Front of the Class | |
---|---|
Based on | Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen and Lisa Wysocky |
Written by | Thomas Rickman |
Directed by | Peter Werner |
Starring | Jimmy Wolk Treat Williams Patricia Heaton |
Music by | Ernest Troost |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Andrew Gottlieb |
Cinematography | Paul Elliott |
Editor | David Beatty |
Running time | 95 minutes |
Production company | McGee Productions |
Original release | |
Release | December 7, 2008 |
Front of the Class is a 2008 American docudrama film directed by Peter Werner that is based on the 2005 book Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen and co-authored by Lisa Wysocky, which tells of Cohen's life with Tourette syndrome and how it inspired him to teach other students.
The book was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring newcomer James Wolk—a 2007 University of Michigan graduate [1] —and featuring Treat Williams and Emmy Awards-winning actress Patricia Heaton as Cohen's parents; the movie aired on CBS on December 7, 2008. [2]
Twelve-year-old Brad Cohen lives in Missouri with his divorcée mother, Ellen, and younger brother, Jeff. He constantly gets into trouble with his father Norman and his teachers at school due to his tics. In one class, his teacher calls him to the front to make him apologize to his class for disrupting the class and promise he won't do it again. Determined to find out what is wrong with her son, Ellen seeks medical help. A psychiatrist believes that Brad's tics are the result of his parents' divorce. Ellen takes her search to the library and comes across Tourette syndrome in a medical book. She shows this to the psychiatrist, who agrees with the diagnosis, and says that there is no cure. Brad and his mother soon attended a support group. From then on, Brad aspires to never be like the other members of the support group and to become successful.
At the beginning of middle school, Brad is sent to the principal's office for being disruptive. The principal invites him to the school concert later in the afternoon. At the end of the concert, which Brad's Tourette's tics had disturbed, he calls Brad up to the stage and asks Brad to talk about his condition. As Brad makes his way back to his seat, the school applauds him. From that moment on, Brad aspires to become a teacher, just like the principal.
As an adult, Brad lives with his roommate Ron in Georgia and is looking for work as an elementary school teacher. He is turned down after 24 interviews because of his Tourette syndrome and finally gets an interview where the staff is accepting and they give him the job.
On his first day, Brad explains the syndrome to his students. He helps a boy with ADHD, Thomas, with reading and makes an impression on Heather, a girl with terminal cancer. Another student's father pulls her out of Brad's class as he fears Brad will distract her. When the little girl tries to sneak into Brad's class again, he expresses his gratefulness but doesn't oppose the girl's father's wishes and reminds her that her father is doing what he thinks is best for her.
Brad meets a woman named Nancy Keene on an online dating site. After dating her for some time, he invites her over for Thanksgiving back at Ellen's house, where he tells Nancy he loves her, and the feeling is reciprocated. He confides in Ellen his concern that Nancy will get fed up with his tics, but she reassures him that he must not let his condition get in the way.
An observer at the school assesses Brad's teaching, and the head teacher announces that Brad has been chosen to receive the Teacher of the Year award, which he accepts in front of his family, friends, and students.
A textual epilogue reveals that Brad got his master's degree, dressed up as the Atlanta Braves' mascot, and married Nancy in 2006.
The script was adapted from the book by Brad Cohen, and the movie was directed by Peter Werner. [3] Production was in Shreveport, Louisiana. [4]
Following his 2006 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2007 Cohen spoke at a conference after Timothy Shriver of the Special Olympics. According to Shriver, "The audience 'was laughing, then crying, then laughing, then crying, then cheering, and at the end, they gave him a huge standing ovation.'" [1] Shriver suggested the movie to Cohen and became the executive producer one year later.
To portray Cohen's tics accurately, Wolk and Kay viewed videotapes and worked with a dialect coach, [5] describing their preparation as a "Tourette's boot camp". [6] Cohen said the portrayal of his tics is "very, very authentic". [7] Heaton, the mother of four children, was attracted to the script because she related to the strong mother: "Finally, she went to the library herself—as mothers will do to fight to the end for their kids and find out what's wrong—and realized he had Tourettes," Heaton explained. [8]
Although tics steadily decline for most children as they pass through adolescence, [9] [10] Cohen still has frequent and loud vocal tics and barking. He joked: "I'm hoping I don't get kicked out of my own movie." [7]
The movie was released on DVD in January 2009. A signed copy by author Brad Cohen was also released on DVD.
Cohen was concerned that the movie should stay truthful and avoid sensationalizing Tourette syndrome. He was pleased with the overall result, although he noted some dates in his life were sped up for effect (for example, the date of his wedding). [1]
Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. These are typically preceded by an unwanted urge or sensation in the affected muscles known as a premonitory urge, can sometimes be suppressed temporarily, and characteristically change in location, strength, and frequency. Tourette's is at the more severe end of a spectrum of tic disorders. The tics often go unnoticed by casual observers.
Dashiell Raymond Mihok is an American actor and director known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama series Ray Donovan.
A tic is a sudden and repetitive motor movement or vocalization that is not rhythmic and involves discrete muscle groups. It is typically brief and may resemble a normal behavioral characteristic or gesture.
Patricia Helen Heaton is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the ABC drama series, Thirtysomething (1989–1991), and later appearing in the comedy films Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Beethoven. Heaton went on to star in the short-lived sitcoms Room for Two (1992–93), Someone Like Me (1994) and Women of the House (1995) before landing the role of Debra Barone in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005).
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is a diagnosis for a subset of children with rapid onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or tic disorders. Symptoms are proposed to be caused by group A streptococcal (GAS), and more specifically, group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infections. OCD and tic disorders are hypothesized to arise in a subset of children as a result of a post-streptococcal autoimmune process. The proposed link between infection and these disorders is that an autoimmune reaction to infection produces antibodies that interfere with basal ganglia function, causing symptom exacerbations, and this autoimmune response results in a broad range of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette was a French neurologist and the namesake of Tourette syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics. His main contributions in medicine were in the fields of hypnotism and hysteria.
Societal and cultural aspects of Tourette syndrome include legal advocacy and health insurance issues, awareness of notable individuals with Tourette syndrome, and treatment of TS in the media and popular culture.
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence, characterized by the presence of motor and phonic tics. The management of Tourette syndrome has the goal of managing symptoms to achieve optimum functioning, rather than eliminating symptoms; not all persons with Tourette's require treatment, and there is no cure or universally effective medication. Explanation and reassurance alone are often sufficient treatment; education is an important part of any treatment plan.
Causes and origins of Tourette syndrome have not been fully elucidated. Tourette syndrome is an inherited neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence, characterized by the presence of multiple motor tics and at least one phonic tic, which characteristically wax and wane. Tourette's syndrome occurs along a spectrum of tic disorders, which includes transient tics and chronic tics.
Brad Cohen is an American motivational speaker, teacher, school administrator, and author who has severe Tourette syndrome (TS). Cohen described his experiences growing up with the condition in his 2005 book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored with Lisa Wysocky. The book has been made into a 2008 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie titled Front of the Class, and adapted into a hit 2018 Bollywood film Hichki.
Arthur K. Shapiro, M.D., was an American psychiatrist and expert on Tourette syndrome. His "contributions to the understanding of Tourette syndrome completely changed the prevailing view of this disorder"; he has been described as "the father of modern tic disorder research" and is "revered by his colleagues as the first dean of modern Tourette syndrome researchers".
Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, and actor. He was the bandleader on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–94).
Tourette syndrome (TS) is an inherited neurological disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence, characterized by the presence of multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic.
The Tic Code is a drama film directed by Gary Winick and written by Polly Draper. It tells of a single mother, the relationship she forms with a jazz musician who has Tourette syndrome, and her young son—a piano prodigy—also with the disorder. The musician and the boy form a friendship, and the film is loosely based upon the experiences of Draper's jazz musician husband Michael Wolff, who provided the film's score. Draper, known for her role in Thirtysomething, portrays the mother; Gregory Hines plays the musician; and Christopher George Marquette stars as the young boy.
Phoebe in Wonderland is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Daniel Barnz. It stars Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Elle Fanning, Campbell Scott, and Bill Pullman.
James Joseph Wolk is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the CBS comedy series The Crazy Ones (2013–2014), the AMC period drama series Mad Men (2013–2014), the CBS drama thriller series Zoo (2015–2017), the CBS All Access psychological thriller series Tell Me a Story (2018–2019), and the HBO superhero limited series Watchmen (2019).
Tic Talk: Living with Tourette Syndrome is a children's non-fiction book written by Dylan Peters, a nine-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome (TS). In this personal narrative, Peters gives a timeline of events from his TS diagnosis to when he tells his friends and classmates he has TS.
Donald Jay Cohen was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and director of the Yale Child Study Center and the Sterling Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Yale School of Medicine. According to the New York Times, he was "known for his scientific work, including fundamental contributions to the understanding of autism, Tourette's syndrome and other illnesses, and for his leadership in bringing together the biological and the psychological approaches to understanding psychiatric disorders in childhood"; his work "reshaped the field of child psychiatry". He was also known as an advocate for social policy, and for his work to promote the interests of children exposed to violence and trauma.
James Frederick Leckman is an American child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and the Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine, recognized for his research in Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).
Hichki is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra and produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the former's banner of Yash Raj Films. Based on American motivational speaker Brad Cohen's autobiography Front of the Class, it stars Rani Mukerji in her comeback appearance as Naina Mathur, an aspiring teacher who was rejected by many schools because of her Tourette syndrome until she is accepted at the St. Notker's School, her alma mater. She is assigned to teach students from a nearby slum in the class 9F, which was created by the Government of India to fill a quota for the underprivileged.