Have you tuned in yet? The short film now on Disney+ has an autism metaphor that will relate with many in our community.
Disney+ has been in the news recently for a short film that will come out on January 10, 2020 featuring a nonverbal girl on the autism spectrum. Even before this news broke though everyone in my local area was talking about the hit Disney+ Pixar Short called ‘Float.’ The short film was written by Bobby Alcid Rubio based on his real-life relationship with his son who has autism.
Rubio told Variety, “I was looking at my son, and I thought, ‘I have to tell this story.’ I couldn’t let it go, so I started storyboarding it.”
Spoilers ahead: The short focuses on a father and son relationship where the son one day learns how to defy gravity. In the hopes of being a good father and to avoid his son being judged and questioned he tries to hide his defying gravity from the outside world .
This connected with me growing up on the autism spectrum from the aspect of being ‘normal.’ So many times people would judge me for things like constantly rubbing my hands together and because of that I tried to hide this characteristic away from the world. When I was mainstreamed for the first time in 4th grade I tried to make it even more discreet knowing I may be judged for being different.
At the end of the short the Dad realizes that he went too far and he needs to let his son be who he is. I believe this is a lesson we need to continue to embrace in our community. As an autism entertainment consultant, one area I hope I can continue to advocate for in our entertainment industry is diversity. Bullying and ignorance sometimes feel like they are at an all-time high because we are so fixated on having people fit in to the crowd versus standing out. It’s actually a wonderful metaphor for the entire special needs community too.
We need to embrace uniqueness and realize that normal is truly just a dryer setting. I applaud Mr. Rubio for bringing this story to life and giving a platform for us to discuss autism and acceptance on a national scale.
I hope you will tune in.
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Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help us continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
Also, consider having Kerry, one of the only professionally accredited speakers on the spectrum in the country, speak at your next event by sending him an inquiry here. If you have a referral for someone who many want him to speak please reach out as well! Kerry speaks with schools, businesses, government agencies, colleges, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and other special events on topics ranging from employment, how to succeed in college with a learning disability, internal communication, living with autism, bullying prevention, social media best practices, innovation, presentation best practices and much more!
