To wish that, just for once, there would be a programme made about low functioning autistic people?

[SharkiraSharkira]

I admit this is a sensitive subject for me as I have a 'low functioning' autistic child but....

I think it's great that ASD is becoming more well known and more understood, so to speak. People know more about it, are willing to talk about it. They are happier to portray it in TV and movies. This is all good as it gives the condition more exposure.

However. It always seems to be the same kind of autism portrayed. The high functioning ones. The ones who are savants or gifted at something. The ones who can have relationships, jobs, and live independently. This was all triggered by an advert for a new drama I saw who's main character is a brilliant doctor/surgeon who happens to be autistic.

But I can't recall ever seeing a programme or film (admittedly I haven't seen them all) that shows the other side of autism. The ones who headbang or are incontinent. The ones who cannot live independently or have a job, ever.

I'm not saying that programmes about higher functioning ASD are bad, just that it would be nice to see on screen a situation/person that relates to ASD that is vaguely familiar. So many of them, as a parent of someone who is severely affected, just don't resemble my experience at all. They may as well be different conditions entirely.

Aibu to wish that for once producers/filmmakers etc would show the other side of autism?

[WhoWants2Know]

I do think there is space to show some of what people and their parents or carers go through on a daily basis.

The mind-bending that occurrs when you try to understand an autistic person's behaviour or anticipate their reactions is sometimes funny and sometimes almost torturing.

[Kokeshi123]

I think it's very difficult to please everyone. If a program about someone with low functioning autism were produced, you would almost certainly find other people objecting to that because "it portrays autism in a simplistic and negative light, what about all the people with high functioning autism" etc.

I do feel your frustration, however, OP, as it must be a very hard situation to deal with.

[MrsOverTheRoad]

Toffee there's actually a youtuber...a Mother of an adult son who is low functioning and she documents almost everything. Also Louis Theroux did Extreme Love about parenting a child with low functioning Autism and he visited schools and colleges in the US for children with varying degrees on the spectrum.

[toffee1000]

Hmm fair enough then. I suppose I do still agree with the OP's point that the low-functioning children aren't featured as much as they could be. It's a bloody difficult job to achieve any kind of balance/something that'd please everybody.

[MrsOverTheRoad]

No I agree too! Expecially dramas and films.

[TheHungryDonkey]

I do see your point and I think you’re right. I actually don’t think it was helpful to do away with the Asperger diagnosis. Even then, people mistake Aspergers with savants.

I don’t like the HF label. I read parents on here saying my child is autistic and wouldn’t be allowed to behave badly in reference to another ‘hf’ child behaving in an autistic way.

But I was also horrified at some of the comments on the Legoland Facebook page last year by parents whose children have autism but lower functioning slagging off children with high functioning saying it wasn’t a proper disability and they shouldn’t be allowed any adjustments.

I could be wrong but I can’t imagine there are many other disabilities that have some kind of ‘competition’ element to it to some people.

I think whilst we’ve come a long way in a very short space of time, ultimately autism is only going to be presented at its best in drama for the time being.

That must be very frustrating for people whose autistic child isn’t represented.

[Nikephorus]

I'd like a programme that showed people more like me - who have Asperger's, and are independent & have jobs etc. but who don't have a superpower & do struggle with interacting & high anxiety, and who find life more challenging every year. But I guess that would be fairly dull viewing.
(Equally I do agree that showing autism at it's "low" extreme would be beneficial)

[Caulk]

There is a film but I can’t remember all the details. It’s anout a couple and their son, and they get a dog for him. Anyone know what I’m talking about?

[StatisticallyChallenged]

I have aspergers/hfa and totally agree with you.

Although the advert you're mentioning - the good doctor i think - makes me furious too because it's just trotting out stereotypes. It also implies autistic people in medicine are unheard of whereas several doctors I've spoken to reckoned there are many autistic docs

[Moveitgrooveit]

One of the first programmes I saw about autism was about a guy at the more severe end of the spectrum. I can't remember what it was called but he was really interested in Disney movies and watched them over and over.

I remember because we had just found out our youngest probably had autism and after watching it, dh couldn't stop crying as he saw what ds's future could look like.

Anyway... I think there are things out there if you look for them.

OP there is quite a large online community of autistic people (both considered high and low functioning, though I hate those labels) as well as a big community of parents of kids with autism. Some do day to day type blogs of their good and bad times... I find some really helpful for parenting my own children, or just for feeling that I'm not alone in some of my experiences. (Both my children are autistic, both opposite ends of the spectrum).

[JonSnowsWife]

either the super gifted high functioning genius with a specialist areas of knowledge etc or the child with very severe autism, non verbal, SLD etc.

Yes cakes. During our years of being 'in the system' and several professionals being perplexed by DS (the only thing they could agree on was that he was very immature for his age - which didnt make sense to them as his reading age at school was above average).

I've had comments such as 'he can't have ASD- he talks to me okay'. Then when CAMHs suggested he may have Aspergers I had another professional say to me "no I don't think it's that - Aspergers suggest high intelligence and clearly (name of DS) hasn't got that". I think they often forget it is a spectrum and there'll always be people in the middle of both ot those which are currently highlighted.

[JonSnowsWife]

Does the lady on The Chase have Aspergers? (DM will be appalled I can't remember her name - she's a big fan).

[NormHonal]

@Moveitgrooveit I think you mean "Life, Animated" which is a lovely, moving documentary. He does manage to live semi-independently and have a job by the end, but is lower-functioning and the OP may find it more relatable.

[DesignedForLife]

There was a TV program I saw recently that had a whole range, focused mostly on a young boy who struggled a lot. I don't know about the definitions. It was probably only aired in Wales.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-39482793/actor-richard-mylan-and-son-jaco-on-life-and-autism

[ZoeWashburne]

For a young children's show, check out Julie on Sesame Street. She was a character created by one of the puppeteers who is also a mother of someone with autism.

[SootSprite]

The thing is, like Pie said, if they did this, and showed an ASD character banging their head off the walls, licking the window or wetting themselves there would be outcry from a lot of people about the negative portrayal, not everyone with asd is like that etc etc They can’t win.

[Bearlover16]

I totally agree OP. My son is at the severe end of the spectrum. I love watching programmes like The undateables etc however is doesn't portray the impact of being high functioning.

[taratill]

Slightly off topic but I think the percentage of autistic people who are unemployed is probably artificially low. There must be an awful lot of people who are on the spectrum but have never had a diagnosis because there was no need to.

OP I agree with you. I thought the Rosie thing on the BBC was good, it was siblings one high and one low functioning. It really showed the spectrum in the contrast between the brother and sister.

[CrochetBelle]

I wonder if it's a consent issue. Would a 'low-functioning' (ugh) person be able to give informed consent to be broadcast in such a way?

[Elendon]

Have you seen the Chris Packham programme? Asperger's and Me

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/42/chris-packham-aspergers-and-me

I watched this last night. It showed how being even high functioning can have a serious and detrimental effect on people. It's well worth viewing. Chris does discuss how privileged he is and quotes that of all the disabilities, being autistic has the lowest regarding employment.

My son is high functioning in that he is able to go to mainstream school - it was a tough ride for him initially. However, he has swung from wanting a cure to noting that he is who he is and his view of the world is unique. My fear for him is that he will regress, it's always on the back of my mind.

It's a depressing but also uplifting watch. I understand how difficult it must be when your child is on the low functioning end. I would love to see a programme about that too.

[WesternMeadowlark]

YANBU. There needs to be enough representations of autism in the media that altogether they cover all the bases to a satisfactory degree. Ie. one that doesn't leave people thinking autism is all one thing or all another.

Also:

"I see where you're coming from as I often wish they'd make a programme about high functioning ASD people who are not in relationships,don't have a job,don't live independently and don't accept their diagnosis (and cause their parents a whole lot of stress and anxiety as a free extra). Who still dominate the household into
adulthood and are,at best,tricky to deal with.

Thing is,it wouldn't make uplifting viewing,rather like discussing the downside of dementia, so the ones they focus on are all resolutely positive."

This.

It's like with child abuse and school bullying. I wish there would be more media representations of adults who were abused as children full stop. But especially ones of people who've ended up with severe damage from it.

Because on the rare occasion you see any, they're usually inspiration porn. People don't want to see the damage it can do, because it makes them uncomfortable and it's depressing. And yes, there is a danger in that kind of representation of making people think it's not worth bothering to try to recover, but not if it's done well, and not if it sits alongside stories with happier endings.

It's about accurately showing the diversity of experience of these things. All one thing or all another is bad.

[WesternMeadowlark]

Also I think we're at a point where awareness of autism is changing fast. Which means that some people still think we need more portrayals of "mild" ASD, and think that that's under-represented, and others think the opposite. This often happens when an issue is in the process of coming to light.

And I think we need to try and stick together on this, rather than, as pps have said, criticising some portrayals as "making us all look bad" or whatever. More from the perspective of autistic people has got to be part of that, I think. I like to think that there would be fewer criticisms of things made from the perspective of someone with some "low-functioning" traits.

[pisacake]

"I see where you're coming from as I often wish they'd make a programme about high functioning ASD people who are not in relationships,don't have a job,don't live independently and don't accept their diagnosis (and cause their parents a whole lot of stress and anxiety as a free extra). Who still dominate the household into
adulthood and are,at best,tricky to deal with. "

Well some of 'the Undateables' are like that.

[Elendon]

My son has just had his PIP assessment. I don't want to go into detail but it was soon clear that he is vulnerable in a way that others his age wouldn't be, despite his so called 'high functioning' status.

Mean't to add that yanbu.

[Moveitgrooveit]

One thing I've heard a lot from people is that autism, in any of the forms it has, is often portrayed focussing on the negative. It always seems to be about limitations and there's not an awful lot out there celebrating the good sides. My son who is at the severe end of the spectrum has a lot of the struggles that would make someone fear their child being born with autism, however he's the absolute best kid in the world in many other ways and I share these positives more often than any negatives on social media for example. Yet I'm still told all the time "I don't know how you cope" and I feel sympathy directed at me from people more than anything else.