But more importantly, is the scene painful? Misunderstandings are often amusing, and for that reason these moments are the foundation on which stories comfortably sit.
I don’t want to spoil the movie, but if you watch this scene (keep in mind that the scene is still out of Hollywood and therefore sculpted to some extent), you’ll have a good sense of the misunderstandings that can emerge quite unexpectedly in the lives of those who have high-functioning autism. It’s a lovely picture starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, and the director, Max Mayer, reportedly decided to make the film after hearing an interview on the radio with someone who has what was then called Asperger’s Syndrome. Many of these individuals have normal or high intelligence.
On the other end of the spectrum, what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome is now called “high-functioning autism.” People with high-functioning autism can have normal language development, often require much less supervision, and suffer instead from misreading or being unable to read important social cues. Severe autism is characterized by little to no language development, relatively low intelligence on the IQ scale, repetitive behaviors such as flapping one’s hands or rocking, and often a lifelong need for intensive emotional, social and psychological care. Since DSM-V’s inception, the term “Asperger’s Syndrome” has been dropped for the more encompassing, if less specific, “Autism Spectrum Disorders.” This term is meant to encompass as its primary characteristic a profound difficulty in perceiving social and emotional cues.įor many, this change in attribution has been a bit confusing. In the movie, the title character Adam is said to suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome. If you’ve seen the movie Adam, then you might have some idea of how painful it can be to have any of the syndromes that hover on the autism spectrum. In this short film, a young boy and his new autistic friend discover a shared language of their own.īlunt And Nuanced: The Pain Of High-Functioning Autism It’s the passing glance of a stranger, the earnest offering of a flower, and the knowing smile of a shared secret. “Fireflies” is a simple reminder that we each have beauty and can connect with others in unique ways. The above video entitled “Fireflies” is courtesy of Jubilee Project (learn more about them at the bottom of this post). By Jubilee Project and Steven Schlozman, MD
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