Drs. Robert and Lynn Koegel of UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School will introduce a special 25th Anniversary screening of the Academy Award-winning Rain Man on Wednesday, January 30 at 7 pm in UCSB Pollock Theater. Part of the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Carsey-Wolf Center's "Script to Screen Series," the event will also be followed by a Q&A with Oscar-winning screenwriter Barry Morrow. The Koegels lead the world-class Koegel Autism Center, which has been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences and ranked among the country's top 12 autism facilities. Rain Man is known as one of the first mainstream films to present autism on screen.
Rain Man tells the story of an autistic savant named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman in his Oscar-winning role) who's spent most of his life in an institution. He winds up on the journey of a lifetime with an estranged younger brother, Charlie, played by Tom Cruise, who must slow down his fast life to adapt to Raymond. Raymond is based on Kim Peek, a mega-savant who inspired Barry Morrow to write Rain Man. Peek is also featured in Joshua Foer's Moonwalking with Einstein: The Science and Art of Remembering Everything. Foer's book is UCSB Reads 2013 selection.
The major goals of the Koegel Autism Research & Training Center are increasing our understanding of autism spectrum disorders, the development and implementation of state-of-the-art pivotal response treatments, as well as the improvement of elementary and secondary education efforts for children with autism and other severe disabilities. The center's primary interests lie in research and training (both pre-service and in-service), focusing on family support and on the education of children with autism in community environments and classrooms with their typically developing peers. The center conducts research regarding the development of treatment delivery systems through families, schools, non-disabled peers, and others who provide support for children with autism in educational settings. The center is funded by a number of sources, including the state of California, federal research and training grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Department of Education, and through private donations. The Koegel Autism Center is part of The Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara.
Tickets for the event are $5 and are available online at carseywolf.ucsb.edu and will be on sale at the door. The event is presented by the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Carsey-Wolf Center, and is co-sponsored by the UC Santa Barbara Library as part of the UCSB Reads program.