A Touching Animation Exploring the Beautiful Person Behind a Brother’s Profound Learning Disability

Filmmaker Alex Widdowson sat down with each member of his family to talk about living with a person who has a profound learning disability like his brother Jamie. Jamie, who was diagnosed with severe Down Syndrome at birth, is largely non-verbal but his remarkable sense of empathy translates through a simple touch, his keen sense of humor comes through in a playful moment and his love for clowns show that Jamie and others like him are far, far more than just the sum of their disabilities. Alex collected these interviews and interactions and put them into an incredibly touching animation.

I team up with my parents to discuss what it is like caring for someone with Down syndrome. We piece together fragments of insight to gain a sense of his inner life, but our differing perspectives reveal as much about our own subjectivity as they do Jamie’s. …This film attempts to complement the medical narrative with first-hand stories of what it is like to have someone with Down syndrome in your family. Jamie has enriched our lives and I believe a society can be measured by its capacity to nurture those who are most vulnerable.

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Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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