Aspergers In Entertainment

There are TV shows and movies that have a character on the autism spectrum it could be Asperger's or it could be any other part on the spectrum but there are thought I know of that I have seen or at least know of and/or watched that as a kid on a spectrum or has the symptoms of Asperger's but they they’re actually said that that character has that one thing.

Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory is probably the first person you think of when you hear Aspergers. There’s been no conformation that Sheldon is on the spectrum, but its obvious that he has the signs of Aspergers or Autism. He can do so much and thrive in the areas he’s good at, but he struggles with personal and professional relationships.

Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man is a classic character on the spectrum. The character was inspired by Kim Pete who was diagnosed with autism due to his ability with remembering events that took place in his life, but later, it maybe it was FG syndrome which can share the same signs and symptoms of autism. You can get the diagnosis of autism, but with genetic testing and/or multiple signs of FG syndrome, it can eventually lead to FG syndrome just by itself or both autism and FG.

In the Good Doctor, Freddie Highmore plays Shaun Murphy who as autism and savant syndrome. Shaun is very informative when it comes to anything medical. He’s passionate for his job and he can go into depth about medical conditions and tries to help the patients as much as he can. He’s excellent at his job, but has a hard time connecting with his co-workers and any relationships outside of the hospital.

Atypical is about 17 year old Sam whose interested and passion is the Antarctica and penguins. He wants to date, but he can’t connect with people. He has a friend who he met thru his job at a radio shack type store. His sister looks out for him and his mother is overprotective, but she just wants what’s best for him.

You really don’t see artistic female characters in film and TV. I hope that one day will be someone who can take the lead and be a face for everyone. Have a character that everyone can relate to no matter if your on the spectrum or not.

I know actors that are neurotypical who play artistic characters and people get angry for not having artistic actors play the parts of artistic characters.

There was some backlash when singer SIA had Maddie Ziegler portray an artistic character in Music. People reacted to it because she didn't have an actor with autism to play the main character. I agree with them. Why not give people with autism a chance to prove what they can do? Why go out of your way to hire someone who may not understand or know anything about autism and aspergers?