Documentary exposes strenth, weakness of speechless men

Two men, their typewriters and a journey across the globe produced a documentary film about speaking without words and banishing the societal myths surrounding autism.

“Wretches and Jabberers” chronicles the stories of Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, two autistic men who travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland.

“They’re two really smart people. They just can’t talk,” said Joe Raiden, vice president of the state board for Idaho Self Advocate Leadership Network.

Sponsored by the Disability Action Center, the movie will feature at Kenworthy Theater this Friday at 7 p.m., where Thresher and Bissonnette’s story will show how they push past the barriers of beliefs on autism.

One of the most common and longest-running beliefs about autism was its relation to lack of intelligence. It used to be thought that if one couldn’t speak, they were not smart people, Raiden said.

Autism is a complex type of brain development disorder that often leads to trouble with verbal communication, said Gerardine Wurzburg, “Wretches and Jabberers” director and producer.

At one point in time, autistic people were labeled as retarded or incompetent and many of them were placed in isolation, she added. Today, pediatricians are educated to catch the early warning signs to properly diagnose children and help their parents learn what to do, she said.

“Diagnosis and labels are a dangerous thing,” Wurzburg said. “Once you label you don’t see a person’s capabilities.”

Vicki Leeper, marketing specialist for the Disability Action Center, said the title for the film came from a discussion among Thresher, Bissonnette and a Finnish gentleman named Antti Lappalainen.

During their conversation, Antti declared that the world was divided into two sections: the wretches who have limited speech and the jabberers who speak freely.

“Armed with typewriters, (Thresher and Bissonnette) show that with these devices they can communicate with everyone else,” Leeper said.

Wurzburg did a film in 2005 called “Autism is a World.” The film earned her an Academy Award.

“I wanted to tell a story of the global face of autism,” Wurzburg said. “Bring people on a journey.”

When she met Thresher and Bissonnette at a conference, their humor and unique method of speaking drew her to them and developed into a conversation with them about a new film.

The movie itself, according to Wurzburg, can be described as a road trip movie, filled with a tremendous amount of humor and truth.

“They’re not somebody to write off,” Leeper said. “We need to understand that they’re just wired differently.”

Wurzburg said audiences will find the humor and wisdom of Thresher and Bissonnette interesting, which helps break through the misconceptions they face.

“People are gonna walk away blown away and aware that just because you can’t talk doesn’t mean you can’t communicate,” Raiden said.

Admission for the film is free but people are encouraged to bring food for the Moscow Food Bank.