Fox site about Adam (the film) gets it wrong

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The upcoming film "Adam" looks really good, but the site which promotes it has a section which claims to explain Aspergers. I think they made some errors. What do you think? The text follows, then the link.



The Title Character In ADAM Has Asperger's

Don't know what it is? Find out below.



• Asperger's is also known as Asperger's/Asperger Syndrome, Asperger's disorder and AS.

• Asperger's is a form of autism, but people with AS differ from those with other autism disorders due to their relatively normal verbal and cognitive development.

• Individuals with AS show difficulty in their ability to interact socially and emotionally, including impaired nonverbal behavior such as eye contact, facial expressions, posture, and gesture, which may make it difficult to develop friendships. The difficulty of showing empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect of Asperger's.



• Unlike with most autistic disorders, people with AS are not usually withdrawn, but approach others, even if awkwardly. Example: engaging in a one-sided, long-winded speech about a favorite topic while misunderstanding or not recognizing the listener's feelings or reactions, such as need for privacy or desire to get away. This failure to react appropriately to social interaction may come across as insensitivity to others' feelings.



• An intense interest in very specific, narrow topics is a common feature of those with AS. They may collect volumes of detailed information on the topic without necessarily understanding the bigger picture. (Example: memorizing camera model numbers while caring little about photography.)

• Asperger's is named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who in 1944 described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, could not empathize with their peers, and were physically clumsy.



• Fifty years later, AS was standardized as a diagnosis, but many questions about it remain.

• The cause or causes of Asperger's are unknown, but research supports the likelihood of it being genetic.

• There is no single treatment for Asperger's; its management usually comes from behavioral therapy to address communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines and clumsiness. Most individuals with AS can improve over time, but difficulties with communication, social adjustment and independent living continue into adulthood.



• Some researchers and people with AS have advocated a shift in attitudes toward the view that AS is a "difference," rather than a disability that must be treated or cured.

• People with Asperger syndrome may refer to themselves in casual conversation as "aspies."

• Such famous historical figures thought to have possibly had AS include Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Mozart and Charles Darwin.

***

The above information was derived from Wikipedia.

For more information on Asperger's and its possible existence among one of the aforementioned historical figures, check out the book "Diagnosing Jefferson: Evidence Of a Condition That Guided His Beliefs Behavior & Personal Associations." Apparently the director Max Mayer used the book as a guide during the making of ADAM.

Also, check out this online forum for people with Asperger's, Aspies for Freedom. ADAM gets a mention in one of the posts.

http://content.foxsearchlight.com/inside/node/3437

a stereotypical explanation of AS about a movie with a person with a stereotyped form of AS.

Looks narrow (it's the DSM's version of AS), but "right".

All i see is a series of truthful generalisations. You can't expect them to describe every individiaul with aspergers.

frankly, I am amazed that Fox was even so close to the definition!

OH MY GOD GUYS

I've read that list before word for word for word it might of been on wiki bt I've seen this list before it came shooting back as soon as they put the camra moels statement

frankly this film looks bad and I am readying my pitchfok lol and plus its fox making it so yeah... fox are as bad as warner broters but this film look like they are going to stereotype aspergers to hell sand we're going to the get a bunch of people coming out of this film sayng to aspergics YOU ARE NOT MEMORISING CAMERA MODELS YOU ARE NOT ASPERGIC

I am so annoyed wuth these websites that bloody pictures us as unemotional bengs that know every fact when we don't

Sorry, I should have been more specific. The part that seemed wrong to me was this quote:

"• Unlike with most autistic disorders, people with AS are not usually withdrawn, but approach others, even if awkwardly. Example: engaging in a one-sided, long-winded speech about a favorite topic while misunderstanding or not recognizing the listener's feelings or reactions, such as need for privacy or desire to get away. This failure to react appropriately to social interaction may come across as insensitivity to others' feelings."

They probably meant that aspies are less withdrawn than those with low functioning classical autism. They probably just overstated it. I may have taken them too literally. I would say aspies are generally withdrawn, at least relative to NTs. That is what I was reacting to. The points many of you made about stereotyping were good points too.

I also apologize for being so late to respond to the responses. My ability to access the site is sometimes intermittent for reasons to boring to mention. Thanks for the responses. I enjoyed reading them.

Rain man lol there have probably been none but this film looks more and more like a chick flick just with an awkward protoganist

Rain Man is probably my favorite, but I have been waiting ever since for a movie as good as Rain Man but about someone who is more high functioning than Raymond Babbit.

That's how it's worded in the DSM-IV-TR, and also if you use Wing's definition of AS (which are one and the same, with the latter being the original).

Here, the DSM-IV-TR: