The Autism Puzzle

That Kid

January 1976 •French

A group of educators led by Fernand Deligny are working to create contact with autistic children in a hamlet of the Cevennes.

A Brief History of Circles

February 2024 •English

An experimental video essay which uses circles and waves to explore neurodivergent experience.

Autisme : le petit chasseur de fantômes

June 2022 •French

The quest of a father seeking for a future for his son, Tom, affected by autistic disorders and passionate about haunted places. A sensitive and funny film that gives a voice to young autistic people around the world, who are fulfilled in their lives and jobs. A possible future for Tom.

The Hugo's Brain

November 2012 •French

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

Au cœur du Papotin

December 2023 •French

The Reason I Jump

January 2020 •English

Based on the book by Naoki Higashida, filmmaker Jerry Rothwell examines the lives of five non-speaking, autistic youngsters.

9 Lives: Tales from the Cat Show

August 2018 •English

A young autistic woman defies her doctor's prognosis of lifelong mutism and finds her voice through showing cats.

The Horse Boy

November 2009 •English

Filmmaker Michel Orion Scott captures a magical journey into a little-known world, in a documentary which chronicles Rupert Isaacson and Kristin Neff's personal odyssey to make sense of their child's autism, and find healing for him and themselves in the unlikeliest of places.

The Miracle Healers

August 1976 •English

Actor Roscoe Lee Browne is host for this documentary that delves into the mystery behind spontaneous healing and other psychic phenomena that could be applied to medicine. This includes an examination of Jim Jones and the People's Temple.

Wretches & Jabberers

April 2011 •English

In 'Wretches & Jabberers and Stories from the Road', two men with autism embark on a global quest to change prevailing attitudes about disability and intelligence. With limited speech, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, both faced lives of mute isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When they learned as adults to communicate by typing, their lives changed dramatically. Their world tour message is that the same possibility exists for others like themselves. At each stop, they dissect public attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future. Along the way, they reunite with old friends from the USA, expand the isolated world of a talented young painter and make new allies in their cause.

The Shift

January 2009 •English

From the creators of You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie comes a compelling portrait of three modern lives in need of new direction and new meaning. In his first-ever movie, Wayne Dyer explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world. The powerful shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and society—which promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulation—are shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back. Filmed on coastal California’s spectacular Monterey Peninsula, The Shift captures every person’s mid-life longing for a more purposeful, soul-directed life.

You Have No Idea

March 2023 •English

One family's journey with autism through the lens of community in a small town in southern Arkansas.

Autism: The Musical

April 2007 •English

Follows five autistic children as they work together to create and perform a live musical production.

How to Dance in Ohio

January 2015 •English

In Columbus, Ohio, a group of autistic teenagers and young adults role-play this transition by going through the deceptively complex social interactions of preparing for a spring formal. Focusing on several young women as they go through an iconic American rite of passage, we are given intimate access to people who are often unable to share their experiences with others. With humor and heartbreak, How to Dance in Ohio shows the daily courage of people facing their fears and opening themselves to the pain, worry, and joy of the social world.

Autism and the Arts: Poetry with Peter Street

July 2025 •English

Born in 1948, Peter Street struggled at school with epilepsy and illiteracy in Bolton, Lancashire, and, later in life, as a slaughterman, a gravedigger and a war poet. At 66 years old he was then diagnosed with autism, and his world changed forever.

Rainman Twins

December 2008 •English

This is the fascinating story of the only identical twin autistic savant sisters known to exist. Over 50 years time, Flo and Kay have literally memorized the world around them. They never forget a date or a song, what they ate or the weather on any given day. Like the Dustin Hoffman character in the movie Rainman, their lives are riveting. You'll never forget them. They'll never forget you.

Programming Hope

February 2015 •English

The inspirational story of a race-car driving software developer whose career suddenly switches gears when his son with autism inspires him to create a video game company that trains and employs adults on the autism spectrum.

Brains in Danger

November 2017 •French

For the past 20 years, the world has seen an alarming decrease in IQ and a rise of autism and behavioral disorders. This international scientific investigation reveals how chemicals in objects surrounding us affect our brain, and especially those of fetuses.

Comedy Against the Odds

March 2024 •English

10-year-old Austin Eletto has autism. He’s also an aspiring stand-up comic. This short documentary spotlights the struggle of growing up with labels, and how Austin uses comedy to embrace and overcome them. Through the intimate story of Austin as he faces adversity and hardships, our audience will be thoroughly connected to his childhood experience, making the inevitable laughs bigger and more inspired.

I Am Greta

October 2020 •Swedish

Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student in Sweden, started a school strike for the climate as her question for adults was, if you don’t care about my future on earth, why should I care about my future in school? Within months, her strike evolved into a global movement as the quiet teenage girl on the autism spectrum becomes a world-famous activist.