Autism Spectrum Disorders: Film Analysis

1) explain why it is important to recognise that each individual on the autistic spectrum has their own individual abilities, needs, strengths, preferences and interests

Radio is a film based on the true story of James Robert Kennedy and Coach Harold Jones in the year 1976. The movie shines a very positive light on people with disabilities. A person with a disability is a person first and if others give them the time and attention, their special characteristics and skills begin to show and grow. In Radio, Coach Jones gives James, or more popularly known as Radio, the chance to develop into his greatest potential. Radio begins to have a large supportive network from the town of Anderson, South Carolina and TL Hanna High School all because of the single actions of Coach Jones.

Autism is a brain disorder that is characterized by slow and difficult comprehension of spoken and non-verbal communication and repetition of behaviors. Autism is normally noticed in the first two years of a child (Myers & Johnson, 2007). Asperger syndrome is an autistic disorder that has almost the same similarities with autism. People with Asperger syndrome have little comprehension of the world and its surroundings and poor communication with other people. People with Asperger syndrome are hard to recognize, as they do not show on their outward appearances. They are average or above average intellectually and have fewer problems in terms of speech and specific learning disabilities unlike in autism. These difficulties include dyslexia, epilepsy, and attention

References Altern, J. (2006). Abnormally High Plasma Levels of Vitamin 6 in Children with Autism Not Taking Supplements Compared to Controls not Taking Supplements. US National Library of Medicine. National Institute of Health. Complement Med, 12 (1), 59-63.

Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.

Baker (2017) investigated the portrayal of autism in the media, particularly in newspapers. The analysis of the data revealed predominantly negative imagery when discussing autism and as a results, this negative representation of autism indeed affects the perception that the society holds. The research investigated the language used and topics discussed when mentioning autism. The results showed that more than 25 terms were negative when describing the situations the people with autism and the people that surrounds them experience. The examples include the words such as struggle, burden, problem, mental, etc. The results also showed that the topic of ‘Quality of life’ is in the special interest of the media. The majority of the articles were

What Is It, What Does It Do, How Do We Help It, and Who has it?

All the character’s qualities matched up with the autism spectrum disorder diagnostic criteria. There were no symptoms or actions that weren’t. I think this film has a very strong impact on viewers due to the fact that they show what it is actually like to have to take care of someone with autism, and how they think and comprehend things. Viewers can come away from the movie and see that not all family members or loved ones can take care of someone with autism. Certain levels of autism require a certain amount of care, someone who is specialized in the

Art ‘n Autism is a non-profit organization is Tuscaloosa, Alabama that focuses on children or adults with autism to help promote social skills and well as an interactive learning environment. While at Art ‘n Autism, has numerous classes and activities that the students rotate through during the week and each day. These activities include: art, music, yoga, social skills, play time, and snack. The kids are dropped off in the afternoon by their caregivers and spend three hours switching activities with children in their chronological and developmental ages.

This movie didn’t only bring awareness to me about children with learning disabilities, but the people in the movie as well. I felt upset at some points, especially when the teacher was talking about visual perception. The teacher listed four steps that go through children with learning disabilities minds. First, the teacher gives the student a picture to look at and try to comprehend, and if they can’t figure it out the teacher starts yelling “look at it harder.” Obviously, the student has been looking at the picture trying to figure it out, just because they are looking at it doesn’t mean anything is going to change. The next step was, the teacher will try to bribe the student. For example, if they say they correct answer then they could be first in line. Next, if they still can’t get it then the teacher will start to take away things. Such as take away recess, or write a note home to mom. The fourth step is “blaming the victim” saying the student isn’t trying hard enough. All of these steps in some way cause anxiety for the student with a learning disability. I actually wanted to cry, because I don’t want to see any student especially one who stuggles being yelling at or feel like they aren’t good enough. The letter “A” in “FAT” stands for anxiety and that’s exactly what the student feels in situation like that. I learned that “processing” is different for students with learning disabilities. Even though we think we are talking at a regular pace, the student with the disability thinks we are talking at a fast pace. For example, we ask a question, they have two times the processing. They have to process the question first and break it down then come up with an answer. Moreover, of course I think any student with some

Viewing this documentary, opinions of this individual with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) did, in fact, change the opinion of who they are. ASD can start from when they were born to a mature adult. This film presented lessons on how families and the individuals have gone through a daily lifestyle. One lesson that shown in the movie is that they understand going on however it may take the time to process through their brains.

The video talks about the fact of autism. It describes some processes that shows what can be done while and before pregnancy. It also shoes some percentages where it shows the chances of a mother when being pregnant has in having a child with autism. It also shows the importance of eating folic acid these is a great way to preventing on having a kid with autism. The purpose of this video is to inform you and explain you the whey the kids get autism and how to prevent it. Not everyone that does this things have a normal kid it could just pass and get a kid it autism or with any down syndrome. It informs the viewers of all the different procedures and all the different steps that can be done if you would like to have a healthy child. The intended

One the biggest psychological disorders in our society is childhood autism. Childhood autism is defined as “A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.” (MHresource.org). Furthermore, boys are three to four more times likely to develop childhood autism than girls (MHresources.org). Statistics also show that the prevalence of childhood autism in births is one in fifty-nine and has grown 119.4 percent from 2000 to 2010 (CDC). Now, researchers are looking into what causes childhood autism. They are

Van Hees, V., Moyson, T., & Roeyers, H. (2015). Higher education experiences of students with autism spectrum disorder. Challenges, benefits and support needs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(6), 1673-1688.

The documentary of Autism: The Musical showcases children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families throughout a twenty two week program ending with a live performance. The documentary not only highlights the growth the children experience socially and emotionally throughout the program, but the challenges faced by the families and the strategies they employ to overcome them. There are five children focused on over the course of the documentary, Neil, Lexi, Henry, Adam, and Wyatt. Each child is at a different place on the spectrum therefore each family is effected differently by it. In fact each family can be seen at a different stage of acceptance ranging from sock, denial, anger, loneliness, sadness, to acceptance (Autism & Your Family, 2015). Lexi’s father Joe nicely describes some of the stages he experienced starting with denial which he said ended up taking over his whole life for a period of time, a period he describes as fix it mode, then depression because the parent realized that no amount of money or wishing can change the fact that the child has ASD and will always be living with it and finally comes acceptance.