Preschool Autism Event=Which movie would you show?

aristocatz · Aug 31, 2015

I am putting together a "sensory friendly" family movie night for our students with autism in our preschool & trying to figure out which movie to show to appeal to boys & girls.

Any recommendations??

Thanks!

BadgerGirl84 · Aug 31, 2015

Toy Story
One of the Madagascar movies
The Lion King
Frozen

Mizzoufan · Aug 31, 2015

The LegoMovie It action packed and I think it would hold the kids attention

Teresa Pitman · Aug 31, 2015

Hmm, I'd go in a different direction - something calmer and quieter. I'd suggest the Curious George movie that came out a few years ago.

NHdisneylover · Aug 31, 2015

I really like the Curious George suggestion sine it is a preschool. For elementary kids I would agree that The Lego Movie is a great one.

Luv Bunnies · Aug 31, 2015

This can be a tough one. I work with autistic preschoolers and know the population pretty well. You want to show something that will keep most of the kids' attention, but you don't want to show something that will scare them or play into any of their rigidities.

For example when my son was 3 (he has high-functioning autism), he wanted to watch Toy Story over and over, all day, every day. We finally had to put the tape away and encourage him to do other things. If you show a movie that a particular family is trying to avoid, they might not want to attend.

Another scenario: My son loved Thomas the Tank Engine, but he absolutely hated the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The characters didn't look or sound right to him because they were different than the TV show. He watched the video once and said "never again!" If movie night was showing it, I would have had to keep him home because he would have tossed a huge fit and ran out the door if it came on.

I have kids in my class who have fears that we don't even know about until we put on a video. We once showed an alphabet video with an alligator for letter "A." One little girl freaked out and ran to the back of the room. We figured out she really does not like alligators, real, cartoon, pictures, etc. So, if a child in your group has a fear of a particular animal, vehicle, or character, you might have a problem.

Since you want movie night to be fun and accessible to everyone, I would suggest a short parent questionnaire. Let them know you will do your best to choose a movie most everyone will like. Ask if their child has any fears you should know about, if there are any movies they really don't like, if there are any movies or themes your family would rather avoid, and finally, what are their favorite movies or characters. This will help you narrow it down so that you can choose something appropriate. You won't be able to please everyone, but it will help you narrow it down to a good choice.

Luv Bunnies · Aug 31, 2015

Mizzoufan said:
The LegoMovie It action packed and I think it would hold the kids attention

The Lego Movie is good because most preschoolers love Legos. My problem with the movie was that it was hard to watch on a sensory level. I felt overwhelmed by the colors and the constant movement. My son who has autism is now 20 (probably was around 18 when we saw the movie), said it was hard for him to watch as well. He really liked the story and the characters, but commented that the movie was "too busy" and bothered his eyes. I think it might be over-stimulating for younger kids who have sensory issues.

Teresa Pitman · Aug 31, 2015

That was my thought about the Lego Movie too. Curious George is less fast-paced and visually stimulating but seems to appeal to a lot of preschoolers.

HM · Sep 1, 2015

One of the Winnie the Pooh movies

The Land Before Time or one of its sequels

3Gsandme · Sep 1, 2015

Teresa Pitman said:
Hmm, I'd go in a different direction - something calmer and quieter. I'd suggest the Curious George movie that came out a few years ago.

This was going to be my suggestion. Not only can some children with Autism be sensitive to action, scary moments in movies can be extra scary. Curious George is pretty gentle.

Wishing on a star · Sep 1, 2015

Yes, many kids with Autism have sensory integration issues, and are hyper-sensitive to the sounds in the soundtrack, the lights, and ongoing motion and action in movies. Could also be issues with attention span as well.

I would think that this should be a very very calm and low-key movie, if a movie at all.
How about showing a couple of episodes of a low key pre-school geared TV program???
Maybe with a related activity to try to engage them and encourage them to interact?

Just an interesting note: When my son was that age, he was not into anything like movies or video-games, at all. But, he would watch videos that were like little kids educational videos (things like trucks, farming, equipment, etc...), or even the sales promo videos for things like John Deere or DR Power Equipment. Things that regular neurotypical kids would find BORING!! Very repetitive and boring.

Trying to find something that would be of interest for a goup of this kind of children, who have some very narrow interests and focus, might be very difficult.

Hrhpd · Sep 1, 2015

BadgerGirl84 said:
Toy Story
One of the Madagascar movies
The Lion King
Frozen

Just make sure your school is ok with showing Disney movies publicly. While it was ok to show in a single classroom, my kid's school could not and would not allow Disney movies to be shown to the public. Disney has a very expensive license to show movies and not all schools purchase the license and some are pretty strict about following the rules when there is no license.

barkley · Sep 1, 2015

Wishing on a star said:
Just an interesting note: When my son was that age, he was not into anything like movies or video-games, at all. But, he would watch videos that were like little kids educational videos (things like trucks, farming, equipment, etc...), or even the sales promo videos for things like John Deere or DR Power Equipment. Things that regular neurotypical kids would find BORING!! Very repetitive and boring.

with my son it was some nightly pbs business news show. for some reason he was fascinated with the 2 hosts reporting on the stock market and discussing business trends. thankfully that only lasted for a couple of years but OH YES-sales promos were a favorite too! To this day he can spiel off word for word the entire commercial for both life alert and the craftmatic adjustable bed (which he was really disappointed santa never brought him :rotfl:

but that was kind of tempered when both grandmas listened to him and got themselves life alert :thumbsup2

)

I agree with the suggestion of polling the parents, then let them know the movie you are choosing beforehand so that if it is an issue with their child they can always choose not to participate.

RitaE · Sep 1, 2015

For things like that, I always want to suggest movies that the kids maybe haven't seen yet and for pre-schoolers, I think there has to be catchy music.

I'm looking at my movies on the shelf right now and the two that catch my eye are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and don't laugh because I know this sounds kind of weird ….. but DVD of Shrek the Musical. I have to tell you, my nephew loves my Shrek the Musical DVD because the story is familiar to him but since it's the Broadway musical and not his own animated movie that he has at his house, it's different enough that it holds his attention.

Tiffylv · Sep 1, 2015

Wishing on a star · Sep 1, 2015

Me again... My son has some learning disabilities, with just some ASD crossover.
So, no serious level of Autism or what I would describe as Asperger's. But, when he was little, since Judge Judy came on after we watched the news, he was ready to rattle off "this is judge judy shino, the cases are real... etc.... etc...' Hahahaha!!! Since he has significant deficits in visual processing, auditory processing and memory were huge!

Kellykins1218 · Sep 1, 2015

Curious George or Finding Nemo

barkley · Sep 2, 2015

Tiffylv said:
Oh man. This is my autistic son as well. He memorizes commercials

Wishing on a star said:
But, when he was little, since Judge Judy came on after we watched the news, he was ready to rattle off "this is judge judy shino, the cases are real

oh man the memories-in hindsight i am SO glad that back then the bulk of infomercials were either on when ds was at school or asleep for the night-i could NOT have dealt with him verbatim reciting the ads for the pocket fisherman, vegamatic (it slices, it dices, it makes julienned fries....) let alone the infamous mr. microphone tag line of 'hey good looking we'll be back to pick you up later' :crazy2:

Wishing on a star · Sep 2, 2015

OMG, Barkley, the thought is funny!

I would simply never have those stupid infomercials on my TV at home, at all.

HM · Sep 2, 2015

aristocatz said:
I am putting together a "sensory friendly" family movie night for our students with autism in our preschool & trying to figure out which movie to show to appeal to boys & girls.

Any recommendations??

Thanks!

I gave a couple ideas above, but I also wanted to make sure that you know that you have to get permission from the movie company (or whoever holds the rights) to show a movie publicly like that. I know my kid's school librarian had to do the footwork to get permission to do Family Movie nights at our our Elementary school. Often the more well-known movies are expensive to get permission to use. Check with your local library if you need guidance.

Preschool Autism Event=Which movie would you show?

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