The Netflix documentary “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World,” follows the powerful journey of Makayla Cain, a 14-year-old who has a rare form of autism that has led to her being uncommunicative during much of her childhood years.  But after being introduced to letter board therapy, Makayla and her family are able to witness an inspiring breakthrough.  Makayla’s parents, Mañana Cain and DJ Needlz, recently shared thoughts on the project with ADW.  Before we dive into discussing your documentary, let’s touch on your music career. You’ve made a name for yourself in the music world, but how did you first get involved in music, and what was it like to experience that early success? DJ Needlz  Music was always a part of my life growing up. My father was a jazz and blues audiophile, so I was surrounded by great music at home. I started DJing in high school and later in college, which eventually led me to producing music when I moved to New York in the early 2000s. I knew I wanted to be involved in music, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. I went to NYU for grad school, and as part of the curriculum, I had to do an internship. I ended up working for Bad Boy Records for a while, where they discovered my beats and started sending them out. That opened the door to working with big names early in my career. I started with rap, but eventually branched into pop music as well. That’s an incredible journey. Now, your documentary has been receiving a lot of praise, with some even calling it Oscar-worthy. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it and why you felt the need to capture this moment on film? DJ Needlz For me, it felt like witnessing a miracle. Our daughter, Makayla, hadn’t communicated her whole life until she was 14, when my wife discovered letter boarding as a way for her to express herself. It was such a transformative moment for our family, and I felt compelled to capture it. We had a director in mind—someone we’d worked with before—and we were excited to bring this story to life. This was actually our second film with him. The first was supposed to focus on my career, but it ended up being about Michaela’s journey and our search for services that could support her. This film really highlights Makayla’s voice, and I think that’s what makes it so powerful—about 80-90% of the film is made up of Makayla own words and thoughts. In the film, we see Makayla’s incredible talent as a writer. Can you describe those breakthrough moments when you first realized she was able to communicate in this new way? How did that change your family? DJ Needlz I have to give credit to my wife for discovering the letter boarding method. She had been trying it for a while before I truly understood its potential. At first, I thought it was just an awkward process where Michaela would read long passages and answer questions. But one day, we went to a session and Makayla said, “Hi, Dad.” That moment really hit me. It was the first time she was directly communicating with me, and from there, it just kept progressing. Roxy, who is featured in the film, worked with Makayla at home to build her communication skills. It was amazing to see Michaela’s confidence grow as she started expressing herself more clearly through writing. This documentary has the potential to inspire so many families facing similar challenges. What do you hope people take away from it? Mañana Cain The main message is empathy. Just because someone doesn’t communicate the way most people do doesn’t mean they aren’t intelligent or capable of having their own dreams and goals. One of the most powerful moments in the film is when Makayla talks about how people assume she’s dumb just because she can’t speak. For children on the spectrum, that’s a huge issue. We want to show the world that they matter, that they have a voice, and that they are brilliant. My hope is that this film encourages parents to dig deeper and never give up on their child, especially when it comes to finding alternative forms of communication. The letter boarding method, known as RPM (Rapid Prompting Method), still isn’t widely recognized by institutions like the Speech and Hearing Association, so there’s a lot of barriers within the autism community. I hope this film helps to open people’s minds and get them to reconsider how we approach communication for non-speaking children. The film has already garnered significant recognition, with awards from the Atlanta Film Festival, Tribeca, and Hot Springs. How have people been responding to it on the festival circuit? Mañana Cain The reactions have been incredible. We’ve heard from so many parents who feel hopeful after seeing Makayla’s story. Some have been using letter boarding with their children and are just thrilled that someone is finally talking about it. Others are curious and want to try it with their kids who haven’t been able to communicate verbally. The film has been doing exactly what we hoped it would: raising awareness and shifting perspectives. Even people who don’t have ties to autism have told us it gave them a new sense of compassion and understanding. It’s been overwhelming in the best way. It sounds like the journey has already been a huge success, regardless of the nomination. What’s next for you and your family? Mañana Cain Honestly, everything that’s happened has felt like it’s been guided by a higher power. We went into this project with pure passion, not expecting anything in return, just wanting to share Makayla’s story and raise awareness for her nonprofit. Any recognition we get is just icing on the cake. We’re grateful for how far the film has come, and we’ll keep pushing to get it in front of as many people as possible. We just want people to see the world through Makayla’s eyes and understand that every child, no matter how they communicate, deserves to be seen and heard. The post Exclusive: How Netflix Doc ‘Makayla’s Voice’ Details Powerful Journey Of Non-Verbal Teen With Autism appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.