. . . to be appalled at the way a young man with autism is being presented in the Netflix series 'The Good Doctor'?

[The13thFairy]

Shaun is a surgeon. He gives a running commentary to other surgeons (and some patients) on his relationship, how it's becoming sexual and in what way. Everyone is informed when he first has sex, and that he climaxed and his girlfriend did not ~ we see him reading a book called 'The G spot'. He has sent round a survey ~ only to the other surgeons, not patients this time, ' shower sex, yes or no?' And now it's going to be his girlfriend's birthday. He sees fit to place a sex toy (it buzzes) on a female surgeon's desk and ask her, and a female colleague, if this is something they would like themselves.

This dreadful behaviour is presented as a bit annoying, but cute.

I have autism and I’ve literally never met you so how do you know how each and every one of us present 😂

Yes, his behaviour is wildly outrageous and unprofessional, but why hasn't someone told him this? Why hasn't someone put him right? The men with autism I have known (lots) don't talk like this because as children they learned via such things as social stories, that this is not appropriate behaviour. But Shaun has slid through his whole life having no idea that it not appropriate to put a sex toy on his boss's desk and have a little chat about what women want in that department.

I take on board that it's a TV show. That this is a depiction of one person with autism. I know that it is fiction.

It matters how autism is brought to the general public. In how many films, programmes, has a man with autism been the star? I can think of 'Rainman'. That's it. Now 'The Good Doctor.' Two extremes. Did Shaun really have to be portrayed as a sex pest?

🤣🤣🤣 His dad murdered his pet and he lived in a bus with his little brother, I don’t think anyone was sitting around teaching social stories.

Ultimately it is a programme (an old one at that) but I disagree that he is being portrayed as a sex pest that doesn’t learn and this post just feels virtue signally to me. Us autists are fine without your outrage over this, re direct it to the education system or try and effect real change and that would be much more worthwhile

Isn’t the point that he is a wonderful doctor and surgeon and does manage to form relationships???

Yes but then what could OP be APALLED over

I really like this show though I believe they have finished filming the final series.

He isn’t sexually harassing them. He doesn’t realise at times why should be and what not should be discussed in public/with colleagues. Doesn’t understand social boundaries. Which is an issue some people with autism struggle with.

Yes, his behaviour is wildly outrageous and unprofessional, but why hasn't someone told him this?

They do, frequently. It’s often farfetched (conjoined twins, anyone?) but the whole premise of the first couple of seasons is that the wider team don’t want him there because of his autism. They don’t believe someone with autism could ever be a Good Doctor, despite it subtly emerging that at least two of the team, including senior doctors, have autism that presents in an entirely different way. It’s not the be all and end all of autism representation on tv but it does illustrate that if you know one person with autism…etc etc.
It’s not as slick or well written as House, but I don’t think it represents people with autism as all being the same. Shaun represents Shaun and no one else. I think Highmore did a good job of not making him a caricature, despite the plot’s best efforts to make him one at times.
I like the way that quite soon the viewer should begin to question who is being referred to as a The Good Doctor, because it’s not only Shaun.

he grew up in care, after his brother died, and I imagine not an easy life for him. He probably didn’t have the time spent helping him learn like autistic kids who grow up in a loving family do.

I know that. But the old bloke, his mentor from quite a young age, could have helped him not to create a hostile workplace for women.

Final series aired in March 2024

What a ridiculous take, none of the women he works with feel remotely threatened by him.

Dr Glasman is often presented by another facet of Shaun that he didn’t consider needed specific instruction and moves quite early on into the role of friend rather than mentor, because Shaun resists attempts to micromanage his life. He makes mistakes with friendships, diplomatic language and professional relationships, so it’s not surprising he doesn’t have experience of what you keep to yourself about sexual behaviour.
There’s a more interesting take on sexual harassment in Series 2 (?) where a female doctor is assaulted by a senior surgeon and it’s all brushed under the carpet, to the detriment of her career and mental health.

Netflix is getting grubby imho. Mr Mercedes has a young ma masturbating. He is in shadow but we hear him. Subtitles explain, so there is no doubt. Not sure what this adds to the story. So many of their series get the F word into nearly every sentence. It is not necessary.

It’s a tv show if you don’t like it then turn it off.

Also it’s about how he changes and adapts and learns and when he does bring up sex and people are uncomfortable he is told. He didn’t exactly have great role models and I’m not sure Glassy was fully there while divorcing and mourning his own loss.

Its about him being a bloody good doctor as well just like when his trying to improve his bedside manner.

Anyway much better than greys 🤣

If it’s the lead Baddie then he’s doing worse than having a wank. I don’t think Netflix as a whole is particularly ‘grubby’ - surely it depends on what you choose to watch?

I think several posters on this thread should read the write ups about Ryan Murphy’s new show, The Beauty very carefully before diving in

My autistic dd hate the way they present autism on tv and gets really cross, as in writing to the bbc or whoever. Got a reply once which basically said they have make it interesting to the public who like obsessed quirkiness not quiet people getting on with their lives

@Saucery I thought we were going to watch a crime thriller, then they added that.
I was not expecting the Guinness family to be so foul mouthed either. It is not just me in the house or room when it is on. Younger generation and aged relatives might be there. We seem to be restricted to re watching Midsomer Murders or Vera or Agatha Christie's.

It’s about a man who runs people over for fun. I’m not sure why anyone would think that’s whole family entertainment or balk at a masturbation scene. Holly Gibney (in the book and film) is an awful representation of an autistic woman so I’d take Shaun over sharing over that any day. We’re all different, thankfully!

Your comments are stupid

Which episode are you up to? DD is watching this at the minute and I catch a few episodes - I think we are at the end of season one / start of season 2. I don't recall this one though and he hasn't had a girlfriend yet, so you must be further on than us.

In which case you will know that:

a) his colleagues help him to understand boundaries and he often asks whether things are appropriate and learns from it - sometimes very poignantly (like the cancer patient who helped him to understand that it was OK to tell white lies sometimes if it helps people and doesn't harm them)

b) The reason he hasn't been put right is that the character is from an abusive household, ran away with his brother, saw his brother die and then grew up moving from foster home to foster home and school to school, so no-one has ever been in his life consistently enough throughout his adolescence for him to learn about a lot of social norms.

From the episodes that I've seen, I suspect that when he is doing those things, his colleagues pull him up on it and that he will learn from it and take it forward.

It absolutely does matter how autism is brought to the general public, and even though it is highly fictionalised, it is good to see someone with autism being shown as a doctor.

Someone up the thread said in real life he would never have got into medical school because he wouldn't pass the interview - and that is the real issue - maybe not medical school, but how many autistic people there are out there who are highly intelligent but struggle with social norms and therefore can't get into fields of work they excel at.

I've said a number of times while we've been watching it that I would love someone like Sean to be my doctor - no non-sense or fluff, straight to the point and damn good at what he does!

We used to have a GP like that - not autistic, but German. So many people avoided her if they could, but I always requested her if she was available!

I read that in Shaun’s voice 🤣🤣

Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory
Abed Nadir in Community
Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock
Fred in Little Man Tate
Sam Dawson in I Am Sam
Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Arguably John Nash on top of his schizoid affective disorder in A Beautiful Mind
And that Disney one (was it Disney?) The Boy Who Could Fly.

That’s just off the top of my head.