Deej
Directed byRobert Rooy
Written byDavid James Savarese
Release date
  • July 31, 2017 (2017-07-31) (Woods Hole)[1][2]
Running time
72 minutes

Deej is a 2017 documentary about David James (DJ) Savarese, a nonspeaking autistic teenager with disabilities who is depicted as communicating through the scientifically discredited facilitated communication technique.[3][4][5] The film's unskeptical depiction of facilitated communication, including the claims that DJ's degree from Oberlin College is legitimate, and that he is the author of the film's script (rather than it being created by his facilitator),[6] have been the subject of criticism.

Background

The film was directed by Robert Rooy. David James Savarese, known as DJ or Deej, was also credited as a director and co-producer of the documentary.[7][3] The film depicts Savarese as an activist with the goal of promoting communication access for nonspeaking autistic people as part of the neurodiversity movement.[8]

Savarese was adopted from the foster care system and diagnosed early in life as autistic.[9] As a child, his adoptive parents struggled to ensure his inclusion in the local public school system.[10] Eventually winning the right for Savarese to receive education in public schools, his parents framed their challenges as a civil rights struggle against ableism.[4][11][9] Since the events featured in Deej, Savarese was awarded a degree from Oberlin College for coursework completed through a facilitator.[11][12]

Deej aired nationally on PBS in October 2017.[13]

Criticism

This film portrays the use of facilitated communication as legitimate.[14] The documentary does not mention that scientific studies have raised questions about facilitated communication[5][15] and the film's depiction of facilitated communication was the subject of one critical essay in a peer reviewed journal.[5] Behavioral scientist and author, Craig Foster notes that Deej is never shown independently communicating or exhibiting his "hidden intelligence", even though the documentary implies that he does. Foster argues that "skepticism toward facilitated communication is necessary to ameliorate its harmful influence and to encourage genuine acceptance of people with complex communication needs."[5]

Janyce L. Boynton judges the film in a review to be "uncritical promotion" of facilitated communication and notes that the film's editors "chose to leave out some vital information." She concludes that the documentary is a "missed opportunity to teach people what about what living with autism is really like" and that the story the film tells is "one sided and built on facilitator-authored messages."[16]

Awards

  • Peabody award[17]
  • Chagrin Documentary Festival – Winner, Best Feature[18]
  • Indigo Moon Film Festival – Winner, Best Documentary[18]
  • Newburyport Film Festival – Audience Award[18]
  • Superfest Disability Film Festival – Best Feature[18]

References

  1. ↑ "26th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival – Woods Hole, MA".
  2. ↑ @DeejMovie (July 31, 2017). "The DEEJ World Premiere is tomorrow 7/31 at Woods Hole Film Festival in Cape Cod! 7pm #WHFF #DeejMovie" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. 1 2 Inc., POV | American Documentary. "AMERICA REFRAMED UNFILTERED: Inclusion Shouldn't Be a Lottery". POV's Documentary Blog. Retrieved May 20, 2018. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. 1 2 Corley, Maria (September 20, 2017). "Deej: A non-verbal autistic man raises his voice for inclusion". Medium. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Foster, Craig (2019). "Deej‐a Vu: Documentary revisits facilitated communication pseudoscience". Behavioral Interventions. 34 (4): 577–586. doi:10.1002/bin.1687. S2CID 202247479.
  6. ↑ Foster, Craig A. (August 9, 2019). "Deej‐a Vu: Documentary revisits facilitated communication pseudoscience". Behavioral Interventions. Online Library. 34 (4): 577–586. doi:10.1002/bin.1687. S2CID 202247479. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ Rooy, Robert (October 17, 2017), Deej, retrieved May 20, 2018
  8. ↑ Borha, Imade. "DJ 'Deej' Savarese pursues freedom as a non-speaking autistic man in new documentary". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Gabbard, Chris (January 31, 2008). "Savarese, Ralph James. Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption". Disability Studies Quarterly. 28 (1). doi:10.18061/dsq.v28i1.76. ISSN 2159-8371.
  10. ↑ "'Deej' film puts a spotlight on autism and disability rights". The Arizona State Press. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Fishman, Kate. ""Deej" Highlights Interdependence, Challenges Assumptions". The Oberlin Review. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ Gittin, Adam. "Student Panelists Celebrate Neurodiversity". The Oberlin Review. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  13. ↑ "'Deej' film spotlights nonspeaking student with autism | National Center on Disability and Journalism". ncdj.org. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  14. ↑ Savarese, D. J. (December 1, 2009). "Communicate with Me". Disability Studies Quarterly. 30 (1). doi:10.18061/dsq.v30i1.1051. ISSN 2159-8371.
  15. ↑ Savarese, Ralph. "About Facilitated Communication | Ralph James Savarese". Ralph James Savarese. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  16. ↑ Boynton, Janice L. (March–April 2021). "Fresh Thinking or Exploitation?". Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York: Center for Inquiry. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  17. ↑ "The Best Stories of 2017". peabodyawards.com. May 9, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Deej". Deej. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
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