Emotions and Autism: The Power of Disney and 'Inside Out 2'

Teaching emotions has been part of autism curriculums for decades. I remember dated flashcards with pictures of faces and asking students to identify which emotion was being expressed on the card (Baron-Cohen et al., 2007). As the technology became available, we began naming emotional expressions from a video (Akmanoglu, 2015). Looking back, I realize how truly ridiculous this identification was as a method of teaching the complex skill of emotions. Identification of emotions is just simply insufficient for the labyrinth of the human experience of emotion.

One of the primary purposes of emotions is to contribute to our overall psychological well-being by helping us cope with stress, regulate our mood, and experience positive feelings. Identifying emotions in pictures is light years away from this desired outcome. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of guidance on teaching emotions—to teach autistic individuals the rich emotions that are the human condition and how the emotions we experience help teach us, keep us safe, and create social bonds with others around us.

Disney Films as a Teaching Tool

When I read Ron Suskind’s Life Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism (2014), I was absolutely enchanted. The Suskind family bravely shared their story of how Disney films provided a way to connect with their autistic son, Owen. They increased Owen’s capacity to communicate and understand the world around him. Owen memorized lines, identified with characters, and used their stories to make sense of his own experiences and emotions. I had heard so many of my autistic students echo Disney lines, and until I read Suskind’s book, I had never thought of the power of using Disney as a specific teaching tool. The motivation to engage in learning is embedded in the fact that so many people love Disney, including many autistic people. The stories are told sequentially and with solid character development and a storytelling style that provides the necessary background knowledge and context to provide an understanding of complex situations.

Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy

As a practitioner and researcher interested in well-being and autism, the release of the new movie "Inside Out 2" was of significant interest to me. "Inside Out" and "Inside Out 2" follow the character Riley. In the first of the series, she is an 11-year-old navigating life with the emotions of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger; Inside Out 2 grows with Riley, who is now 13 and has added the feelings of Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy.

"Inside Out" came with many instructional ideas for children, such as those from the Greater Good Science Center (Zakrzeweski & Marsh, 2015), encouraging instruction around embracing difficult emotions versus suppressing them, and the message that happiness is not just about joy. Common Sense (Elgersma, 2021) provided a movie guide and lesson plans to support student learning. The sequel, "Inside Out 2," has already garnered a lot of attention because of its capacity to teach and inform children, including some queries about how the movie will be utilized—as bad therapy or good for youth (Cipriano, 2024).

None of these resources are specific to the needs of individuals with autism, but there has been a lot of chatter on social media from the autism community about "Inside Out 2," including The Forthofer family, which includes two adult children with autism and a parent who is also the executive director of a social service agency that provides services and support to children with development disabilities. Mrs. Forthhofer shares how impressed she is by the impact Disney has had on her sons’ learning and how her therapists have leaned into the movies in their practice at her clinic (Proof Positive, 2024).

Developing Well-Being Skills

Movies are entertaining, and this is often why we watch them. But movies can also be educational. "Inside Out 2" chose to add several emotions to the character array, most of which might be classified as negative emotions (e.g., embarrassment and envy). However, the movie also affords the opportunity to provide instruction on developing well-being skills. Here are a couple of ideas that your classroom or family could do together to move from being entertained to learning and improving your well-being:

1. Write down Barb Fredrickson’s 10 positive emotions (joy, love, gratitude, awe, inspiration, amusement, serenity, hope, pride, and interest; Frederickson, 2013) and engage in a scavenger hunt for when these positive emotions are represented in the movies.
2. Gratitude is a well-known skill that promotes well-being. Try to find three scenes in each of the movies when gratitude is represented. Share your perspective on why these were good.

For these ideas and others, and for supports specifically tailored to autistic individuals, Proof Positive (2024) developed a free Guide on the Side to support the development of well-being skills as part of the movie experience.

Helping children develop well-being skills is imperative, given the current data on children and youth mental health. Using the conduit of a fun summer movie is a great onramp to teaching and practicing well-being skills. Grab your popcorn and your learning resources, and enjoy the show!