For those of you who haven't seen it, I am in one scene of the documentary, towards the end. The filmmakers recorded a weekly check in meeting between me and Nicky, the "star" of the film, a young man with Asperger Syndrome.
I must say, it's been nice to hear from those of you who have seen it and nice to know that this piece has touched you. So many of you have written to say that you know people with Asperger Syndrome and I hope seeing the film has helped you glimpse inside their world. For those of you who missed it, or live somewhere it hasn't aired (like LA!), you can purchase a copy here. If you do live in LA, I think I'll be having people over to watch my copy of the DVD soon. Stay tuned.
There are two places I have found on the web where people have been responding publicly to the film: The Independent Lens site has a Talkback section and the film's website has a blog which has no "entries" per se but does have a comments section that people are utilizing.
I am getting mixed reviews on these sites. Some people refer to me as loving, some as condescending. One went as far as to say:
She seemed to be full of herself and took his eating at his desk, reading Seventeen magazine, and opening someone else's mail as a personal affront to her authority; a power struggle between an adult and a 5 year old.
I'd bet money she did not have kids of her own.
I'm not going to say I'm not hurt, because I am, but not in the way I would have been in the past. I don't feel the need to go on the site and defend myself (that's why I have a site of my own!) and I don't feel the need to deny this to the death. The fact is, I don't have kids of my own; I do hate it when people undermine my authority, and I could have done things differently. But I do feel confident that I did my best. I think in many ways I helped Nicky and I know he taught me a thing or two for which I am terribly grateful. And even the person who made the comment above went on to note that not everything that happened in our interaction made it to the film. She's right. My daily interactions with Nicky had high points and low points. The one in the film is pretty typical and pretty middle of the range. It is what it is.
But it certainly is strange to be a "public figure" even if on this small of a scale. I always thought I'd love it, now I'm not so sure. When people who don't know you speak about you as if they do, it can be very upsetting. I'm starting to feel bad for Britney Spears.
**UPDATE**
Today another person in the blog world registered their displeasure with me. It's getting harder and harder not to respond. Today it was:
His supervisor at MTC, all pursed lips and narrowed eyes, clearly lacked patience and understanding; I am surprised she didn't fake it better, knowing she was on camera.Oh, if this man only knew the new levels of patience I discovered in myself while working with Nicky he would be very, very impressed. I know that Nicky and I were both trying our best every minute we were on the job. Our best wasn't always good enough, but we learned a lot from each other and no one was more disappointed when he had to leave MTC than the two of us. Oh well. I did have to stop myself from posting a comment on the PBS site tonight, but I fought the good fight and won. For now, I'll save my rantings for Ralph's.
Isn't it interesting how confidently people can make judgement based on a mere glimpse of the situation? As someone, who witnessed these daily interactions, I have to say that I was always impressed with how well you managed and worked with Nicky. In fact, before we even got to your scene in the film, I said as much to Manuel.
ReplyDeleteSo maybe you'll have to rethink the Brooklyn borough president gig. :)
ah, sharon, always the voice of reason. thank you for saying such nice things. and you're right about brooklyn borough president -- who knew i had such thin skin?!
ReplyDelete