NEWS.
The day following World Autism Awareness Day (a neurological disorder which affects 1% of the population in France), France 2 broadcast “Tu neras point”, a film directed by Leslie Gwinner regarding the trial of a mother who murdered her 11-year-old autistic daughter. If the chosen angle can appeal, the Press release of the channel explains that the character of the mother (played by Natacha Rénier) acts like this“to put an end to the immense and irremediable suffering of her child”. Samuel Le Bihan plays the mother’s lawyer. The actor knows the question well, because he himself is the father of an autistic daughter. He is at the origin of the project and also specifies in the press release that “this film is a fiction, freely inspired by real events”.
Filicides (the murder of a child by his or her parent) of disabled children are regularly discussed in the media. These family tragedies often reflect the isolation and despair of parents faced with the lack of suitable solutions, insufficient support, and even stigmatization of their disabled child.
In 2018, Samuel Le Bihan released a novel entitled A happiness that I don’t wish on anyone (Flammarion), with which he wanted to raise public awareness regarding autism. On the occasion of the publication of his book, Laurent Delahousse received him on October 27 on the 8 p.m. set to discuss his personal journey, the way in which he discovered his daughter’s illness, and to talk regarding new methods for reintegrating these children in the society.
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The day before the interview, the National Assembly unanimously voted for a system promoting early detection of autism and the establishment of a care pathway for diagnosed children. Autism affects 1% of the population in France, 100,000 young people under 20 and 600,000 adults. It was the first time that the actor Samuel Le Bihan agreed to speak on television.
He first explained how he came up with the idea of writing a novel, following participating in a writing workshop and writing around fifteen pages. These few pages had transformed into a love story once morest the backdrop of autism. It was also a personal challenge, that of talking regarding his daughter’s autism. This is how he described becoming aware of the syndrome that affected his child: “ I had doubts as I watched her grow up. Like all parents, we read books regarding children’s growth and I saw that language was not coming. She did not point at objects. She had a rather particular sensitivity to objects. She did not take the tools for their use, but more for their color. Were they cold or hot? The light reflected in it… »
In his novel, the narrator was a female narrator. It was through her words that he modestly described his own struggle, particularly for his child to go to school. It was a way for him to pay tribute to these mothers who, according to him, had advanced the debate in France by setting up structures, using the associative fabric as “ combat weapon » or by testing methods from the United States to prove that they worked and “ that we might change things without anyone’s help.” Her heroine personified all these women who fought for their children to go to school. Only 20% of children affected by autism were in school in France in 2018.
Screening and academic support
Samuel Le Bihan insisted on the importance of school and early detection. “ Because everything is happening there. That is to say, everything happens in childhood. We’re talking regarding screening as early as possible, then all the behavioral methods which really have proven that we can lead children towards language, towards communication, to find them in their bubble and bring them back into our world, that’s when even that’s the issue “, he explained. The actor also emphasized that school was often a possible step, because there were no intellectual deficiencies, but “ one problem with language and one problem with the other. There is a way to be disconnected from our reality “. It was still necessary to provide the means to the school, in particular with the AVS (social life assistants), these women often in precarious circumstances, because they were poorly paid, who accompanied disabled children to class and alongside whom he fought for more acknowledgement. This fight seemed important to him because, he explained, a child who was taught autonomy would not be a burden on society later. “ Before, what happened was that once he became an adult, he ended his life in a psychiatric hospital. And that was really a huge cost for society. “, he emphasized. The issue, he added, was screening and support.
To this end, he created a platform dedicated to autism to support and inform parents “ Autism Info Service “. This idea came to him through the personal observation that there was a lack of a centralizing tool, a platform where associations would be brought together, which would centralize information and answer essential questions, and a telephone platform where parents would also be listened to: “ Because parents need to talk, they are often distressed and need information. And in several areas: administrative, completing an MDPH file, medical. Our rights. When going to school… We must also be able to defend ourselves. And then science, too, where is it?
