CATCH-22: AUTISM IN ADULTHOOD SCRIPT

NAT SOUND OF HAPPY BIRTHDAY

FADE UP TO FOOTAGE OF AJ LOPEZ 5th
BIRTHDAY
FADE TO BLACK
NAT SND HAPPY BIRTHDAY
FOOTAGE OF AJS 22 BIRTHDAY

VO: ITS 1997 AND AJ LOPEZ IS

TURNING 5(?) YEARS OLD. ITS A DAY
OF CELEBRATION FOR THE LOPEZ
FAMILY. BUT WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR
AJ IS NOT ALL AS JOYFUL.
VO: SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER, AJ IS
TURNING 22. BUT THIS TIME, THE
CELEBRATION IS BITTERSWEET. AJ
HAS AUTISM. AND THIS YEAR, HE
WILL LOSE MANY OF THE
GOVERNMENT BENEFITS HES
ENJOYED FOR HIS ENTIRE LIFE. MOST
IMPORTANTLY: HIS RIGHT TO ATTEND
PUBLIC SCHOOL.
AJ IS NOT THE FIRST OR THE ONLY
AUTISTIC ADULT TO FACE THIS
CHALLENGE. HE IS JUST PART OF A
GROUP THAT IS OFTEN FORGOTTEN
ONCE THEY REACH A CERTAIN
MILESTONE
THE CATCH 22.

INTRO/TITLES with graphics

BROLL AJS MOM

CG: Josie Ramos AJs mother

PICTURE OF AJ AND NICOLE AS
CHILDREN

VO: AJs MOTHER JOSIE RAMOS IS A

PSYCHIATRIST IN THE MIAMI AREA-SHE SEES AUTISM IN HER LINE OF
WORK. BUT HER OWN SONS
DIAGNOSIS STILL CAUGHT HER OFF
GUARD.
Josie:And Im like, ok, well now what do I
do? So umby that time he was having all
the classic symptoms. He was also, he was
making sounds but not clearly verbalizing, he
was very hyper theres pictures, I laugh
now but (2:39)
taking pictures of him on a birthday, I
showed Nikki recently--- Nicole, my
daughter --- notice this picture, in one hes
there, we just put him in his chair and then

GRAPHIC OF BRAIN

within seconds hes gone under the table so

in the picture he is not there. So you see
Nicole with him and then Nicole without
him.

AUTISM AFFECTS THREE KEY PARTS

OF THE BRAIN--THE CORPUS
CALLOSUM WHICH CONTROLS
COMMUNICATION, THE

BROLL AJ AS CHILD

BROLL ENDS
TIGHT SHOT JOSIE

BROLL THOMAS AND MARIE

PICTURE OF THOMAS

CG: Thomas and Marie Whitehurst

Thomass parents

CEREBELLUM- THE BODY'S CENTER

FOR COORDINATION---AND
AMYGDALA WHICH REGULATES
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. EVEN SOMETHING
LIKE SAYING A SINGLE WORD CAN BE
A CHALLENGE FOR AJ.
Josie: (7:02) The first time he said a clear
word, he was at a small classroom in The
Learning Center, and they called me
immediately, they couldnt believe he said it
clearly, and it was a part of the daily
alphabet, it was the word A apple. So
they told me, You have to come over here,
you have to see this. What they were really
surprised about, then, not only was he
believe me he was nonverbal, you knew this
was within him this whole time but it was
like finally, the connection of being able to
say a word.
Josie: What was amazing to me was when he
was able to name the namesand I was just
flabbergasted. I could even cry now, that he
knew that name of every little kid there.
(7:56) And thats how he is, he knows
everybodys namesright AJ?
AJ: Yes.

VO: THOMAS AND MARIE

WHITEHURST ARE ALSO PARENTS OF

AN AUTISTIC ADULT.

THEIR SON THOMAS IS JUST A FEW

MONTHS OLDER THAN AJ.
Marie: Thomas, when he was younger
though the kinds of difficulties that he had
were like taking him out to restaurants, going
out to movies and things. He would start
getting, you know, very anxious and agitated
so we always had to leave those places we
were, so you never really knew how he was
going to react, it was very
Tom: --unpredictable
Marie: Yes, unpredictable.
VO: LIKE AJ, THOMASS BIGGEST
CHALLENGE IS WITH SPEECH.

GRAPHIC

Tom: He doesnt have much pro-active

speech. He has reactive speech and at times
he has bursts-we were just visiting a school
the other day and they said one day he all of
a sudden started chatting up a storm not
reactively but proactively. We dont see it
very often but he does have the ability. Its
also difficult because he has something
called apraxia which makes it hard for him to
combine certain letters, and umm, the other
thing thats a challenge is its hard to find out
what he wants to do, you know even if its
Thomas, do you want vanilla ice cream or a
chocolate chip cookie? And we know there
something he wants but until you start
actually giving him the wrong one he wont
say a word. He just, he wont make the
selection himself. But thats, we can work
around cuz we kind of know what he wants
but 40 years from now we dont know if
there will be someone around to predict his
needs and wants.
VO: THOMAS AND AJ ARE PART OF
THE LARGEST GENERATION OF
AUTISTIC ADULTS IN HISTORY. AND
THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GROW.
[[GRAPHIC]] IN 2000, 1 IN 1000
CHILDREN WERE DIAGNOSED WITH
AUTISM. TODAY, THAT NUMBER IS

CLOSER TO 1 IN 68.
WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, 500,000
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM WILL
BECOME ADULTS.

GRAPHIC

Tom: 32:43
You don't want them at home until you drop
dead, and then all of sudden your kid is in
this house and at 45 years old has to make
this transition. So, we need to start to
transition as quickly as possible
Tom: 31:15 When we're not here anymore,
and his disability is no restriction on life
expectancy, he could live to 100, and who is
gonna be around then?

BROLL DC CAPITOL
BROLL AJ KINDERGARTEN

FADE TO BLACK
TEXT on black: Catch-22 (noun): a
difficult situation for which there is no easy
or possible solution

BROLL AJ

VO: THESE FAMILIES ARE ONLY A FEW

OUT OF THE MILLIONS AFFECTED BY
THIS DISORDER. AUTISM IS THE
FASTEST-GROWING SERIOUS
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY IN THE
U.S. AT LEAST 1.5 MILLION
AMERICANS ARE CURRENTLY
AFFECTED BY AUTISM. THATS TRIPLE
THE POPULATION OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING.
THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED A
PROGRAM KNOWN AS INDIVIDUALS
WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT,
WHICH REQUIRES SCHOOLS TO
PROVIDE PROGRAMS FOR ELIGIBLE
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES...UP
UNTIL THE AGE OF 22.

Marie: But at 22, everything stops. And

that's you know, that's the scary part
because you really have limited options.
Very, very limited options.

Josie: About him turning 22 its major. I

actually feel how I felt when he was 22
months and almost 3 and I was looking for
a place for him, and I feel like Im back to
that same place, like, Now what?
VO: ITS A QUESTION THAT EVERY

BROLL SCOTT AND MICHELLE

CG: Michelle Rubin Founder of

Autism After 21

BROLL AUTISM AFTER 21 PHOTOS

PARENT OF AN AUTISTIC ADULT MUST

ASK.
AT 22, AJ CAN NO LONGER STAY IN
THE MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOL
SYSTEM. NOW, RAMOS HAS TO MAKE
A TOUGH DECISION. PAY TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR
FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION OR PUT AJ
ON A WAITLIST FOR FEDERALLY
SUBSIDIZED PROGRAMS. A WAITLIST
HE MAY NEVER GET OFF.
VO: MICHELLE RUBINS SON SCOTT
SPENT 12 YEARS ON ONE OF THESE
WAITLISTS, HOPING FOR A MEDICAID
WAIVER. THE WAITLIST SCOTT WAS
ON HAS SINCE BEEN CLOSED DUE TO
BUDGET CUTS, LEAVING THOUSANDS
OF FLORIDIANS WITHOUT ACCESS TO
SERVICES.
MICHELLE RUBIN: and while... the
legislature has slowly been releasing more
funds as the
economy in Florida has improved, the backlag of people is so long (that)
some people will probably never get it
VO: SO RUBIN DECIDED TO TAKE
MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS. IN
2011, SHE FOUNDED AUTISM AFTER
21--AN ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES
ON TRANSITIONING AUTISTIC ADULTS
INTO THE WORKFORCE.
Michelle: Autism After 21 was founded
about 3 years ago, and it really was born out
of my desperation that Scott was getting

NAT SOUND BREAK EASTER SEALS

BROLL EASTER SEALS

PICTURES OF THOMAS AT EASTER

SEALS

older, and I started looking around at what

was going to happen when he left the school
system, and I realized that there really wasnt
going to be a lot for him to do, and he was
going to lose most of the supports he had
been getting during all his years at school.
So, at the urging of some friends, who I think
quite frankly got sick of me complain about
this, said Well, why dont you just do
something? So I said, Alright, well, if you
gals will help me, then were gonna do it!
So thats how we decided to start Autism
After 21.
VO: RUBINS ORGANIZATION SEEKS
OUT BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY
TO PROVIDE JOB TRAINING FOR
AUTISTIC ADULTS LIKE SCOTT FREE
OF CHARGE. IN SOME CASES, THE
TRAINING PERIODS CAN LEAD TO
PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE
DECIDED TO HANDLE THE JOB
TRAINING THEMSELVES. EASTER
SEALS IS A SCHOOL THAT EDUCATES
SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN FROM
BIRTH UNTIL AGE 22. THE HIGH
SCHOOL CURRICULUM OFFERS A
CULINARY PROGRAM THAT TEACHES
SKILLS TO MAKE THEIR GRADUATES
EMPLOYABLE AS CHEF AIDES.
THOMAS WHITEHURST WAS ONE OF
THE PARTICIPANTS.

BROLL EASTER SEALS

BROLL OF RISING TIDES

Marie: 9:08 Probably where he learned the

most practical skills was in this culinary
program because that was definitely geared
to that specific activity...Then they came
out with a certificate which is you know a
wonderful thing because its not just a
special ed certificate, its a certificate that
says that Thomas can be a chef aid which is
frankly, thats thats, now we just have to
find him a job, but having that type of
certification is a wonderful thing, that
program is very helpful.

CG: Tom DEri Rising Tide

Founder

THE GOAL OF THESE JOB TRAINING

PROGRAMS IS TO EQUIP AUTISTIC
ADULTS WITH THE SKILLS TO LAND A
JOB.

RISING TIDE CAR WASH IS ONE OF

THE BUSINESSES HIRING. TOM DERIE
FOUNDED THE SMALL CARWASH IN
PARKLAND, FLORIDA AFTER HE WAS
INSPIRED BY HIS AUTISTIC BROTHER
ANDREW. DERIE SAYS HE WANTS TO
PROVE HIRING AUTISTIC ADULTS CAN
BE GOOD FOR BUSINESS. DERIE SAYS
HE WAS DISAPPOINTED BY THE LACK
OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIS
YOUNGER BROTHER. SO HE DECIDED
TO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

BROLL ERIC JAWITZ

BROLL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
PHOTO LOEWS

TOM (Rising Tides): (7:56) We did a lot

of research around why there is so much
unemployment for people with Autism,
and it turns out there is 80-90%
unemployment among this group, so we
did some deep dives doing research
around what were the causes of that.
What we essentially found was um,
theres 2 key reasons: One is that we as a
society really view autism as a disability
that requires sympathy instead of a really
potentially valuable diversity, and maybe
even a potential advantage for business.
And second is that, um, theres no um,
strategic reason across the business
community as to why a business would
step out of their comfort zone and hire
someone with this diversity. And so what
we wanted to be able to do is not only
show and really educate communities
around how people with Autism really
work, but also create a really clear
business case as to why a company

should go and try to employ someone

with Autism.

BROLL RISING TIDES

NAT SOUND BREAK

BROLL ERIC JAWITZ

BROLL ERIC AND KARIN

BROLL MIAMI METRO
PHOTO ERIC AT WORK

CG: ERIC JAWITZ 27 YEARS OLD

BROLL KARIN

VO: IN JUST OVER 18 MONTHS SINCE

RISING TIDES OPENED ITS DOORS,
THE SMALL BUSINESS HAS TAKEN
OFF.
Tom: We have folks come in all the time
looking to pass out flyers to friends their
family, like oh my girlfriend has a son with
Autism or something like that, so, weve
done really well in customer service. And
the way that theyve embraced us has really
helped drive our business. Weve got a
great customer base, and I mean you talk to
our customers, most of them still come
because its a really good quality service at
a reasonable price, but theres a large
contingent of customers that would never
dream of going to another car wash
because they really identify with our
mission
VO: FOR ANDREW, RISING TIDES HAS
BECOME A PLACE TO CALL HOME.
Andrew DErie: My job responsibilities are
to roll up the vacuums whenever there is no
cars, and to clean the lobby.
I like working here, a lot!
Tom: So thats what we wanted to continue
to do here. We wanted to create a really tightknit community where if something were to
happen to one of our families wed be there
really to help them through it.
VO: OTHER AUTISTIC ADULTS LIKE
ERIC JAWITZ HAVE FOUND JOBS
WORKING ALONG SIDE PEOPLE
WITHOUT DISABILITIES.
AT AGE 27, STILL LIVES WITH HIS
PARENTS. BUT EVERY DAY, ERIC
TAKES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO
HIS JOB AT THE LOEWS MIAMI

CG: KARIN JAWITZ- MOTHER OF

ERIC

BEACH HOTEL, WHERE HE WORKS AS

A POOL ATTENDANT. ERIC IS THE
HOTELS ONLY AUTISTIC EMPLOYEE,
BUT HE DOESNT LET HIS DISABILITY
STAND IN THE WAY OF HIS WORK.
Eric Jawitz: Theres no--Im the only one.
But I dont tell my coworkers that. Cause its
private. I dont want them to be like why are
you here? you have a disability ...its like I
dont have one I pretend I dont have it,
you know? Even if I was in the dressing
room changing, I dont tell them about it,
cause I dont want people to get mad, you
know?
VO: HIS MOTHER KARIN SAYS SHE
WAS INITIALLY UNSURE IF
EMPLOYMENT WAS EVEN THE RIGHT
OPTION FOR HER SON.

And then an
opportunity came up and the job coach
heard about a job fair at the City of Miami
Beach, and we were like, What is he
possibly gonna do there? And how is he
gonna get there? But then it was, just go
ahead and take him, because its like an
outing for him for the day, its something to
do, and he went and interviewed and the
next day he got a callback. And that was
almost 4 years ago, hes won employee of
the month, hes won all these awards, he
loves his job, hes a great employee, and
theyre really happy with him.
Karin Jawitz (Erics Mom):

BROLL AJ

BROLL UMCARD

Eric: I like helping people out, you know. I

like when guests will sometimes give me
tips, you know, which I dont expect. I dont
think about it. I just think about there
personalities really. And sometimes guests
give me handshakes too. Like I say like Im
Eric and they give whoever there is. And I
still kinda care because theyre nice. I even
get guest comments sometimes. I get emails
back from the hotel that they got a few guest
comments about me.

BROLL DR. ALESSANDRI

CG: Dr. Michael Alessandri

Executive Director UM Center for
Autism and Related Disabilities

BUT WHILE EMPLOYMENT MAY

WORK WELL FOR ERIC, HAVING A JOB
JUST ISNT AN OPTION FOR MANY
LOWER FUNCTIONING ADULTS LIKE
AJ.
Josie: And the truth is, my son, unfortunately,
does need supervision. You know, I could not
conceive of him just being totally, Ok, lets
put him in this kitchen cafeteria and have
somebody tell him, Oh, go get this. You
know, he may be able to go get that thing, but
then he may not know what to do with it
after.
VO: BUT LUCKILY FOR AJ, THERE ARE
STILL SOME OPTIONS AVAILABLE. THE
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CENTER FOR
AUTISM AND RELATED DISABILITIES-COMMONLY KNOWN AS UM CARD--IS
ONE OF SEVEN UNIVERSITY BASED
CENTERS FUNDED BY THE FLORIDA
LEGISLATURE TO HELP PEOPLE WITH
AUTISM FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR
LIVES. THE CENTER SERVES 8300
FAMILIES ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA.
DR. MICHAEL ALESSANDRI IS THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

Alessandri: I think the most important

thing to remember about autism is that it's a
remarkably vast spectrum So you have
every possible combination of ability and
disability in the autism spectrum and I
think the most important to think about
when you're trying to create a meaningful
and viable life for someone after school is
you have to think about meeting their needs
on an individual basis...For some
individuals it's going to be post-secondary
education because they're on an educational
track, for other individuals it's about
creating a work environment that can
sustain them in terms of viable work for a
lifetime. And in other cases, it's some
combination. Maybe some of our adults
aren't really able to work full-time but

FADE TO BLACK

PHOTOS AJ AND THOMAS

PHOTOS AJ AND JOSIE

maybe they can volunteer part-time, maybe

they can work part-time, and maybe they
can do some education as well. You just
have to be very open minded about trying
to cobble together a life for someone that is
based on their individual needs and not try
to predict or fit everyone into the same type
of program. They really do need
individualization...Their interests are
different, their needs are different, and as a
result the services and systems that support
them need to be different.
VO: AJ IS LUCKY. HES BEEN
RECEIVING SUPPORT AND
TREATMENT FROM THE CARD
CENTER FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE.
MANY OTHERS IN SOUTH FLORIDA
ARE NOT AS FORTUNATE.
Alessandri: Its still far less than are out
thereif you look at the prevalence rate
for autism which are pretty astounding, you
expect about 50,000 people in South
Florida to have autism and were only
reaching about 8,000. So there are reason
that maybe they havent found us yet.
Maybe they dont know they have autism
or maybe they have another diagnosis,
they're late in getting a diagnosis. There are
many barriers in diagnosis and treatment.
So it's possible that there are many more
people out there that we still have to find.

BROLL TIME-LAPSE BUILDING A

RESIDENTIAL LIVING CENTER FOR
AUTISM

VO: TREATMENT FOR AUTISM HAS

MADE MASSIVE STRIDES SINCE AJ
AND THOMAS WERE FIRST BORN. BUT
AUTISTIC PARENTS STILL HAVE TO
FACE AN UGLY TRUTH. WHILE THE
DISORDER HAS MAJOR EFFECTS ON
THE BRAIN, AUTISM HAS NO IMPACT
ON LIFE EXPECTANCY. WHICH MEANS
THAT MOST AUTISTIC ADULTS WILL
OUTLIVE THEIR PARENTS.

Josie: Yes of course, thats the thing

parents--- you know there are things that we
never wanna talk about, thing such as dying,
and then what happens to your child. Any
parent, that has to cross your mind.
Especially when you have a disabled child,
absolutely. And especially when you have
another child, you dont want to leave that
responsibility completely to them.
VO: FOR MANY PARENTS THE
SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM WILL
COME IN THE FORM OF ADULT
RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES.
Whitehurst (16:47) Were in a situation
where we could afford to set something up
with like a group home or a home
permanently and have someone living with
Thomas but it wouldn't expand his horizons
and it wouldn't solve the rest of the
community's problems. So we'd like to create
a community, a larger community, like a
college campus setting almost, where the
kids could live there in a somewhat protected
environment.
Josie 22:50a concept of like a village, a
village, you know like you see a retirement
village, where you have different levels of
care and attention. Some need constant
supervision, but there would be some sort of
center like they do with the elderly, some
daily treatment centers, they get music
therapy, they get someone to do exercise, so
something like that outside of Dade County,
(28:33) there are places that are in
development right now that seem to be
starting, looking at adults with Autism, and
maybe starting day-treatment centers but
certainly thats not happening here.

NAT SOUND BREAK

BROLL CAPITOL TALLAHASSEE

Whitehurst 28:11there's not necessarily

some person who is creating some obstacle,
it's more a function of the system isn't really
quite ready for these adults when they turn
22. So that's the challenge; is to be able to
change that, and that's what we're trying to

do in our own way.

BROLL RISING TIDE CAR WASH

Tom DErie: Well, I think its that you cant

rely on the government to address this issue
because simply its too hard to do. The
processes that the government uses,
vocational rehabilitation uses to find
employment opportunities for people with
autism are just not efficient enough to kind of
take on that volume, which is evident.
VO: IN THE MEANTIME, ITS

EVERYDAY HEROES LIKE TOM DERIE

WHO ARE ANSWERING THE CALL TO
HELP THESE ADULTS TRANSITION
INTO ADULTHOOD.
VO: WITHOUT GOVERNMENTSPONSORED PROGRAMS, THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF HELPING THESE
ADULTS TRANSITION INTO
ADULTHOOD IS LEFT TO EVERYDAY
HEROES LIKE TOM DERIE

Tom:Were teaching our guys

independent living skills like how to take

public transport, or how to manage their
money, we probably at some point want
to teach them how to live independently,
how to pay rent, and stuff like that, cook,
and clean, and be safe living on their own
without a parent or guardian.

So, we need alternatives and what our

goal is, and what excites me about this,
is that this isif we can convince the
business community um, that its a
competitive advantage to employ
people with autism we can actually
solve this problem.
VO: FOR OTHERS LIKE AJ AND
THOMAS, EDUCATION WILL BE THE
SOLUTION.
Josie: He loves wordsyou like reading AJ?
AJ: Yes.

BROLL SLOW-MO MONTAGE OF

SUBJECTS

Josie: You like math?

AJ: Yes
Josie: No you dont, hes not being truthful.
Math, he does not like. But there are other
things he does like, and just continuing to be
together with others, you know, instead of
being alone and isolated and being at home,
and maybe bringing in, you know, tutors and
stuff, which I guess I could always but its
not the same, to be in a setting where he is
involved with others.

Marie: I would just say that, it really

does get better. It really really does. And
never give up on your child, that's the most
important thing. You can make such a
difference in your child's life and just to
stay informed, stay on top of what's going
on in the world of Autism. Education is
very important.
Alessandri: Its like a daily Rubix cube that
youre trying to figure out. And every one
is different for each kid that you interact
with.
VO: WE OFTEN THINK OF AUTISM AS A
DISABILITY. A SETBACK IN
DEVELOPMENT OR A CAUSE FOR
SYMPATHY. BUT WE FAIL TO REALIZE
THE UNIQUE ADVANTAGES AND THE
VARIETY TALENTS THAT COME WITH
AUTISM.
FROM AJ LOPEZ TO THOMAS
WHITEHURST. FROM ANDREW DERIE
TO ERIC JAWITZ, EACH AUTISTIC
ADULT IS LIKE A PUZZLE PIECE.
UNIQUE IN THEIR CURVES AND
EDGES. THE PIECES MAY LOOK
DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WERE USED
TO. BUT WITHOUT THEM THE PUZZLE
IS INCOMPLETE.
THE CHALLENGES THAT THESE
AUTISTIC ADULTS WILL FACE ARE
GREAT AND THE CHANGES THEY ARE
HOPING FOR IN GOVERNMENT AND

FADE TO BLACK
CREDITS

PUBLIC PERCEPTION WILL BE

GRADUAL. BUT DESPITE ALL OF THE
ADVERSITY THAT COMES WITH
AUTISM, THEIR FAMILIES STILL
CONSIDER THEMSELVES LUCKY.

Tom: I heard a story one time that I think

describes it well: A couple had been saving
up for a couple years and planning a trip to
London... So they're flying over on the
Red-eye and right before they land the pilot
says, "We're not going to be able to land in
London because there's bad weather, we're
going to have to land in Paris, but maybe
you can catch a flight later."
They were really disappointed because
they had been planning for 2 years for this
trip, they had their guidebooks they had
everything mapped out, and then they woke
up the second day and said, "Wait a second,
we're in Paris!" And by the end of the trip,
they were like why did we ever want to go
to London? So that's how it is with
Thomas. He's our Paris.