'Swim Team' follows teens with autism finding joy and acceptance in the water

— -- When Mike and Maria McQuay founded the Jersey Hammerheads swim team, their aim was to give their son Mikey, who has autism, an opportunity to be competitive and be part of a team.

Now the team, coaches and members are the focus of a recently released documentary by director-producer Lara Stolman, titled "Swim Team."

Stolman started filming in 2014, after coming across the Hammerheads as she sought swim lessons for her own children. She and her crew began shooting on the first day of practice.

The film follows the McQuays and Mikey, who was then 17, along with other swimmers at the Hammerheads' nascency.

"I was immediately struck by the energy and optimism of the families that were coming together to form the team," Stolman said in a news release about the film. "With the Hammerheads families, I had found a group of parents who refused to take no for an answer. They were saying YES, and as a community, it was galvanizing for them. As a mother, I was so personally inspired by what they hoped to accomplish, I knew I had to share their story."

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The Hammerheads consist of a competitive group of about 13 teenagers and young adults from various cultures and backgrounds. Yet they all share one commonality: They are all on the autism spectrum.

Mike and Maria McQuay, who started the team in 2014 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, both coach with help from other parents and residents. Practice is held biweekly at a local YMCA.

"At one time or another, all our kids have been ostracized," Mike McQuay says in the film. "And for them to be a part of a team is unbelievable."

Mike McQuay said the purpose of the team was to just get the teens having fun and socializing.

"The goals are to get these kids in the water, let the parents know that these kids can do something. I mean, the kids are gonna have a good time whether they're good, they're bad, they come in first, they come in last," he says in the film. "It's the parents seeing that their kids can do something and socializing with other kids that are special needs -- that's a big thing for us."

The film, which was released in theaters today in New York, will open in select theaters at later dates. It will debut on the PBS television series "POV" Oct. 2, 2017. For more information, click here.