Vanish Supporting Autism Advert

[Tealsofa]

I don't normally watch terrestrial TV, but watching the voyage of the dawn treader on C4, and the advert for vanish keeps coming up.

It looks like a deep meaningful maybe a charity or awareness advert, and then it's "vanish" a cleaning product

My ds (autistic) was also wtf about it

Yep that got me right in the feelings. My teenage DD (good but genius at maths and drawing) has had very similar meltdowns around being late for school, noise, needs to miss lessons and come home early at times. Autistic and has ADHD, so this advert story felt very real. The performances were all very natural so it makes sense they are a real family. It is a good thing the advert exists, of course it does not reflect a universal autistic experience as that does not exist. It resonates with me and I may ask DD if she has seen it, what she thinks of it. So thank you op for alerting me to its existence.

In what way have they been exploited? Are you suggesting they weren't able to make an informed decision? You'd never be able to compress the totality of someone's experiences into 3.5 minutes, do you think it's better if the media or companies never give it a platform?

You were braver than me in your comment, and ultimately for me whichever ‘type’ of autism is shown the fact that it was an advert would still be where I draw the line, but I wanted to say how well you expressed that.

They can still choose what to show though. That’s the point of art.
Could’ve not involved siblings at all? Could have shown both my DC - one’s meltdown really unsettles the other, and the room for compromise is tiiiny because well they’re both autistic? And it touches a nerve because my second girl was diagnosed later - she tried to so hard to mask to give way for her sibling but ultimately it didn’t work.

It’s clear that the ad has worked because it’s generating conversation. For some, it shows their life and that’s fine. For others, some details are a bit off.

You can’t tell people what to think.

I think whether it has been successful or not depends on what the advertisers were setting out to do. If it is to raise awareness of what life is like for some families of autistic girls - a section who have been largely overlooked until now due to their girls' ability to mask - and to get us talking about it then it has succeeded.

Yes its purpose is also to raise the profile of their product, but imo it can be both things and serve both purposes.

But yes, I mean I suppose they could have just found a tiktoker with 2 million followers and no obvious link to the product to lie about how great it is. That would have been much easier for them. But I for one am glad they chose to do this, and to do it responsibly, sensitively and with expert advice. There's too little of this sense of wanting to raise awareness around. And autism in girls is a woefully overlooked area of research and has been for many many years. It's a good start I think.

Why is that ‘powerful’ and not just ‘easy’ @PippaF2 ?

@Floralsquirrel

In what way have they been exploited? Are you suggesting they weren't able to make an informed decision?

I'm saying that's how I feel, that's all. I'm not articulate enough to explain that but my feeling is as valid as the next persons.

You'd never be able to compress the totality of someone's experiences into 3.5 minutes, do you think it's better if the media or companies never give it a platform?

I think the platform was misjudged. There was never any reason to try and compress someone experience into 3.5 minutes.

I hate the advert. Ended up watching it with my autistic son not knowing what it was about. He went very quiet afterwards. It isn't a portrayal of his life or the impact he has on others (which is positive!).

This is the ad I have been looking for. I didn't realise it was for Vanish. I just saw my daughter and my family. I've been trying to explain what's happening in our family and noone believes me as my eldest dd (14) hides it so well at school and elsewhere.

I have an autistic ds.

When I first watched the advert I was really pleased to see how it portrayed the reality for many families with an autistic child.

Was a little bemused to then discover it was an advert for vanish!

But the overarching message it shares is one I'm glad is getting shown. It's helps dispel this myth that all autistic people have a superpower which makes for a positive lifestyle.

Living with autism is hard for those who are autistic and their families.

I like it. So does autistic teen DD. The longer version is much more enlightening too.

Yes, it's advertising. All advertising is a bit cynical. But if Vanish bigs up their product while raising awareness, that's better than most ads, surely.

The company has consulted people who know. As demonstrated by many comments here from people who also know what it's like. I'd say they've done a good job within the confines of advertising. They could have easily chosen not to do an ad about autism.

Yes, it only highlights some aspects of autism, but evey little helps. I say this while I fully agree with @BoojaBooj2 - we are only being shown the more 'palatable' side, hopefully this will change in time and more severe autistic people will be better represented in time. Here's hoping.

And about the sister. Of course it's shit for her at times. As it is for the rest of the family and for Ash. That's the point . It's made clear.

As for the drums, two words: electronic drumkit & headphones 😉.

My child has autism and I don't like the advert it's nothing like our life so it's strange for me to see. It is not my experience of autism at all. It is a spectrum though and I'm sure it will resonate with some people.

I don’t think it’s the job of ‘media or companies’ to give anything a platform. Because things for commercial purposes can be twisted.

@Isanny I completely feel you.

This. My Grandson has Autism and my heart breaks for him but it also breaks for my Granddaughter as her life is severely impacted too. For days or weeks at a time he doesn't want to set eyes on her so she is banished from whatever room he is in or he gets in her face and scream at her, he throws things at her, hits her and ruins her things. The following week he is all over her and wants to play with her all of the time and can't understand that she won't go near him. As a family they can't go out in the car because he can't be trusted to sit close to her, so he gets days out and she stays at home, always. She is only 3. So yes, i too feel for the sister in the advert. The other siblings suffer too.

I don't think it was an 'easy' choice as such. As we all know, autism is on a spectrum. There are many many girls out there who have been overlooked for support - basic support - simply because of their ability to mask. Parents aren't believed because the girls are "fine at school". It's a problem that is very specific to autistic girls. This shows what those parents are often unable to articulate - the very real toll on the family behind the scenes. This advert chose to focus on this part of the spectrum and I'm glad for that.

Regardless of the intentions of this advert, what it has done for me personally is make me think more carefully about the children I teach who have autistic siblings. At school we, rightly, try our absolute hardest to accommodate the needs of ND children with the limited resources we have, but don’t give their siblings a second thought.

So, hopefully it hasn’t offended too many people and equally hopefully it’s opened others’ eyes to the trials of autism on a family.

Because most people's understanding of Autism is limited to films such as Rainmain.

Most people would see that sort of behaviour from a teenager and label them - spoilt, entitled, being difficult, high maintenance etc

Isn't it a good thing that people in the general population who don't have a close relationship to Autism can start to see the behaviour that was once blamed on bad parenting is actually a milder form of autism?

Those who talk about failures to platform a more severe presentation of autism... that's difficult because of consent issues surely?

I dont know why on most threads which touch on ASD/ADHD there is always a cry that 'this or that group were consulted' or involved in the making of this policy or that presentation or whatever

What does that mean given there are tons of different experiences and this or that group are usually the most socially appropriate/articulate/noisy

Theres also an assumption (although its a real family so it may well be factual) that the sister is NT, she might not be, she might have her own learning or special needs and the advert makes me feel very uncomfortable in terms of how difficult life is for her

In addition as other posters have pointed out, the stereotype is overwhelmingly of people that years ago would have had the diagnosis of Aspergers (my sister has this) rather than those who are physically and mentally disabled, those people are hidden away, ignored, sidelined.

To the posters outraged by sympathy for the sister in this advert - feeling sorry for one person doesn’t mean you blame the others, or feel any less sorry for them. It’s not a race to the bottom.

My DH (who is also autistic, btw, though nobody spotted that when he was growing up) has a sister whose issues are consistent with a diagnosis of PDA. He has complex PTSD after a childhood living in the shadow of tremendous violence and aggression, and her anxiety-based need to control everything that went on in the home.

I think if we start saying that only the person with the greatest support needs is deserving of empathy and accommodation, we’re throwing a lot of people (including other autistic people) to the wolves. Surely there is some room for nuance here without anyone who acknowledges the difficulty of autistic family life being an ableist monster?

What seemed unrealistic about this advert to me is that there is NO WAY we’d be able to tell our PDA son to wake up and go to school, or the shit would hit the fan big time. The absence of declarative language here was jarring!

Also, my DS hates having his clothes washed. 😂 The idea of using autism to sell any kind of cleaning or hygiene product seems utterly misguided, in the context of my own particular family.

That’s the crux though. Autism is a massive, massive spectrum. This is similar to my family. But my younger daughter turned out to be autistic too.
I think for me, while I appreciate struggles of people like the girl who may be deemed ‘not autistic’ but has a decent amount of struggles. Like DC2.
Ultimately what is it we’re looking for?
More help? More funding? Being believed? What does belief translate to?

Wouldn’t it have been better, instead of this silly showboating to have made a donation to help people with things.

Yes, there's nothing easy about navigating as either a family of, or as, a teenage girl with autism.

@WinnipegDink Do you work for Vanish? Your angry-sounding comment to a PP about how she would have benefited from paying closer attention to the ad makes you seem very invested in ensuring its success.

No I don't. I'm just tired of ignorance.

Yes exactly.
You know they could have just made a series - so this girl. And then someone else.
There are a lot of families like mine with multiple disabilities. Surely not that hard to find?

I know the point of ‘this’ was to raise awareness of women and girls being under-diagnosed but the majority of online support groups etc have been completely taken over by HFA. And parents of kids with difficulties are shouted down. I guess this is a good ad because while she’s a talented artist it’s more abo her difficulties.

anyway I’ve said enough and in true autistic mode have become obsessed with this so should probably stop posting now.