Renowned author and journalist, Ron Suskind, came to Central Connecticut State University on Wednesday to give a talk on how he and his family connected with his autistic son through Disney movies.

Suskind’s journey, recounted in his book “Life Animated,” is one of struggles and hard work trying to communicate with his son, Owen, after he stopped speaking due to his autism.

“We were terrified,” Suskind said. “Our son had vanished.”

Suskind and his wife, Cornelia, came to terms with the idea that their son would never speak again until they realized that he could speak through Disney movies by saying lines back.

“There must be something about the movies. He’s drawing from the movies,” Suskind said.

In his speech, Suskind gave a simplified yet detailed version of how he and Cornelia dealt with learning that their son had autism, finding a way to help their son speak again through reenacting Disney movies, and finding the right place for him to learn his way.

“Over four years he slowly got his speech back,” Suskind said. “It was all because he created an emotional language that of lyrics and dialogue. He invented a language the we had to learn how to speak.”

After his speech, Suskind participated in a conversation with a panel of guests composed of Dr. Alicia Stewart of the CCSU Special Education and Interventions Department, Dr. Hassan Minhas who is the Chief of Autism at Hospital for Special Care, and Jessica Ofray from the CCSU Student Wellness Services. The panel was moderated by Dr. Gil Gigliotti from CCSU’s English department.

The panel took turns asking Suskind questions about his journey and what he believes should be done to help disabled people.

“If they can be guided on their spelunking into the world of digital, they get an ownership of that and they feel strong for that search in time. That’s what I find with students,” Suskind said in response to Dr. Stewart asking about his experience with Owen going through schooling and how it can affect other autistic children.

Suskind emphasized that those with autism spectrum disorder should not be treated as though they are broken; they are just different. He spoke about how they have strengths that people don’t often acknowledge because they are fixated on “fixing” the person and making them fit the mold when we all have weaknesses that are counterbalanced with strengths.

“Each of us has a mixture of deficits and strengths that defines who we are. Spectrum folks are just a really dramatic example of that,” he said.

At the end of the event, Suskind said that he and his family have grown to the point where they are content to let Owen live his life how he wants to because it’s what he deserves.

“You know, we were worried about him failing – that he’d fall and fail,” he said. “We’re not worried anymore. He has the privilege to do that, and that’s just the life that each of us are entitled to.”