I Want to Say is a 27-minute documentary short, produced by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and production company Bodega, that tells the story of how assistive technology can help to unlock the voices of children with autism through technology.
The film sprang from the desire to share stories of hope of six children with autism who communicated for the first time through the use of touch technology. It highlights the growing prevalence of autism (recently reported to affect 1 in 88), the parents’ emotional struggle to communicate with their children, and the hope and promise that came with introducing assistive technology to the autism community.
I Want to Say chronicles the lives of several children from the Hope Technology School in Palo Alto, an inclusive school with both typical and special-needs students working together. Teachers at the school discovered that touch technology can empower those with autism to communicate with their families after years of silence and even tell their parents they love them for the first time. The film also features Temple Grandin, a hero in the autism community.
Kayla Takeuchi, a young woman we meet in the documentary, defines her goal as simply being able “to change the way people view us.”
The film has screened at Industrial Light and Magic, Pixar and in theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Autism Speaks initiative Hacking Autism seeks to facilitate and accelerate technology-based ideas to help give those with autism a voice. Find out more about Hacking Autism at AutismSpeaks.org/hacking-autism
Watch the full length documentary below.
