Hellobee Boards

@spaniellove: I thought the contrast painted was a very interesting one: the young man appeared to "closely match the 'Rain Man' characterization of autism," but when talking about Disney films he acted in a way that revealed a rich and powerful emotional inner life.

<< A young man, speaking in a very routinized way with speech patterns that closely match the “Rain Man” characterization of autism, asks me the date of my birth. I tell him, and his eyes flicker. “That was a Friday.”

When I ask the group which Disney character they most identify with, the same student, now enlivened, says Pinocchio and eventually explains, “I feel like a wooden boy, and I’ve always dreamed of feeling what real boys feel.” The dorm counselor, who told me ahead of time that this student has disciplinary issues and an unreachable emotional core, then compliments him — “That was beautiful,” she says — and looks at me with astonishment. I shrug. He’d already bonded in a soul-searching way with his character. I just asked him which one.

It goes on this way for an hour. Like a broken dam. The students, many of whom have very modest expressive speech, summon subtle and deeply moving truths. >>

@spaniellove: I think the article is a real gift to the autism community! I looked over the 250+ comments on the article, and many were from families who have wrestled with autism and felt similarly... I didn't see any references to Rain Man in the comments. The word "respect" was used a lot of times, always in a positive way (as far as I could see).

I think the author's insights could really help a lot of kids. I guess I had a strong reaction to your comments, because I think it's important to judge a body of work on its totality. The article was really powerful and personal, and I thought it was so incredibly respectful of his son...