The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Autism has only become visible in larger society less than three decades ago.  The first portrayal of an autistic character was in the movie “Raiman”, which was composite of several individuals.  Over time, autism has been a subject matter increasingly in both film and television.  Pundits and and celebrities added their voices to the equation.  Some wanted to make the public aware, where others had their own agenda.  For many, this was their only exposure to what autism.  This unduly acted to influence many people’s perception of what autism is.  

Undoubtedly, in the first decade of the 21st century this all changed with the condition of autism coming to the forefront of societal visibility.  Matters were not helped by a vigorous publicity campaign by Autism Speaks that likened the condition to an epidemic that placed families under siege.  This was epitomized by the documentary “Sounding the Alarm”.  It became very common to hear stories from Autism Speaks and its celebrity supporters on the evening news.  

Celebrities and pundits would add their voices to the course of the state of autism, generally lacking knowledge or discretion.  For several years, if you turned on a TV you could not help but to be exposed to the rantings of Jenny McCarthy on how her son was cured and erroneous dangers of vaccines.  This was compounded by the fact that whenever a mass shooting occurred news anchors pondered aloud if the individual was on the autism spectrum.  This painted a very unbalanced picture of an epidemic people putting their families in horrible situations and had a propensity for violence.  Pundits made light of people that were less severely impacted by autism, characterizing them as spoiled brats in need of physical discipline.  A prominent rapper made fun of a fan with autism online calling them a retard.  What was largely absent was the voices of people with autism and positive portrayals in film.  

Only recently things began to change. In 2009, the movie “Adam” portrayed the life and relationship struggles of a young man with autism.  Even more insightful, was HBO’s biopic of Temple Grandin, which eloquently and humanely depicted her life.  Now more and more characters with autism are being exposed to viewers that are positive.  All one needs to do is watch “Sheldon” on “Big Bang Theory” or  “Temperance” on “Bones”, among others.  This past year has seen the documentary “Autism in Love” and the movie “A Brilliant Young Mind”, which showed people with desires and dreams, just like everyone else.

The objectives of the presentation are as follows:  1. Participants will learn how autism is portrayed in the media and entertainment.  2. Participants will learn how the perception of autism has evolved over in the media and entertainment.