Tim O’Donnell, Cambridge, Boston – is a filmmaker whose new film documentary, “For the Love of Dogs” examines the connection between a young boy with Asperger’s syndrome and the pups of Philadelphia’s National Dog Show. The 25-minute documentary short screened today as part of the Boston Independent Film Festival at the Somerville Theatre.
Tim O’Donnell, 30, told the Herald.
“I think there are a lot of things happening now, redefining autism.”
No Quit, O’Donnell’s previous documentary about his father’s recovery from a traumatic head injury caught the eye of Heather and Jonathan Gould whose son son Cory, has Asperger’s. After watching the film, the couple contacted O’Donnell to tell their story.
They had noticed Cory’s obsessive focus on dogs that helped to bridge a gap regarding social situations and with communication.
O’Donnell said:
“He could really be a social star. There is this mutual love, and people love talking about their dogs and learning more about their dogs.”
O’Donnell visited the Gould family over the course of a year and followed Cory to the National Dog Show in Philadelphia. O’Donnell added:
“By the end of the first day that Cory went to these dog shows, everybody knew him,”
He hopes Cory’s story will help others to better understand the disorder.
The original article by Tenley Woodman on the Boston Herald website can be read here