Growing Up Autistic - interview with author Trevor Pacelli
Trevor Pacelli is one of the authors of the "Six-Word Lessons" book series, and the son of the two founders/CEOs, Patty and Lonnie Pacelli, of Consetta Group. These books include four different books about people on the autism spectrum, one from mom, one from dad, one from himself, and one from a separate woman with Asperger's. We have conducted an interview with Trevor.
What kind of movie reviews do you write? Why did you choose to write about it?
I try to review all types of movies. Essentially, if it's in theaters, and it's a major release, I usually review it. The past six months I have focused as well on reviewing older classics in addition to theatrical releases. But now, as a new year's resolution, I am going back to reviewing one theatrical release a week, and it could really be of any genre for any taste.
I chose to write about this because I found that I am somebody who feels very strongly about my opinion, and explaining it in a way that others can understand. It's easy for me to write about movies because they are visual enough for me to comprehend, unlike a book, and there is always so much you can talk about with them.
How many families do you think you have helped with your book in the "Six-Word Lessons" series? How do you feel?
That's a bit like asking how many people have ever lived in the world. I couldn't tell you how many families I've affected, between my book sellings, public talks, friends of my parents, and my other friends, but my estimate would have to be well in the high thousands.
It's pretty hard for me to truly comprehend the magnitude of how many people were affected by my work. I usually don't feel much, but once somebody comes to me personally and says how much I've affected them then it really is quite emotional for me.
What made you decide to study Film and Media Studies?
It's interesting because I'm not sure the exact moment when I decided film was the one thing I wanted to study at school. My decision on picking this career path goes more back to when I was picking a major for community college. I felt at the time that I would go ahead and major in art or design since I was interested in that for so long growing up. While scrolling through the options, "filmmaking" seemed to fit me best, so I went with it. Then I thought about it more, and I remembered how interested I was in other movies growing up such as those by Disney and Pixar, and how interested I was in understanding the deeper meaning behind them, and it all made sense to me. Now, I have no regrets at all in my major of choice.
Which are your favourite photography subjects?
My favorite photography subjects are animals. They are always so expressive, it's hard not to get the perfect shot whenever I see any exhibit at the zoo. I find that it is much easier for me to connect with animals a lot of the time than to connect with people.
What are your next goals? How do you intend to reach them?
Now, I would like to bring my film analysis skills into the ministry. It's not necessarily autism awareness I'm the most passionate about although it does feel rewarding for me knowing that I'm helping families. What I most want to do is to reveal how specific movies align with stuff in the bible. I have a very complex formula for grading movies that can be found in my blog (the name of the post is titled, "How do I Set My Quality Grade for Each Movie I Review?") which I am planning on expanding into a book with a biblical mindset. I have been working with somebody at my church in establishing a regular film ministry where we screen and discuss movies with the intention of thinking about them analytically.
And finally, I want to do a shout-out on the other books in my parents' Six-Word Lessons series about autism:
These titles are all self-explanatory as to what they're all about. My sister also wrote a children's book that I illustrated called,
All of these books are available on Amazon and for the Kindle.
Thanks so much!
