In this article we would like to introduce the original Netflix series called “Atypical”. This series stands out from the others by the strong and societal subject it deals with. Indeed, it plunges us into the head of Sam, an 18-year-old autistic boy, who will experience his first love emotions, his first disappointments and his first experiences. In the next section, we will present some symptoms of the autism spectrum disorder and we will relate them to the different spheres of Sam’s life in which they are reflected.
The symptoms of the autism spectrum disorder presented in the DSM-V are very well transcribed through Sam’s character. We will discuss some of them and illustrate them with concrete examples from his daily life :
- First of all, we notice that Sam shows a real deficit in communication and social interactions. Indeed, with his friends, he has difficulty to interact and to initiate exchanges. However, this does not prevent him from having a loyal friend in the series who takes into account his difficulties and acts accordingly. Similarly, Sam has a deficit in the theory of mind. This means that he is not able to understand the emotions of his friends or family and to respond appropriately to the sadness of one of them, for example. In addition, Sam does not understand the implicit and the second degree so he has difficulty understanding jokes and figurative expressions.
- Second, we note in DSM V that people with ASDs often have limited interests. This is reflected in our series as Sam is passionate about penguins and the Arctic world. This unusual passion has an important function for him because it allows him to calm his panic attacks. Indeed, when Sam is in crisis, he repeats all four types of penguins over and over again and it allows him to return to his original state.
- Then, like many people with autism, Sam has an inflexible adherence to his routine and needs it to feel in a safe environment. At the slightest change he has panic attacks. This symptom of intolerance to change is taken into account by his family, who make sure not to upset his habits for his well-being.
- Finally, Sam has a sensory hyper-sensitivity.
- In terms of hearing, Sam is very intolerant of the noises around him (simultaneous conversations, ringing at school, music too loud, etc.) So he wears earmuffs whenever he feels the need. It reassures him and allows him to put himself into his bubble. However, wearing a helmet prevents him from communicating with his friends and once again hinders his social relationships.
- About touch, Sam is hyper-sensitive to tactile stimulation. It can again have an impact on social and romantic relationships because he does not kiss and is reluctant to cuddle, for example.
- Concerning the visual, too strong light stimuli are unbearable and painful for Sam. This is very representative of ASD in general.
One of the reasons why we thought it would be interesting to present this series is that it presents the disorder while proposing remediation and adjustments.
We can give the example of the high school prom specially arranged for Sam. Indeed, the entire organizing committee of this ball agreed to organize a ball where Sam could go despite his hearing sensitivity. For this reason, the music was only accessible through headphones.
In addition, during an episode, Sam’s father who is a firefighter offers awareness training to police officers for example, in order to adapt their way of apprehending and interacting with ASD people. Indeed, while explaining the disorder, he shows the need not to shout in front of these people, not to “attack” these individuals with their lamp in their eyes, to respect their intolerance to being touched etc…
Finally, it seems essential to us to specify the place given to Sam’s psychologist throughout the series. Indeed, the psychologist plays a role in Sam’s development by providing him regular follow-up and support. She also plays a very important role with parents because she offers them a better understanding of their son and some solutions for a better daily life.
To conclude, this series allows a better understanding of autism for example for an audience that does not know the pathology, while being entertaining. As psychology students, by watching this series we have appreciated how ASD is represented and we recommend it !
Bibliography :
- American Psychiatric Association. (2015). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
- Bataille-Jallet, M., Blanc, R., Carteau-Martin, I., Dansart, P., Hameury, L., Mahé, C., Malvy, J. & Barthélémy, C. (2011). Communication sociale chez les enfants avec autisme. Contraste, 34-35(1), 255-270. doi:10.3917/cont.034.0255.
- Larbán Vera, J. (2016). L’autisme et la théorie de l’esprit. Dans : A. Lozano Tornadijo, S. Seguí, Vivre avec l’autisme, une expérience relationnelle: Guide à l’usage des soignants (pp. 145-146). Toulouse, France: ERES.
Key Words :
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) : Trouble du Spectre Autistique (TSA)
- Theory of mind : théorie de l’esprit
- Limited interests : intérêts restreints
- Hyper-sensitivity : hyper-sensibilité
- An awareness : une sensibilisation