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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Sheldon is very clearly meant to be autistic.

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

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.

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

Yes exactly this.

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.

I don’t feel like Sheldon in bbt is meant to be autistic, I felt that due to his high intelligence and being pushed ahead in school etc he was unable to develop his social skills in age appropriate ways and so acts as he does due to missing experiences.
Hermione I feel has anxiety issues and also Elsa anxiety due to being forced to hide her abilities and hurting Anna with them in the past. I didn’t think any of these characters were autistic when watching the films.

It was an infuriating watch, but with some great moments. The women were far more sympathetic characters than the men.

The partners of those with autism only have experience of their partners autism and how it impacts them and their family
As the parent of a severely autistic non verbal teen I could wax lyrical about how my sons autism impacts him and our family but my experiences are very different to other parents, whose autistic children present differently to my son.
I don't think you csn get a portrayal of autism wrong as such as everyone is so different
As long as it's clear it's just a portrayal of one individual.

She wasn’t described as autistic, but I liked Chloe on “24.” Her lack of caring about social norms was helpful in that she was willing to help Jack Bauer do what he needed to do to save everyone, even if he didn’t have proper authorization from CTU. She was very job-focused, but not to the exclusion of everything else. She was a loyal friend to Jack, and she got married and had a son (who both died, unfortunately, because about three-fourths of the characters in that show eventually died). Chloe always had the best lines, too. 🙂

I know exactly what type of character you’re talking about, though, and I think you’re right that that seems to be the most prevalent type of autistic character at the moment.

There’s a book called Angel by the author Elizabeth Taylor and the main character is autistic or adhd. Published in 1957. There does seem to be some unusual characters in books from the 50s or thereabouts and no one so much as comments on the individual’s differences - just accepted as they are. It’s quite interesting.

I always remember ‘shut up, Edgar!’

I don’t read Belle as autistic at all. She doesn’t have friends because she’s more educated than everyone else in the town, and she has a pretty good understanding of social skills when it comes to getting Gaston out of her house. (She figured out that “I really just don’t deserve you!” would get him out with less of a conflict than telling him to leave her alone forever.) She doesn’t have any problem reading anyone’s emotions.

I see a bit more of a case for Hermione, but I can also see an argument that she’s maybe didn’t develop better social skills until her teens because it can be hard for very smart kids to make friends if they’re not around other very smart kids. She understood Cho’s feelings of being conflicted between Cedric’s memory and Harry, and she understood Ron being jealous of Harry in the fourth book. In fact, Hermione in the later books has to explain people’s feelings to Harry a lot.

By Bruno, you mean Bruno from “Encanto”? Yeah, I think he’s probably autistic.