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My daughter wants to campaign for autism described cinema/tv - thoughts?

Pageant

Hi there,

My 14 year old autistic daughter has real difficulty following the plot of some tv and films. Not always, but sometimes. To give you a recent example, she easily followed Miss Perigrines school for peculiar children, but didn't have a clue what was going on when trying to watch Star Trek First Contact. I jokingly said there ought to be autism described tv like they do audio described tv for blind people, filling in social blanks and explaining non-literal language use/plot ideas.  She completely seized on the idea and thought it completely unfair this service wasn't already available! 

We've turned on audio description to see if that helps a bit, but it got me wondering if anyone else out there has the same problem as my daughter and wishes there was autism-targeted additional description?

Has anyone else found audio description helpful? We've only just turned it on so not yet gauged how useful it's likely to be.

thanks for any views 

  • My problems are more with real life, where i have extreme difficulties with remembering names and faces etc.

    TV and films are easier to understand.

    The best for me are DVD's with subtitles.  I often mis hear what is being said and when it disagrees with the subtitles. I freeze, go back and watch it again.

    I like whole box sets where i can watch a whole series from the beginning with no gaps.  When i come into the middle of something.  I am lost.

  • Pageant said:

    Thanks for all the interesting viewpoints. My daughter tried audio description and liked it a lot. I suspect she may also like subtitles too - maximum input to reduce the risk of having missed something. She's good at visual stuff such as recognising faces. It's the social context and social language she really struggles with. I'm now on a mission to find audio described screenings of the new Star Wars film in the hope I can drag her along...

    Ask at your local cinema; they should have a screening like that.

  • Thanks for all the interesting viewpoints. My daughter tried audio description and liked it a lot. I suspect she may also like subtitles too - maximum input to reduce the risk of having missed something. She's good at visual stuff such as recognising faces. It's the social context and social language she really struggles with. I'm now on a mission to find audio described screenings of the new Star Wars film in the hope I can drag her along...

  • Subtitles and volume normalisation really help, it does mean most of what I watch is recorded media though where that stuff can be easily controlled.

    That way you learn to read what is about to be said, and then can focus on intended meaning separately from the words, gives you a bit more of a chance with things. I find I remember functions better than I remember names and faces, so I won't remember names, but will usually be able to remember that he is the policeman in charge, the woman is the doctor, that character is the child who steals things. Of course, that doesn't help when names are used, but it can help follow a plot.

    What Clovis said makes a lot of sense, there are multiple challenges present for autistic people watching movies, some things will bother people more than others. I personally enjoy Star Trek and find it easy to follow, it may be because I know a lot of naval terminology and rankings (although they are all American), or it might just be because I am interested in it.

    Forest

  • Considering the level of provision of subtitles out there - you can't for example get them on some On Demand services; this sadly might take a while...

  • There are sometimes so called autism friendly cinema screenings. My cinema boasted they were once a month on a Tuesday. Where lights are on. Volume is toned down. And you can bring your own food. But I think they're aimed at families who have children with autism. I've never been, I don't think it would be useful for me.

  • I have to watch DVDs with subtitles, in that hearing certain vocal ranges is difficult for me, and I hear words in ways that they are not meant to be. I do do not do well with images that are short lived either, and reading text or written messages in films involves the pause and zoom buttons on the remote control. I forget names too.

  • I have all the problems listed by the previous poster. I can't even keep up when they look different. I forget names, even when they're memorable. And I hate any romance in films. I even get annoyed by films that humanise animals. It seems rather insulting the way human emotion is portrayed as if the be-all & end-all.