The A Word

[SunshineDays2019]

A heads up to like minded fans that series 3 starts tonight on BBC1

Well the sister is more relaxed and in many ways has the best relationship with Joe - she got her own house in the drawings.
I love Christopher Eccleston and he’s funny in this

We have an autistic son about the same age as lead character Joe. They are poles apart - our son has SLD as well, and cannot do any of the things that Joe can, cannot be talked to in the same way that Joe can. However we still watch the show (have recorded last night's opening episode) and find it entertaining to watch from a slightly abstract and critical perspective to see how autism is being portrayed. We like that the programme is a drama where the key issue is autism but it is not the only storyline going on. And I do rather like Chris Eccleston ....

The thing is, life with a child with ASD is frantic. You never know what they are going to do next. Things very rarely run smoothly. It's exhausting. In this family everyone is just trying to do their best & sometimes lose sight of what's important, Joe. I like the sister. She has had her own troubles but she is very mature & has a closeness with Joe that's really sweet

Found last night's episode disappointing, but will continue to watch as there's not much on at the moment. I think it's much more about the characters then autism. It's mildly entertaining but I don't think it is supposed to be a hard hitting portrayal, more a drama about a family who happen to have a child with autism plus loads of relationship problems etc.

I've now watched episode 1, and I still like it. However I think the parents' interpretation of the change in Joe's behaviour is wrong, anybody else?

It's weird because although Joe has a very different profile from my ds's I do find a lot of things I recognise (and more than most portrayals of ASC in TV programmes).

In this episode, for instance, the compartmentalism of behaviours in different situations. For us, for instance ds2 would never take off his thick winter hoody at school no matter how warm the day was - it came off the minute he got home. So, yes I could quite see why he wore headphones in one environment and not the other.

I love it and could just watch Christopher Eccleston alone. It made me laugh when his doctor said to run away from Stress. So he did!! The way he shot out of that house lol.

I’ve just reached watched all his Doctor Who episodes. I adore him.

I dont have a child with autism but several friends do. I like this programme because it doesn't focus solely on Joe but on the family/town as a whole and explores lots of relationships. I'm sure I'm one of the previous series. The idea was mentioned that possibly grandad and uncle are also autistic, so I think it's interesting to see how the writers have shown their behaviours almost mirroring Joe's but in an adult way. Grandad's relationship with his girlfriend's son with Down's is lovely, and again is not trying to say that everyone is like that but this young man is, and this is how we're dealing with it. I think it's a shame that the show has been marked out as "about autism" when it really is more than that.
Also, is mum going to hook up with hunky gardener bloke from the car park?

Damn , I didn’t watch it as I thought it was a repeat
Didn’t realise there was a new series

MIne has severe Autism/ADHD and a number of other things. I asked a question on the other thread about this

Cant link it for some reason but if someone can find the other thread, it makes for interesting reading to say the least!

And no I don't watch it as but I think this particular series is sugar coating it. this.

Is this the other thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/3901018-Autism-and-A-word ?

I've started watching it, as a parent of a ASC child, and was wondering the same as you, Wonderbag. What's the significance of the aqua, browns and red colours? Is it like in Breaking Bad? Fascinated by the colours.

I've being noticing this for a while in tv programs that everything is a teal colour.
I thought it might be because it looks better for filming .

stumbling yes it is, thanks.

I thought I would like it as my sort of thing and friends have children with this but found the adults really really annoying especially the parents they got right on my nerves.

I’m finding the teal and brown thing too distracting now.
You just think ‘I bet the little present will be teal’ ‘it is!’, ‘I bet the flowers he’s arranging are teal’ ‘they are!’
All through the program

Even the school drainpipes

Do you think the colour scheme thing is achieved using a filter (similar to an Instagram filter)? I've seen similar programmes using the same affect - Mrs Wilson was another one.

It's been a very common palette for quite a while on tv dramas. Once you notice it, you can't escape it. It's aesthetically pLeasing but has become something of a cliche.

I haven't seen it although I have seen Atypical (sometimes gets it) and The good doctor (genius trope). There She Goes got it completely. I both loved it and found it hard to watch (DC at the time was treating me like a punchbag, relentless).

@FiveOutOfFiveGoldblums Do make the effort to watch The A Word, but start from the beginning as characters are now well-established. Although our son is more like the daughter on There She Goes, I do find The A Word good for representation of UK attitudes towards autism - a mix of bewilderment and understanding.

Just forgive the writers for accelerating the EHCP and SEN school process. If they presented that in real-time, we'd be on series 3 and Joe would still be in mainstream while his parents take the local authority to appeal for an initial assessment

I have an autistic child who bears no resemblance to Joe, so I kind of forget that the show is in any way pertinent to us as a family, and yes, the education provision for Joe just seems so easy and readily available.
I’m finding this new series boring. The parents and their new relationships are boring, their daughter is boring, and the mum’s brother who owns the brewery has all the charisma of a wet tea towel. He adds nothing to the programme at all and I wish he’d just bog off to London already.
I only watch now for Christopher Ecclestone... Maurice is such a fun character and CE does him so well.

The grandfather is an absolute shit

I don't think is. I think he clearly lacks some basic social communication skills and may well be on the spectrum himself.

I find the programme a bit saccharine, but I do like the general culture of matter-of-fact acceptance of disability in relation to a number of characters.

I tried again with it last night but gave up after 10 mins - it’s all so ‘acted’ and seems really false to me. Who in their right minds would take a child who’s just gone through his parents separation to a burnt out house?