Aida, a neurodivergent teenager, is inspired to fight for equal opportunities for people on the autism spectrum after watching a film about Greta Thunberg. With her mother’s support, she organizes a demonstration in front of the Finnish parliament. Her determination draws an increasing number of supporters to the cause.

Recommendation

Recommendation by Magdalena Pawlak, a self-advocate from the Autism Team Foundation

“Neurotypicals” is a Finnish documentary film directed by Maija Hirvonen. Its protagonist is Aida, a fifth grade elementary school student developing on the autism spectrum. The girl, despite her good academic performance, intelligence and passion for collecting and studying rocks and minerals, experiences very great difficulties at school. She finds it a stressful, noisy and sensory-unfriendly place. One day, inspired by Greta Thunberg’s attitude, she takes action to change society’s attitude toward neurodiverse people. Implementing her “equality project” – which includes social media publications, her own research, and public appearances – Aida becomes a self-advocate. She is supported in her activities by her mother, who accompanies her daughter to demonstrations and meetings with government officials, and who struggles every day with the problems of caregivers, also known in Poland, concerning, among other things, the lack of sufficient systemic and financial support. Over time, other young neurodiverse people join the project, making the initiative go from strength to strength.

Aida’s story reveals how widespread the problems of people on the autism spectrum are; that even the Finnish education model, considered by many experts to be exemplary, does not fully support and protect neurodiverse students. From the statements of Aida and other self-advocates, we learn, among other things, about the need to mask one’s natural behavior, lack of understanding on the part of peers and teachers, exclusion, anxieties about attending school, the use of physical restraints on students experiencing meltdown.
The above problems are also well known to our young people, so the heroine and her story can become close to the Polish viewer, as well as provide a starting point in the discussion of the situation of young people developing the autism spectrum in Poland and Europe.