Six-year-old Alden Nicholson can't tell you how much he loves skiing. But in the opening scene of "Dragon Mom," a new short documentary, his wide grin says it for him as he coasts down a Vermont slope in an adaptive sit-ski, his mother Laura Will controlling the speed from behind.

Alden has polymicrogyria, a severe brain malformation diagnosed when he was just 4 months old. It limits his ability to speak, move and swallow, and it limits his life expectancy too. Will, a Concord resident and member of the town's Commission on Disability, has spent years making sure that diagnosis doesn't define what her son gets to experience. "He deserves to fly down the hill in a sit-ski with his sister if that's what he loves," Will says in the film.

The 20-minute documentary, directed by Harrison Buck, a longtime friend of Will's, took six weeks to film. Buck skied alongside mother and son with a handheld camera, supplementing with drone and GoPro footage, determined to capture what he called Alden's "grunts and squeals and general enthusiasm" — the kind of thing you can only catch by being right there on the slope with him. The film also follows Alden communicating through an assistive device, playing with his dog Buoy, and navigating a playground, with appearances from his father Dave and two siblings.

Will's advocacy runs through everyday life too. She's pushed for Alden's inclusion in kindergarten field trips and regular school activities in Concord, building on an earlier campaign for more accessible playground design at Thoreau Elementary School. The family moved to Concord specifically for its integrated learning programs when Alden was 3. Will, a former geriatric nurse practitioner, now works part-time as a story curator for Courageous Parents Network, supporting other caregivers of medically complex children — and she prefers the term "special rights" over "special needs," using person-first language whenever she talks about her son.

"Dragon Mom" won the Jury Award for Best Short Documentary at the Vero Beach Film Festival in April, and has since screened at the Wasatch Mountain Film Festival and the Lighthouse International Film Festival, with a spot secured at the Adaptive Adventure Film Festival in New Zealand.

Concord residents can catch it locally at the Umbrella Arts Center, 40 Stow Street, on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m.