When Medill graduate student Phil Stuart produced a documentary about autism for his television documentary class, he didn’t expect to learn as much as he did. He ended up learning so much and conveying it so well that the documentary won a national award and is being used to promote autism awareness.

At its April convention in Las Vegas, the Broadcast Education Association will award the 22-year-old student Best in Festival for Student Documentary for his piece, “The Hope and Heartache of Autism.” The film was produced in the television documentary class he took in spring 2005 as a Medill undergraduate.

The documentary chronicles the struggles of seven families who have autistic children. It looks at how autism affects these families in the areas of education, finances, marriage and more. Stuart, who plans to graduate in June, said the inspiration for doing the piece came from his younger brother, who has Aspergers Syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder.

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects individuals in different ways and severities, from speech problems to difficulties expressing emotions. People with Aspergers Syndrome are able to function better than most.

“I thought it would be a powerful story to tell that people could learn from,” Stuart said. He said he believes many people don’t fully understand what autism really is and that it is a “hidden disability” because there are often no physical markers of the disorder.

“I hope this documentary would enable people to approach the disorder with a higher level of understanding and patience,” he said.

The documentary has been successful in increasing awareness. According to Stuart, the Autism Society of Illinois sold copies of the documentary on its Web site, and proceeds went toward funding for programs as well as to the group. Chris Kennedy, chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Autism Society of Illinois, also mailed about 180 copies of the documentary – one to every legislator in Springfield – to raise awareness, Stuart said.

The documentary took about seven weeks to complete, Stuart said. After deciding on a topic, the class outlined different segments they wanted to cover and broke up into teams of three or four. Each team covered a different aspect of the documentary, and Stuart was constantly communicating with everyone to see how it would take shape, he said.

“(He) had a very quiet way of leading the group in the direction he felt we ought to be going,” said Joe Angotti, former chairman of Medill’s broadcast department. Now a professor in the communication department at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill., Angotti taught the television documentary class that produced the autism piece. He also taught Stuart in two other undergraduate classes, Television News Producing and Broadcast Reporting. He said Stuart was a “natural leader” who was open to other people’s ideas.

Stuart’s friends and classmates also admired his dedication to the project. Margaux Berwitt, Medill ’05, took the television documentary class with Stuart and is one of his best friends. The two met while working together at the Northwestern News Network, Berwitt said.

“Phil was really the brain and the energy behind (the documentary),” Berwitt said. “Without him, it definitely never would have happened.”

Fourteen students worked on the documentary. Sumi Somaskanda, Medill ’05, now a Medill graduate student, was one of the final editors of the documentary.

“He loved what he was doing so much,” Somaskanda said. “That showed in the end product.”

Although the goal of the documentary was to educate others, Stuart said he also learned throughout the process.

“I thought I understood a lot about (autism),” he said. Talking to families, however, enabled Stuart to see how autism affects different families in different ways. At the same time, he said he was able to see the similarities all families face when raising a child with autism. Stuart also said the class made him realize he had a passion for making documentaries.

Even though he’s now winning big awards, Stuart’s friends still recognize him first for his “completely unselfish” personality.

“He’s one of the top five human beings I know,” Berwitt said.

Reach Christina Amoroso at [email protected].