A pretty good representation for some autistics, however still lacks more diversity and presents a bit of a pathology based view on Autism
George Muniz Gund
September 29th 2022
*I wanted to start this post by saying that this is just one review, representing the views of one Autistic person. Not all Autistic people will agree with my views and I do not speak for the entire community
In my overall opinion, Netflix’s “Atypical” does a pretty good job with character development and representing a different kind of portrayal of Autism compared to what one might be used to seeing in the media, or most Autism related shows up to this point. The main character, Sam, is a kind and very likeable Autistic teenager navigating the challenges of high school as an Autistic person in a world built around Neurotypical norms. Sam’s Autistic traits are very relatable for many Autistics like myself, and they don’t represent the stereotypical extremes of Autism portrayals we are used to seeing; he is not the stereotypical nonspeaking high support needs autistic male with an ableist vibe of tragedy or burden around him, and he is also not the stereotypical savant genius that some shows make out Autistics to be (ahem…The Good Doctor). Right off the bat I will say it would be nice to see an Autistic actor cast for this role but it’s clear that Keir Gilchrist did a lot of research before stepping in to the role of an Autistic character so I do appreciate that. It would of also been nice to see an Autistic character that diverges from the standard cisgender white male but aside from that I felt like the representation of traits was pretty solid, at least in some aspects. It seems like the writers did a good amount of research on Autistic traits, albeit a bit overplayed in my opinion.
The show also does a good job educating the general population about what some Autistic traits feel like from the inside, to the person that is experiencing them, which is, in this case, the main character of the show, Sam Gardner. We see the character Sam experience things such as sensory overload from his perspective as an Autistic person, which I think is important for Neurotypicals to see.
Throughout the show we see Sam’s strong passion for his special interests: Penguins and Antartica. I feel like the show does a good job of showing what having a special interest looks and feels like from the inside, and that it can be a source of joy and positivity to the autistic individual, rather than just an “abnormal fixation” to outsiders. The show also introduces it’s audience to the concept of Stimming (self-regulatory behavior) from the very first scene, by showing Sam fidgeting with his fingers to regulate sensory overload he is experiencing while at school. The writers also do a good job of showing what an Autistic meltdown can feel like from the inside when Sam has a meltdown on the bus after being yelled at by his therapist and being emotionally distraught, while also overwhelmed by the sounds and other sensory stimuli on the bus. We see how Sam experiences these emotions and sensations and how they lead up to him losing control due to complete overwhelm. In my view this will hopefully make some people more understanding when they see an Autistic person having a meltdown in real life. The show also highlights the experience of Autistic shutdown and burnout that tend to follow a meltdown. We see once again what this kind of experience feels and looks like from the perspective of the Autistic person, rather than solely from an outsiders view.
I must also commend the writers of the show for not making Sam a burden or a tragedy to his family, his girlfriend Paige and his close friend Zahid. It is heartwarming to see the way the people in his inner circle truly care about him. They know how to support him when he is distressed and you see how they truly love and care about him throughout the show, treating him like a full person rather than a foreign specimen of some sort. We don’t see this as much in the first season, however in later seasons it becomes more apparent. This is highlighted even in Sam’s relationship with his sister Casey. In typical younger sister fashion, Casey can be pretty mean to Sam, but deep down we see how she truly cares about him, wants him to be well, and will stand up and say something when someone mistreats or is mean to him. Showing this helps destigmatize certain stereotypes about Autism. We are able to see that Autistics can be interesting, kind and loving people, rather than just superhuman specimens or robot like individuals. The key lesson here is that if an Autistic person has had time to get comfortable with you, then you will have a connection with them and they will feel a strong emotional connection to you too. Many Autistic people, including Sam in some instances in the show, experience hyperempathy with people they have developed strong attachements to. This is such an important Autistic trait to highlight, since many people out there still believe that Autistic people lack empathy, which is one of the worst stigmas out there to this day. The reality is that Autistic people show their empathy in different ways, and when they do, it can be way more intense than Neurotypicals. A major problem in our society is that for many people, if you don’t show empathy in standard Neuronormative ways, you are considered to lack empathy. Hopefully the portrayal of Sam’s relationships has already helped and will continue to help open up misinformed minds.
Now that I have talked about and honored all the positive aspects of the show, it is only fair to talk about the things that could of been done better. I would like to start with the disappointing lack of inclusion which starts with the shows decision to not cast an Autistic actor for the role of Sam, which not only leaves the door open for non-accurate portrayals of certain aspects of Autism, but also perpetuates the idea that Autistic people can’t become actors, which couldn’t be more untrue since this post is written by an Autistic Actor. To be fair, in the final season the show does bring in a few Autistic actors to play other Autistic people in Sam’s college peer support group. In my honest opinion, this is too little too late and makes casting look bad because it shows that they could of casted an Autistic actor for the main character role from the very start of the show if they really wanted to.
The thing that bothered me the most throughout the show was that it still seems to present a pathology based view on Autism, considering Neurotypical ways and mannerisms to be the “correct” or “appropriate” ways, and Autistic ways to be incorrect or disordered, rather than just different ways to be accepted and understood. There a few moments in the show where this is highlighted, I will break them down below.
In the very fist episode, Sam’s mother Elsa is having a conversation with Sam’s Therapist Julia, who says that Autistic people “don’t know how to date the right way”. This is problematic because to some it could imply that Autistic ways of feeling love and emotions are wrong and that only the Neurotypical way can be correct. Some Autistics feel like in the first season Sam was made to be a very stereotypical idea of an Autistic person and could be seen to some as more of a specimen than a person and many of his traits seemed a bit overplayed. I did notice that as well in the first season but I personally believe this was more due to lack of research and consultation with real Autistic people more than anything else.
Another thing that may not of seemed like a big deal to the creators of the show, but is relevant and disappointing to a lot of the Autistic community is the use of the blue puzzle piece as a symbol for Autism used in Julia’s office and at TARP (the resource center for Autistic individuals shown all the way until the end of the show). The Autistic community has been trying to explain for many years that the blue puzzle piece is problematic because it was created (by a non-autistic person, from a non-autistic perspective) based on the idea that Autistic people are “puzzling” and need to be “fixed” in order to be accepted, it also infantilizes Autism, perpetuates the idea that only cisgender boys can be autistic by using the color blue, and ignores the existence of Autistic Adults. For many years the Autistic community has used the Rainbow colored Infinity Symbol as a replacement, because it is inclusive of the infinite personalities that Autistic people can have, acknowledging the fact that Autism is a spectrum and Autistic people aren’t all alike. It is also inclusive of Autistic women, Autistic people of color, Autistic trans people, Autistic nonbinary people, and so on. This is something that could of easily been corrected if more appropriate research had been done and effort had been made.
Another thing worthy of noting is the use of functioning labels, which are harmful and outdated. Let me explain. In the sixth episode of the first season, during a conversation with Sam’s father Doug, Sam’s Therapist Julia opens up about her brother also being autistic and calls him ‘’not as high functioning” as Sam. Saying that her brother has higher support needs than Sam would of been more appropriate and sensitive language (using functioning labels invalidates the struggles of those that are called “high functioning” and ignores the capabilities of those that are called “low functioning”). Julia later talks about how sometimes it’s nice to “pretend” that nothing is wrong, which reinforces the stigma that Autism is a bad and/or wrong thing rather than just a different neurotype to be accepted for what it is.
These are all things that may of not been an issue if they had hired more Autistic people, such as an Autistic actor for the role of Sam, in the very first place. I strongly believe that at the very minimum more Autistic people should of been hired as consultants.
In summary, I feel like the show did a good job trying to represent Autism in a better way than it had been up to that point. Even though they still missed the beat on certain things and could of hired more Autistic people in all departments (writing, consulting, casting), they showed an Autistic person in a way that is more human and authentic compared to what we had been used to seeing as a society. We see Sam as a person that does care and that does have strong connections with people around him, the difference is his brain is wired in a different way and he may require supports that are different from others, and that shouldn’t be seen as a tragedy or a burden. Netflix also did a good job at promoting the show. It could of easily gotten lost among the infinite seeming number of shows we see on their platform every day, but they made sure people knew about it and hopefully they were successful in beginning to change the way many Neurotypicals view Autistic people in our current society. I hope you enjoyed reading this review as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please share it with others if you liked it and regardless, please share your thoughts if you wish.
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