When Becca’s eldest son started displaying behavioural challenges at the age of 3, she could hardly anticipate the arduous path that lay ahead – a heartbreaking journey through the complexities of both the medical and educational systems. By the age of 7, he received diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder and ADHD. Engaging in support groups tailored to parents of neurodiverse children, Becca came to realise that her experience was far from unique. There were other heartbroken, exhausted, loving families, frustrated with the health system, ostracised by schools and friends and worn down by the challenges of supporting different, “challenging” kids.
In this barrier breaking documentary, Becca Rich turns the camera on herself and these families to capture what it’s like living with children with mental health challenges. Together – and under the guidance of health professionals and frontier thinkers – they explore the root cause of this ‘silent pandemic’, in the hopes of revealing a revolutionary path forward for these children and their families.
In a world where different, sensitive kids drive parents to exhaustion, depression, anger and divorce. Where kids are prescribed pharmaceutical drugs that can inhibit their development and claim their healthy futures. Where those who do not fit in the education institutions, and are not seen for who they truly are, can and do end up with long term mental health issues, unemployed and/or in jail, Beautiful Souls tells a different story.
A love story, dedicated to Becca’s son and all the others like him, whose diversity may create massive challenges but whose gifts point to a brighter future for all of us on this planet.
