I must be honest. I was very frustrated with many of the adults in this movie. The kids were all great, but the grownups for the most part were not paying attention to the non-verbal messages their kids were sending. I even felt that for some of these parents, including Elaine, the "Miracle Project" was all about them (the parents) and their idea of what they wanted to achieve. They even had a "professional screenwriter" to "polish the script"!
For much of the film, the kids were over-stimulated. The adults got right in their faces many times and talked loudly. These kids are not hard-of-hearing. It's too much! And how many scenes where adults were just sitting around tables staring at the autistic kid! What a horror. Worst of all was that scene at the table of Elaine's future husband, and by the way, he didn't get it at all. That scene in the park -- he told Elaine that Neil had tossed the little kid to the ground "on purpose", and described Neil's nefarious motives. No! Autistic kids do not have evil motives! Not to mention -- good move, Stepdad Tattletale.
The moms I thought were great were Lexi's, Adam's, and Henry's. They seemed to really LISTEN to their kids, and I loved that Adam's mom fought for his right to play the cello. The mom of an autistic child has to be a real tiger sometimes, that's just the way it is.
The musical finale, I'm sorry to point this out, but the kids had their aides up there, including Adam's from school. Neil's "Stepdad" was holding Neil up and looking miserable. Tell you what, in that setting, bright lights and all that commotion, my kid would have taken a hike, and he's very high-functioning.
(shame on that "professional" who waved the papers and said Wyatt was "low-functioning". I hope Wyatt's parents never went back to him.)
