Portrayal of autistic people in films/TV

[AutisticHouseMove]

I was diagnosed as autistic in my early 40s.

When I was younger, the only real portrayal of autism I was aware of was Rainman.

I also know there has been criticism of that because it portrayed an autistic man as a 'low functioning' savant.

Over recent years, I've noticed a prevalence of a different type of autistic person. Usually working in some kind of solitary role requiring a high level of intelligence (eg scientist), who is brilliant/the best at their job but completely lacking in empathy or social skills and getting it all wrong when they have to interact with colleagues or friends.

They're rarely identified as 'autistic' but there are hints along the way, comments from other characters about how 'weird' or 'difficult' or 'awkward' they are or how curious it is watching them trying to interact with or behave like 'the humans/earthlings'. Or other characters have to brace themselves against the tone deaf comments. Basically, either endearingly odd, a bit of a dick or both.

I don't know. It just makes me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed even when I realise this character (and they're recognisable because they're all portrayed in the same way) is supposed to represent me. Or is this really how NT people perceive many of us to be?

YABU - the portrayal of people with autism in films and TV shows is pretty much how I experience autistic people in real life

YANBU - you have a point.

People argue that ,its the learning disabilities, but how do you separate the two?
I'm on a face book group for parents and cares of children with severe autism some would say its all part of profound autism
Articulate people with autism talk about the autistic community but I dont think they realise there is a growing separate community for those with profound autism

Previously, the high functioning autism would have been called aspergers. I don't think they ever should have removed the distinction.

There is a growing separate community because the parents acknowledge it is night and day. One look at that video shows you what it's really like to have an older child with profound autism. Those arguing eloquently online about the severe life struggles they've had to endure. really just don't get it. It shouldn't be called autism, It should be called something else.

I completely agree .

Yes my boyfriend has an Asperger's label. He wont deviate from that as it is what is in his notes. I think it got changed because of the links to Nazis. He does not care. It is what he was diagnosed with.

Fair enough it's similar to ASD and ASC my son I'd only 15 but his diagnosis is Autism Spectrum Disorder it is what it is .

I don’t agree that they shouldn’t have removed the Asperger’s distinction. That’s separate my out the very ‘high functioning’ people as a separate diagnosis, but actually I think it’s the other way around. As a pp pointed out it’s a spectrum that isn’t linear, and can also fluctuate. I have ASD and if using the levels I would be probably classed as level 1 (my diagnosis didn’t specify levels), but you just have to look at my life throughout childhood and adulthood to realise that sometimes my needs are much higher then level 1 and I’ve had pretty severe consequences of trying to mask all the time. Levels 1 and 2 are most alike to each other and people can switch between them. It’s the servers end of level 3 that is different. I can I have no issue with the highest needs being classed as separate diagnosis like profound autism, of course I recognize that this particular group have higher needs and it’s not comparable to others with ASD, but that’s what it should be, a separate diagnosis for the highest needs group, not a separate diagnosis for the ‘highest functioning’ group.

Why should the highest functioning group be the one that's called autistic, and the lowest function group is not. Autism, when I was much younger was applied to people who had really severe needs.It's only recently that everybody right down to self diagnose, gets the label.

Why are the high functions and level ones and self diagnosed so desperate to cling to this label

I do actually find it quite offensive that having written such an eloquent and well reasoned, post you think your struggles are in any way as bad as the video I posted.

I find it odd that people with high-functioning autism are so desperate to be recognised for it. Desperate to be seen as having it. The fact you can argue your case can't approves the point that you're not as badly affected.

Those who are severely affected their parents wish, their children never had it and they really can't overcome anything.

I find it offensive that if one of the characters in a movie or television series is very intelligent then they are usually portrayed as being on the spectrum.

I work with scientists and have worked as a researcher myself and can tell you that the percentage of people on the spectrum among the successful scientists is extremely low.

That’s actually a really offensive post. Where did I say that my struggles with autism were the same as the highest needs group? I actually said the opposite. What I did say was that the highest functioning group and the middle group are very similar, can overlap and people can fluctuate between the two, so no the highest functioning group shouldn’t be separate from the diagnosis. The ones with the most severe needs only make up around 15% of those with autism. It is offensive to suggest everyone gets an autism diagnosis now, that’s not true and completely minimizes the struggles those of us with diagnosed autism face. Unless you’ve lived it you have no idea. No, we don’t have the same needs as someone with severe autism but that doesn’t mean we don’t also struggle every day.

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2025/07/09/major-autism-study-uncovers-biologically-distinct-subtypes-paving-way-precision

I found this study interesting. They were able to link four different presentations subgroups to four different biological changes. Eg my son would be in the broadly effected/ de novo mutation group which is exactly right for him.

I would think this will play a part in future dx especially as it can be linked backed to biology.

The term profound autism i think will be used in the mean time as it is being used more and more and there is a push for more research in this area. With more professionals using it as the norm already. Although my son's old paediatrician uses severe.

In the future believe those who do have needs but who wouldn't be described as profound will have difficulty getting their needs met as dx changes again and as it is changing to include more and more people who identify with autism. In the same ways those with more profound needs benefit from having a ld label/dx (how i feel about it) rather than a stand alone autism dx, people will likely need some form of mh dx to get their needs met.

I think the group doing the most damage to the autism dx are those who see it as a super power or not a disability and lobby for it to be seen in that way. Eg different ability not a disability.

My issue with Aspergers Syndrome is that people associate that with people like Sheldon, like Bones. My DS would have had an Aspergers diagnosis (if it still existed) because he didn’t have a language delay but he’s nothing like the stereotypical ‘mini professor’.

High Functioning Autism has similar problems as a name - all it actually means is you don’t have learning disability but people again then apply that stereotypically and expect to get someone like Sheldon. I guess that’s because in TV shows characters with autism are invariably the super intelligent type.

Autism is such a broad spectrum that I do feel it would useful to have additional identifiers to give people a better idea about the type of needs a person might have.

My son’s needs are complex and he has high support needs. I still wouldn’t describe him as having profound autism. But I admit I do get frustrated when I tell people he’s autistic and they assume he’s like my type of autistic when in reality I’ve been told he’s unlikely to ever live independently.

Interesting my sons chromosome disorder is De novo.

@Perzival 100% agree with you about the ‘autism is a superpower’. It really isn’t.

I don't mind if people say autism is their superpower and that they don't feel disabled by it as long as they are clear they are only talking about themselves
It's when people try and talk for the whole spectrum and insist it isn't a disability, that i feel.its very damaging.

I think so as it applies to our family too. We have one child with very complex needs (de novo) and one who has no needs, is sociable, academic etc (we didn't have the genome mapped for his brother).

The other group where they have inherited genetic changes from parents would explain why you have families where all the children have autism.

I think this is massive for the autism dx.

I think this is more common in America but I have seen a lot of people refer to being diagnosed with level 1 autism, level 2 autism and level 3 autism do you think that is a helpful way to delineate? I think level 1 is what used to be Asperger's and level 3 is what is sometimes called profound autism?

Well no system is perfect and there are nuances and some people have spikey profiles and people can fall between the levels
But broadly speaking and I know some posters will disagree it csn give an indication of the level of need.

No, because there are people that describe themselves as being varying levels at different times, there are those who disagree with what level a professional might use and there are those who would belevel three constantly. The levels also don't convey to the public what presentation somebody may have as you'll only be familiar with what the levels mean if youve looked into it and most people wouldn't without having to.

I use "profound/ severe autism" to convey the level of my son's needs as most people understand what I'm trying to get across.

I guess this just shows how we all have different thoughts on it.

@Perzival I see what you mean, severe or profound is clearer than a number.

Lilo from Lilo and Stitch is the only character I really see my son reflected in. At the start, she’s running around biting people and poor Nani is so embarrassed.
everytime Lilo tries to join in with the other girls, she gets it a bit wrong and they call her a Weirdo and pick on her.

There she goes was the best portrayal of life with a disabled child I’ve seen.
Generally though, I have enough autism in my life, I want to watch tv to escape from it, not see more. It’s like how everyone drama has to have a cancer storyline shoved in, so many of us are dealing with it in real life, we don’t need more.

It wouldn't bother me if my son's dx changed to chicken nugget condition or happy flappy disorder or purple with blue dots disease as long as the people he shares that with present similarly. It'd make life a lot easier.

I think the problem is when people are struggling they don’t want to be level one. To an individual that is struggling, being told you have low support needs which in reality means you will get no support feels really minimising.

All people with autism will have support needs - it’s literally part of the diagnostic criteria. But if you function well at times people forget that.

I had the worst day at work yesterday - a massive change sprung on me with no time to process and I couldn’t cope. I then made the situation worse by doing nothing. I’m so embarrassed. But I think it helped some colleagues realise that there is a reason I have a diagnosis of autism.

@SnowdropWhite I agree with you especially about the lack of support - we find the same even with the other side of things.

I also think that for people in your position it's vital for discrimination purposes especially with work.

I hope I'm ok to ask but how do you feel about having the same dx as someone who is severe? I apologise for asking such a personal question and if you don't want to answer it's none of my business, i'm just curious. Would you like a different dx that shows how you are but that you obviously still have needs? Many of the people who are hf I've spoken to want to be associated with the severe side as a kind of protection or so their needs are taken seriously but the people I've had this conversation with in real life are usually mums who can't work because they have a child who needs them at home (because of their own autism needs).

I am sorry if I over stepped. I just know that I naturally gravitate to people in similar circumstances and can end up in an echo chamber and discussions on sm can get inflamed very easily. I think it's good to get other views than my own.