The Miracle Project

I must be honest. I was very frustrated with many of the adults in this movie. The kids were all great, but the grownups for the most part were not paying attention to the non-verbal messages their kids were sending. I even felt that for some of these parents, including Elaine, the "Miracle Project" was all about them (the parents) and their idea of what they wanted to achieve. They even had a "professional screenwriter" to "polish the script"!

For much of the film, the kids were over-stimulated. The adults got right in their faces many times and talked loudly. These kids are not hard-of-hearing. It's too much! And how many scenes where adults were just sitting around tables staring at the autistic kid! What a horror. Worst of all was that scene at the table of Elaine's future husband, and by the way, he didn't get it at all. That scene in the park -- he told Elaine that Neil had tossed the little kid to the ground "on purpose", and described Neil's nefarious motives. No! Autistic kids do not have evil motives! Not to mention -- good move, Stepdad Tattletale.

The moms I thought were great were Lexi's, Adam's, and Henry's. They seemed to really LISTEN to their kids, and I loved that Adam's mom fought for his right to play the cello. The mom of an autistic child has to be a real tiger sometimes, that's just the way it is.

The musical finale, I'm sorry to point this out, but the kids had their aides up there, including Adam's from school. Neil's "Stepdad" was holding Neil up and looking miserable. Tell you what, in that setting, bright lights and all that commotion, my kid would have taken a hike, and he's very high-functioning.

(shame on that "professional" who waved the papers and said Wyatt was "low-functioning". I hope Wyatt's parents never went back to him.)

Powerful, poignant, and beautifully candid, this documentary brings awareness to the viewer in a unique, eye-opening, and often endearing manner. Stemming from their participation in The Miracle Project, a theatre arts program created by Elaine Hall, five autistic children and their parents are followed over a seven-to-eight month period. The viewer is allowed an intimate look into the daily routines of family life, school, therapy, music lessons, and holidays. We are allowed the rare opportunity of entering the world of autism through the eyes of the child and the parents, and gain a seldom-seen or heard perspective from them both that brings about a strong feeling of connectedness. The candor from the parents is both stunning and, at times, raw in its painful truth of autism's impact on the individual parent and in their spousal relationships. Through it all, humor and wit help maintain an upbeat feel so that one leaves not with a sense of heaviness, but with greater awareness, understanding, and hope of what can be. Not to be missed !

It was really hard watching how coach E was treating the children and how she was trying to impose neurotypical behaviours on them, like when she was forcing this kid to look her in the eyes, when he was clearly uncomfortable doing so, or trying to force the kids to communicate with each other the neurotypical way. People in the documentary seemed to aknowledge the sensory sensitivity of autistic people, but throughout the film the kids were often overwhelmed by the strong light and sounds. It really felt like their needs and emotions were not respected.

This was an excellent movie, an excellent documentary and one of the best I have seen in a long time. The director did a great job really keying to the strong points of each subject(character) particularly Wyatt. He is by far the most intriguing of all the subjects and the director's portrayal of him was absolutely perfect. There are some incredibly strong and emotional moments in this movie that will have you on the brink of tears or crying. The directors decision to just let Wyatt talk and be himself was absolutely the best directorial decision I have ever seen in any movie. His conversation with his mother is absolutely mesmerizing, he is so smart, he is so far beyond his years. It also really sets up the frustration that his parents have because he is smart enough to handle regular classes, yet he still doesn't fit. If he was my son, screw it you go to regular school and you show everybody. The most powerful moment in this film is when Lexi is typing to her mother, and she asks her to explain what Autism is and she can't get out the right words so she just says I love you. I almost cry just thinking about it, and as an actor I will always turn to that scene when I need to shell out emotions, Im surprised her mom didn't respond with more emotion but it is probably because Lexi does that quite often. The frustration of not being able to communicate with your children has got to be the most difficult thing about Autism.

I only have a few issues with the film but none to not recommend it. One of my biggest issues is that all of the children in the program are rich from what I saw from the movie. So I think the next group of kids for the miracle project should probably come from slightly different backgrounds. I'm interested to see how people who don't have money deal, because to be frank there are probably tons of kids who have autism that aren't diagnosed as such. They go to school everyday and struggle and struggle and they deal with teachers who don't care and who aren't sympathetic to their needs. So they dismiss them as bad, or crazy or whatever, or add, adhd. I mean seriously how easy would it be to take someone like Adam and label him as just a bad misbehaved kid. It would be terribly easy, and that's what happens to a lot of children. My other issue is that I would have liked to hear a little bit more about the exact diagnosis of the different children's autism, and what autism really is. I do understand that autism is a widely misunderstood disease so maybe that's why.

THIS MOVIE IS EXCELLENT, I watch it every time it comes on. And to be honest it changed the way I viewed some things because I myself have had some problems communicating and it really showed me the frustration my family might have from me doing that.

What a loving respectful and clear-eyed gateway into an unfamiliar world. The kids are a revelation and a joy. Elaine's strength and kindness is heartening and wonderful to see and the openness, courage and honesty of the parents is deeply affecting. There is so much love in this film! The ease with which the families related to the camera says so much about the director. As mentioned previously, we do leave the theater with a feeling of connection and openness. What an inspiring, touching, funny, tender, raw, moving and heart-lifting journey. Brilliant and caring film-making. Thank you for making this film! Don't miss it!