Autistic Gardener TV programme

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anyone else watch this show on channel 4?
Curious about what other people thought of it and how it put across autism.
This is what I thought of it

Few odd comments from parents that are a tad stereotypical.
Gardening information too
Quite stereotypical about maths said every autistic person can rely on maths, and a few other times but not too much. (Was kind of in reference to the marking out of the garden but still)
Maybe a wee bit too positive at times (autistic vision is better than nt vision)
I liked that it was autistic people speaking about being autistic (with just a wee bit from nts) rather than nts speaking about autism
Lots and lots about creating the garden too
Good at saying how different everyone is and showing it a bit too
Overall it's definitely better than other shows about/with autistic people, it could probably be a bit better but it was much better than my expectations.

I'm looking forward to the other episodes but I hope they continue as it currently is and not go stereotypical and inspirational crap.

I liked it The guy with the pink hair had pink nails and a purple watch.

But yeah it did seem very optimistic, but I did like how they all were different in their ideas but got it to work very well.

Yeah I loved his hair and nails. And I loved Charles he was awesome.

I think maybe this week may have been more optimistic than other weeks might be as the blurb for next week seemed to have a few more issues in it but I'm not too sure, need to wait and see.

Yeah, they were talking about robbing a bank Sounds like money becomes a problem next week.

My mum wouldn't stop comparing them to me.

Yeah that was amusing.

I think I'm going to have to record the next ones so I can watch them by myself. I always feel really awkward watching TV with other people.

The Autistic Gardener was great. I'm a garden designer on the autistic spectrum (self-diagnosed). I just finished college a couple of weeks ago. The range of plants I'm interested in is very narrow- edible or sensory - very brightly coloured, unusual texture or shape, aromatic or tactile. And I'm only interested in using reclaimed materials. So different from most people on my course.

I think lots of people on the autistic spectrum are drawn to gardening because it de-stresses you. I'd say half the people I know that are into gardening, are on the autistic spectrum, most of them undiagnosed and unaware of it.

Well I am the one who takes care of our plants if that counts as gardening. "Watering the grass" is me just pissing around with the hose and making rainbows. The rest of the grass is brown, but our grass is green.

I bet you like water fights!

I haven't had one in a while but yes Water fights are great.

Pretty sure all our plants would be brown by now because it's barely raining at all and everything else is brown. I don't know why but I just like watering all our plants and the grass. Who needs a sprinkler?

I think the plants like that even better!

Do you hear them purring with delight?

I know it's been hot in the UK--have you had much rain so far?

Depends what part of the UK. West get drowned in rain constantly, but where I am is always dry and when it does rain it's never for long, but it can get pretty heavy - thunderstorms in the summer late afternoon sometimes. It does rain more in the winter than in the summer. This map is the average annual rainfall in Britain (not UK, no Northern Ireland on this map). The numbers are in mm.

I live in the yellow (<625mm a year) which is the same color as the grass in the summer That's why I need to water the plants so much at the moment. Gives me something to do.

This is where I am http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/aberdeen-hit-by-severe-summerr-floods1/
It rained, thundered and lightening all day. Since then it's been sunny though.



The most gardening I do is mowing the lawn. I don't mind gardening, I'd like to have a vegetable patch and fruit trees at some point in my life.
My favourite part is the soil, I love getting muddy and watering things is fun to, I love playing with the hose.

I know it's fictional but have you also seen The Syndicate? They also have an autistic gardener in it - Godfrey. That's not a main part of the TV programme though.

Never seen "The Syndicate."

Thanks for the climate info. I'm glad the plants have you to nurture them.

I hope you get nice, misty showers soon.

I really enjoyed The Autistic Gardener! I think it's a terrific way to get more of the general public to see more of real people on the spectrum, but in the context of actually being engaged in an activity which lots of people/NTs can relate to and enjoy also.

It shows aspies as "people too", to Joe Public, and shows that they too can be creative, talented, have imagination, work (at something they love) and produce something stunningly wonderful. It may help some employers to see some aspies in a different light. It may help lots of people out there start to learn and understand a few things about the spectrum.

I did love that Alan Gardner mentioned that each person on the spectrum is different and has differing abilities and challenges. I like that he illustrated this in the range of people he chose as his team workers. This can only be a good thing for the general public to see -- and lots of people are into gardening, so I'm sure there was a fair number of people checking out this show for more than one reason.

I did feel a bit "hmm" when he brought out the old mathematics stereoptype "All aspies feel comfortable with" or something. As the OP notes, not always true. Maths was my weak spot academically, for one person; I'm not the science/math aspie, for one.

But aside from that, I thought the show was great and it's going to be a good thing to have this out there. People who know next to nothing about autism will be helped to see more than stereotypes, and more than the downsides, but instead see some of the focus, talent, employability, and how some of the differences of an aspie to an NT can be thought of as an interesting way to see the world instead of a disadvantaged way.

I like how instead of yet another documentary about autism which is doom and gloom and "look at all the downsides, " instead this is a fun, funny, cool and constructive insight into people on the spectrum using unique talents to create great things.

I also thought the garden turned out gorgeous.

Last edited by BirdInFlight on 09 Jul 2015, 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah, I did find it pretty funny. When the guy got those hose on the tree stump I just couldn't stop laughing. He got dirt all over him, the windows, the door... just everywhere I don't know his name but he was hilarious.

It really did. The camouflage netting did seem weird but the clients were happy with it and so was everyone. By the sounds of it the next episode isn't going to be as calm though.

And yeah, I do like this alternate viewpoint. They have one common strong interest, gardening, but are completely different in what it is about it which they like.