Beautiful view of autism from Big Bang actress

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This video moved me to tears ... it's one of the most balanced, authentic and positive views I've heard of neurological differences I've ever heard, in response to the questions, "Is Sheldon autistic?":-



An extract of her words: "We don't pathologize our characters, we don't talk about medicating them or even really changing them and I think that's what's interesting for those of us who are unconventional people or who know and love people who are on any sort of spectrum, we often find ways to work around that and it doesn't always need to be solved and medicated and labelled and what we're trying to show with our show that this is a group of people that were likely teased, mocked, told that they will never be appreciated or loved and we have a group of people that have careers, successful careers, active social lives that involve things like Dungeons and Dragons and video games, but they also have relationships and that's a fulfilling and satisfying life and that's what we really try and show on our show."

It is a positive statement from a public figure... although it feels pretty empty coming from an actor in a TV show based around mocking autistic people, who advises against vaccination because it can cause autism. The creators have been explicit that the reason they avoid "labelling" their characters is so they can continue to mock their unnamed disabilities without drawing negative publicity.

Hopefully this reflects a change in tone in the show over coming seasons. More episodes like the one where Sheldon invents interdimensional travel would be great.

I find that beautifully stated. I now like Mayim even more.

Mayim Bialik is cool beyond her various characters. Something she describes at her web site ( http://www.mayimbialik.net/links ) is her assistance with the "Jewish Free Loan Association of Los Angeles ( http://www.JFLA.org ) which offers 100% interest-free loans to people of all faiths for over 100 years. They have loans for everything: college and graduate school loans, emergency financial aid loans, loans to help with costs of fertility treatments, loans for paying rent, medical bills, and even loans to 'green' your home. [She] has volunteered for them since 2004, co-founding the young professionals branch of JFLA. The whole goal of JFLA is to have people take out loans, repay them at no interest, and tell people about them. That's how word gets around that this is a wonderful philanthropic organization."

Oh, bother! I wrote a response the The Walrus in this previous post but it hasn't come up. I shall try again...

I said that it's a good point re the TV producers not wanting negative publicity. The characters take the mickey out of themselves and each other, and I don't think we should expect a sit-com - whose aim is to provide comic relief - to take a heavy handed "let's teach everyone about being kind to aspies" approach. A lot of people, myself included, like that a sit-com is finally seeing the funny side of being a nerd, and it's the nerds that are creating the jokes rather than simply being the butt of them.