The project aims to provide a platform of expression to adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS), a mild form of autism, to share their views about their life and condition with the broader public. The project will capitalise on the greater strength AS people have to express themselves through visual information. It consists of several independent parts, of which only the first, “Video Life Diary” is included in the current application. This part will depict individual life stories developed by 5 participants over a 2-6 month period with mentoring and technical assistance from staff at ATT. The complete project aims at including these individual stories in a larger film production contrasting the views of the general population with those from autism professionals.

The project aims are twofold: 1 – To raise awareness and understanding of AS. 2 – To illustrate how better informed views on this condition can influence the well-being of individuals with AS and autism and assist greater inclusion of individuals with these conditions. Short term beneficiaries are the people involved by allowing them positive, structured, regular activities of a creative nature. These activities focus on personal development. The longer term benefits are wider dissemination to the broader public through broadcasting at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Science Festival. The project will also be developed as a teaching resource for professionals, families and individuals with autism. These “images of autism” could additionally help inspire others with the condition to develop creative techniques to present their own views of the world. Additionally, this project falls within ATT’s long term goals to assist adults with autism regarding the issues of support services, inclusion, advocacy, self awareness, expression and human rights.

Status: Project requires a further 3.5K to be fully funded. Currently applying elsewhere.

ATT- Autism Short Film Project- Seeking help from a 8-9 year old actor.

ATT is proposing to make a short film raising Awareness of Autism that will enact the story written by a young adult with Asperger Syndrome about a particular event he experienced as a child. We seek the support of a young actor, aged 8-9 year old willing to act a short story, exploring his relationship to objects (collection of  stones) and people and how these opposing elements assisted his understanding of the world. The script would not require much rehearsal, and would involve only short amounts of filming both outdoors and indoors. Please contact ATT if you are to discuss this project further.

The story: The Lesson.

Andreas, is an 8 year old boy who has a passion for collecting stones. He progressively amasses an incredible amount, looking in the riverbeds, by the seaside, saving his pocket money to purchase even more. He learned to discover their hidden crystals by breaking them open, and tried to imagine their value, especially those with the most unremarkable look, that carefully masked a true beauty only Andreas could see. The story developed as Andreas progressively explored his relationships with these objects contrasting with the confusion he has of people. Committing his first theft to add  a stone led to an irreversible progression that abruptly ended in the disappearance of his beloved stones all at once. Andreas could not understand how his stones could have been taken away from him, from the safety of his bedroom, and he could not understand how the few he found lying in the mud in the garden could ever relate to him again. It was an incomprehensible betrayal that left him wounded, deeply hurt and confused. After such incident, he no longer had any desire to look, hold or collect any more stones. However this story made him realise much later as an adult how relating to objects had helped him as a child to try to decipher the complexity of his relationships with people.