Accurate depiction of Autism? (video)

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I was once again doing various research on youtube and stumbled upon this video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbNGy2NtsOA[/youtube]

I've seen the show parenthood and how they depict what it's like having AS However for those whom have classic Autism what are your feelings about the video posted and for those whom are still in school how accurate are the events depicted?

he only portrays mild classic autism or severe aspergers [havent got sound on but it looks either one or the other],if he was moderate or severely or profoundly classic autistic he woud have some level of intelectual disability and it woud be visible in his functioning, from needing full time aids with him [some of us had more than one at school],to being unable to read from paper and write,to being unable to hold much information at all-especialy language ,to varying use of nappies,to having significant impairment of language even if verbal,to having severe challenging behavior and self injuring behaviors through the constant feeling of frustration,building unexplainable agression,lack of expression and lack of understanding.

Given his almost entire lack of speech and need for identifying pictures around the room to help him locate things, I would have thought his ability to understand abstract concepts like returning things to other people would be impaired. I would also have expected a child of his functioning level to at least have a classroom aid with him so that the teacher didn't have to spend 50% of his time with one kid. The teacher was also inconsistent; he knew enough about James's autism to realise that he needed pictures and clear explanations, but not enough to know that he had to stick to a routine, otherwise a meltdown would ensue. That said, I really liked that teacher; I wish I could have been taught by him when I was in grade school.

The situation in this video is a mix of realistic and unrealistic fidelity.

I was quite stunned at the boys speech in response to the teacher in the first clip as it was identical to how my daughter first behaved when she started preschool. She also used echolalia in almost the same way as the boy in the video. Also the reaction to noise was exactly how my daughter first behaved (minus the head movement), she is still very sensitive to classroom noise.

What perhaps is unrealistic is the boy is clearly functioning at a level where he requires an integration aide. However it's quite possible if it's a government school and they are unable to receive funds to get an aide then this situation could arise.

What is clearly unrealistic is why the boy would be left in a classroom by his parent without the teacher present? secondly the reaction of the kids would indicate they are unaware of who he is.
What would normally happen is i) the teacher would debrief the classroom of his condition and his starting in the semester, ii) following debrief a parent, guardian, aide or the teacher would bring the boy into the classroom and formally introduce him to the kids.

Finally the reaction of the children is somewhat unrealistic, the boys odd behavior would illicit comments (usually derogatory) and/or spur a one or two of the kids to inquire if he was ok.

The thing that is unrealistic about this is the fact that he's in a regular classroom. I'am high functioning enough to have never needed speacial ed, but I certainly did not behave like that.

some high functioning autistic students did/do,especialy now as schools try to integrate more severely affected students into mainstream schooling in the name of equality [AKA closing down special schools to save money].

judging from replies as well as the rough view had seen of it without sound [sound is useless on laptop] , it seems the boy portrays severe but HF autism,he isnt LF classic autistic as he woud not be in mainstream schooling-he woud have severe challenging behaviors and complex needs that mainstream schooling still cannot cope with.
and just because he is echolalic or requiring symbols to mentaly and visualy process things doesnt automaticaly mean he is classic autistic, a lot of aspies are echolalic as kids and woud probably be given visual supports to help them now, this video is not portraying schooling from us eighties/seventies etc autistics thankfuly otherwise there woud be a very different attitude and behavior from the teachers [from an LFA perspective; daily beating,rough physical restraint, holding down to force eye contact,holding down and attempt to force speech copying etc].

Was the kid actually autistic, or was he played by an actor?

It seems as if he was reading at grade level--how could he have difficulty with simple pictures like doors or cats?

I believe the "autistic" person, based on his cognitive level, would not have sought to keep the ball. He would have had difficulty initiating contact with the basketball players, though. Some kids would have made it easier on him by offering him a spot in the game--others not so much. With 3 people, a game could be played--known as "horse."

He exhibited sensory difficulties characteristic of autism.

The teacher, especially if he wasn't trained specifically in dealing with autistic kids, was actually quite good. He was able to "get through" to the "autistic" kid.

I wish I saw how he did in math, or in other subjects.

I think it's pretty realistic for a medium-functioning autistic kid. None of his behaviour seemed strongly out of place.

As for him reading well but having trouble with the cards, I got the strong impression that he knew what the cards meant, but didn't understand what the teacher wanted from him. It almost seemed like he was trying to request 'reading time' by going back to the book card. Either that, or he just liked books so much it was hard for him to direct his attention away from it.

He's definitely not high-functioning, given that most of his speech was echolalic. But he wasn't very low functioning either. I thought it was a good illustration of the 'middle ground', that is so often ignored when people talk about high functioning and low functioning.

It seems as if the kid is between 12 and 14 years old.

I can't help it--but I'm sure he's had cue cards and such since he was in preschool.

I'm thinking he finds the tasks demeaning in some way--or maybe he's playing with the teacher a bit.

He definitely needs an aide to help the teacher out. This is middle school/junior high school--so content must be taught to the other kids (and to him). In order for that to be done successfully, the attention placed on the "autistic" kid must be displaced somehow, preferably to a caring aide.

One other thing I found unrealistic; I find it hard to believe that the kid playing basketball who yelled at him and called him a creep would have proceeded, two minutes later, to offer him a spot in the game simply based on the fact that he returned the ball. Kids in real life don't behave like that.

Agreed, but maybe the teacher had been talking to this kid and gotten through to him. It would make sense if his initial behaviour was acting on habit, and then he thought 'wait, I promised mister so-and-so I'd be nice to him'.

Because reading to yourself from a book uses a very different skill set to understanding someone who is speaking, asking you to complete a task. Reading is a solitary activity, whereas in the interaction with the teacher he was expected to interpret the spoken instruction correctly and respond appropriately.

I was reading the Hobbit at only four years old but I couldn't follow spoken instructions confidently from most people. While I definitely could have pointed out the pictures he was using at that age, it's not a stretch for me to understand his struggle because I did and still do get very unsure about what is being asked of me in a face to face interaction.

Not realistic at all.

Anyone that dysfunctional in the classroom would be in a special class with others with similar needs and a teacher who works with them. They'd not be in a regular classroom unless they are just going to grind them through 12 years and give them an "attendance certificate" for being in school.

Hell, the way the kids acted would not have been tolerated when I was in school. The teacher would already be in the classroom...they kids wouldn't be there having a heyday until the teacher showed up.

It would've been pretty common in my school.

I would say this is severe aspergers, only that he would need a better understanding of verbal language to be aspie. In the first few minutes with the echolalia, behaviour and routine meltdown he looked a lot like a girl I know and that has aspergers diagnosis, but then in the cards with words part she would have understood what was being asked. So maybe I would say mild classical autism.
I don't think he is moderate functioning.
this girl I know that I talked about is very much like him, she has aspergers diagnosis and studies in "normal" school, so...
and I don't think the kids behavior was unrealistic in the part when they are playing basketball.

It's interesting to know what set of criteria your friend was diagnosed as having Aspergers?