Normal People Scare Me

Normal People Scare Me: A Film about Autism is a documentary film about autism, produced by Joey Travolta, older brother of actor John Travolta. The documentary initially began as a 10-minute short film co-directed by an autistic teenager named Taylor Cross, and his mother Keri Bowers. Joey Travolta first met Cross at a program Travolta led teaching the art of filmmaking to children with special needs. He helped educate Cross about filmmaking, and the documentary was expanded into a feature-length film. It includes interviews with 65 people, including those who are autistic as well as friends and family. Cross asks them about their experiences with autism and how they feel about it, and elicits multiple insightful responses from his subjects. The short version of the film was shown at a student film festival at Chaminade High School in West Hills, California in April 2004, and co-director Cross won multiple awards at the festival. In November 2004, Cross was honored for his work on the film, at a gala benefit dinner for the Bubel-Aiken Foundation in Los Angeles, California; the foundation's co-creator is Clay Aiken of American Idol. The feature-length version of the film was released on April 1, 2006. Special screenings included the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October 2006, and the Staten Island Film Festival in 2007. The documentary received positive reception in the Daily News of Los Angeles, New York Daily News and the Tri-Valley Herald.