By J.M. Brown Correspondent
PIEDMONT -- Four years ago, film editor Todd Drezner made his directorial debut by turning the camera on his family's own personal challenge: raising a son with autism.
The result was an educational documentary called "Loving Lampposts: Living Autistic," which explores two popular theories about how to approach autism in children and adults.
Taking note of the growing prevalence of autism in the United States, members of the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Film Series committee chose the film for the group's upcoming screening in hopes of fostering a greater understanding of autism. The committee also is partnering with the Piedmont-based special education advocacy group PRAISE to raise awareness.
"This is something we haven't covered before, and we thought it would be applicable to students and the community," said Dina Hirsch, a film committee member. "It's a really powerful film and a good introduction to the approaches to autism treatment."
The film will be shown Wednesday at the Ellen Driscoll Playhouse in Piedmont and Oct. 25 at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland. Admission to the screenings is free.
The 2010 film is set in Brooklyn, New York, where Drezner, who earned a master's of fine arts degree in film from Columbia University, lives with his son, Sam. The preschooler routinely likes to visit the park to look at all the lampposts, which is but one sign of the boy's autism.
During the course of the documentary, Drezner explores two popular schools of thought about autism, which is now referred to as "autism spectrum disorder," to acknowledge the wide range of behaviors and experiences among people with autism.
One theory, called the recovery movement, seeks to treat and heal children and adults with autism through therapy, medical and dietary measures. The neurodiversity movement advocates for accepting autism as part of the diversity of human growth.
"We need to explore neurodiversity more closely ... to increase our awareness and understanding in order to have an open dialogue about where our diversity lies among us," said Liz Fitzgerald, president of PRAISE. "The chance that you or your children have daily interactions with a person on the autism spectrum is increasing."
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Piedmont: Documentary covers growing issue of autism