suskind, owen

The author describes how his autistic son, Owen, learned to cope with his handicap from a young age by memorizing the dialogue of Disney movies and having his family play the roles of the animated characters.

Examines the life of Owen Suskind, who before the age of three behaved like a normal child, but afterwards became suddenly mute. Diagnosed with autism, Owen was cared for by his parents through the Disney movies he had loved before autism took over. Through these movies Owen developed a kind of language, a language his parents and older brother had to learn in order to communicate with him.