Saturday, February 18, 2012 Last updated: Sunday February 19, 2012, 9:43 AM
Max Braverman, 10, is obsessed with bugs and cannot handle any change in plans.
Linda (Sandra Bullock) comforts her son, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), who has Asperger's syndrome, in 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.'
'Parenthood's' Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) also has Asperger's.
Jake Bohm, 11, does not speak or make eye contact and cannot tolerate being touched — not even by his father. Oskar Schell, 9, is fixated on finding the lock to a key that his father — who died on 9/11 — left behind.
These characters — from the TV shows "Parenthood" and "Touch," and the Oscar-nominated film "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" — have Asperger's syndrome or (in the case of Jake) another autism-spectrum disorder.
Add these depictions to other recent projects about adults on the autism spectrum — including HBO's Emmy-winning "Temple Grandin," and the movies "Adam," and "Mozart and the Whale" — and you've got a much wider view than "Rain Man" presented in 1988.
Why is this a hot topic in film and television right now? "The awareness is so much more heightened now than it's ever been in the past," says "Parenthood" consultant Wayne Tashjian, a behavioral therapist. "Many years ago, when people would ask me what I did, I'd have to explain what autism is … Now … it's something the general public can relate to more than in the past. And it's in the news all the time."
These TV shows and movies are especially welcome right now, local autism experts say, when the American Psychiatric Association is revising the diagnostic manual for disorders in a way they fear will prevent people with Asperger's from getting that diagnosis — and related services.
"It's a huge step backwards," says Jeanne Marron, clinical director of Asperger's-related services for West Bergen Mental Healthcare. "That's why these shows are so important, because they do raise awareness of the diversity … 'Parenthood' shows, here's a kid who can go into a typical classroom academically, but still, he does need supports to get through his school day, because of the social difficulties that he has."
Tashjian, director of Los Angeles-based Behavior Therapy Clinic, an applied behavior analysis-based treatment for kids with autism, got involved with "Parenthood" through executive producer Jason Katims, who has a child with Asperger's. "I get the first draft of the script, and I provide feedback on the scenes that relate to the character who has Asperger's, and how the family is dealing with that," says Tashjian.
Once the script is finalized, Tashjian discusses scenes with Max Burkholder, who plays young Max, and the episode's director.
Tashjian also consulted with "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" director Stephen Daldry and read the script for the movie, in which Oskar is "basically an undiagnosed person with Asperger's," Tashjian says. And he vetted the script for Fox's "Touch" pilot, in which the numbers-obsessed Jake can perceive seemingly hidden patterns that connect people around the globe. "He doesn't speak, he's very isolated, he's almost catatonic at times, and so, some of those symptoms, for lack of something else, they're looking at as autism," Tashjian says of the show's creative team. "But, because of this sort of supernatural part of it, it's not clear."
Ellen Schisler, development director for Autism New Jersey, regularly watches "Parenthood" and thinks it's "very sensitively done."
"The thing that I think is challenging about any depiction in TV or in film is, because autism is so individualized, it's not going to tell everyone's story ," she says, citing "Rain Man," the "most notable" depiction ever. "It got people aware of what autism was, but I think if you talk to the autism community, it's a sensitive issue, because not all people with autism are savants like Dustin Hoffman was. So, I think that, as more and more depictions of autism and Asperger's are out there, the more of a range people are going to see."
Mary Meyer, coordinator for the Northeastern New Jersey chapter of ASPEN (Asperger Syndrome Education Network) pays special attention to movies with adult characters, which she feels promote better understanding of Asperger's syndrome. Her 37-year-old daughter was not diagnosed until she was 21.
"Although my daughter's had extensive interventions and therapies, she still has some rough edges, and people could laugh at her or treat her poorly because of that," Meyer says. "And she's a lovely, intelligent, sweet person. Naïve. People could take advantage of her. But my circle of friends now, who have understanding of her, treat her like a regular person."
Email: rohan@northjersey.com
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TV and movies give exposure to autism disorders