About the series "Atypical", and autism in general

Hello there,

I don't know if some of you already know this series, and have watched it (at least the first season, uh), but I wanted to talk a bit about it (maybe because the third season is now on Netflix since few days). The main reason is the "invisibility" of the autism (in all forms) in our society.
Some studies showed that one person for 150 is autistic (3 to 4 boys for 1 girl) !  

I guess we can link this topic to those interested in the Master 2 Brand and Youth Products (MPJ) next year : the part of autistic children isn't negligible and it's good to know a bit how it works for them. Did you know that toys for autistic children are a completely separate industry, requiring long and serious researches ?

Anyways, Atypical is about a young teenager, Sam Gardner, who discover his sexuality, his needs, teen's problems, you know. Maybe some of you will find it a little bit too "series for young teen" but there are some subjects it highlights like his family's routine, obstacles that he faces, etc. Us, the "neurotypicals" never had problems like him. Personally, autism is a topic that fascinates me and on which I love to learn.

If you watched this series (or gonna watch it soon), what did you think about it ?
What do you know about autism ? How do you imagine toys for autistic children ?

I'm dropping the mic, come debate with me here  

Good topic - Autism and it's (in)visibility especially linked to marketing. I don't know anything about the TV series but I'll be interested to see the replies to the topic.

I'm surprised and disappointed that no-one has commented on your thread.

Perhaps you can answer a question about the series for me:

Are the autistic characters portrayed by people with autism?

Hey Emma !

I just wanted to watch this series! Sorry for the answer time, I finally started to watch it following your comment, I'm currently at season 2.

I have also always been intrigued by autism. It's pretty amazing how the brain of these people work. I had a few cognitive psychology classes when I was in bachelor's degree, and we had discussed this subject a few times in class.

In this series, there are two sentences that the main actor said and which I particularly remembered : "One of his theories [his friend Zahid] is that people with autism are actually the normal ones because they see the world as it really is. It's only neurotypicals who put an extra layer of meaning on top of what's actually there so it makes sense to them."
These two sentences really make sense to me, and I think that's clearly true.

The series also deals a lot with the difficulties you may meet when you have a child with autism in your family. For example, a parent may have trouble admitting the difference of his child, and therefore may lie to himself, not talking about it to his friends.
Also, the difference between brother and sister. One is autistic so it takes up more space in the life of the family, while the other is neurotypical and therefore feels neglected.

There is a lot of misunderstanding for most people in general around this disease. The problem is that there are different intensities of autism, so people don't make a difference. You're autistic, that's all. While many are much smarter than most people, except that they need a calm environment constantly. But everyone doesn't understand that.

This series is very touching and makes you want to learn more about the particularities of these people with autism.

And, to answer you Mister John, the autistic characters aren't portrayed by people with autism; but they could have put it in place for having further impact.

Hello, I don’t know th

- John you were wrong, there are already two super girls who take time to respond to my topic and it's efficient, it makes me happy. I guess y'all can't have time to answer here if they didn't watch the series, so I forgive them.

Mh, by stalking the instagram of some actors I discovered that the character of Sam isn't played by a real autistic boy but I recognize that his performance is really amazing, because he's acting exactly like a real one, and it's never wrong interpreted (like clichés or errors). But I think the others autistics in the talk group of Sam are maybe really autistic.


- Leelee, thanks to your answer I really applause your philosophy about that, because your words are true and you succeed to pick up the best quote of the whole series to explain what it is. But i'm not surprised I already see how much you're open minded and I thank you for that, again. I'll wait you to finish the second season and will discuss about it with you.


- Thank you for your interest here Adélaïde even if you don't know the series, that's a pleasure to me to answer to your questions.
I think you're totally right ! People with autism feel things more intensely (emotions, noise, smells, fear...) so they're kinda hypersensitive. And those people have a different brain than us. I'm not totally sure about the scientifical approval here but like you I made this hypothesis.

Last year I did my internship in the psychiatric hospital, Camille Claudel based in La Couronne, near of Angoulême. My tutor, a really nice psychologist, work 2 days per week with the autistic adults, in "long séjour" : they can't be autonomous, some of them can't talk, walk, etc...
I was really emotional during all my internship, this is amazing all these feels you have when you succeed to communicate with persons with the most advanced stage of autism, just by regards, contacts, and things like that. It was a really good lesson of life, I discovered so much things and autism became a topic that I love.
I could say so much more but I think I talked enough here, but I'll enjoy the continuity of this discussion when you want, with all of you !

Hey Emma, this is exactly what I’m going to talk about for my series presentation! I mentioned it in our conversation... An interesting subject indeed.

It's a really interesting topic!
I'm sensitive about it, maybe because my mom is working with disabled people.
I haven't watch Atypical but this serie reminds me a French movie "Hors normes" I really really really want to watch (not just because Vincent Cassel is in).
I think I'll start Atypical soon because I'm interesting by Autism but I don't have any knowledge about it. Unfortunately autism is still taboo even in schools !! Some people are thinking autism people are not in "their place" at school whereas... yes! I don't understand why society are rejecting disabled people...
And your idea to use marketing to fight against this "invisibility" is a great idea.

earnau06 wrote:Hey Emma, this is exactly what I’m going to talk about for my series presentation! I mentioned it in our conversation... An interesting subject indeed.

Hi ! Yea I saw this friday in the conversation, and that's excellent ! I guess you'll awaken interest for those who have never heard of it and inform John about this series.