![]() I was similarly not surprised but disappointed by the response that Atypical received. They all moved from plot point to plot point and from pathos to comedy with few punches or punchlines landing. Usually autistic characters are the only ones who are handled from external and distanced perspectives and come across as not-quite-human, but everyone was a little hollow here. The most positive thing I could say about Atypical as autistic representation is the most damning thing I can say about its entertainment value: Sam wasn’t treated that much differently from any of the other characters. Instead, we’re treated to an immensely frustrating reversal in which Sam faces more consequences for things he can’t control (sensory overload, meltdowns, etc.) than for what he can. But neither the characters nor the writers show much interest in holding him accountable for his deliberate actions. The way the show’s writers have Sam treat his therapist, including ignoring explicitly stated rules and violating her personal property, is, well, a choice.) It might have been new and refreshing to see Sam’s unsavory side explored with any depth or skill. (For example, confusion over unwritten rules can be an issue for autistic people. Autistic people can struggle to understand and participate in neurotypical social conventions, but autism neither makes nor absolves someone of being a dick. I wasn’t offended that he could be a dick. But as an autistic person, I saw none of the complexity and internal life that I know exists in myself and my fellow autistic people and am desperate to see more of onscreen.Īt worst, there were unchecked aspects of his character that were harmful. Perhaps he would look like an autistic person from an outside perspective. ![]() He often appeared to me as more of a collection of stereotypes and repetitive physical movements than a person. I wasn’t surprised by how poorly Atypical fared as both representation and entertainment, but I was still disappointed. His overprotective mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) struggles with letting go, and she has an affair. His father (Michael Rapaport) still struggles to completely accept his autism and might not be the most attentive husband. His sister Casey (Brigette Lundy-Paine) feels ignored in favor of her brother and acts out. When he’s not navigating the tail end of high school or working at a big box store with his nerdy rogue of a best friend (Nik Dodani) who tries to teach him about life, Sam goes on a series of romantic (mis)adventures. (He also develops an inappropriate attachment to said therapist and breaks into her home, but more on that later.) He visits a therapist where he perseverates on penguins in ways that serve as loose metaphors for the episode’s themes and where he occasionally touches on issues related to autism. Sam Gardner (Gilchrist) is an autistic 18-year-old with a special interest in penguins and a developing curiosity about dating. It was standard white middle class family fare with an increasingly standard depiction of autism at its center. Outside of the neurology of its lead, Atypical failed to live up to its title. Almost none of the affection that non-autistic audiences felt for the Sheldons and Dr. We still struggled-often in vain-for meaningful inclusion in policy, science, news and entertainment relating to our lives. In addition to an ongoing lack of meaningful resources, representation, understanding and acceptance, we had President Trump carelessly floating anti-vaxx conspiracy theories, claiming there was a “tremendous amount of increase” in autism diagnoses, and declaring it “really a horrible thing to watch.” Reports of vulnerable autistic children being killed by their parents continued to hit the news. It was a far less fortuitous time to be an autistic person in the real world. The Good Doctor, ABC’s medical drama about an autistic savant who works as a surgical resident, premiered that September and became an instant hit. ![]() Young Sheldon, its spinoff which trades on the same caricature, was a top-10 show. The Big Bang Theory, a show which never explicitly identified its main character as autistic but consistently played stereotypical traits for laughs, was the No. The year 2017 was a great one if you were in the business of TV autism. ![]()
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