A couple weeks ago we introduced you to Jennifer and Major in Part 1 of Jen’s series about Professional Acting with Asperger’s Syndrome. I’m happy to bring you Part 2 today…Part 3 coming in a couple weeks. Enjoy!

Professional Acting with Asperger’s Syndrome: Part 2

By Jennifer Dodson

In my last post, you were introduced to my son Major who is an actor with Asperger Syndrome. After getting started in the theater as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, Major continued to love acting so much we got him a Talent Agent and started going on auditions and booking jobs.

The first time Major was on a film set I knew this was going to be a great journey for our son. It was summertime and we drove to Austin for Major to be in a short film as a child at a birthday party. Five hours of filming the same pool scene and not once did my son complain or get distracted. Even with the migraine headache he ended up with and the rush trips to the bathroom when the Director would “cut” for a minute so he could throw up did not cause Major to lose focus or to want to quit. One of the film crew came over to me asking if Major was my son. I braced myself for some sort of disapproval about Major’s behavior from the man. Major had been inching his way closer and closer to the pool and had just put his feet into the water (he couldn’t resist). The man told me that the second Major walked out with the other kids they knew he was going to be the scene stealer. I apologized to him and he quickly let me know that being a scene stealer was a good thing! Imagine that! For the rest of the shoot, Major was the only child allowed in the pool and the crew encouraged him to splash as hard as he could for each take.

In the year and a half Major has been acting for broadcast he has worked on all sorts of fun projects. He has been in commercials, short films, web-series, on television, music videos, industrial videos and a public service announcement. The experiences he has had, the relationships on sets he has made and the confidence he has gained is priceless! Major has found his niche that makes him happy and allows him to be who he is - quirks and all.

I still struggle with the fact Major has Asperger Syndrome and whom to share it with while he is working in this business. It is tough and very competitive. Would someone choose to give him a role knowing first that he has Asperger’s? The truth is I simply do not know. Not everyone is familiar with the syndrome or they have watched shows like Parenthood and have their own picture of what they believe a child on the spectrum is like. A lot of people would not even know my son is on the Spectrum because he has worked so hard to overcome so many of the behaviors that are looked down upon. No one would ever say he was not unique or quirky, but that makes him stand out. If you ask Major what having Asperger’s means to him - he will tell you how “awesome” it is. To him, there is nothing bad about having it. He will say it makes him act more mature than he is and gives him a fabulous memory. I am okay with his outlook on what it means to be an “Aspie.” I try however, to discourage him from bringing it up on his own in the acting community. There was one time however that Major shared his Asperger Syndrome during an audition that I happened to be sitting in on. Admittedly, as I heard the words come out of his mouth it seemed like everything was in slow motion and I imagined myself catching them before they reached the panel of actors that were holding the audition. I was not the only person in the room with Major watching to see how his audition went. There was also a news crew from a local news channel filming his audition for that night’s evening news. Yes, my son not only announced he has Asperger Syndrome in an audition, but he did it on the news. You see one of the actors was very impressed with the fact Major had learned his lines right before he went into the audition. He had already finished the actual audition and they were simply talking to him. To Major, who was proud of the fact he can memorize anything because of his ASD, there was nothing wrong with sharing that fact to the room and subsequently the news crew. Thankfully, the actors on the panel were very gracious and incredibly impressed with how he views his disability as strength. On the way out of the audition the writer for the animated film said her son also has Asperger’s. Here is the link to the news segment that was run that evening.

In my next post, I will share what Directors and crew members think about working with Major. I will also share what our goal is for Major and his acting.

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Jennifer Dodson is a mom-manger extraordinaire who lives with her husband and two sons in Dallas, Texas. Jennifer spends her days managing her oldest son Major's budding acting career. Major loves to build with LEGOS, reads and plays video games when not working or auditioning for TV and film. Major is eight years old and happens to also have Asperger's Syndrome. Cooper is five years old and in preschool. Cooper loves to sing, dance and play the Wii. Jennifer is also the Vice President of her son's Elementary school PTO and works hard to advocate for his needs in the educational setting.