Sympathetic portrayal of autism for schools?

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My son is being bullied in school, and the school are taking proactive steps to stop the bullying. They are considering getting someone in to discuss autism and asperger's issues, but are concerned about making my son stand out too much. You say "autism", most people think Rainman... The only fictional portrayal they have of autism in the school is "the case of the dog..." (I forget the title) where the boy is much more stereotypical than my son.

There are some good films out there, like Adam, which deal with the issue in a far more subtle and sympathetic way, but that's inappropriate for schools, dues to scenes of a sexual nature.

Is there anything you could recommend for kids under sixteen, which could be watched in an ethics class etc? Much of the problem arises from the fact that the other kids don't understand where my son is coming from, and he doesn't understand where they're coming from. Do you think generating discussions based around a movie would be a good idea? It's just an idea at this stage.

I would be interested to know any answers to this one too! I've just started doing some teaching practice and can see this happening.

The school where I am working there are a number of Aspergers boys, so none would really stand out.

I don't often watch films myself so don't know most of them. For some reason one that does spring to mind is "Good Will Hunting" which is about a cleaner who is writes the maths answers on the blackboard in the university. The maths professor tries to get him a job and has him visiting a shrink played by Robin Williams. There are all sorts of interesting angles to discuss - there are some bullying scenes, where the university students pick on the cleaner and his friends, and some bad behaviour scenes, where the cleaner is rude to the shrink, and messes around in the job interview.

Might not be exactly what you are looking for but maybe if you can find something specifically on Aspergers it would be better to include it in a wider discussion about behaviour and bullying.

AND

Do they need to watch a whole movie or would some excerpts do?

Mgran, your son is lucky to have you because you don't just see that he doesn't understand them; you also see that thye don't understand him, which is more important seeing as how he's YOUR son. I hated being treated like the stereotypical Aspie too. I was treated that way in school for 3 years. It was embarrassing and just... stupid.