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THE CENTER FOR SPECTRUM SERVICES DEBUTS EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTARY |
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Kingston, NY - November 16, 2009 - The Center for Spectrum Services, (formerly The Children’s Annex) an agency that has been educating and supporting students with autism and their families throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley for over thirty years, has produced a 30 minute educational documentary, which explores the personal stories of three young people with Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
The Asperger’s Difference: For and about young people with Asperger’s Syndrome will debut at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, New York, on Saturday, November 21 at 11:00 am.
The documentary is designed to support high-functioning young people with autism as they begin the complicated emotional and physical transition into adolescence and adulthood. One is also given the opportunity to see not only the challenges, but the often overlooked strengths, poise, self-awareness, and sense of humor, which gives a fuller picture of what it means to live with Asperger’s.
The screening is free and open to the public and will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and the young adults featured in the documentary. Two of the featured adults are Dutchess County residents. The college portion of the documentary was shot at Marist College in 2007.
The Asperger’s Difference is the only educational documentary written to educate young adults with Asperger’s about their needs and strengths. It is designed expressly to accommodate the learning style of people with Asperger Syndrome and comes with a discussion guide to help parents, teachers and therapists individualize the content for the viewer.
Jed Baker, Ph.D., Director of the Social Skills Training Project has described the film as “emotionally moving…featuring actual teens and young adults with Asperger Syndrome allows the viewer to feel their struggle and appreciate their tremendous talents…helpful to students with AS trying to better understand themselves and for all their peers and staff to gain a deeper understanding of what it is like to have AS… highly recommend …to all school systems and those working with individuals with AS.”
Production of The Asperger’s Difference was made possible by grants from The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation and The Hudson Foundation for Youth Health, Inc. DVD’s of the documentary will be available for purchase at the screening or online. For more information and to view a trailer for the DVD, visit centerforspectrumservices.org
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