Nightline Tuesday May 30th

May 30, 2006

From Nightline correspondent Donvan:

Some people have a notion that journalists need to keep a distance from

their subjects. It's a nice rule, and makes sense on the surface, but there

are times when it definitely does not result in the best journalism.

Tonight's report from the world of autism qualifies as one of those

exceptions. It is, I think, the fourth or fifth piece on the topic of autism

that I've reported for Nightline in the last 5 years or so. Each time, my

partner in the process has been an ABC producer named Caren Zucker.

Caren's oldest boy, Mickey, has autism, and so, yes, she is very close to

the subject. And that is why the pieces we've reported together have such

power, insight and humanity.

Tonight's story hits all of those targets again. " in Love " is the story

of a 37-year-old man with autism who is suffering the pain of a broken

heart. It's a tough situation: All his life, the people around him have

encouraged him to go for it, to strive to reach his full potential, to push

past the limits that his disability would otherwise have imposed on his

life. learned to speak, to play piano, to compete in athletics, and to

hold a job. That's the message our culture gives the disabled, rightly. Be

all you can be.

But love, sex and romance get into trickier territory. fell in love

with an older woman, one of his teachers. Clearly, she cannot be an

appropriate object for his affection. But how do the people around

explain that to him, when all his life, he has been urged to discover and

fulfill all human aspirations. Isn't romance one of those experiences to

which we all aspire?

Even more complicated for , he is often lost at sea when trying to

navigate his feelings. That is part of the nature of autism -- missing the

connections most of us make almost without thinking. It is very difficult

for the people who support to make him understand why love sometimes

hurts. To be honest, it's hard enough for the rest of us when it happens to

us. For , love may be a deeper mystery than for most.

We hope you'll join us tonight.

Gerry Holmes

Senior Producer

and the " Nightline " staff

ABC News Washington Bureau

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