“Most people don’t understand that, even my parents think it’s bad,” says Markus. He spends a lot of his time playing with toys, while also dealing with the struggle for his father’s acceptance, and the question of what he can contribute to society. The documentary follows Markus for a year.
“I don’t want to be normal and part of the herd. I want to live how I want.” Markus lives in Duisburg in western Germany. His home is completely cluttered with toys, including noisy motion-activated frogs, a singing Elvis and an angry snowman that tells you to watch it! Markus plays happily with his toys for hours, listening to children’s stories and drinking hot chocolate. Despite his autism, he does allow people to get close. He has an eccentric style, with a Prince Valiant haircut, a laser pointer round his neck and colorful plastic figures clutched in his hand. Markus’s father in particular wants him to grow up. His mother takes good care of him, but she encourages him to go out and meet other people more. She worries he could become lonely. That’s how he discovered his love of people with Down Syndrome, who he calls his Downies. “They take me as I am. They don’t question my ways. That’s a nice feeling.” This documentary refers to questions as: what is autism? What are signs and symptoms of autism? How do autistic people behave?
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