Current Project: Secret World Documentary by Autism Independence Project

Over the next decade, hundreds of thousands of autistic children will reach adulthood.

Today, more than 80% of autistic adults live with their families.

Secret World is a feature-length documentary about a thirty-eight year old autistic man who discovers how to live independently, although the professionals who worked with him deemed it impossible.  His self-determination and perseverance take center stage over having autism, intractable epilepsy, and severe learning disorders. He never wanted much of anything except he wanted “to live in his own apartment by himself” and to find a place where he could “fit in” and he was unwilling to settle for anything less.

Secret World is an uplifting and informative documentary about achieving the impossible. It will address the number one most frequently asked question among parents, “What will happen to my autistic child when he or she becomes an adult?”  It will provide parents with courage, hope, housing options, alternative lifestyles, and living arrangements to make independence a reality for their child. It will help to free the families who are trapped in the belief that their autistic adult child would not survive out in the “real world”. I too was once trapped by that belief, but I know firsthand it does not have to be that way.  The autistic man in the documentary is my son, Brandon.

In many areas, Brandon is naive and immature. Most people misunderstand him and that he’s had to deal with rejection, bullying, and being taken advantage of. Brandon has great difficulty in communicating, interacting, and making friends, but when he discovers the Secret World, that all changes. 

You will see how Brandon navigates through one of the busiest cities in the world, Los Angeles, and how he has been able to make independence work for him for the past fourteen years. You will meet Brandon’s friends, the obstacles he’s had to face, and most of all, his accomplishments.

This documentary is in celebration of my son, a courageous man who never allows his numerous limitations to stop him from living his dream of independence while paving the way for others by demonstrating anything is possible.