Autism Movie Plays Role in 2012 Presidential Election

Those of you who have been following The United States of Autism for a little while know that the film features a family out of Iowa who are incredibly active in the 2012 US Presidential Elections, speaking about autism every time the season comes around. What you may not know is that thanks to them, the only person still currently running for president this year that has not received a t-shirt and heard about the film is President Obama himself!

Thanks to Lin, Mark, and Sam Wessels, nearly all of the 2012 GOP Presidential election candidates heard about the film, including: Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, and Tim Pawlenty. Heck, even Mike Huckabee got his picture taken with Sam. Not only that, but videos of Sam Wessels speaking with election candidates about autism and the film this cycle generated over 370,000 hits on YouTube so far. That’s a lot of people hearing about one boy and autism, and good for the autism movement no matter what people say out there.

One of the things that makes The United States of Autism the feature documentary for autism and the 2012 election year and beyond is the strength of the people involved.

Here, the Wessels family are not afraid to state what their views are on the movement and what they believe is necessary to move everyone forward. There are many out there who do not agree with them and we take no stance either way on the content of the message. However, those involved in the movie believe that it is far more dangerous to stifle opinions, even if one vehemently disagrees. Long term, some sort of common ground must be built for all of the individuals, whether they be children or adults on the autism spectrum, so whether you’re a parent of a severe child that cannot speak and possibly never will, to a fully functioning adult that is either excelling or searching for acceptance and growth in society, to anyone in between, all of these groups have to work together if this thing called “autism” is going to become a movement for those seeking a better life. Ultimately, this is what the film is about.

Thank you to Lin, Mark, and Sam for standing tall for what you believe and making sure the world hears you, especially in shaking hands with nearly every potential leader of the free world for the next 4 years to do so. We at The United States of Autism are proud to have you as one of our featured families, and look forward to sharing your heart with the world.

Now if only someone could help us get the message to President Obama……

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Story reposted with permission from USofAutism.com

Photos Courtesy of USofAutism.com & The Wessels Family

To view additional videos featuring Sam and other GOP
candidates, click here.