Well over half a million children in Indonesia are on the autism spectrum and have varying difficulty with social interaction and communication.

Idris is a nonverbal autistic boy living in rural Java who struggles to communicate and connect with others in his village. This is his story, and a story of how grassroots disability awareness movements, local cultural models of inclusion, and religious principles can unite to better support all members of a community.

Idris

Idris was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and now lives in a small village in Central Java. He has a twin brother, Idrus, whom he has been separated from since their parents divorced. Idris is non-verbal and was diagnosed with autism. Idris and his family have at times faced stigma from their fellow villagers over his developmental differences.  

Idrus

Idrus is Idris’ neurotypical twin brother. He was a young child when his parents separated, and was raised by his paternal grandmother on the island of Lombok with sporadic contact with his mother and brother.

Isti

Isti, the mother of Idris and Idrus, is from a rural village in Central Java. She met and married the twins’ father, Mala, while working at a factory on the outskirts of Jakarta. After her divorce, Mala kept Idrus in Lombok and she took Idrus and moved away to Gunung Kidul. She has struggled to raise Idris, at times facing judgment from her community and unsure how to best respond to his medical, behavioral, and learning difficulties.

Mala

Mala was born on Lombok, an island in Western Indonesia. He married Isti and they had the twins, Idris and Idrus.

Sular

Sular is a widower who remarried Isti, despite the large age gap between them. He genuinely loves and cares for Idris and Isti, but his mother, who used to live with them, was less open to the mother and son.

Yasin

Muhammad Yasin is the founder of Bina Anggita, a private school in Yogyakarta serving children with autism.

Hermi

Hermi lives in Yogyakarta with her husband and three sons. After her oldest son, Osa, was diagnosed with autism, she founded an association of parents with autistic children, called Forum Kompak. Through Kompak, she works to spread autism awareness and to support the wellbeing of autistic children and their families.  

Osa

Osa was diagnosed with autism when he was 15 months old. Since early childhood he has shown exceptional observation and memorization skills.

Ninik Supartini

Co-Producer/ Field Producer

Ninik Supartini has assisted Dr. Lemelson in several research projects about community mental health in Java and Bali. In 2004, she returned to school at Gadjah Mada University to earn her Masters Degree in Developmental Psychology. Since 2006, Supartini has served as a mental health and psychosocial consultant for international humanitarian organizations working in post-disaster and conflict areas in Indonesia and Myanmar.

Annie Tucker

Co-Producer/ Researcher

Annie Tucker is a translator, writer, and educator specializing in contemporary Indonesian culture, literature, arts, and health. She received her PhD from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures. Her dissertation addressed the treatment of autism in Java with a particular focus on the therapeutic use of traditional arts and the philosophies of development embedded within them.  She is an adjunct lecturer for UCLA’s Disability Studies minor.

Darwin Nugraha

Director of Photography

Darwin Nugraha has directed, filmed and edited feature and short documentaries in Indonesia. He has produced a TV series and is currently working on a feature length documentary.

Bella Stasia

Assistant Camera

Bella Stasia has filmed commercial music, wedding and lifestyle videos in addition to documentary and feature work.