What do you think about these autistic characters?

[Judge]

I could see Rain Man as a realistic presentation of some autistic people. With all those wild adventures after coming straight out of an institution, no wonder he had 3 or 4 meltdowns. With a gradual transition maybe he would not need the institution. Maybe he could just learn some coping mechanisms and he probably would need a legal guardian in his case.

"Rain Man" was based on a savant named Kim Peek.

"Unlike many individuals with savant syndrome, Kim Peek was not afflicted with autistic spectrum disorder. Though he was strongly introverted, he did not have difficulties with social understanding and communication. The main cause of his remarkable abilities seems to have been the lack of connections between his brain's two hemispheres. An MRI scan revealed an absence of the corpus callosum, the anterior commissure and the hippocampal commissure, the parts of the neurological system that transfer information between hemispheres. In a sense, Kim was a natural-born split-brain patient."

Kim Peek, the Real Rain Man.

 

[FayetheAspie]

"Rain Man" was based on a savant named Kim Peek.

"Unlike many individuals with savant syndrome, Kim Peek was not afflicted with autistic spectrum disorder. Though he was strongly introverted, he did not have difficulties with social understanding and communication. The main cause of his remarkable abilities seems to have been the lack of connections between his brain's two hemispheres. An MRI scan revealed an absence of the corpus callosum, the anterior commissure and the hippocampal commissure, the parts of the neurological system that transfer information between hemispheres. In a sense, Kim was a natural-born split-brain patient."

Kim Peek, the Real Rain Man.

Kim Peek was not, but fictional character Rain Man as such is stated to be autistic on the movie.

 

[Judge]

Kim Peek was not, but fictional character Rain Man as such is stated to be autistic on the movie.

Hollywood does whatever it wants, whether it aligns with fact or fiction is quite often irrelevant to film and television producers. Personally I find this practice most annoying.

Though on rare occasion they do seem to get it right....such as with films like "Snow Cakes" or "Mozart and the Whale". Autism not depicted as caricatures who are mental giants and social idiots saving the planet, but rather people with actual autistic traits and behaviors just being who and what they are.

 

[tree]

Carl the Collector, which first launched just a couple of weeks ago, is the first PBS KIDS show to feature two lead characters with autism. Carl is the main character, a raccoon who enjoys collecting things. The show follows his adventures with friends and family in Fuzzytown. Carl also often speaks openly with his friends about having autism.

Those friends include Sheldon, described by PBS KIDS as "an empathetic beaver attuned to Carl's unique logic and world view." Forrest is a squirrel who has a tree nut allergy and can be hyperactive and impulsive.

There is also a second character within the friend group who is on the autism spectrum, Lotta the fox. Including this character allows for a "better representation of the nuances of how different kids can present when they have autism,” says Sara DeWitt, PBS KIDS Senior Vice President and General Manager.

Why 'Carl the Collector' on PBS Kids is Making History

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I noticed a lot of artists, musicians are on the spectrum, most notably the very good ones. Anal about practising, and very focused, most undiagnosed as no reason to.