The final film presentation in the Modesto Junior College Civic Engagement Project Fall Film & Lecture Series will be a screening of the documentary Autism: The Musical shown on Thursday, December 3 at 7 p.m., in Forum 110 on East Campus. The presentation is free, open to the public and will be followed by a discussion.

This film begins with a sobering statistic: while in 1980 only one in 10,000 children was diagnosed with autism, today one in 150 is. The movie, however, documents the uplifting journey taken together by Elaine Hall, founder of the Miracle Project, her son Neal and the other autistic children and parents who participate in a musical theater program.

Director Tricia Regan presents their story at home and on stage as they prepare and present a full-length musical. Interviews of parents reveal the emotional burden of contemplating their children’s futures without them. The children themselves, however, provide the viewer of this film with feelings of wonder and awe.

Click here for more information on the Civic Engagement Film and Lecture presentations.