“I don't feel like there's something wrong with me.”

Communication isn't easy for 13-year-old Eric Roche, but as one of the subjects of a new film his words are poignant.

Dante Cortolezzis, the 5-year-old son of filmmaker and Waconia resident Mario Cortolezzis, is the another subject of the film “Where's the Justice.” Both Eric and Dante are among the estimated 1.5 million Americans who have autism and Mario's hour-long film will break new ground when it begins airing on Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission's (LMCC) channel 12 in April.

As a father of an autistic child and a volunteer police reserve for the Minnetrista Police Department, Mario became keenly aware that police officers aren't trained on interacting with people who have the condition that affects a person's ability to communicate. So, he set out to make a training video that informs the viewer about autism while teaching effective communication techniques when dealing with a person who has the condition.

“Knowledge is power,” Mario said. “Yes, they have autism, but they're people first.”

He estimates that he spent about 500 hours away from his wife Cheryl, 8 year-old-daughter Michela and Dante performing tasks like filming and editing to end up with the finished product.

“It's something that's important to me,” Mario said.

“It's been great working with Mario,” said LMCC Productions Manager Chris Vogt who also hosts the film. “He's really taking it to another level.”

Mario said that without the support of the LMCC staff, his project wouldn't be possible.

“Where's the Justice,” is split into two parts. The first half follows Dante and Eric through some of their normal routines, like going to school and gives the people working with the boys a chance to talk about resources that are available to help autistic students. The film also shows some of the results of those resources. Eric, who attends Waconia's Clearwater Middle School, talks about living with autism and can relate to some of the aggravation that Dante, who is a pre-school student at Bayview Elementary, feels when he has problems communicating.

The second half of the video features role-playing scenarios between police officers and autistic students, which shows the dos and don'ts of interacting with an autistic child.

Since autism affects communication, a child with the condition may not understand when someone asks them to do something. Eric Melbye, the special education director for the Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative and for the Waconia, Watertown and Norwood school districts, said that people with autism don't process communication like people without the condition.

“If you tell an autistic student to do task X, they may not process that information,” Melbye said. “You have to get out of a traditional mindset,” he said.

Melbye said that giving an autistic child some options or control over their environment could help that child process information better. However, if they encounter a person who isn't familiar with autism and who keeps reiterating the same command or punishes the child for their perceived disobedience, the child could get aggravated and have a tantrum.

Mario hopes that his film will teach people that autistic children aren't being petulant when they act out, but that they just aren't grasping what is being asked of them.

Still a mystery

While most people are now familiar with the term autism, few are really knowledgeable about the condition.

One of the roadblocks to a more universal understanding of autism is the wide array of characteristics and behavioral symptoms in varied combinations and severity that autistic individuals exhibit. Professionals in the field normally refer to autism as a spectrum disorder or ASD, which stands for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Each person with ASD is affected by the condition in a different way.

While some people may think of autistic individuals as functioning below average or as socially awkward geniuses, Melbye said most people with autism have an average mental capacity just like people without the condition.

“I think autism, in general, is pretty mysterious to the public. The exploding incidence of autism in our young people is giving more and more students access to some knowledge about the condition,” Clearwater Middle School Principal Peter Gustafson noted.

Mario is trying to dispel some of that mystery and hopes viewers of “Where's the Justice” will come away with two things: understanding and awareness. He also wants the film to be used as a training tool in police departments, schools, businesses or “everywhere for that matter.”

“We should be teaching everyone about autism.”

Seeing the film

“Where's the Justice” will air on LMCC channel 12 beginning in April, which is also autism awareness month. A schedule of channel 12 programming can be found on the LMCC Web site at www.lmcc-tv.org. While the show is airing, it will also be simultaneously streamed online on the Web site.

Copies of “Where's the Justice” can also be purchased online at www.marko-productions.com.