Autistic TV characters

Ghost Buster

Has anyone else noticed the proliferation of border line autistic or aspergers TV characters at the moment?
We have the new Sherlock on BBC, Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, Bones Brennan from Bones and then the fully fledged autistic Gary in Alphas.

Do you think this is helpfull in awareness of such conditions or will it spread misconceptions about ASD's (Autism Spectrum Disorders)
or
is this just telly and i should stop thinking about it and enjoy it:)

Czarcasm

I think television is a great medium for raising awareness and normalising things we wouldn't ordinarily come across in our daily lives. I'm not too familiar with Sherlock and BBT but Bones and Gary in Alphas are well done representations of those with ASDs. I would also add to that list Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man", Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind" and Jerry in Boston Legal.

What I hate though are the likes of an article I read in the Irish Independent Weekend supplement that was something along the lines of "My aspie family", the whole family apparently (two adults, three children) had aspergers. That just struck me as attention seeking nonsense, and the whole article just stank of shmaltzy "aren't I great?" nonsense.

Found the article-

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/our-three-kids-all-have-aspergers-just-like-me-and-my-husband-3341506.html

girl in the striped socks

You're readin too much into OP.

juan.kerr

No, OP, I haven't noticed this phenomenon.

Capt'n Midnight

unless accurately portrayed it will reinforce incorrect stereotypes

look at schizophrenia or amnesia caused by blows to the head or dementia

kneemos

I agree with Czarcasm it normalises the condition plus they make for great characters,strong women are something which is badly lacking in TV.

OneArt

Lisbeth Salander.

syklops

kneemos wrote: »

I agree with Czarcasm it normalises the condition plus they make for great characters,strong women are something which is badly lacking in TV.

It only normalises the condition if the portrayal is accurate. If the portrayal is inaccurate then it dilutes the publics perception of the condition.

kneemos

syklops wrote: »

It only normalises the condition if the portrayal is accurate. If the portrayal is inaccurate then it dilutes the publics perception of the condition.

Autism covers a vast range of conditions as far as I know so it's harder to have an inaccurate portrayal I'd imagine.

syklops

kneemos wrote: »

Autism covers a vast range of conditions as far as I know so it's harder to have an inaccurate portrayal I'd imagine.

I would assume the opposite, that it is easier to have an inaccurate portrayal because it covers such a wide range of characteristics. Having non-specific symptoms makes it harder for the actor and/or writers to nail down the character.

Staff Infection

Depends how well the actor can portray the condition accurately. For example this bloke in Fair City was in my opinion an example of how not to do it.

Now maybe it was just the way Fair City is done in general, but me and the sister could never figure out if he was meant to be portraying someone on the autistic spectrum, whether he himself was on the autistic spectrum or just couldn't act and was uncomfortable.

Sinfonia

I read a blog thing or article or something written by a person with Asperger's who blasted The Big Bang Theory's portrayal, but praised highly the character of Abed in Community.

Ergo Community is great.

wp_rathead

Sinfonia wrote: »

I read a blog thing or article or something written by a person with Asperger's who blasted The Big Bang Theory's portrayal, but praised highly the character of Abed in Community.

Ergo Community is great.

This. In Big Bang Theory alot of the jokes are AT Sheldon, about how weird and awkawd he is-
In Community the jokes are about Abed's take of different scenarios, he isn't the joke.

Sir Gallagher

Lets just all agree the Big Bang Theory is sh!te.

Da Shins Kelly

Sinfonia wrote: »

I read a blog thing or article or something written by a person with Asperger's who blasted The Big Bang Theory's portrayal, but praised highly the character of Abed in Community.

Ergo Community is great.

In fairness, I read an interview with the creator of The Big Bang Theory who said that Sheldon is not intended to be an autistic character. The point is that nobody understands what he is. He's just an anomaly. It's other people watching the show who maybe have a certain idea in their heads of how autistic people behave that have decided that Sheldon is autistic.

allym

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

In fairness, I read an interview with the creator of The Big Bang Theory who said that Sheldon is not intended to be an autistic character. The point is that nobody understands what he is. He's just an anomaly. It's other people watching the show who maybe have a certain idea in their heads of how autistic people behave that have decided that Sheldon is autistic.

This. Just because someone is portrayed as quirky, with some strong likes and dislikes, does not mean that they are meant to be someone with ASD.

PhlegmyMoses

Mr. Bean was probably autistic.

kiffer

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Mr. Bean was probably autistic.

No, just very awkward.

woodoo

Roy from Coronation street must be a bit autistic.

juan.kerr

Brick from The Middle.

Gummy Panda

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Mr. Bean was probably autistic.

He was as an alien

kneemos

kneemos wrote: »

I agree with Czarcasm it normalises the condition plus they make for great characters,

I wouldn't agree they portray persons living with Aspergers/Autism accurately.

If you were to rely on TV characters being accurate you'd be forgiven for thinking that all or most affected persons are 'savants' i.e. Have one or two areas of overwhelming talent, like Dustins Hoffman's characters mathematical ability, or Sherlocks uncanny deductive powers. Beautiful autistic minds do exist, but not nearly with the prevalence that fiction would have us believe.

People with Autistic spectrum disorders are no more likely to possess brilliance than the rest of us, although when they do it appears to shine comparatively more brightly.

Lollipops23

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

In fairness, I read an interview with the creator of The Big Bang Theory who said that Sheldon is not intended to be an autistic character. The point is that nobody understands what he is. He's just an anomaly. It's other people watching the show who maybe have a certain idea in their heads of how autistic people behave that have decided that Sheldon is autistic.

+1, it's been bandied about that Sheldon is autistic, but they've gone on record as saying he wasn't written as such.

And Sherlock is meant to be a high-functioning sociopath, not autistic. Having said that, he certainly embodies many of the traits of autism (such as not understanding social cues, empathy etc and a photographic memory). He is, however, able to vocalise his frustration at how other people's brains work, which would be unusual for an autistic person.

I think it's great that they have these types of characters on tv-even if they merely serve to induce more discussion of these types of behavioural disorders. It's a direction I'm happy to see society go in.

Sinfonia

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

In fairness, I read an interview with the creator of The Big Bang Theory who said that Sheldon is not intended to be an autistic character. The point is that nobody understands what he is. He's just an anomaly. It's other people watching the show who maybe have a certain idea in their heads of how autistic people behave that have decided that Sheldon is autistic.

I've never seen The Big Bang Theory, just wanted to take the opportunity to big-up Community : P

kneemos

Sinfonia wrote: »

I've never seen The Big Bang Theory, just wanted to take the opportunity to big-up Community : P

Don't know how you missed it,it's on somewhere practicly all day every day.

wp_rathead

Sinfonia wrote: »

I've never seen The Big Bang Theory, just wanted to take the opportunity to big-up Community : P

Cherish that fact!!

franktheplank

Candie wrote: »

I wouldn't agree they portray persons living with Aspergers/Autism accurately.

If you were to rely on TV characters being accurate you'd be forgiven for thinking that all or most affected persons are 'savants' i.e. Have one or two areas of overwhelming talent, like Dustins Hoffman's characters mathematical ability, or Sherlocks uncanny deductive powers. Beautiful autistic minds do exist, but not nearly with the prevalence that fiction would have us believe.

People with Autistic spectrum disorders are no more likely to possess brilliance than the rest of us, although when they do it appears to shine comparatively more brightly.

I'm in agreement with Candie, I think these portrayal's glamorize the condition and also to a certain extent simplify or ignore the difficulties many people with ASD live with.

For example, most people with autism (75% to 90% depending on source) (as opposed to Asperger's syndrome, or the wider ASD term) will have a mild or more severe intellectual disability. Other studies say that about 50% of those with autism will have an IQ below 50.Yet this is something we rarely see portrayed in the media.

Also, a lot of people with ASD will have some form of 'challenging behavior'. Again, the exact figures are difficult to quantify and the term 'challenging behavior' is problematic especially at the milder end of the scale where one person's 'challenging behavior' might be another's personality traits.

I worked for a number of years in Autism residential services and I have to say the difficulties I saw many people experience there was shocking. People with severe self-injury who required round-the-clock supervision and very regular medical attention really opened my eyes to the kind of suffering that can come with this condition. Sadly, the quality of care in these services vary greatly, from those who genuinely are trying their best in difficult situations, to others on the disability meal ticket in what is a completely unregulated sector of our healthcare.

Of course this is not representive of all people with autism. But the suffering that comes with it, in some cases, is something I have never seen in the mainstream media and even very rarely in documentaries on autism etc.