The new HBO documentary called "Autism: The Musical" reveals the dramatic effects on the family caring for an autistic child. As I have lived for a while with a relative with an autistic child, I connected more with this side of the story than the side which, unconvincingly for me, tried to make viewers think that autistic children are capable of overcoming the barriers imposed by their disorder.

The story of what's it like to be a parent (most of the times eventually single moms) of an autistic child is quite depressing and shows the stress, the frustration and torment, all of which I have personally witnessed. Divorce, infidelity, fights between spouses are common.

The documentary follows Elaine Hall, who after two unsuccessful pregnancies adopts a child from Russia. The boy, two years old, is soon diagnosed with autism. Around a decade later, Elaine tries to cast in a musical a dozen autistic children, including her son. She is an acting coach with only 22 weeks of preparations for the performance. That might seem enough, but they are children which barely communicate, if at all.

"There are all these myths about what a child with autism can do," Ms. Hall says, discussing the musical in the film's opening scene, with reference to common beliefs that it condemns people to "standing in the corner, banging your head against the wall, you know, in a diaper."  "I plan to shatter those myths," Ms. Hall.

She pulls it off, but it wasn't fair game: most of the children are not representative for what actual autism sufferers are like. Some of them have ASDs, Autism Spectrum Disorders, which are milder forms of autism affecting people to a lesser degree and allowing for some communication.

Overall, a documentary well worth watching, quite impressive for people who have only heard with autism from the news.