I just read a New York Times article about parents who connected to their autistic child, Owen through Disney's films. As Owen repeatedly watched Disney movies over and over again, he helped build it into a language and a tool kit by collecting sounds and speech from them. Through observing the exaggerated expressions on characters' faces, he was able to "learn" the language and pick up visual cues as to what the words meant.
Owen is now 20 and has created a Disney Club, of which he is the president. He started this group after arriving in college and the club has helped him make friends as well as develop independence. This article has made me think about how universal Disney is, from acting as a source of entertainment or a form of language. And possibly through different disciplines and interests, we can find ways to connect with children who are autistic.
Read the full article here (it's lengthy, but worth the time!): http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/reaching-my-autistic-son-through-disney.html?_r=0
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