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"The A Word" drama with explicit autism

26/3/2016

7 Comments

 
So what do I think of the new drama series "The A word"?  I’ll start with the positives (going against type here). I think itw great that the absence of public discussions about the reality of autism is finally being redress. I found the acting convincing and the portrayal of the parents’ response to their son’s difference was realistic.  My main only gripe (minor in the scheme of things) would be the title. I'd rather autism was not headlined as the central plank of (rather than simply an integral part of) a drama about dysfunctional family life. (It seems tangentially relevant that there is a recent study showing that autistic mothers are as effective as non-autistic mothers for both autistic and non-autistic kids.)  

The story so far showed the impact that autism can have on a child’s behaviour and the proliferating effect of parents attempting to deny that there is anything different about the child.  The parents were shown starting to blame each other as the need to address the
reality of this difference became clearer together with the fact that they had seen it but not acknowledged it for years.

Discussion about the programme on Twitter had most people agreeing that it portrayed realistically both an autistic child and a family's and community's response to that child.  The following exchange was about the acutal "A word" demonstrates to me how even competent caring professionals can perpetuate stigma. 

Parent " but he's not autistic?" Doctor "that’s not how I'd describe anyone with autism".  It is hard to find a reason why you wouldn't call anyone "with autism" autistic, other than that the word is too terrible to mention.  This implies that autism is entirely negative and is not a helpful attitude.

The autistic boy, Joe, was only five and his difference was quite clear and noticed by others who didn’t invite him to parties. I was particularly struck by Simon Baron Cohen's tweet in response to this “Not inviting the kid with autism to your kid's birthday party is like having a sign saying 'Kids with disabilities not welcome' (retweeted 232 times and liked 266 times). I find this an inappropriate response to the story.  Joe was not particularly interested in other children and did not join in activities with them preferring to do his own thing. His birthday party seemed more of an ordeal than a pleasure for him, and caused stress to his family and others (his mother appearing to think it would be a good idea for him to be the centre of attention).  The idea that it is necessary to pretend that an autistic child is like a typically developing child by treating them like everyone else demonstrates disrespect for difference not inclusivity and appreciation of diversity.

I would suggest that we need to be fighting the stigma attached to difference and not ignoring or disregarding the difference itself.  (I’ll throw in a bit of self-promotion here - If you want to explore some of the differences generated by autism  come to my session Exploring Invisible Autism on April 20th)


7 Comments
Planet Autism
26/3/2016 02:29:38 pm

"that’s not how I'd describe anyone with autism"

I think that is indicative of a growing movement to remove the rights of autistics legally. It's costing the state too much, autistics have protected characteristics according to the law and autism is the most expensive condition to support/treat in the UK. They are now trying to say it's not a disability and I know of at least one person who lost a court case about discrimination.

It's a slippery downward slope. This is the danger of saying it's just a difference.

Reply
Caroline
26/3/2016 05:07:04 pm

I would say autism is a difference that can also be a disability. However legally to the best of my knowledge it is a diability covered by the Equalities Act. The issue I see here is not denying that autism exists, or that the individual is autistic but the fear that using the word autism is just too terrible to be contenanced.

Reply
Tom Moore link
26/3/2016 02:39:17 pm

While I agree with everything else in your post, I do not agree that the choice of name is bad. The mentioning that there is a stigma around autism is an important one from the outset. The attitude of the doctor referring to the word 'autistic' as a taboo word and the grandfather's feeling that autism can be cured or fixed in some way need to be mentioned if they are to be addressed. To erase these from the dialogue would be to erase part of the history of society's relationship autism/the autistic community.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and do not wish to pass judgement on whether or not it does what we need it to do until I have seen more.

I hope that the series addresses a number of other aspects, such as the attitude of teachers, employers, how autistic people feel and how much is limited by apathy, lack of funding, pressures on those who live with the negative aspects of autism every day and how rarely autistic people get the opportunities to lead fulfilling lives or live up to their potentials due to societal pressure to normalise/fit in. However, I realise only so much can be achieved by a scripted drama with a budget.

Reply
Caroline
26/3/2016 05:11:27 pm

I agree with everything you say Tom. I just felt it was worth pointing out that the attitude portrayed, which does exist in real life, that it is rude to actually call an autistic person and autistic person, is ultimately not caring and considerate but damaging.

Seen from this point of view I think the choice of name is both good (it addresses the fact that the language is problematic) and bad in that it priviledges one aspect of complex family relationships as being "the issue".

Reply
Trudy
27/3/2016 09:50:00 am

I agree with what has been said. I hope that this drama continues to raise awareness. I like the fact that the child with autism seems to be the only member of the family who is not dysfunctional. He is content in himself and doesn't bully or argue with his family or peers. The autism is so under scrutiny that the family miss the point that they argue constantly and that is not a good environment to raise any child

Reply
Caroline
27/3/2016 01:32:24 pm

Really interesting point Trudy, I wish I had noticed this myself. Thing is though that ultimately it is helpful to be able to interact in ones environment showing awareness of others, the autistic child is challenged in this area. It will be interesting to see how he and other family members (who I agree are dysfunctional) progress in this series.

Reply
Paula
9/4/2016 07:00:59 pm

I found 'Employable me' very positive in terms of looking for individual strengths and how to use them. Diversity and difference can be positive.

Reply



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