There was a time not too long ago (the middle of the last century) when children diagnosed on what we now call the autism spectrum were called schizophrenic, taken from their parents and sent to institutions.
Over the years, research revealed that autism is a behavioral disorder that can be dealt with and even overcome within the family setting.
In Dan Crane and Katie Taber’s documentary “Let Me Be Me,” we meet Kyle Westphal, born on the spectrum to parents with two other children not on the spectrum.
Kyle confused his parents. His mother recalls that he would not react to what was going on around him. Kyle recalls that he liked to hide in the couch. “My blanket became my own little sanctuary.”
Finally, the family went looking for help. They found it in a group called the Autism Treatment Center of America, whose program “Son-Rise” teaches family members of those on the spectrum how to connect to their neurodiverse family member. The film illustrates some of those techniques, which involved creating a playroom downstairs and joining Kyle in his unique behaviors.
It turned out that Kyle likes women’s clothing – not wearing it but looking at it and visualizing how it would look with this or that alteration.
Today, Kyle is a successful fashion designer with a degree from Drexel University. In “Let Me Be Me,” the family tells Kyle’s story with humor and candor, and we even get to watch him at work and at a runway show.
It’s a wonderful, positive film that offers hope and a way one family found to keep the neurodiverse member at home, allowing all a simpler and more fulfilling life.
“Let Me Be Me” is available on VOD, as well as at Kino Now and on DVD through Kino Lorber.
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