gamerdad wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
Glad his research confirmed the impotence of Rain Man in the the history of Autism. The movie and the particularly the Rain Man stereotype are largely disliked/seen as a hindrance/something to distance ourselves from today. It was what it was.
I see it as sort of a stepping stone along the path to better understanding. It was an important step for progress at the time, but you don't want to be stuck there. Sort of like a lot of comical, stereotyped depictions of homosexuals in sitcoms during the late 90's. They did a lot for exposing a lot of people to the idea of gays as real people in their lives, but it's good that (most) depictions have moved past it now. What was progressive at the time is now outdated. This is progress. Both the adoption and the abandonment of these depictions were good things.
I think we have gone backwards in Autism portrayal in many ways since Rain Man's message of acceptance. Now it is the burden/disease or variation of the savant/genius Rain Main stereotype. And unlike Rain Man in most cases it is deemed unsaleable to mention they are Autistic apparently. An in the late 80's and the 90's when mass shootings stared becoming a thing the first thought of Autistics was not will this be linked to ASD. More knowledge and variation yes, progress no.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman