viewing enjoyment.

Clips from the movie:

If You Could Only Say it in Words – Official Site

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Dyslexia study

Alex Plank — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 07:00:00 +0000

Italian researchers have observed significant reductions of gray matter volume in areas of the brain associated with language processing among people with a family history of dyslexia in comparison with controls with no reading problems. Published in the August 24 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the study also lends support to previous studies suggesting intensive reading therapy activates areas of the brain necessary for word de-coding. The study of 10 people with familial dyslexia and 11 controls was the first to employ an advanced testing method – voxel-based morphometry (VBM) – which allows more in-depth detection and measurement of gray-white tissue volume and density differences than other testing tools, including magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. The brain is made up of gray matter, where the brain cells reside, and white matter, where the nerve tracts that allow connections between different parts of the brain and spinal cord reside. The study also was the first to account for variabilities in whole brain volume, age of the subjects and differences in brain shape. Each of the subjects with dyslexia had at least one close relative with either clinically evident dyslexia or a long history of reading problems.
Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person’s ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence. Although the disorder varies from person to person, common characteristics among people with dyslexia are difficulty with phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds) and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. Statistically significant gray matter abnormalities were located in many parts of the brain that are important for language functions: the planum temporale, inferior temporale cortex, cerebellar nuclei, the left superior and inferior temporal gyrus, and the right middle temporal gyrus. “Previous studies employing MRI have suggested that intensive remedial training results in the activation of the posterior portion of the left superior temporal gyrus, which is necessary for the decoding of written language,” said study author Daniela Perani, MD, of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. “Our research showing reduced gray matter volume, including this region of the brain, adds further support to the effectiveness of intensive reading remediation therapy to correct the reading problems associated with dyslexia.” http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/profilenews.cfm?pagecode=NENE&areacode=NEWS_FPLD&id=6402

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Burglars steal autistic boys voice

Alex Plank — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 05:29:00 +0000

Burglars who stole the computer speech machine of a 12-year-old autistic boy who cannot speak have “taken away his voice”, his mother said today. The £1,800 device enabled Elliot Walters for the first time in his life to put his thoughts into words and take part in school lessons. But just a week after he was given the Chat PC machine, thieves broke into his home in Plymouth, Devon, and stole it along with other valuables. Elliot’s mother Suzanne said: “Everybody is absolutely devastated. It’s unbelievable. “He was so successful in using it and we were so pleased with the outcome. With this he could actually say ’This is what I want’. “He got to 12 years of age before we heard him make any vocal comments of his own choice. They have effectively taken away his voice.” Sir John Wilton, president of local charity Call South West, which provided the computer, condemned the thieves’ “wickedness and folly”. He added: “It is absolutely vital to him. Without it he cannot communicate his simplest needs. It enables him to communicate with teachers as well as friends and family.
The charity is now appealing for donations to buy Elliot a new machine. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said burglars broke into the Walters’ house in Pomphlett Close, Plymouth, early on Sunday afternoon while the family was out. They also took videos, computer games, a clock, watches and jewellery. So far no arrests have been made.

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