Asperger’s in the movies
The trailer for Adam, a ‘New York love story’ between a chipper, attractive lady and a chipper, attractive gent with Asperger’s syndrome, looks interesting (and also chipper, and attractive). It’s hard to find even-handed presentations of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the media; I lived with a friend with autism, Jessica Park, for two summers in college, and I think the trailer for this movie actually puts forth some effort to capture both the easy and more difficult aspects of living with someone with ASD. (Naturally, it also paints everything with the romcom brush…you take what victories you can get.)
It’s also encouraging that they neglected to mention that the main character has Asperger’s syndrome in the synopsis…it’s brought up within the trailer, but I think that focusing more on his personality in the description helps humanize him. Hopefully, the movie will try to present both protagonists in an equal light (people without ASD have wrinkles too!).
The trailer:
Some related links about ASD:
A March 2009 article about Jessica Park from the Boston Globe, and her website at jessicapark.com
Clara Claiborne Park’s landmark book, The Siege, is a powerful account from her early years raising Jessica–all the more notable because of Clara’s eloquence and her (sometimes brutal) honesty.
Pet peeve: When ASD comes up in the news, people refer to the ‘debate’ over whether or not MMR vaccines cause autism; the answer, of course, is a resounding NO: established with many good, independent studies, and no longer worth discussing. For an in-depth analysis, check out Science-Based Medicine‘s recent post on the recent championing of the anti-vaccine campaign by misguided celebrities.