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Autism At Center Of New Netflix Series ‘Atypical’

M

Makonero

Member
So I didn't see a thread for this new show yet, but since I know we have a few people on the spectrum, I was curious to see GAF's response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieHh4U-QYwU

As mentioned here:

To ensure an accurate depiction of autism, Netflix said show creators worked with a professor of special education at California State University Channel Islands.
Click to expand...

I've seen some on twitter deride the fact that Netflix didn't actually work with any autistic people or people that directly teach autistic people, so the accuracy of the show is in doubt. Is this bothersome? Does the trailer look inaccurate? I'm very curious as someone who isn't on the spectrum.

What do you think, GAF?
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
I mean, working with a professor is good, but they really should be working with actual autistic people as well if they want to portray autism in media
 
T

TheTylerRob

Member
I think it's really hard to "accurately" portray autism because the spectrum is so wide that no two people are exactly alike.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
I know the spectrum is vast but this kid is killing it when it comes to my son. This is him in 5 years easy.

So much so that I had snot and tears running down my face watching this trailer for a comedy.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
TheTylerRob said:
I think it's really hard to "accurately" portray autism because the spectrum is so wide that no two people are exactly alike.
Click to expand...

The bigger problem is that a lot of shows/movies/etc. don't really portray autism in many cases besides quirky character traits and social awkwardness. As someone on the spectrum they often gloss over a lot of other aspects just so that can make an off beat character to bounce them off the more normal types in the story. The book and play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is great because it portrays all the lighter moments and many of the darker and far more uncomfortable ones that most others kind of glide by in favor of something quicker and easier to depict.

hateradio said:
What is this thing about TV autistic characters being pale, pasty, skinny guys. ��
Click to expand...

This as well. I can't actually think of a depiction of an autistic woman outside of the fucking movie Chocolate and that's really stretching it to nearly insulting levels. Same for minorities.
 
H

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
What is this thing about TV autistic characters being pale, pasty, skinny guys. 🤔

Also I think that guy was in The United States of Tara, right?
 
D

DiipuSurotu

Banned
Damn he walks just like me lol

As far as I know I'm not autistic

HStallion said:
This as well. I can't actually think of a depiction of an autistic woman outside of the fucking movie Chocolate and that's really stretching it to nearly insulting levels. Same for minorities.
Click to expand...

In video games there is an autistic woman in
To The Moon
 
M

More_Badass

Member
It is refreshing to see a character with high functioning autism/aspergers on screen, as well as the family and therapist aspects, rather than just being the "quirky weird friend in the group" portrayal. Can certainly relate to some of the stuff in that trailer
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
Hmm, my brother is autistic and I've been thinking about stuff like this. He's only 13 now but like... when is he gonna find out about stuff like sex and whatnot. Its really weird to think about. I think this show would be a good watch.
 
L

LFMartins86

Member
I wonder if this will attract another shit storm like 13 Reasons Why and To The Bone did.
Haven't seen 13 Reasons but I thought To The Bone was very good and a realistic portrait of eating disorders.
I'm glad Netflix are tackling difficult issues.
 
E

exhume

Member
HStallion said:
I can't actually think of a depiction of an autistic woman outside of the fucking movie Chocolate and that's really stretching it to nearly insulting levels. Same for minorities.
Click to expand...

There's a good argument to be made for the main character in Amelie being autistic.
 
P

Piers

Member
Hope the show isn't going to be another "Getting a date will fix things" since getting a date tends to come from fixing up emotional problems, not the other way round.
 
E

Eye for an Eye

Member
I won't knock their efforts with UC. It does help. But I can see the other point of not working with individuals. The spectrum is so broad and so many quirks, that if they did, they could pick out traits that may not be representative as a whole. They can go to UC and talk with them about what traits and characterists stand out the most.

They did do girl autism is Girl Meets World, Farckle's girlfriend Smackle. They were finally bringing her on as a regular cast and then stopped the show.

Ohh, and my boggest pet peeve "no one is normal" bullshit line. Yeah, people want to be individuals and their own identities, but when you lack the ability to understand social settings, it's so fucking annoying. Sure, I want to be an individual that understands society, that's what it means to be normal.
 
W

Waddle Dee

Member
As someone with high functioning autism/aspergers who has a low functioning brother, I think this trailer looks decently promising when it comes to portraying a realistic depiction of a teenager with autism. Better than most media, that's for sure.

Eye for an Eye said:
Ohh, and my boggest pet peeve "no one is normal" bullshit line. Yeah, people want to be individuals and their own identities, but when you lack the ability to understand social settings, it's so fucking annoying. Sure, I want to be an individual that understands society, that's what it means to be normal.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this part bugged me.
 
M

Makonero

Member
LFMartins86 said:
I wonder if this will attract another shit storm like 13 Reasons Why and To The Bone did.
Haven't seen 13 Reasons but I thought To The Bone was very good and a realistic portrait of eating disorders.
I'm glad Netflix are tackling difficult issues.
Click to expand...

I really liked both of those. To the Bone is excellent. I'm hoping this will be good too.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Eye for an Eye said:
Ohh, and my boggest pet peeve "no one is normal" bullshit line. Yeah, people want to be individuals and their own identities, but when you lack the ability to understand social settings, it's so fucking annoying. Sure, I want to be an individual that understands society, that's what it means to be normal.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever seen a show or movie get the social aspect right. Either the person has their close friends group but is the weird one, or they're so awkward that they have no friends.
 
D

Dr. Worm

Banned
Seems corny and cheesy and the type of show I would never watch. The main character kind of overdoes some of the "takes everything literally" aspect, but otherwise seems legit.

hateradio said:
What is this thing about TV autistic characters being pale, pasty, skinny guys. ��
Click to expand...

It's a stereotype translated as shorthand that many people probably know; they want the protagonist of this show is going to be easily understood by a large number of people. Given the differences between autistic men and women, never mind the (resulting) gap in demographic diagnoses, it's a simple template to work with. Besides, having a lead who isn't neurotypical is worth, like, a jillion diversity points, so there's no need to overdo it.
 
P

piratepwnsninja

Member
bengraven said:
I know the spectrum is vast but this kid is killing it when it comes to my son. This is him in 5 years easy.

So much so that I had snot and tears running down my face watching this trailer for a comedy.
Click to expand...


Wow. I know I'm totally over-emotional, but I cried watching that, too. That is my 16 year-old son in that trailer. He was Asperger's diagnosed before it went into the Autism spectrum, but man, that was nail on the head for me.

Edit: Like, social cues are things he just totally doesn't understand. He's in choir and has a great voice, and one of the girls from his choir once called him over from across the parking lot after a performance and was like, "Hey Ian, you sounded really great tonight." His response? "I know!" and he turns around and walks away. I'm face palming back near my car where I overhear this happen. I try to explain that what happened there was weird, and that he should have at least said thanks. Fast forward to fall 2016, years later, and same situation, different girl. She literally says the the same thing and he goes, "Thanks! I know!" runs to catch up to me, turns around, runs back and goes, "Oh, you too!" then runs back to me. He's also incredibly direct when doing raid content in FFXIV, to the point where I know he's coming off as annoying to people. He just doesn't understand what he is doing wrong by telling people what to do in a very direct manner, or why pointing out someone doing something wrong is a bit harsh.
 
R

ryseing

Member
Eye for an Eye said:
.

Ohh, and my boggest pet peeve "no one is normal" bullshit line. Yeah, people want to be individuals and their own identities, but when you lack the ability to understand social settings, it's so fucking annoying. Sure, I want to be an individual that understands society, that's what it means to be normal.
Click to expand...

Fucking this. God, I grew so tired of hearing that shit growing up.

I just want to be able to fit in. That's my normal.
 
H

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Although the series isn't perfect, Bron/Broen (The Bridge) has one of my all-time favorite protagonists who is autistic and also a woman. So many times watching that show, I felt like I was watching myself.

Permanently A said:
Hmm, my brother is autistic and I've been thinking about stuff like this. He's only 13 now but like... when is he gonna find out about stuff like sex and whatnot. Its really weird to think about. I think this show would be a good watch.
Click to expand...
If he's high functioning. . . He's 13 and probably has internet access, so he knows what sex is about.

However, getting to know people is a struggle, even for the typical person.

Dr. Worm said:
Besides, having a lead who isn't neurotypical is worth, like, a jillion diversity points, so there's no need to overdo it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's the worst logic in entertainment. :\
 
Pilgrimzero

Pilgrimzero

Member
I constantly worry that my step son who is autistic and barely speaks and has a hard time understand verbal instructions is going to have a fulfilling life.

His days consist of school and watching YouTube. It's hard to make friends when you rarely speak etc.

And now that he's 16 I'm curious what he thinks of girls. Though emotionally he's probably more like 10.
 
D

DiipuSurotu

Banned
qrYjdFw.gif
 
B

Baron von Loathsome

Member
Part of me relates to that, being on the spectrum and all, and part of me is cringing at the "I just wanna see boobies" kind of stuff.

But like someone else said, it's a wide spectrum.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Pilgrimzero said:
I constantly worry that my step son who is autistic and barely speaks and has a hard time understand verbal instructions is going to have a fulfilling life.

His days consist of school and watching YouTube. It's hard to make friends when you rarely speak etc.

And now that he's 16 I'm curious what he thinks of girls. Though emotionally he's probably more like 10.
Click to expand...
Have you looked for peer groups around you? I was lucky to have one through my college, but there were also several organizations and whatnot that would make once or twice a month that I went to after I graduated. It was a good way to meet and stay in touch with peers my age on the spectrum. (I'm 25 now, was 22 when I first got involved with groups)

I wish I had known about those earlier than my last year of college, they helped so much. Something like that could be helpful for your son
 
B

Badassperger

Neo Member
One of the few accounts the Twitter account for this show follows is Autism Speaks. If that's any indication as to what the show will be like, I'm not watching.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
More_Badass said:
Have you looked for peer groups around you? I was lucky to have one through my college, but there were also several organizations and whatnot that would make once or twice a month that I went to after I graduated. It was a good way to meet and stay in touch with peers my age on the spectrum. (I'm 25 now, was 22 when I first got involved with groups)

I wish I had known about those earlier than my last year of college, they helped so much. Something like that could be helpful for your son
Click to expand...

I know this sounds horrible but as someone on the spectrum I often have as much trouble dealing with others on the spectrum as I do people who aren't. My brothers both have sons on the spectrum who have it much harder than I do and I always feel like a scumbag that I can't connect to someone who has such similar issues to me. Not that I don't try but its always difficult and of course awkward but that's kind of my life in general with social stuff.
 
C

Ceej

Member
I am so, so sick of professors, psychologists and parents trying to be the voice for me and those like me. That is like consulting "professor of African studies" Rachel Dolezal on the black experience instead of an actual black person.

I was diagnosed nonverbal at 3. Today I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry at an elite university. I am successful, well-spoken and I have a voice. Somebody let me use it. I am not this fucking stereotype of the five year old who never grew up. Actually, I've been working on a website for this very reason.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
HStallion said:
I know this sounds horrible but as someone on the spectrum I often have as much trouble dealing with others on the spectrum as I do people who aren't. My brothers both have sons on the spectrum who have it much harder than I do and I always feel like a scumbag that I can't connect to someone who has such similar issues to me. Not that I don't try but its always difficult and of course awkward but that's kind of my life in general with social stuff.
Click to expand...
I think it helped that, at least for the campus one, we were all in school, and dealing with school/job/college stuff, so we had more connections than just being on the spectrum.

Outside of that, for me, it's way easier to talk to and interact with older people than people my age.
 
T

The One Who Knocks

Member
So long as the show is good, and doesn't solely exist to centre a show around autism while lacking much quality as an actual production, I'll watch it. The trailer makes it seem a little too corny and feel-good which has me slightly concerned as to how good it is. With regards to how accurate its portrayal of autism is? It's tough to say based solely on a trailer. There's a vast spectrum of what autistic individuals are like (a cliche, but the saying 'if you've met one person with autism...you've met one person with autism' is quite accurate), so while it may not be a common view I don't inherently dislike or disagree with a more cliche portrayal as there can certainly be people like that on the spectrum, but based on the trailer it definitely seems like it could be more reflective of the common experience of a higher functioning individual. Personally, I don't really mind the absence of consultation with people on the spectrum so long as they've consulted with an expert in the field of autism (which it seems they have) simply because they'll have a much greater scope and understanding of the variety of autistic individuals than a single (or even multiple) person(s) possibly could.

Ultimately though, it's a TV show, so first and foremost I'm more interested in how good the show actually is, and the accuracy of its portrayal is more of a secondary concern to me, but that's simply a personal view.
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
Ceej said:
I am so, so sick of professors, psychologists and parents trying to be the voice for me and those like me. That is like consulting "professor of African studies" Rachel Dolezal on the black experience instead of an actual black person.

I was diagnosed nonverbal at 3. Today I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry at an elite university. I am successful, well-spoken and I have a voice. Somebody let me use it. I am not this fucking stereotype of the five year old who never grew up. Actually, I've been working on a website for this very reason.
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar situation as a biomedical engineering master's student who is on the spectrum (still deciding if I want to go on to a Ph.D afterwords or not). I understand I'm very much on the very high functioning end of the spectrum, but so are most of these characters. That said, after watching the trailer, it didn't seem too bad even if it wasn't necessarily 100% accurate to my own experience (But that's not surprising since nobody is going to have the exact same experience)
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
The One Who Knocks said:
So long as the show is good, and doesn't solely exist to centre a show around autism while lacking much quality as an actual production, I'll watch it. The trailer makes it seem a little too corny and feel-good which has me slightly concerned as to how good it is. With regards to how accurate its portrayal of autism is? It's tough to say based solely on a trailer. There's a vast spectrum of what autistic individuals are like (a cliche, but the saying 'if you've met one person with autism...you've met one person with autism' is quite accurate), so while it may not be a common view I don't inherently dislike or disagree with a more cliche portrayal as there can certainly be people like that on the spectrum, but based on the trailer it definitely seems like it could be more reflective of the common experience of a higher functioning individual. Personally, I don't really mind the absence of consultation with people on the spectrum so long as they've consulted with an expert in the field of autism (which it seems they have) simply because they'll have a much greater scope and understanding of the variety of autistic individuals than a single (or even multiple) person(s) possibly could.

Ultimately though, it's a TV show, so first and foremost I'm more interested in how good the show actually is, and the accuracy of its portrayal is more of a secondary concern to me, but that's simply a personal view.
Click to expand...
I mean, I don't see why they couldn't consult an expert AND talk to a bunch of people with autism. It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive
 
E

Eye for an Eye

Member
Aaronrules380 said:
I mean, I don't see why they couldn't consult an expert AND talk to a bunch of people with autism. It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive
Click to expand...
High functioning adults have become master of disguises. It's extremely hard to act "normal" around "normal functioning adults". Behaviors and actions that have been engrained as improper behavior are suppressed, especially around strangers. To the untrained eye, it's hard to tell the difference of what is learned behavior from normal autistic behavior. A studio director might be able to pick out one or two odd behaviors, but not realize the extent of the behaviors. Or even begin to remotely understand how it relates to autism.

Ohh and you still wind up digging a hole into hippa and medical privacy. Sometimes that can of worms isn't worth it.
 
R

Ri'Orius

Member
HStallion said:
This as well. I can't actually think of a depiction of an autistic woman outside of the fucking movie Chocolate and that's really stretching it to nearly insulting levels. Same for minorities.
Click to expand...

Brandon Sanderson's sequel trilogy to Mistborn has a female character who's on the spectrum. Not diagnosed or explicitly stated, but her mannerisms seem autistic-ish (and Word of Author confirms that's the intent).
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Eye for an Eye said:
High functioning adults have become master of disguises. It's extremely hard to act "normal" around "normal functioning adults". Behaviors and actions that have been engrained as improper behavior are suppressed, especially around strangers. To the untrained eye, it's hard to tell the difference of what is learned behavior from normal autistic behavior. A studio director might be able to pick out one or two odd behaviors, but not realize the extent of the behaviors. Or even begin to remotely understand how it relates to autism.
Click to expand...
Very true. My therapist once said I was really good at eye contact and maintaining conversation
But that's only because I've had a ton of practice talking with older people and needing to be able to give oral reports in school.
Put me in a room with people my age and that eye contact and those conversation skills go out the window, unless we're talking about movies or video games
 
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