'Being included is every kid's right'

By Louise Kinross

Get ready for the Canadian premiere of the film Deej next Friday at The ReelAbilities Film Festival at Innis Town Hall at the University of Toronto. 

"No non-speaking autistic has ever lived like a typical college student," says David James Savarese, known as Deej, in a film that follows the Iowa student's life for six years. Deej suffered severe emotional trauma as a young child in foster care. "Imagine, for a minute, that you don't have speech and you are removed from your home for reasons no one bothers to tell you, because you can't speak, so they assume you can't her or think or feel," he says. Deej's world changed when he was adopted by loving parents and learned how to read and write.

Deej, who graduated from Oberlin College last year with a double major in anthropology and creative writing, has agreed to do an interview with BLOOM. 

Look for it early next week. In the meantime, watch the trailer.