Library / Neurodivergent Identity
Watch this when
Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth)
He wasn't lazy. He wasn't stupid. He needed one adult to stop yelling and start looking.
Who it's for
Taare Zameen Par shows eight-year-old Ishaan being punished, compared with his high-achieving brother and sent to boarding school for failing at school, when he is actually struggling with dyslexia, which the film names.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Aamir Khan's 2007 directorial debut, written by Amole Gupte, follows Ishaan, an eight-year-old boy in Mumbai who struggles at school despite artistic talent and is seen by teachers and his father as lazy and troublesome. After he repeats a grade, his parents send him to boarding school, where he grows increasingly withdrawn.
Where to find it
Rent or buy on major digital stores. Streaming availability rotates; check JustWatch.
Before you start
Heads up: Harsh corporal punishment of a child.
Age: PG (per Rotten Tomatoes, as Like Stars on Earth)
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself,” Leaves of Grass
