A family says Disney movies helped their son speak. Now a new documentary, "Life, Animated," is telling his story to the world.
Owen Suskind was a normal little boy until the age of 4. Then suddenly in 1993, he stopped talking altogether. Doctors gave him a devastating diagnosis: degenerative autism.
His father, award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter Ron Suskind, said his son changed completely.
"He couldn't look at you," Ron told ABC News. "He walked around like someone with their eyes closed."
Then one night, when Owen was 4, as he and his parents were watching The Little Mermaid, a break through occurred.
Owen started repeating words from the movie. Soon, they realized Owen had memorized every word from every Disney movie. They discovered they could communicate with Ron as the characters from the movies.
Thanks to Disney movies, he has flourished.
Now, 20 years later, Owen has a job and is living on his own.
WATCH: Boy diagnosed with regressive autism stopped talking, showing affection and engaging in the world around him. But then he started memorizing Disney movies - and he got his voice back: http://abcn.ws/293paXx
Posted by Good Morning America on Thursday, June 30, 2016
Watch the trailer to "Life, Animated" below or click here.