Tracy Thresher와 Larry Bissonnette은 어렸을 때 정신박약으로 분류되어 정상적인 학교교육을 받지 못 했지만 타이핑을 배우기 시작하면서 인생이 바뀐다. 그들은 장애와 지능에 대한 사람들의 태도를 바꾸기 위해 스리 랑카, 일본을 거쳐 핀랜드까지 대장정을 나선다.
For those with autism, documentary offers new hope
(Wretches & Jabberers의 예고편)
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap....
Autism silences the 43-year-old Vermont man. He doesn't speak. But he has a message for the world about how people should think of people like him. So he taps it out.
"To think intelligence, even if you see wacky, goofy behavior. We are simply intelligence, shown in a different way," comes the robotic voice, broadcast out of his computer.
Thresher and friend Larry Bissonnette, 53, who have been advocates for 10 years for people with autism and the disabled community at large, are about to get a new platform for spreading their can-do message: They're the focus of "Wretches and Jabberers," a documentary film opening next week in 40 cities that makes the point that "disabled" doesn't mean "dumb."
"Wretches" is what they jokingly call themselves after picking up the term from another person with autism. To them, "Jabberers" are people who can speak.
At turns funny, warm and sad, the 90-minute film, which premieres Friday in New York City and then in AMC Theatres nationally a day later, follows Thresher and Bissonnette to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland on a mission to change people's attitudes about disability, intelligence and communication.
Along the way, they're seen dodging traffic,
talking about the meaning of life with a Buddhist monk and bathing in a Finnish sauna.Directed by Academy Award-winning director Gerardine Wurzburg, it was underwritten by the John P. Hussman Foundation, an Ellicott City, Md., organization that provides aid to people with significant disabilities.
"My motivation is about changing the general public's perception about people with different abilities," says Wurzburg. "That's what this film does. It challenges people's perceptions about autism and it communicates it through the perspective of people labeled by society.
"At the core, it's a human rights and civil rights issue," said Wurzburg, whose other films include Oscar-winning "Educating Peter" (1992) and "Autism is a World" (2005), which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Autism, which has no known single cause, is a developmental disability that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others.
Thresher and Bissonnette suffered in silence for much of their lives, until the advent of what's known as augmentative or alternative communication devices. Typically, the devices consist of special keyboards equipped with voice output software that turn typed words into spoken ones.
Thresher, who lived at home until he was 21, went to public schools. Bissonnette was institutionalized into his 20s, at the now-closed Brandon Training School and the Vermont State Hospital.
"It was hard growing up," said Thresher's mother, Susan Thresher, 62, of Barre Town. "It was difficult going to school and being shut in a room doing a puzzle, when you've got such intelligence upstairs that he couldn't explain to everybody, just how he knew everything that was going on.
"He would be so upset when he got home, and there was no way I knew how he was upset or from what," she said.
Like Thresher, Bissonnette, who has more speech capability, has flourished by having access to the equipment. When he's not on the road with Thresher, he works as an artist from a home studio in Milton, Vt., where he lives with his mother and sister.
Once "retards" and social outcasts, they've evolved into sought-after speakers at conferences and workshops, stressing the theme of empowerment in the face of severe handicaps.
Wurzburg saw them at an autism conference in California three years ago and got the idea to use their perspectives to tell the story of silent autism patients.
In person, they riff like a pair of show business partners.
Last week, they held forth one afternoon in a cafeteria in Vermont's statehouse, sitting at a table—accompanied by helpers Harvey Lavoy and Pascal Cheng—before a roomful of disability advocates and clients who had come for a screening of "Wretches and Jabberers."
The men had just come from a visit to Syracuse, N.Y.
Hunched over their devices, they pecked away at the keyboards and waited for the words to be converted into sound by voice output software. It takes patience—for them and their listeners. The words come slowly.
"Hello, everyone," came the voice from Thresher's computer. "How are you doing today? I just drove in on the Syracuse express and would like to welcome you to the Larry and Tracy show. We are looking to answer your questions and entertain you at the same time, so here we go..."
Claudia Pringles, 47, the mother of an 11-year-old girl with autism, asked the two what advice they had for parents like her.
"That is easy," replied Thresher. "Believe in their intelligence, presume competence and most of all don't sideline them. Make sure they live a life with dignity, having a purpose in life."
Someone else asked how it felt to be movie stars.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
"It opens up dating possibilities," typed Thresher. "Moving with beautiful people, magazine celebrity status."
Bissonnette pecked at his keyboard. "It keeps me in movie star shape. Lots of fine beer and food," came his answer.
"Does the title of the movie bother you?" they were asked.
"Papers need a good headline, and I need a more weird label," Bissonnette answered.
The film's makers are already busy fielding requests for Thresher and Bissonnette to be keynote speakers at conferences.
"It's like Helen Keller changed things. Larry and Tracy are going to change things for people who have autism and don't have normal ways to communicate," Wurzburg said.
Online:
Wretches and Jabberers: http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/
Larry Bissonnette: http://www.myclassiclifefilm.com/
In Wretches & Jabberers, two men with autism embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence. Determined to put a new face on autism, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland. At each stop, they dissect public attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future.
Growing up, Thresher and Bissonnette were presumed “retarded” and excluded from normal schooling. With limited speech, they both faced lives of social 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.
Between moving and transformative encounters with young men and women with autism, parents and students, Thresher and Bissonnette take time to explore local sights and culture; dipping and dodging through Sri Lankan traffic in motorized tuk-tuks, discussing the purpose of life with a Buddhist monk and finally relaxing in a traditional Finnish sauna. Along the way, they reunite with old friends, expand the isolated world of a talented young painter and make new allies in their cause.
From beginning to end, Thresher and Bissonnette inspire parents and young men and women with autism with a poignant narrative of personal struggle that always rings with intelligence, humor, hope and courage.
Synopsis
“We are the perfect example of intelligence working out itself in a much different way.”
—Tracy Thresher
Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette are two men with autism who have limited speech but a whole lot to say. As young people, both faced lives of isolation, unable to convey their inner intelligence. It was not until adulthood when each learned to communicate by typing—giving them a way to express their thoughts, needs and feelings—that their lives changed dramatically. After more than ten years of advocating for people with autism, they felt it was time to take their message global—to help people with autism in other countries around the world break through the isolation they both knew so well.
Tracy, Larry and their support team, Harvey Lavoy and Pascal Cheng, joined forces with Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Gerardine Wurzburg, and Producer, Douglas Biklen. “Our goal was to shine a light on autism internationally. Larry and Tracy’s journey allowed us to portray the global face of autism through the personal stories of six men and women throughout the world,” explains Producer and Director Wurzburg. The result is the feature documentary, Wretches and Jabberers: And Stories from the Road, a provocative mixture of advocacy, personal portrait and travel adventure film—seasoned with liberal doses of humor.
The film provides a rare opportunity to hear directly from people with autism about how they understand and experience their own disabilities. Larry types, “Autism is not abnormality of the brain as much as abnormality of experience.” Interspersed with their travels are glimpses of Tracy and Larry's formative experiences in the States. For Larry, 52, who spent ten years of his childhood in a mental institution, painting became his outlet. He finds that his art makes people “want to listen to his artistic voice not his autistic voice.” However, he notes, “nothing I did... convinced people I had an inner life until I started typing.” Tracy, 42, spent his school years in segregated classrooms isolated from his peers. His breakthrough also came from typing, when he was 23-years-old. Though he now communicates with audiences of all kinds for his advocacy work, Tracy admits that he is still prone to “intense anger” about his situation. “I have always been very angry about my autism and didn't get seen as intelligent until I was out of high school.”
Despite their struggles, the two men reveal profound wisdom about their lives and convey their acceptance of autism as an ｅxpression of the diversity of humanity. This theme of diversity is underscored by the variety of customs, food and cultures of the people visited by the men—in Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland. Viewers share their eye-opening experiences as they negotiate the terrain of travel, culture and new friendships on what they aptly name The World Intelligence Magnified Tour.
“We live as outcasts in Sri Lanka.”
—Chammi Rajapatirana
The first stop is Sri Lanka, where Tracy and Larry visit old friend Chammi Rajapatirana, 35, who they have met at conferences in the US. In Sri Lanka, Chammi and his mother work to improve education for children with autism. Together, the group ventures down a narrow alley to a humble private school for children with autism and other disabilities. There, they meet with parents to demonstrate their communication skills, answer their urgent questions, and appeal to the parents to believe in their children's innate intelligence.
“You will be surprised how often we make wrong assumptions about ability,” Chammi tells the group. Chammi reminds us these “wrong assumptions” are often based on one's outer behavior which, for people with autism, can be hard to control. When asked about his own behavior, why he gets up and runs away in the middle of a conversation, for example, Chammi explains that it is “killingly hard to figure out the pattern of movement I need to type my thoughts.”
“Can you believe two bald Green Mountain men made it to Sushi Land?”
—Tracy Thresher
In Japan, Tracy and Larry meet 16-year-old Naoki Higashida who has been corresponding with Tracy via email. Naoki is an accomplished artist who has published more than ten books of his stories and drawings. He explains that drawing helps him to “convey his whole world. It is as if drawing fills holes in my heart.”
While Naoki is an extraordinary teenager by anyone's standards, he is denied access to public school. Home-schooled by his mother, Naoki has little contact with his peers. Meeting Tracy and Larry is a revelation to him. He says, “I never had a conversation like this with people that communicate the way I do.” He tells Tracy, “reading your [emails], I learned the word: advocacy.” He is eager to join the men in presenting at a national autism conference at Tokyo University. There, in a proud moment for both, Larry and Naoki display their artwork side-by-side.
As the group prepares to leave Japan, Naoki says, “I learned so much from this experience. And these memories give me courage. And I'm so moved.” His happiness during their visit is palpable and his mother's tears at this goodbye portray the deep meaning of this visit to her and her son.
“I'd like life to have more than cleaning, cooking and sauna.”
— Henna Laulainen
Their final trip is to Helsinki, Finland where they are interviewed by a Finnish filmmaker and present at the Autism Foundation Conference. Here, they meet Antti Lappalainen, 21, who spends his days in an activity center for people with disabilities using pictograms to fill out his schedule of cleaning and towel folding. When he reveals he is an avid reader and aspiring writer, his isolation becomes obvious. When asked, “Don't they know you can read?” Antti answers insightfully, “I think they are too scared.” Later he says, “Language is everything I am. Completely different than my misunderstood appearance.”
In Finland, Tracy and Larry are also introduced to Henna Laulainen, 23. Henna is one of the first persons in Finland with autism to communicate by typing, which she began at the age of 10. Still, she spends her days much as Antti does, doing mindless tasks like shredding paper in a daytime activity center. It is particularly moving when Henna says, “I would like to learn to live my life as others my age live.” When Tracy invites her to visit him in Vermont, we sense the glimmers of a romance developing. Her statement about living the life of a normal young woman takes on a tangible meaning as she confers with her mother for approval to visit Vermont.
Later, as the group shares a lunch at a sidewalk cafe, Antti humorously declares the world divided into “Wretches” - those with limited speech - and “Jabberers” - those who can speak freely. He jokingly tells the group, “We poor wretches are better than jabberers. They don't know it yet, but we will tell it to them on Saturday [at the conference].” At the end of that conference, Antti strikes a more serious note, asking the audience to “dispel the darkness around us poor wretches. Take us for real people. Don't sideline us.”
“More about people than food.”
– Larry Bissonnette
Ultimately, Wretches and Jabberers is about the life-sustaining power of relationships - the personal connections that most of us “jabberers” thought were impossible for people with autism. When Larry asks Tracy what he thinks the highlight of their trip has been, Tracy speaks of “building new lines of communication between people.” His words are echoed throughout the film by the people they visit. Chammi reflects that “feasting on my friends' company, I store up memories,” and Antti implores that “now is a good time to bind the strings of friendship between us strong people who will pass the message.”
Throughout the film, Tracy, Larry and their compatriots inspire parents, educators and others with autism through their poignant narratives of personal struggle that always rings with intelligence, humor, hope and courage. Speaking to students at Tokyo University, Larry remarks “learning about autism requires a story-making about human experience that is weird and off-beat.” And yet, through the film, we find that they are seeking the same things all of us do - spiritual understanding, respect for our intelligence, a purpose in life and friendship.
Who are Wretches & Jabberers?
You may be wondering about the origin of our film title “Wretches & Jabberers.” It emerged in Finland from conversations by Larry, Tracy and Antti. As the group has lunch at a sidewalk cafe, Antti humorously declares the world divided into “Wretches” - those with limited speech - and "Jabberers" - those who can speak freely. He jokingly tells the group, “We poor wretches are better than jabberers. They don't know it yet, but we will tell it to them on Saturday [at the conference].” At the end of that conference, Antti strikes a more serious note, asking the audience to “dispel the darkness around us poor wretches. Take us for real people. Don't sideline us.”
Ultimately, Wretches & Jabberers is about the life-sustaining power of relationships - the personal connections that people make through communication.
Who are Wretches and Jabberers?
Bios
Larry
Larry Bissonnette is an advocate and artist who lives in Milton, Vermont and has had his work exhibited regularly both locally and nationally. Larry is one of the featured artists of the GRACE (Grass Roots Art and Community Effort) project based in Hardwick, Vermont.
His work is in the permanent collection of the Musée de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland and in many private collections. His work was most recently featured in the Hobart William and Smith Disability and the Arts Festival in April, 2010. He is both the subject and writer of an award winning film about his life, called, My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette (2005). In 1991, Larry learned to communicate through typing and began combining words with his art to express his thoughts and ideas. Over the past 15 years, he has been a featured presenter at many educational conferences and has written and spoken on the topics of autism, communication and art.
Bios
Tracy
Tracy Thresher is an advocate for people with disabilities. He lives and works in Vermont.
Tracy began typing to communicate in 1990 and was one of the first individuals with autism at Washington County Mental Health Services (a community-based service provider) to be introduced to it. He has presented at local, statewide, and national workshops and conferences. He has consulted with local schools, is a member of the Vermont Statewide Standing Committee and has worked for the Green Mountain Self-Advocates in Montpelier, Vermont. In Vermont, he mentors teenagers and adults. Most recently, Tracy has consulted at Syracuse University as a lead trainer.
Bios
Pascal
Pascal Cheng has assisted Larry Bissonnette in his writings and presentations about art and disability issues since 1991. Pascal has an M.Ed. and a C.A.S. in Special Education from the University of Vermont.
He has worked in the fields of education and human services for over 30 years as a special education teacher, coordinator of educational and vocational programs for adults with developmental disabilities and consultant for individuals with complex communication needs. He is currently an Educational and Communication Specialist for the Howard Center in Burlington, Vermont, providing training and technical assistance for communication and literacy in both school and community settings. He serves as a member of the Vermont Communication Task Force, a group that works to improve communication supports and services for individuals with developmental disabilities in the state of Vermont. He also serves as a member of the Vermont Autism Task Force and board member for the Autism National Committee.
Bios
Harvey
Harvey F. Lavoy has assisted Tracy Thresher in his advocacy work since 1994. Harvey has worked for Community Developmental Services (CDS), a division of Washington County Mental Health Services in Montpelier, Vermont since 1994.
He has a B.S. in Special Education and has worked in the field of Human Services for over 30 years. He is currently the Director of Communication Training and Resources at CDS and provides education, training and technical assistance to adults and children with complex communication needs as well as their families, support staff, educational teams, schools and agencies. He has been a member of the Vermont Statewide Communication Task Force since 2000 providing statewide trainings, workshops, and conferences to enable adults in Vermont with developmental disabilities to communicate, make social connections, and participate in community life more fully.
Producer Bios
Gerardine
Gerardine Wurzburg is an Academy Award®-winning documentary producer and director whose work addresses disabilities, contemporary history, social justice, education and health.
Her films have had a major impact for social change. Major awards include an Academy Award® for the documentary Educating Peter, an Academy Award® nomination for Autism is a World, and the Cable ACE for Documentary Directing, among others. She is a recipient of three National Endowment for Arts grants, the Governor of Tokyo Prize and the Japan Prize. Her work is in the Broadcast Museum, the Lincoln Center Theater Library and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Library.
Fellow travelers
Chandima "Chammi" Rajapatirana, Writer and Advocate
Chandima is a poet and advocate who lives and works in Sri Lanka. He is 35. Chandima started communicating by typing in 1991 while living in the United States with his family. Though he required physical support in the beginning, he is now able to type using both hands without any physical support. In his poetry, essays and presentations, he examines and explains his experience of autism, especially movement difficulties and anxiety. From 2003 to 2006, Chandima gave presentations and trainings on communication at Syracuse University. He is the co-founder and co-president of E.A.S.E. (Educate, Advocate, Support, Empower) Foundation in Sri Lanka. The foundation is dedicated to bringing alternative communication techniques to people who need them and to helping people with disabilities live productive stimulating lives.
Naoki Higashida, Writer and Advocate
Naoki Higashida is 16, and was born in Kimitsu, Japan. Today, Naoki is a high school student, a writer and an advocate. He has published 13 books with major publishers, from autobiographical accounts on living with autism to fairy tales, poems and illustration books. He has won a number of writers’ awards, including two first prizes in the under 17 group at the Grimm Fairy Tales Contest in Japan. Several of Naoki’s works have been translated and published in such countries as Taiwan, China and Korea. Naoki’s latest book, Reasons Why the Autistic Myself Jumps, Vol 2, will be published in 2010 from the Escor. Naoki’s serial short essays, "The Landscape I Live as an Autistic Myself," have been appearing in The Big Issue Japan. He has given several talks to advocate for people with autism at Tokyo University and Nishi Nippon Junior College.
Antti Lappalainen, Writer and Advocate
Antti Lappalainen, 21, is a writer and advocate living in Finland. Antti started to use typing as a means of communication with his speech therapist in 2000. In the beginning, he was able to type only with his speech therapist at school. Two years later, he was able to communicate by typing with many other people including his father. During the week, Antti works in a rehabilitative employment setting. He lives part-time at home and part-time in a group home run by the Autism Foundation. For the last several years, Antti has been a columnist for the journal, Autism, published by the Finnish Association for Autism and Asperger Syndrome. His mission is to work as an advocate for people with disabilities, particularly for individuals who cannot speak.
Henna Laulainen, Advocate
Henna Laulainen, 23, lives in Espoo, Finland. She is an advocate for people with disabilities. At age 10, she began communicating by typing and was one of the first people with autism in Finland to communicate by typing. She completed her studies at Keskuspuisto Vocational College where she learned craftwork such as felting and weaving rugs, ryas and table cloths. Henna has talked about autism and communication at many different venues including teacher training courses, conferences on autism and children's hospitals. She has also made a training DVD with the city of Espoo, Finland about meeting the challenges associated with disabilities, and how to make everyday life easier. Henna spends her weekdays at the Käpylä Supported Employment Program and lives in a group home. In her leisure time, Henna enjoys swimming, hiking, reading, and listening to music.
Watch Our U.S. Tour
Follow us with video clips from the Wretches & Jabberers Tour
The first stop for the Wretches & Jabberers Tour is Syracuse, NY, at the Disability Cultural Center Initiative at Syracuse University, to answer questions about the film.
A second stop in Syracuse, NY for Larry and Tracy is to present the film and their personal narratives at the Syracuse International Film Festival.
Friends from Finland and Sri Lanka descend upon Burlington, Vermont to visit Larry and Tracy and discuss how the film has impacted their lives.
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Tracy invites Henna and Antti to join him aat his monthly task force meeting at Community Developmental Services in Barre, VT. |
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The Vermonters are asked to speak about their experiences making the film at the 35th Annual TASH Conference held in Denver, Colorado. |
Larry, Tracy, Harvey & Pascal are speaking to teens in Houston at the 26th Annual BBYO Lonestar Convention
to inspire them to make a difference in their world.
Author Stephen Kuusisto shares a few insights about his own disability with Larry & Tracy.
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