Was anyone else squirming in their seat? It was hard to tell in the dark. I glanced sideways. The cinema audience, transported back to 1980s Ireland, seemed transfixed. ‘Small Things Like These’ evoked strong emotions. One line in the film could sum up a whole decade of societal repression: “If you want to get on in this life, there are things you have to ignore”.
Cillian Murphy (film still)
Offscreen, Cillian Murphy-who plays the main character-is an ambassador and supporter of the Activating Social Empathy programme, which cultivates social and emotional learning among teenagers.
Adults in Ireland need to learn how to empathise too. Within the film, animation, and TV industry working conditions do not support neurodivergent creatives. This is seriously damaging to individuals and to the sector at large. Eleanor Mc Sharry, an academic who used to work in film, wrote a paper on the topic earlier this year.
The word ‘neurodiversity’ includes ADD, ADHD, bipolar, dyspraxia, and other neurological conditions. An autistic brain processes sensory information differently to neurotypical brains.
Of the 12,000 people working in the film sector many have disabilities. And yet, in a small poll of 1000 people (separate to Mc Sharry’s paper), 48% of neurodivergent respondents admitted that they hide that aspect of their personalities at work. Why is this, I ask Eleanor, although I know the answer.
“I think autistic people are afraid to declare their differences in case they get fired or moved to ‘less challenging’ area” she replies. “If you have a good CV, you have proved you can do a job; a diagnosis does not change that. With the right support, we can all thrive in the creative industries.”
A camera and strip of film.
People need support for sure, and not everyone has an impressive CV. Third level education can help people to get started, but the education system as it is can be impossible for autistics to endure.
For those who are interested in studying film, animation, photography, and design, Creative Pathways for All is for mature students with intellectual disabilities (see https://iadt.ie/courses/creative-pathways-for-all)
Eleanor’s son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and several comorbid conditions. He just finished a diploma in archaeology with NUIG online. “I have spent years helping my son to navigate the world but realised no one was helping the world to support or understand my son. I was told he would never pass his junior cert, let alone a leaving cert. He got both and with flying colours” his mother says proudly.
Man walking on a snow-covered road.
She was a full-time carer for many years. “We fought the system (education, health, social welfare) every step of the way, inch by inch” she remembers. Despite feeling invisible Eleanor got her son what he needed through “pure bullheadedness and determination”. Today, she reminds us that a lack of data on disability in Ireland keeps it hidden as an issue. “In Ireland, we have a very poor track record regarding the portrayal of disabilities in television dramas.”
As for workers on the ground, what practical accommodations could be given? Eleanor cites “Clearer communication, rest breaks, and understanding/compassion” as priorities and adds “We are leaking talent as a result of an ableist industry, we need to stop it.”
Colourful collage in progress.
Many arts workers are adept at keeping their symptoms and struggles as hidden as a teenager in a Magdalene laundry. This is known as ‘masking’. It is not that autistics want to be fake. They simply conceal their struggles out of fear of being judged by people who might be sceptical about their abilities.
In a study conducted by the Institute of Leadership & Management, 20% of participants admitted that they would be uncomfortable hiring autistics or dyscalculics.
Another project, Amplify, surveyed 100 diverse arts workers. Two out of three intellectually disabled (ID) people stated that not enough time is given to do their work: they feel rushed. Ironic, in a country where change happens excruciatingly slowly.
Difference is not a deficit, so here’s to a new era of the screen industry, and society in general, being more aware of the neurodiverse movement.
Excerpts from a feature piece commissioned by the Irish Examiner, January 6th, 2025.
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