Health Beyond the Blog: “Out of My Mind”

Disability Representation for All Ages in Disney+ Film

by Harleigh Markowitz

Out of My Mind is a 2024 coming-of-age film about Melody Brooks, a charismatic sixth grader with cerebral palsy. She is determined to show the world that, despite being nonverbal and needing assistive technology to communicate, she deserves to be heard. Out of My Mind was produced by Dan Angel and was adapted from the 2010 best-selling novel by Sharon M. Draper. The film stars Phoebe Rae-Taylor, a teenage actress and disability advocate who has cerebral palsy herself. 

Melody Brooks is an exceptionally bright sixth grader. She prefers to spend her free time reading, watching documentaries, visiting museums with her parents, and studying the night sky with her telescope. Melody’s intellectual capabilities are greatly underappreciated because she is nonverbal, despite her sharp mental acuity and love for learning. Dr. Ray, a teaching fellow visiting Melody’s class, recommends that Melody start attending school in a mainstream classroom, away from the mixed-grade special education classroom reading the same books and learning the same material year after year. Melody is thrilled to finally attend school like a “normal” twelve-year-old, but, upon joining Mr. Dimming’s sixth-grade class, she is met with rude and patronizing comments from her teachers and classmates. Melody is later able to prove to her teacher and classmates that she deserves to be heard, with the help of a Medi-Talker device that allows Melody to communicate, a pair of sparkly sneakers from her neighbor, and a pep talk from Dr. Ray.

Out of My Mind explores themes relating to disability representation, accessibility, friendship, compassion, and self-advocacy. Disability justice is a cornerstone of health equity, and this film does a fantastic job of discussing these themes in a way that a young audience can easily understand. I can envision the film being used as a teaching tool for lessons related to disability and accessibility for elementary and middle school audiences. Additionally, the film serves as a reminder of the importance of kindness, empathy, and inclusivity.

Out of My Mind premiered in January 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival and became available for streaming on Disney+ this past November. You can watch Out of My Mind here.