Misunderstood Minds

Misunderstood Minds is a captivating documentary that unreels like a topnotch drama--you'll be on the edge of your seat while having a series of "aha" moments. The 90-minute production spends three years following five families with children who struggle with learning disabilities. One high-achieving boy's strong memory masks his inability to read; the parents of a middle-school girl who has trouble focusing resist the solution (drugs). Not every story is a clear success, and one Boston teen slips through the cracks. The learning-problem experts and teachers do a superb job making a complex subject (children have "expressive language deficiency" or an "output problem") entirely understandable. Directed and produced by Frontline filmmaker Michael Kirk and narrated by Nightline correspondent Chris Bury, the show is powerful as it trains the lens on these quotable kids and their often-heartbreaking journey.