Shameful – A Film about Autism in France

Shameful shamefuldocumentary.com Alex Plank and NoahTrevino are wrapping up editing on a documentary film entitled “Shameful”, which reveals the negative treatment and educational neglect of autistic youth in France, and the dramatic effect it has on those families. They traveled throughout France for over a month interviewing parents and meeting young autistic children in their homes, capturing the frustration, and angst of caretakers as they try to navigate a system that both blames the presence of autism on parents, and neglects to provide any educational structure for the children. I spoke with them several weeks ago.   What led you to the Project? We heard about the issues in France through a conversation and thought that the topic would be a good fit for documentary. We had heard about “packing” [a controversial treatment where children are wrapped in wet sheets for hours at a time, which is often repeated over…

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A Culture of Abuse: Autism Care in France

David Heurtevent www.supportthewall.org France’s population is about 65 million. Assuming an autism prevalence of about 1 in 110,  approximately 590,000 autistics live in France. The French education system contains about 13 million students in a two-tiered educational system: most children attend schools overseen by the Ministry of National Education, but approximately 100,000 students found to have significant disabilities — very few of whom have autism — attend schools run by the Ministry of Health. Most autistics are not educated at all. Significantly, childhood psychiatry in France is dominated by psychoanalysts, who (broadly speaking) view childhood behavioral issues as evidence of disturbances in the relationship between the child and the parents, particularly the mother. Psychoanalytic treatment therefore is not behavioral or educational, but seeks to change the child’s emotions. According to Chantal Sicile-Kira, whose autistic son was born in France, autistic children “had no right to an education. Instead, they were…