should there be a program explaining autism on TV?

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Should there be a TV show with autistic people explaining autism and Asperger syndrome to the public? It seems people don't know too much about autism. Should there be a weekly program on TV about this? Would that help?

Not thinking about starting one. I have no idea how and no money. Just wondered if it would be a good idea. I think most neurotypicals wouldnt recognize an aspie if they saw one. They pretty much have a vague idea of what autism is.

The thing is, when people don't know they tend to be judgmental and accuse children suffering from meltdowns of being spoiled brats, and why don't their parents just discipline them, and all that. Or they get mad at you for saying/doing the wrong things, and make you feel like a complete idiot. This had happened to me on quite a few occasions.

Q: Which organisation and which 'autism celebrity' couple that profit from it would use that idea to spread its dehumanizing message?

I can see where you are coming from on this, though it would come down to whose message, and the people with the most vested interest + money + power as stakeholders would make sure they controlled the message, either directly or indirectly. They have millions of dollars of income and public funds coming in every year at stake. You think they will sit back and say, "that's a good idea, autistic people can get the truth out there". They are committed propagandists; they would stack the program with their "experts" (the ones who rely on them for research funding) their psychologists (guess what their speciality would be!) their parents (the ever suffering martyrs) and their politicians (they have some in their pocket).

The one thing - perhaps the only thing - you can't accuse the Wrights of is missing any opportunity to get their one-sided and dehumanizing message out there. They are devoted and dedicated to doing that.

PS April 2 is coming up, a chance to do something to challenge the myths etc on Autism Awareness Day

I'm afraid that most of the audience for a program like that would be people who have ASDs and maybe some of their family members. No one else really cares to try and understand something that's complex and isn't affecting them already.

I would also be concerned that it might spread misinformation, since I already see "facts" propagated by so-called "experts" online that are not accurate, or completely mischaracterize aspects of the condition.

Its eternally frustrating to me to see researchers continually touting things like "Intense World" theory and the discovery of the abundance of sensory neuroreceptors in the autistic brain and their connection with autistic anxiety and stimming as "new discoveries" in understanding autism, when I could have told them all that stuff 40 years ago. It appears that every scientist in the field is absolutely blind to the existence of autistic adults and the insight that they could bring to understanding the condition.

You'd think intelligent scientists would get the idea that if you want to understand how a neurological disorder affects people and figure out what causes it and how to approach treating it, the first thing you might try is talking to people who have it. Especially adults who've been living with it for decades. But noOoOOoOo - they continue to approach autism as though it were a childhood ailment that vanishes on your 18th birthday.

As far as getting the general public to understand the condition, I think that would be best served by inserting autistic characters into television shows, books and movies in supporting roles, so the story isn't necessarily about them, but the audience gets to know and sympathize with them anyway. That's been done to a certain extent in the last few years, there was a character with AS on Boston Legal and it seems like maybe some other show, I forget now (several shows have characters that appear autistic, but its never explicit stated). The problem with that is, these characters seem to be written by writers that don't really know the condition, other than what they've read, so the characters' behaviors are either overplayed to stereotype, or underplayed so you can't even tell they have it.

I finished a horror novel a couple years ago, in which I used a supporting character that way, and I think it worked reasonably well, but anxiety and self doubt have kept me from aggressively pursuing publication, 'cause it ain't Twilight. Anyway, I think that's the most effective way to educate the public, to teach them while they're being entertained. Maybe that's what you meant in the first place.

I certainly worry that the News Media is intentionally painting AS in the most negative light possible, by continually associating it with violent crimes -when in fact, most of those violent acts are more likely the result of bad reactions to SSRI meds - but they won't say that, because Big Pharma's advertising pays their salaries.

I have been imagining a podcast or a tv show (perhaps, a sitcom?) about Autistic or Aspie children. It would be sick, if it would be helmed by a director with Aspergers. This way, no stereotypes, misconceptions or anything of that nature.

I already want to do the podcast thing, but if someone wants to take the idea off my hands, feel free to do so.

There was a show on NBC called Parenthood. It recently had a series finale. One of the parents on the show had a child with Asperger's and they would show them trying to cope with his behaviors. They showed him trying to deal with making (and keeping) friends and his trying to deal with a female. One episode they were at a grocery store and someone called him ret*d. His dad knocked that guy's ass on the ground.

I don't know about a weekly show, but a one-off documentary might be good -- by which I mean one of those really interesting, dynamic documentaries that manage to pull in the interest of a general public who wouldn't normally be interested. A well-made, intriguingly presented documentary can get ordinary people to watch things like how the bones of King Richard III were found under a car park, for example. Joe Public can have his attention caught by one interesting hour, I think. But whoever makes the documentary would have to put an interesting spin on it, such as a tone of "Did you know how amazing and wide the autism spectrum is?"

I would really like to have it put across to the public that all kinds of people are on the autism spectrum, because I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that you can't possibly have autism unless you are of a severe level, with all the images that the general public have in mind when they think of severe autism. I think people would be interested to know that the person who lives next door and manages to say "Hi" in passing, has autism. Or that actor Paddy Considine has autism. The broadness of the spectrum and how exactly it affects different people along different places on the spectrum could be presented in a way that causes even a casual viewer to go "Hmm," I feel.

I would really like for more unaffected people (the general public with no intimate knowledge of the spectrum) to be shown an insight to what things are like on the spectrum. It might contribute to a tiny bit more understanding in the world.

I also agree that inserting characters with autism into more TV shows and movies, in a dignified way (not a sensationalist way) would help too.

I also feel that diagnosed public figures help a LOT when there's publicity about the fact that they are on the spectrum. I don't mean people wondering, such as the recent Jerry Seinfeld thing, I mean people like Darryl Hannah and Paddy Considine willingly talking about their experience. One thing that most people make a mistake about is just how "normal" someone can be yet also have a spectrum diagnosis and experience difficulties and deficits too. Functioning people like diagnosed celebrities who have already disclosed their spectrum diagnosis can help a lot to dispel misconceptions and myths.