Portrayal of autistic people in films/TV

Have you seen "As we see it" - it is available on amazon prime in the uk. About some autistic flatmates who have a support worker who comes in. The three main actors are all autistic.

Yes exactly this.

As the parent of an ASD teen, I saw the advert … and my toes curled so far back I almost had to go to A&E

Completely disagree. Its often based on the the very real life and long term experiences of someone who has been in relationship with a man with autism.

And tbf, often the OP will reply, ' yes he does have autism' or 'he has said he thinks he has autism.'

There would be a much better understanding of autism, if the experiences of partners of autistic people were studied, instead of us being dismissed. We have deep knowledge of how autism plays our in complex real world relationships.

I am NT but DH and DD arent, although its not very noticeable in either of them unless you know them well so I am in no way an expert
I DID like the portrayal of Patience in the TV detective series of the same name. She made mistakes, was able and wanted to have social interaction but just found some things difficult and got overwhelmed at times. I think the actress playing the lead is actually ND

Sheldon is very clearly meant to be autistic.

YABU and YANBU.

YANBU about the hyper intelligence. Bar one, the autistic people I know have normal 'academic' intelligence. Some have poor social intelligence and poor common sense. I get tired of this narrative that autistic are geniuses and high acheivers. The people I know if in reality often have real barriers caused by their autism to professional success and advancement.

But in the programmes I see the autistic men in relationships are better than my real life experiences of being in a relationship with an autistic man (and that of other women I know).

In reality, Sheldon from BBT would be an intolerable partner, husband and Father. Not even Amy could survive it. They have softened his character to make him more likeable.

Really interesting thread, lots of insights.

Did anyone watch the comedy about the writer who discovers he has an adult son in Australia?

The son is autistic and played by an autistic actor. We very much enjoyed it, and there was good content about vulnerability and how people with autism are perceived.

The writer is portrayed as an arse, too.

Totally agree and there's no reason at all that an autistic actor should only play characters who are autistic. No one becomes an actor to only play themselves.

There are a couple of autistic characters in Eastenders. Olly and Kojo. The actor who plays Barney is autistic but it has not been mentioned about the character being autistic too.
If you have met one person with autism you have met one person with autism. That is going to apply to the portrayals on TV too.

Watch all the C4 seasons of ‘Astrid’, the terrific French crime series which ‘Patience’ copied so sketchily. Consider which of these representations of neurodivergence mistreated that theme, and as good as proposed that autism can be simply be encouraged out of a person, so that pretty soon they are snogging passing blokes like any other modern gal. Result!
(I’m a devoted ‘Astrid’ fan, and I thought ‘Patience’ was a flipping disgrace. Possibly owing to major investment for US audiences, who might be squeamish about seeing a pretty young blonde not fulfilling her statutory rôle? Gah. Dunno about ND, but a series dealing with easily infuriated old dears like me might be a winner)

There's also Elle Woods from Legally Blonde - lots of stuff online about that film!

I think this is almost impossible to do, given the nature of news and social media. Even if they strived to make it clear they weren't representing anyone, the only place they could do that is in an interview or press release which not everyone would see (especially on shows that are around for years) and which would be reported on selectively, misquoted, whipped up and used for whatever agenda others wanted to push. Nuance gets lost. Clarity gets clouded. All you can do is try to make a good show, which is hard enough within the system, and then hope it has a life and connects with at least some of the audience. To make statements outside of that, to try to manage how it's perceived by saying what you mean to say, is fraught with difficulties. Meaning is an agreement between the reader and the text after all, and even if the programme makers say "It's about X", it's perfectly possible - and probable - for some viewers to say they got the opposite from it. On balance, the better option is to not give a character a diagnosis if it's not central to the story, and let people drawn their own varied conclusions. You only need to look at the ever-raging debates on Doctor Who forums to see that there is no way to satisfy the myriad desires of audiences, especially those with a high prevalence of autism who often have strong views.

Definitely.

I also wonder whether the producers 'reluctance' to say that the character is Autistic is because the character is, separately, a total arse and they perhaps didn't want arsehole character to equal Autistic.

I think Sheldon is probably autistic and, separately, a pain.

His difficulty reading people, his like for order and routine, the fact he can't throw things away, his difficulty with jokes, his rigid thinking, surely all indicate some level of ND thinking.

His control and manipulation of others is separate.

Sheldon isn’t autistic. He’s just a pain in the arse!

As long as your not saying autism is a difference for everyone, just to clarify?

Exactly! If for some people it has such an effect on their ability to manage that it is a disorder, why is 'autism' without any differentiation an umbrella term for such a massive range of effects,?

Years ago ds would probably have been diagnosed with Aspergers. His experience of autism is so utterly different to that of an autistic adolescent who will never be able to live independently. There is overlap of course, but the effect autism has on his life is utterly different.

It's like saying that if two people have lifelong consequences from cauda equina, they are assumed to have the same needs. Because they've both had cauda equina. But one has mild dropped foot which requires a little extra support and attention, while the other is paralysed and doubly incontinent. Both are equally valid people. Both are equally valid conditions. But different.

Okay I am now realizing every program I like, I like for this reason.

Parks and Recreation (almost everyone, except Anne and Jerry, Andy is more ADHD) and I think it’s a really good example of a range of different ND personalities. Also Brooklyn 99 - Captain Holt, Rosa and Amy, Jake is ADHD.

There’s Erin in Jamie Johnson FC. She’s autistic and has a quirky friendship with Mason that is cute and funny to watch. It’s not the whole point of the show, just a feature. It’s a kids’ drama on CBBC about young footballers in an academy, and Erin is a great footballer who does well over the season.

As long as your not saying autism is a difference for everyone, just to clarify?

Seems to me BBT did the right thing not pinning it down - Sheldon is Sheldon, some people relate to him, others don't, but as long as they're specific to him, they can't 'get it wrong'. Just as you can't get it wrong defining your own experience. But as soon as a character is set up to represent a demographic, then the issues will arise.

Entirely agree.

Whenever 19yo ds discloses his autism he always includes 'high-functioning'. Otherwise, in his experience, people talk down to him and treat him excessively carefully. Treat him according to some generic model of autism.

Ds describes himself as high-functioning because he can navigate day-to-day life with minimal support, and that needs to be recognised.

He likes BBT and Sheldon for exactly that reason. He does not see himself represented in Sheldon, but he can relate to Sheldon. I don't think ds has ever seen a portrayal that he feels represents him, but that could be his autism: he is himself and complete as he is - nobody could portray him unless they were acting him.

We do not use ASD at home or in relation to ds. Autism is not a disorder. It is a difference. Again, BBT does not portray an individual with a disorder; it portrays an individual with a difference. Several individuals with differences, just Sheldon is the most different.

Sheldon holds down a good job, has friends, navigates life with minimal support and is often happy. What more could you want for your child - any child, ND or NT?

I kinda understand what you're saying but really it's the other way around. The PUBLIC identifies the stereotypical ones. The writers identify neither Sheldon nor Bones nor Elsa nor Belle as autistic.

This thread has me wondering about the push to include more diverse characters in tv where the diversity isn't the plot. Like a movie that features a person in a wheelchair that isn't about the Wheelchair. People that are gay where the gayness isn't the point (My Best Friends Wedding kind of necessary gay).

If autism is central to the plot, it's going to be recognisable but seen as a handicap (Rain Men) or maybe as a superpower (genius movies). Both of these are frustrating to some real life autistic people.
If autism is central to the character but not the plot, it's not recognized as autism: Elsa, D'arcy, Belle, the inventor grandfather who makes the costumes,...
If the autism is masked and the story isn't about the inner life of the character, you won't see it at all.
If the story of about the inner life, you're back to autism being central to the plot!

So I think movies can't illuminate well what people can't see in real life.