Gonzalez 1

Delilah Gonzalez
Professor Lawson
H English 115
Rough Draft: Research Paper
21 November 2016
Word count: 1050
Different, Not Less
When you hear the word disability, does BiPolar Disorder, Down Syndrome, Autism
Spectrum Disorder come to mind or does incapable, retard, freak do it more justice? Though
having acknowledged these disabilities, people arent exposed to them everyday and because of
this they lack the understanding of a person with a disorder. The media plays a particularly big
role within bringing awareness towards disabilities through movies and television shows as they
are starting to provide more content of an Autistic person. There are great films with characters
who have Autism, some that are even the main character. Despite that, there is still not a big
enough community for the representation of Autism. In these films the autistic characters
arent actually Autistic, theyre just played by regular actors. The problem with these films and
shows is that they go about portraying Autism all the same way, creating a stereotype towards
autism. People with Autism need to be given a chance for their voice to be heard and their story
to be listened to. Films and Television shows portray Autism Spectrum Disorder in a manner that
creates a stereotype among the autistic community, while neglecting important factors such as
gender and diversity.

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According to Autism Speaks.org, Autism Spectrum Disorder is the disorders of brain

development... which are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction,
verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors(Autism Speaks). Having these
obstacles that the regular person would never encounter, it makes the lives of Autistic people
harder. In the eyes of society, without knowing a child had Autism, they would assume that they
are just a mischievous child. Though through the childs eyes, they are trying anything they can
to express their feelings about something whether it be anger, excitement, or sadness, they
perform unnecessary actions for the simplest feelings. Each individual with Autism is different
and unique, just like the rest of the people of this world. Those on the Autism Spectrum have
abilities in visual skills, music and academic skills...Others with autism have significant
disability and are unable to live independently( Autism Speaks).
From the recent expansion of Autism Spectrum Disorder within children and adults, the
creation of TV shows and movies conveying the disability have been more common.
Parenthood, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, are some of many that illustrate the
life of an Autistic person through a show or film. These films and shows are not simply for those
with Autism, but also for the families that go through hardships and new discoveries everyday
because of a disability. The Tv show Parenthood was one of the first TV series to feature a
character with Autism, and there is an episode in where the wife informs the husband of their
son's diagnosis. In disbelief, the husband states "Asperger's? Like Autism? Max is not Autistic!
I've seen Autistic kids(Patch 47)! This statement already exposes how Autism can be perceived
in a negative way. Parenthood also shows how Max, the Autistic boy, reacts to unpleasant
situations such as being in social events, bullying, and not understanding why they arent

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normal. Though there are context that do portray much truth towards Autism, there are many
that don't. Blogger crippledscholar, wrote a mindful review about the film The Accountant,
which was released in October 2016. He stated that the whole portrayal of Autism within Ben
Afflecks character , Christian Wolf, was a stereotype. It wasn't anything new that he hasnt seen
before in an Autistic character. The character was a white male, who had amazing skills with
numbers, and he does not get the girl at the end of the movie. The thing that is really supposed
to make Christian Wolff different is the fact that hes an assassin (cripplesscholar). For this
blogger this is a personal issue to him because he is Autistic, and to see how films continue to
show the same version of Autism is tiring. They need to convey every side of what is the real
Autism disorder, because not every Autistic person is going to have amazing math skills or not
have romantic relationship. If the pop culture continued to show just one factor of being Autism,
then the rest of society will know nothing else, but that factor. They will claim they know about
Autism because thats what they are only exposed to, and what they understand.
He also discusses the lack of diversity within Autistic characters and how only white
males play those characters. This causes other ethnic groups to be forgotten, thus having the
mindset of, I guess the only Autistic people are white. Not only are they stereotyping the
autistic community, they are limiting it down to only having male of white descent be autistic.
Though more males have autism than females do, An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189
girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States(Autism Speaks). This isn't to state that
there arent any females in the world living with autism.
Even through a disability, there is already an expectation of how an Autistic person
should be. The right way to raise the awareness this disorder deserves, is to show the unfiltered

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part of every kind of autistic man or woman, adult or child. That is a performance that cannot be
scripted. An Autism based film, show, or character shouldnt be illustrated as to feel pity
because of their disability, it should be to feel empowered that they are people with dreams,
hopes, and desires, they just go through a harder process to achieve them than the usual person
does.

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Works Cited:
Autism Speaks.Autism Speaks Inc. Mar. 2005. Web. 15.Nov. 2016.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S Department of Health and Human
Services. 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016
Crippledscholar. The Accountant Tries To Be a Unique & Authentic Portrayal of
Autism Using By the Numbers Stereotypes and No Actual Autistic People.
Crippledscholar.wordpress.com. N.p. 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016
Hammesfahr, Lexie.How Pop Culture Is Helping Destigmatize Autism. Newsy.Media
Convergence Group, Inc. 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Patch, Nick.Autism In Pop Culture: Characters On Autism Spectrum On TV, But Do
They Get It Right?. Huffpost Living. The Canadian Press. 27 Dec. 2012. Nov. 2016