When Owen Suskind was three years old he stopped talking.The diagnosis was regressive autism, which can halt ordinary development. He didn't speak but watched Disney movies as often as his parents would allow.On his brother's ninth birthday the birthday boy began to cry. Owen blurted out: "Walter doesn't want to grow up...like Mowgli or Peter Pan."He had spoken a complex sentence, showing insight his parents didn't think he had. Owen, now an adult, features in the documentary Life Animated, which was released this week in the US.Progress for Owen was slow and he attended a special-needs school. Eventually his therapists used what they called Disney therapy - using cartoon characters, songs and ideas to communicate with him. Owen taught himself to read using the movie credits and drew pictures of Disney characters before he could write.Occupational therapist Romy Kruger, who works with patients who have autism, said: "This case of the child [speaking using Disney characters] is very rare and extreme. [But] within every person with autism there is something the person identifies with. We use this to help enter their world."Initially, therapy was intended to get an autistic child to join "our" world, said Kruger. "[But] now we try to enter the child's world and build a relationship."The collaboration director of the Autistic Strategies Network Tania Melnyczuk said: "I have heard of children who find it easier to learn from animated characters. Some education computer programmes use animated characters rather than humans for autistic children."Part of the reason it works better is it kind of takes pressure off watching facial expressions when you are trying to learn to speak," she said.Melnyczuk, who is autistic, said a love of fantasy - be it animated movies or video games - is common in autistic people, many of whom have great difficulties with normal social interaction...