Films like 'The Rain Man' promote inaccurate image of autism

The movie may have portrayed an example of a savant and of Kim Peek, but most with autism are not savants. The movie itself was a hollywood version of an actual person who had ASD. Not the other way around.
Kim Peek's was born with macrocephaly damage to the cerebellum, and agenesis of the corpus callosum, a condition in which the bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is missing.
Not caused by vaccines.

I agree. I don't think there's anything wrong with the movie, and I'm sure there are a number of autistics out there who are similar to certain aspects of the character of Raymond. The problem is the people who see this movie, or any other movie about an autistic person, and think that autism is always exactly like that. There will
never be a perfect portrayal of autism in any movie character, because it affects everyone in different ways. Some are savants, most aren't. Some hate loud noises, some couldn't care less. Some are nonverbal, some are highly verbal and even overly talkative at times.
Now if it was a movie with a person who had symptoms of down syndrome with no autistic characteristics, then i'd say that that would be a bad characterization of autism. However, the character in the movie Rain Man is well within the range if possible autistic presentations.

It's just a movie, entertainment. That's all it is. It's not personal. It's actually a good movie, good story line, good actors etc. Just watch and enjoy and quit over thinking it.

I watched the Rain Man when it first came out, years before my son was born. My interest was solely Tom Cruise, not autism or savants. People will always have opinions about movies as such. Some liked Miracle Run, some didn't. The interesting thing about movies is, how actors can replicate and actually appear to have autism, when they do not.

I am AUTISTIC myself and I happened to thoroughly enjoy this movie and have found a significant amount of parallels between myself and Dustin Hoffman's character Raymond. I'm happy to say that it is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Unfortunately non-Autistic people tend to view Raymond in a very superficial and one-dimensional way, though as an Autistic person, I see him as a role model. He is a very positive character for Autistic people. He is very intelligent, he knows what he wants, he is never affected by negativity for any prolonged duration because he legitimately doesn't care what people think about him and he just focuses on the things he enjoys, he is incredibly logical, content with life, and he is HIMSELF. As long as no one imposes their ways on him, he is fine. I think non-Autistic people can learn from him, and Autistic people can take a few pointers from him as well. I'm not saying Autistic people have to be exactly like him. He is a fictional character from a movie, and even if he weren't, people should be themselves. Though people should strive for perfection, whether as Neurotypicals or Autistics, and I think Raymond is an excellent role model for Autistic people. I don't know what any of the people involved with the movie were thinking, though the Autistic mannerisms were true and the acting was good enough to convince me that Raymond was a very complex character.

Everything that you see portrayed by the character happens to be a legitimate Autistic behavior. Specialists were even consulted during the production of the film, so it is at least somewhat accurate, even if the non-Autistic specialists don't really understand Autism . And, of course, those traits can be misunderstood by those who don't experience them personally. Raymond feels affection in his own way, a way that I can relate to. Raymond is VERY affectionate, if you were able to understand the behaviors and have an Autistic perspective. Raymond is also not very independent in supposed "self-help," and the reason is that he needs "space" in his brain for the things that are more important to him, because it is a simple matter of Autistic people having a different set of strengths, and the human brain isn't meant for multi-tasking.

I myself am very dependent on others and require a routine. I also require my food to be prepared in very specific ways, and very restricted to only certain kinds of food, in separate bowls with separate utensils. I can only do certain things on certain days. I am very particular about my rituals and need everything to be done by certain times throughout the day, otherwise I get very upset. I have perseverations, which are intensely focused interests. I am also very aloof and have been described in psychiatric documents as "being in a world of my own." I collect things off the ground, and collect pamphlets and brochures and many other things, I take pictures all the time of things such as rocks or floor tiles or patterns, I obsess over infomercials and don't like to be disrupted while watching. I always carry a tablet and spend most of my time by myself scribbling notes and others things in it. Relationships don't interest me much, though when I do happen to bond, it's a matter of quality over quantity and I need to be able to stim and make noises and not always focus directly on them. I need to be completely immersed in something in order to be happy.

I like being able to just listen when they speak, and when I speak I like to monologue about my special interest without interruption. I don't like to feel confined or smothered by people. I see people more as part of the background, rather than how non-Autistics see people as the end-all-be-all of their focus. Most rigorous interaction makes me have to decompress for hours, and even days, of alone time. I sometimes take months of complete solitude seemingly spontaneously, though it's just something I need to do and I always come back. I used to get upset and force people away, but now I don't do that because all of my friends are on the Internet now, rather than in person. They are true friends and they have Autistic traits as well, so they don't really overwhelm me as much because we don't engage the same way non-Autistics do. For instance, sometimes I can have a whole "conversation" for hours on end just by scribbling a bunch of letters and making patterns rather than "conversing." That's how I bond. My friends are also from other cultures, and that makes it easier for me, too. When I get overwhelmed, I shut down and I am unable to speak or even notice the presence of anyone or anything.

In a way, Raymond is more "high-functioning" than I am (Though I don't like nor use functioning labels and this is just an example.) because he can take showers, brush his teeth, comb his hair, dress himself, etc. very independently. I can't. My mother helps me with all of these things and more. Though, like Raymond, I get very confused when answering questions or making decisions. I often answer "I don't know" when the questions are too ambiguous (And most questions are, it seems), and my mother understands me and respects me well enough to make most of the decisions for me, so I don't mind. I can't be pressured into anything, otherwise I end up shutting down, which is the same thing that would happen if I were somehow forced not to stim, because much of my stimming is involuntary.

The movie dealt well with the social issues surrounding Autism. Raymond's brother Charlie may have gotten upset with Raymond, though ultimately he understood that there was more to Raymond than how the doctors perceived him and didn't allow the doctors to demean him. This reflects a real-life situation that Autistic people often go through. I am lucky to have my mother just like Raymond had Charlie. The school system wanted me institutionalized, in Special Education, or in a special school for the disabled, and mom didn't like that and got upset so the school put me on their Home Bound program where a teacher comes to the house. The school doesn't like people to be on it long though and therefore mom struggled to keep me on and fortunately succeeded. In Raymond's case, he wanted to go back to Wallbrook because that was his home for a very long time, of course, though still see his brother. Had I been institutionalized for all those years, I would have adjusted to the routine and not wanted to leave either. I hate all the stress and the road trip would have made me panic. Though I'm obviously glad to have never been institutionalized.

Oh sorry, I thought I posted before.

Site glitch. Nevermind. Okay, anyway.....

One thing I don't like about the movie is the savant skills. It's the same way for any movie about "disability." It seems to be saying that "disabled" people have to be able to have some special talent in order to justify their existence, almost like "apologizing" for the Autism. "He's Autistic, BUT...." and et cetera. However, there are plenty of Autistic people who DO have those skills, at least to some degree. I'd even say the majority do, though only some can actually be regarded as savants. It's simply a different set of strengths, and some Autistics are better at it than others, even to the point of being exceedingly so. All Autistics have the potential, really.

Why are people so upset about 'Rain Man'? Just because not ALL Autistics are like him? Because it's not an "inaccurate" portrayal. They can't make a movie that represents all Autistics because everyone is different, and people will inevitably take offense or at least be critical. This movie was from 1988, and there are more movies now that portray all different ASD characters. Though even so, those characters are also fake Autistics, somewhat similar to men playing women or white people in black face. And out of those options, I still prefer the traditional character of Raymond Babbitt from 'Rain Man." I like how there was nothing in 'Rain Man' that made Autism seem like a disorder, at least not blatantly so. It was all down-to-Earth realism with non-Autistics who knew nothing about Autism, which was often comical rather than clinical.

People sometimes confuse strokes and seizures, but they are two very different conditions. First, here are some basics about each. A stroke results from reduced blood flow to all or some part of the brain, in turn leading to the death of some brain cells. Meanwhile, a seizure is the result of excessive, synchronous electrical activity in brain circuits. Eventually, a brain affected by a seizure will recover. A seizure may appear more dramatic and upsetting, but a stroke is medically much more serious because in stroke brain cells die.

Autism is not at all comparable to a stroke. When people have strokes, there's no compensating in other parts of the brain, either. Depending on the severity of the stroke, the person will be mildly affected, or permanently paralyzed.

Laurence Kim Peek was born in 1951 and the vaccine theory doesn't apply to him.

FROG wrote:

Unfortunately non-Autistic people tend to view Raymond in a very superficial and one-dimensional way, though as an Autistic person,

The thing with any movie and those who watched it who had no experience with a person who had autism, is they tend to stereotype. They get the idea that every one with autism is like Kim Peek. The movie depicted how autism affected Kim Peek and only Kim Peek. What took away from the movie was Tom Cruise and the Hollywood drama. Most people incliding myself only watched the movie due to Tom Cruise, autism had nothing to do with why I wanted to see it. People do have to remember, Dustin Hoffman did not have autism and as much as he is a good actor, one really cant educate themselves about autism from this movie.

Not like the book has a thing to do with autism, any book that costs a penny speaks for itself. You'd think anti vaxxers could come up with newer information that from 8 years ago.

Asperger's Syndrome, as well as some other forms of ASD, are outgrowable. I know this is true because I used to have Asperger's Syndrome, so don't say they aren't outgrowable. I do believe I have savant-like gifts, especially in memory and mathematics. And I do believe other people with ASD also have savant-like gifts or other abilities. For some types of ASD, we don't really know for sure whether or not they have those types of gifts. However, we cannot prove they don't have them. I personally believe they do. Also, I did not get these ideas from the movies, as I haven't even watched them before.

No where does it state AS or ASD is something a person will outgrow. That actually happens to be a misconception of many people within the public that make daily living more a struggle for those who really do have ASD.
When one mentions 'forms', one then really has to question a misdiagnosis if it was 'outgrown'.

friend wrote:

No where does it state AS or ASD is something a person will outgrow. That actually happens to be a misconception of many people within the public that make daily living more a struggle for those who really do have ASD.
When one mentions 'forms', one then really has to question a misdiagnosis if it was 'outgrown'.

It actually is possible for one with ASD to outgrow it (the social anxiety part). I know this is true because my psychiatrist told me and gave me a pamphlet about it. I am not stating that all people with ASD can outgrow it, but I am saying it is possible to do it in some instances.

And what organization printed that pamphlet? Generation Rescue? Social anxiety isn't a trait of autism, that would be the side affect of impaired social interaction. There's more to ASD than impaired social interaction. You do not outgrow autism. There is no known cure. You learn coping skills that make it a LOT less obvious to the untrained individual.
Anyone who simply ourgrew ASD never had ASD. I'd look for a knew psych.

friend wrote:

And what organization printed that pamphlet? Generation Rescue? Social anxiety isn't a trait of autism, that would be the side affect of impaired social interaction. There's more to ASD than impaired social interaction. You do not outgrow autism. There is no known cure. You learn coping skills that make it a LOT less obvious to the untrained individual.
Anyone who simply ourgrew ASD never had ASD. I'd look for a knew psych.

It is not a cure that helped me outgrow autism. It was my determination to be more social. Social impairedness/social anxiety is part of many forms of autism, including the Asperger's Syndrome I used to have. You never had to go through this struggle, so you would not know anything about it. I did go through this all, and I do know about it. Do not tell me there is no possible way to outgrow autism, because there is, and you just don't know about it.

Like I said, ASD consists more than just impaired social interaction. Many people can have just that alone, but that alone is not ASD. There's much more to ASD than that. When kids hit their teen age years, almost all of them go through impaired social interaction. They don't all have ASD. And since you don't know me, you have no idea what experience I have.

It is untrue and a misconception that people can outgrow autism, of any form. It is people like you who does damage to all the awareness those before you struggled to create. I am sorry for all the struggles you went through and it's great you outgrew whatever you had. You simply do not outgrow neuro disorders. No matter how determined a person is.

friend wrote:

Like I said, ASD consists more than just impaired social interaction. Many people can have just that alone, but that alone is not ASD. There's much more to ASD than that. When kids hit their teen age years, almost all of them go through impaired social interaction. They don't all have ASD. And since you don't know me, you have no idea what experience I have.
It is untrue and a misconception that people can outgrow autism, of any form. It is people like you who does damage to all the awareness those before you struggled to create. I am sorry for all the struggles you went through and it's great you outgrew whatever you had. You simply do not outgrow neuro disorders. No matter how determined a person is.

Like I said, it is possible to outgrow it. And also like I said, you didn't go through the experience or have enough information. Again, like I said, I did go through this experience and do have credible information. So stop pretending like you know all this information you're making up and get a life.

You're the one who came here posting asperger's as well as some other forms of ASD, are 'outgrowable'.
All it takes is a simple web search and anyone who 'didn't go through it' can easily see no one outgrows autism. I didn't make it up and I'm not saying you made anything up, either. There's more to ASD than the social issues, but many people who don't have ASD DO have social issues. Many known things can contribute to that and are easier to over come by 'outgrowing' it. A study which found 1:10 "outgorw" ASD was due to a misdiagnosis. They never had any form of ASD. Those who learn coping skills don't learn those skills without intervention as well, just due to the nature of the ASD disorder, plain determination isn't enough and if you weren't such a 'know it all', coming here and making such a claim, you'd know that.

friend wrote:

You're the one who came here posting asperger's as well as some other forms of ASD, are 'outgrowable'.
All it takes is a simple web search and anyone who 'didn't go through it' can easily see no one outgrows autism. I didn't make it up and I'm not saying you made anything up, either. There's more to ASD than the social issues, but many people who don't have ASD DO have social issues. Many known things can contribute to that and are easier to over come by 'outgrowing' it. A study which found 1:10 "outgorw" ASD was due to a misdiagnosis. They never had any form of ASD. Those who learn coping skills don't learn those skills without intervention as well, just due to the nature of the ASD disorder, plain determination isn't enough and if you weren't such a 'know it all', coming here and making such a claim, you'd know that.

You show me the link to the website that says 1:10 ASD patients who outgrow ASD was due to a misdiagnosis and I might believe that. But what about the other 9:10 who outgrow ASD without a misdiagnosis? A simple web search is not credible enough to denounce those who hage gone through everything they had to so they could outgrow ASD. I'm not talking about any medication. Medication does nothing. I'm talking about a personal experience and a great hurdle ASD patients take if and when they outgrow their ASD. And with Asperger's Syndrome, as well as probably some other ASD syndromes, there really isn't that much else to the syndrome than social anxiety and cognitive abilities. Google can't give you the facts, but I'm here giving them to you right now.