Is autism misrepresented?
Browse movies, tv shows, books and more where autism is misrepresented.
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Movie • 2021 Report
Yes
55
No
4
14
RyanS
A very bad depiction of people with autism
TV Show • 2017 Report
Yes
43
No
2
21
DeenGray
The show says that autistic people are useless unless they have "savant"-like skills, and that our autism causes us to be bigoted. This is basically what a white suburban Christian mom who runs a mommy blog’s idea of autism is.
TV Show • 2005 Report
Yes
27
No
3
6
shaymin
a doctor with autism is portrayed very stereotypically and is shown to be rude and cold. many other doctors make fun of her before finding out shes autistic, and even after she says she is, she refers to it as aspergers. theres a mention if curing autism later in the show i believe.
TV Show • 1997 Report
Yes
25
No
3
TV Show • 2017 Report
Yes
23
No
1
Movie • 2009 Report
Yes
21
No
1
9
Autismcreatureirl
It's a film made by autism speaks, which has a long known history of misinfo and harm to autistic people.
The way is shown here isn't any better. That's it
The way is shown here isn't any better. That's it
Movie • 1999 Report
Yes
20
No
1
9
jdpamv
Peter describes being in a waiting room with an autistic woman and she’s seen and heard screaming. Pretty terrible misrepresentation NGL.
TV Show • 2017 Report
Yes
19
No
5
2
greenseaturtle
Actual person with autism here: this show is actually a mixed bag in terms of representation. While Season 1 can come off as a bit backward and stereotypical, Keir Gilchrist's performance becomes more nuanced and well-researched in later seasons, and there are several actual autistic actors in the form of Sam's support group. I wouldn't go so far as to say that watching this show makes someone an expert on ASD, but I found myself enjoying and relating to it.
TV Show • 2013 Report
Yes
17
No
7
2
Okamidani
The character in question says they are 'on the spectrum' also that they are 'closer to Asperger's' and that they have some 'UNDIAGNOSED PERSONALITY DISORDERS' ***Small spoilers**** the mixture of disorders and where he is on the spectrum allows him to profile killers for the FBI.
--The best term to describe the character in question is when someone says: "There isn't a word yet for what SO AND SO is."---
-- If autism is misrepresented then so to are 'various undiagnosed personality disorders' ---- Even then, if they are misrepresented they are only done that way to enhance a character to make them a better 'cooler' more interesting detective. ---- What they end up doing or not doing as that character is not chalked up to their autism or personality disorders ****MORE SPOILERS****** it is chalked up to something beyond the character's control - something that is done to them.
--The best term to describe the character in question is when someone says: "There isn't a word yet for what SO AND SO is."---
-- If autism is misrepresented then so to are 'various undiagnosed personality disorders' ---- Even then, if they are misrepresented they are only done that way to enhance a character to make them a better 'cooler' more interesting detective. ---- What they end up doing or not doing as that character is not chalked up to their autism or personality disorders ****MORE SPOILERS****** it is chalked up to something beyond the character's control - something that is done to them.
Movie • 1988 Report
Yes
16
No
2
12
RyanS
Rain Man has a complicated legacy in it's depiction of autistic people. It's long been criticized for perpetuating the autistic savant stereotype, but it also dispelled other myths and misconceptions about autistic people and improved awareness of how autistic people have been failed in accommodations.
Movie • 1997 Report
Yes
13
No
0
3
throughourphantoms
Kazan, who has some developmental or intellectual disability, has a lot of harassment and dehumanization done towards him, but he’s also given the math genius stereotype
TV Show • 2007 Report
Yes
12
No
0
5
cha0ticneutralsystem
Sheldon is the stereotype of savant autistic who is smart but socially inept and often gets away with some really fucked up things because he is quirky. To clarify I don’t think he is actually canonically autistic but coded to resemble autistic people. The actor even said he “studied Asperger’s”, which means the actor isn’t autistic and he used an outdated, antisemetic and ableist model of autism to base his character on and based it around “high functioning” models. Sheldon is also shown to be extremely bigoted, much like the rest of the boys and depicted at asexual and a romantic which is a trope used to infantilise and desexualize autistic people
TV Show • 2011 Report
Yes
12
No
3
Movie • 2006 Report
Yes
11
No
0
6
SiRenfield
Pretty bad anti-autism propaganda
Movie • 2009 Report
Yes
10
No
0
5
AngusONeillMacdonald
This whole movie is about how autism is caused by vaccines (which is false).
TV Show • 2010 Report
Yes
10
No
0
6
cha0ticneutralsystem
Asperger’s is an outdated, racist and antisemetic term and is used to describe Sherlock being autistic. He is also a white male autistic savant trope who has supernatural-like powers from his autism that balance out or nullify the disability part of his autism. ASPD and personality disorders are also misrepresented as “sociopaths” and so on. Sherlock is also called a “sociopath” derogatorily so I’m unsure if he actually has ASPD and is having a term used on him that does apply to him but is used in a perjorative way or they are trying to say that him being autistic makes him a “sociopath”
Movie • 2014 Report
Yes
9
No
7
8
DelilahV
While not explicitly stated in the film, Samuel displays numerous autistic traits and is seen as autistic by lots of viewers and fans of the series. This could be upsetting to some because he's also described as having "severe behavioral problems" and is neglected due to his symptoms.
Podcast Report
Yes
8
No
5
3
NebbyAxolotl
The statement giver’s cousin in MAG 54 — Still Life is mentioned to be autistic. Their autistic traits are compared to the traits of someone who turns out to not be human.
Movie • 2018 Report
Yes
8
No
1
4
SiRenfield
Ooooh yes, serious indigo child vibes here considering how they call autism the next step of human evolution and treat it like a superpower in a way that’s rather condescending
Movie • 2000 Report
Yes
7
No
2
5
1emon
Not explicitly, but a person presumed to have mental disabilities is stereotyped and mocked
Movie • 2017 Report
Yes
6
No
1
1
GalaxyFurb
the antagonist is autistic-coded imho and has very few redeeming qualities
Movie • 2004 Report
Yes
6
No
2
TV Show • 2009 Report
Yes
6
No
0
TV Show • 2007 Report
Yes
5
No
0
1
S1
E1
There are characters who are veey mean-spirited autistic stereotypes. First one that comes to mind is Mandy in iAm Your Biggest Fan. The main characters really hate this 10-year-old for being annoying.
TV Show • 2024 Report
Yes
5
No
0
3
Iveta
When John and Jane are arguing, John yells at Jane saying “I don’t know if you’re on the spectrum or what” accusing her of being emotionally unavailable, never having cared about anyone, not being empathetic, and more.
TV Show • 2013 Report
Yes
5
No
0
-1
roww
not explicitly stated, but there is a character who has a type of mental disability, possibly autism
TV Show • 2005 Report
Yes
5
No
1
5
There are no characters explicitly stated to be autistic. However most of the main characters have autistic traits like lack of social awareness, misophonia, learning difficulties and abnormal speech patterns. Especially Charlie is considered by a lot of viewers to be autistic. They're all horrible people and these traits play a part in that.
I personally as an autistic person find the show to be accurate representation of what being autistic is like, but yeah, it definitely doesn't show us in a positive light.
Small edit: If we listen to Word of God, Charlie Kelly is autistic according to Charlie Day. As I said the portrayal of his autism is accurate but not necessarily positive.
I personally as an autistic person find the show to be accurate representation of what being autistic is like, but yeah, it definitely doesn't show us in a positive light.
Small edit: If we listen to Word of God, Charlie Kelly is autistic according to Charlie Day. As I said the portrayal of his autism is accurate but not necessarily positive.
TV Show • 2023 Report
Yes
5
No
1
Movie • 2008 Report
Yes
4
No
0
0
Anonymous
One character is autistic and is called the r-word by kids who are meant to be mean. Beyond the other kids persecuting her, I didn't find her representation to be particularly offensive but I'm also not autistic myself, so YMMV
TV Show • 2022 Report
Yes
4
No
0
3
FakeJacob
S1
E1
A self-diagnosed autistic person is portrayed as faking it, and being diagnosed from TikTok. This is obviously a strawman.