Movies/Documentaries
The Cake Eaters Only theatrical movie that mentions Ataxia (the disease). Not that good of a movie though. A teenager living with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), as she pursues love and independence while two interconnected families cope with grief, relationships, and difficult changes.
Rating: R
Year: 2007 (theatrical release: 2009)
Run Time: 1 hr 26 min
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act tells the story of the decades-long disability rights movement and the activists whose fight for equality and accessibility led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Ace (ADA) in 1990.
Rating: TV-PG
Year: 2025
Run Time: 53 min
The Big C follows Minneapolis teacher Cathy Jamison as a terminal cancer diagnosis pushes her to rethink her relationships, priorities, and how she wants to live the time she has left.
Rating: TV-MA
Year: 2010–2013
Run Time: ~28–30 min per episode (final season episodes are longer)
Seasons: 4 | Episodes: 40
For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign follows Brian Wallach and his wife, Sandra Abrevaya, after Brian is diagnosed with ALS, as they transform their personal fight into a national movement for ALS advocacy, research, and healthcare reform.
Rating: Not Rated (NR), but appropriate for age 13+ to watch
Year: 2022 (widely released on Prime Video in 2024)
Run Time: 1 hr 23 min
Not Going Quietly follows disability and healthcare activist Ady Barkan after his ALS diagnosis turns his personal fight into a national movement advocating for healthcare reform.
Rating: Not Rated (NR), but appropriate for age 13+ to watch
Year: 2021
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min
So Much So Fast follows Stephen Heywood after he is diagnosed with ALS and his family’s urgent effort to find a treatment while navigating the profound changes the disease brings to their lives.
Rating: Not Rated (NR), but appropriate for age 13+ to watch
Year: 2006
Run Time: 1 hr 27 min