Shaw’s ‘Routine Interrupted’ Tells Story of Mother with Cancer and Son with Severe Autism: Portland Press Herald

Visual & Media Arts Professor Lauren Shaw’s new documentary Routine Interrupted focuses on entrepreneur and autism activist Stephanie Lay. Shaw first sought out Lay back in 2017 to secure a few cases of Maine-Tex for her daughter’s wedding.

Shaw wanted to make the documentary after being inspired by Lay’s indefatigable and unstoppable drive. The movie captures Lay’s love for her autistic son, Bryce, and her desire to grow the business she created in part for Bryce and other autistic Mainers to make a living. 

“Everybody at every state agency knew her,” Shaw said of Lay’s legendary dedication reported the Portland Press Herald. “She’d been interviewed all over local news and was working on an autobiography with a writer from the Boston Globe. And all that wasn’t because of ego – it was just because of her tenacity and belief that a single mom with an autistic son, with the help of a community, could raise an incredible kid.”

Read more about Shaw’s documentary on the Portland Press Herald.