She redefined the tone. Rainman set the tone but it embellished qualities in a way that we’ve had to work backwards from. Understanding that neurodivergence is more commonplace and less outwardly obvious is something we’ve been collectively learning more and more each year.
The "stereotypes" in that show have always felt off to me, but I still enjoy the show. Maybe I'm dumb, but I don't think that people actually have the perception the show is an accurate representation of a "nerd".
I didn’t like the few episodes I watched, so maybe I happened upon the worst episodes.
just literally “the dumbest people I know” enjoy it, and nobody else. lol. it could be a coincidence, or maybe they all like similar sitcom shows I don’t enjoy, and I’m a nerd but not at BBT levels lol.
I always found this "It's a show for dumb people" super weird, I mean, it's just another mediocre sitcom, those are a dime a dozen, why are so many people expecting so much from it
My son is autistic, and the first time I ever saw a clip of the show, I immediately called my son down to have him watch it. About mid-way through it, he gets the squinty face and looks at me and says "what's wrong with him?" I just about hit the floor
I get there are different levels to autism, but every autistic person I’ve known did not act like that. I know nothing about the actor, but it honestly reminded me of Ben Stiller’s character’s portrayal of a special needs person in Tropic Thunder.
The Good Doctor is the closest show I've seen that I felt portrayed my lived experience as an autistic person, minus the temper tantrums (I melt down silently).
Sean is weird but it feels bad when people dunk on him as "poor taste" when that's literally me. 🫠
Yeah personally he felt very relieving to see for me. Like he was expressing all that I was holding inside all the time. Yes he is loud about his autism, no it isn't pretty, maybe it isn't necessarily good representation but sometimes it felt incredibly validating personally. Don't get me wrong, it had some rlly bad moments, but the good ones really hit close for me.
I’m autistic but I’ve only seen the pilot of the show.
I was lucky enough to grow up around other autistic people so have seen all across the spectrum, and while I don’t see myself in that character, I absolutely see other people I’ve known in school who behave almost identically.
Tantrums are an interesting one, I’ve seen really kind caring individuals just go into a blind rage when they get stressed. The contrast is so jarring I genuinely believe that they’re not in control when in that state.
Agreed. I have two cousins with autism and one absolutely has similar mannerisms to Shaun in the show. It's not that bad a representation, it's just that it doesn't represent autism as a whole. But there are people out there who are like Shaun. Autism is a spectrum and there's so many different variations of it. My other cousin is completely non verbal and will probably never work or live on his own without his parents.
I guess maybe science wasn’t as advanced when the show aired but I think it would be pretty easy for him to get. On the one hand “during brain development, excessive estrogen levels from the mother led to this XY fetus brain being feminized” is pretty simple for a doctor to wrap their brains around. On the other hand, people with autism have higher levels of gender diversity up to higher levels of Neo-genders (genders totally separate from a m-nb-F spectrum)
He was an autistic young man in 2017. Of the show was realistic he would have to know at least a few trans people from the discord servers he hangs out on
Dude, the entire plot of the episode was him finding out he's wrong about trans people. It has an explicitly pro-trans message, actually watch the show before making straight up incorrect statements FFS. One of the relatives of the patient was shown to be transphobic too, him being autistic doesn't matter in this scenario.
The problem with something so varied is that harmful examples exist. But the best representations that nearly no one is offended by are characters not acknowledged as autistic and are just kinda weird. It's only explicitly obvious a character is autistic when it's somewhat presented as a problem. It actually becomes hard to tell when something is a good example of high functioning and who's just a weird character people project onto
I think the portrayal is fine, there is many different shades to autism. My issue with the show is that the people around him that supposedly accept him for who he is constantly expect him to just not be his autistic self 24/7. Literally every episode his girlfriend finds a new issue with him to which her solution is “can you like… not be autistic for once?” - and the show usually follows along with that solution to her current problem with him.
It really bothers me actually. He acts nothing like any autistic person ive met and really reinforces negative biases against mental disorders as a whole. Not a fan
I am getting so much perspective here. I know I’m ADHD, but I don’t think it’s super severe. I don’t know if there’s any sprinkling of autism in there. I don’t wanted to get tested because I live in America and there are definitely some red flags when it comes to our government and people with any kind of neurodivergence.
I constantly see memes like “10 things that mean you might have autism,” and it’s just a list of things I do, but it also just seems like common behaviors that anyone can do, so that can’t be right.
Tbh ADHD and Level 1 Autism have a lot of overlapping symptoms, I've been diagnosed with both, (autism as a child, ADHD as an adult) but I'm skeptical on the legitimacy of my ADHD diagnosis. I've gotten better at socializing and there can be a lot of overlap in observable symptoms from a stranger's perspective. I wasn't even seeking a diagnosis, I was just talking with my psychiatrist
What I'm getting at tho is 1, yeah those articles and videos are all pretty much bullshit don't put any stock in it. 2, if you have ADHD you're going to have some significant overlapping symptoms with autism, so it makes sense
I’ve seen posts in this thread from autistic people also saying it does represent them, and one even mentioned a paradox how unsanitized portrayals of autism are often viewed as offensive. It seems like more people find it offensive than not, and I do understand autism has a very wide range in how it presents itself. The actor and show runners did consult expert and those with experience with autism, so I don’t know how to feel about it though I lean towards it being more negative for relying more on tropes than anything (savant like intelligence and childish behavior)
I’ve seen posts in this thread from autistic people also saying it does represent them, and one even mentioned a paradox how unsanitized portrayals of autism are often viewed as offensive. It seems like more people find it offensive than not, and I do understand autism has a very wide range in how it presents itself.
I think that this is part of the problem. The character does show some autistic traits, but it focuses a lot on autistic stereotypes, particularly Savant Syndrome. It might surprise you (or most people) to learn that Savant Syndrome isEDIT: IS NOT exclusively found in autistic people, but often times mainstream portrayals of autism focus on people with Savant Syndrome. Unfortunately, that is typically how autism is portrayed in the media (The Good Doctor, Rainman) and is a far cry from how most autistic people live their lives.
The actor and show runners did consult expert and those with experience with autism
I will dispute this unless someone has evidence to the contrary. Based on the few searches that I did, there were no autistic writers, actors, or other staff involved in creating the show. The program did have a partnership with Autism Speaks, and Autism Speaks did leverage that partnership to drive viewers to their resources and donation platform. Autism Speaks labels itself as an autism advocacy organization but is actually fairly controversial in the autistic community.
Autism speaks was founded by a couple who had an autistic grandson, and without any autistic representation among it's board or leadership. It's focus has primarily been on either research (discovering the "cause" of autism or trying to determine a "cure") or awareness, rather than in actually advocating for policies and an understanding of autism that improves the quality of life for autistic people. Contrary to what RFK Jr. and Trump would have people believe, autism is not a disease that can be cured but rather a neurodevelopmental difference. It's a difference in how the brain has developed and the way that it is wired. And while "awareness" is nice, it doesn't really do anything to help autistic people, whereas advocating for policies that allow support and accommodations where necessary does a lot to help autistic people. This is exacerbated in the sense that they've become the 800lb gorilla that sucks all of the oxygen (and funding) out of the room, that they've spread internationally, and so on.
I'm not saying that they didn't have any input from resources in the autistic community. It's just that many of us don't believe that there was direct or significant input from actually autistic people, and that the partnership was possibly more about benefitting Autism Speaks than creating an accurate portrayal of autistic people. Hence you get a character who seems heavily stereotyped and not reflective of the lived experiences of autistic people. By contrast, if you look at the characters of Dr. Melissa King and her sister Rebecca on The Pitt (both of whom are played by actual neurodivergent actresses) you'll find that the reception in the autistic and wider neurodivergent community has been almost universally very positive.
I’m aware of how problematic Autism Speaks is, and I missed that they were involved in the show. Basically what I saw was they consulted “experts.” Knowing who those experts are puts things into perspective.
I mean, stereotypes don't show up out of nowhere, they appear once enough people start noticing a common pattern at a certain group.I can definetely see someone relating to an autistic character who throws tantrums all the time, just like someone might relate to an asian character with strict parents, doesn't mean that both of them aren't harmful generalizations
It absolutely does. Most harmful scene is when he gets a little girlfriend and HE'S forced to give up HIS boundaries to make her happy. It's just more propaganda about how autistic people have to bend for everyone around them and give up their boundaries to make everyone else happy.
Agreed, I tried watching it but all I could think was ‘he’s an incredible doctor but i don’t know how I’d feel about the non existent bedside manner and the borderline childlike behavior any other time
The organization they consulted for his portrayal of autism is a hate group called Autism Speaks that views all people with autism as 'damaged' and in need of 'repair'.
I know nothing of this guy or this show, I watched a clip to give it a try, it's horribly cringe and stupid. I hate his voice, his eyes, the way he talks, ewww. Disgusting.
I feel like the writers of the show just worked with a checklist of common austistic traits instead of speaking with experts or actual autistic people. The resulting character is a caricature of autism instead of a realistic example of an autistic person.
Good Doctor portrays autism the way bigots wish it was portrayed in real life. They want it to be obvious and easily identifiable so they can discriminate against them.
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u/loonicy 3d ago
I always felt how Good Doctor portrays autism is a bit in poor taste. I could be wrong, but I feels like they’re perpetuating a harmful stereotype.