After Thomas

After Thomas
Directed by	Simon Shore
Produced by	Beryl Vertue Elaine Cameron
Written by	Lindsey Hill
Starring	Keeley Hawes Ben Miles Andrew Byrne Sheila Hancock Duncan Preston
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

After Thomas is a one-off drama, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2006, on ITV. It was produced by Beryl Vertue and Elaine Cameron, directed by Simon Shore, and written by Lindsey Hill. It stars Keeley Hawes (Spooks, Under the Greenwood Tree, Tipping the Velvet, Ashes to Ashes), Ben Miles (Coupling, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga), Andrew Byrne, Sheila Hancock and Duncan Preston.

The book, A Friend Like Henry, by Nuala Gardner, which was about her autistic son Dale and their struggle to cope with obstacles that comes with having an autistic child, followed the film. In his dog, Henry, Dale finds a true friend and a teacher. Moviemail called After Thomas "gritty, warm and funny, but above all else is a realistic insight into every parent’s worst nightmare."

Kyle Graham (Andrew Byrne) is scared. Not of monsters under the bed like any average six-year-old but of everything. Normal, everyday activities prove terrifying to him. He can’t communicate his fears or share them with friends, because he can’t use language and he has no friends. Kyle has autism, a condition it took his parents two desperate years to get diagnosed. So his day consists of endless traumas and tantrums… and unimaginable stress for his mother Nicola (Keeley Hawes).

Nicola knows that the one thing Kyle wants is to be left alone, safe and secure in his autistic world. But she also knows that if she grants her son this wish, he will have no future. Her fierce determination to break into Kyle’s world at any cost has placed an intolerable strain on her marriage. Her husband Rob (Ben Miles), although equally unbending in his love for his son, is frustrated by Nicola’s relentless challenging of Kyle. Not to mention the loss of the carefree life he and Nicola once had.

...
Wikipedia