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Dad Celebrates kid's "non Hollywood" autistic traits

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ASPartOfMe
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18 Nov 2016, 2:54 am

My child's not a genius, he's much more than that: A stand-up comedian's celebration of his autistic son Stand-up comedian John Williams' only child is autistic This book is a celebration of all the autistic traits that are not miraculous One chapter describes a disco at a school for children with special needs

Quote:
It is also a retort to all the psychologists and social workers who treat his son as a catalogue of pejorative jargon: 'poor gross motor skills', 'lack of empathy', 'challenging behaviours', 'sensory difficulties' and so on.


Love it.


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Exuvian
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19 Nov 2016, 9:56 pm

It's a fine (and necessary response) to the so-called "Hollywood autism" concept that pop-culture is so infatuated with. But, I also think it's unfair to reject or dismiss Rainman in particular as I think it did plenty to raise awareness as well as recognize (however narrowly) that autistic people do have something to contribute to this "grand experiment". The problem isn't so much Rainman, but Hollywood's insistence ever after that all autistic characters be "super geniuses" when there's much more to the story to tell.

I think Rainman was a good stepping stone, but the films that followed it failed to expand the story, and that's where Williams' narrative comes in. Now if only they'd make a movie...