By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Tuesday, April 07, 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For Tyler Sansom, ministry has never fit neatly into one box.

He’s a pastor, a filmmaker, and a digital missionary who built an online church years before COVID-19 made livestream services commonplace. He’s also deeply involved in outreach, from rescuing victims of slavery in Pakistan to ministering to those affected by disability.

And now, the 33-year-old husband and father is helping tell a story he believes Hollywood has largely ignored.

Sansom is one of the creative forces behind “Learning You,” a heartfelt road-trip drama inspired by true events that follows a struggling father who impulsively takes his autistic son on a Christmas journey across the American heartland after facing pressure to surrender parental rights.

The film centers on Ty Smith, a once-successful architect whose life has unraveled after divorce, career setbacks and the institutionalization of his son, Elijah. What begins as desperation slowly becomes rediscovery of connection and hope.

During a sit-down interview with The Christian Post in Nashville, Tennessee, Sansom said the decision to start the story in a place of deep brokenness was intentional.

“Authenticity mattered,” he said. “When we interviewed families during research, the common theme was they were tired of Hollywood wrapping everything up with a nice bow, the autistic kid becomes a concert pianist or a mathematical genius. For most families, that’s not reality.”

Instead, the film, starring John Wells, Stacy Haiduk, Caleb Milby, Daniel Roebuck and Read Choi, depicts the daily challenges of profound autism: sensory overload, emotional meltdowns, isolation and exhaustion.

“One in every 36 kids is somewhere on the spectrum. One in every 200 is profoundly autistic, and the divorce rates are absurdly high,” Sansom said. “We wanted to shine a light on that. There are a whole lot of moms and dads in America right now who feel invisible.”

Sansom grew up in southern Indiana, across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, and dreamed of making movies as a child. He studied filmmaking but pivoted into full-time ministry after college.

Early in his pastoral career, Sansom embraced digital outreach, long before it became standard.

“I was a full-time online pastor about six years before COVID,” he said. “We built a network of publishers and branded content, and it’s been a wild ride.”

Eventually, his church decided to try making a movie together.

“Our first one was terrible,” Sansom said with a laugh. “But the last few have been nationwide.”

He spoke to CP while attending the annual gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, where he was nominated for “Best Director/Producer and Best Director” at the Crown Awards.

Sansom said the project also transformed his own congregation. While his church already hosted a thriving adult special-needs ministry, it lacked resources for younger children, but the film sparked change.

“We’ve had 50 to 60 adults meeting every week for worship who have special needs,” he said. “But nothing for kids. Now we have a sensory room, trained workers, and we’ve had direct communication with families. The awareness changed everything.”

According to the pastor, the response from parents has been overwhelming. The filmmakers created a “Stories” section on their website where viewers can share reactions, and messages began pouring in.

“Finally, somebody understands,” Sansom said, summarizing common feedback. “People tell us, ‘Now I can show this to my friends and family so they understand why I can’t just go to dinner or the grocery store.’ The autism community has really rallied around this in a way I hoped for but never expected.”

“I would challenge church leaders to sit down with these families and learn their story,” he said. “Every single family we talked to had a completely different experience. You can’t build meaningful support until you take time to learn who they are.”

The film’s title, “Learning You,” reflects that philosophy.

“Relationships die when we stop learning from one another,” Sansom said. “I’m still learning from my wife every day. Churches and families drift apart because they stop learning from each other.”

Though Sansom is not raising a child with special needs, he said adoption taught him the power of reframing hardship. In 2020, he and his wife adopted a teenage girl, Leigh Ann, just nine years his junior, and are now grandparents. 

“I don’t have a child with special needs, but I understand non-traditional families,” he said. 

His family developed a phrase, “apple pie," as shorthand for calling a meeting when someone began writing negative narratives in their own head.

“It’s easy to create stories like, ‘Why did God give me this?’ when there’s sensory overload or emotional outbursts,” he said. “But if you can reframe that, it changes everything.”

Ultimately, Sansom says the movie is about visibility and hope, and, of course, the power of fatherhood.

“When I read the script, I realized this isn’t just about a dad and his son,” he said. “It’s a picture of how our Father in Heaven treats us. We all act out. We all fall short. And yet God keeps showing up like this broken dad who still does everything he can to love his child.”

Beyond filmmaking, Sansom now leads a regional initiative called ACT, focused on supporting caregivers through training events, practical resources and community connections, from navigating Medicaid to understanding school systems.

All of the film’s proceeds, he said, will go to that initiative to help launch similar programs nationwide.

“We’ve even hosted comedy nights just for parents and caregivers,” Sansom said, recalling an event that drew more than 1,200 people. “These families need rest. They need laughter. They need community.”

“Healing doesn’t always come in big miracles,” he said. “Sometimes it’s small moments. But those moments matter.”

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