PORT TOWNSEND — A one-time benefit screening of “Wretches & Jabberers,” a movie about two men with autism who go traveling around the world, is slated for noon Sunday.
The documentary, to screen at the Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St., follows a pair of Americans, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, as they make their way to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland on a quest to change attitudes on disability and intelligence.
New face for autism
They’re determined to put a new face on autism, so at each stop, the men dissect public attitudes about the condition — and issue a hopeful challenge for the future.
Admission to Sunday’s screening is a suggested donation of $10 to $15 to benefit People First, an advocacy group for people with mental disabilities, and Special Olympics of Jefferson County.
For tickets, phone Jana Harris at 360-302-1201 or Leslie Bunton at 360-301-4447.
If seats are left by Sunday, tickets will be available at the door of the Rose.
The “Wretches & Jabberers” title comes from a conversation Thresher and Bissonnette had in Finland, where they attend the Autism Foundation Conference.
Two groups
They meet Antti Lappalainen, a 21-year-old man with autism who humorously declared that the world is divided into “wretches,” those with limited speech, and “jabberers,” those who can speak freely.
“We poor wretches are better than jabberers. They don’t know it yet, but we will tell it to them,” Lappalainen jokes in the film.
Later, he 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.”
According to www.CDC.gov, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “People with autistic disorder usually have significant language delays, social and communication challenges, and unusual behaviors and interests.”
While they were growing up, Thresher and Bissonnette were presumed “retarded” and excluded from normal schooling.
With limited speech, they both faced life 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 them.
To learn more about the film, watch a trailer or read Thresher and Bissonnette’s blogs, visit www.WretchesandJabberers.org.
“Ultimately, ‘Wretches & Jabberers’ is about the life-sustaining power of relationships: the personal connections that most of us ‘jabberers’ thought were impossible for people with autism,” says the website.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
