Atypical: Netflix comedy about a boy with ASD

Imagine that you are in a nightclub. Deafening music, vibrating space, convulsive flashes of light. Imagine that such an attack on all the senses turns not only a trip to a disco, but also a visit to any shopping center.

Imagine that you are on another planet. Its inhabitants look exactly like you, but behave differently and how to interact with them is completely incomprehensible. Or this is your home planet, but the rules of the game have changed, and no one has told you about it.

To imagine that someone perceives the reality familiar to us differently is sometimes useful, even necessary. This helps make Atypical, a series about a teenager with an autism spectrum disorder.

Its creators drew a somewhat exaggerated image of a person with such a diagnosis: monotonous speech, almost unchanged facial expression, inability to maintain eye contact for a long time and understand humor, a tendency to repetitive actions and “getting stuck” on one topic, and a stereotypical range of problems that his loved ones face , and for this more than once have been criticized. But it is precisely this exaggeration that makes the series an excellent guide to frustration, and formulated as tactfully as possible, with humor and love. Let’s go through its main points.

What about the main character?

Sam has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) — what used to be called childhood or high-functioning autism (now these diagnoses are considered obsolete). It is a developmental disorder that occurs in infancy or childhood. People with this diagnosis find it difficult to communicate with others, they are prone to repetitive actions and a limited range of interests. So, Sam is passionate about the Arctic and Antarctic in general and penguins in particular.

Often, ASD goes hand in hand with mental retardation, but this is not always the case – the protagonist of “Atypical” is an excellent student, earns money in an electronics store and is going to college. At the same time, it is really difficult for Sam to distinguish between shades of moods of other people and a play on words: he understands the meaning of what was said literally, which often leads to funny situations (it is important that the viewer laughs at these situations, but never at the main character and his features).

Number of people diagnosed with ASD in recent years is growing (the global rate is 1-2%), but this is due more to the possibilities of early diagnosis. In the city where Sam’s family lives, there are support groups for children with ASD.

The Boy Who Lived: His Strategies

Sometimes the familiar world for us is “too much” for Sam: it is too loud, incomprehensible, frightening. To cope with his onslaught, the teenager uses several strategies.

1. Instructions, rules, lists. Extremely clear instructions help people with ASD to get used to a new situation (relationship with a girl, a new place of study): how to behave, what is possible and what is not. He carries a notebook with him in which he writes down the rules, and as a child he learned to recognize people’s emotions using special cards.

2. Repetitive words or actions. Since order and strict sequence are soothing, at especially stressful moments Sam lists the types of penguins: Adélie, chinstrap, emperor, subantarctic. It also helps him to read the Wikipedia page about his favorite explorer.

3. Noise canceling headphones. An excellent tool to reduce the volume of the rumbling world, which, by the way, is used not only by people with ASD.

4. Secluded places. Due to inexpressive facial expressions, people with autism spectrum disorder may seem to feel nothing. This is not true. And when the situation gets out of hand, someone or something hurts Sam’s feelings, he climbs into the pantry, closet or hides under the table.

5. Work with a psychologist. Many adolescents and adults with ASD are prone to increased anxiety and depression, so the support of a specialist is vital for them. Moreover, those with whom parents and a psychologist work can achieve excellent results. As we already know, Sam studies, works, makes friends and a girlfriend.

Aside from these idiosyncrasies and the need to constantly resort to special tactics, it seems that Sam Gardner faces the same problems as his peers: awkwardness when meeting girls, school bullying, the need to think about the future and a complete lack of thoughts on this subject. However, experts say that this is a deliberate simplification: people with autism are fundamentally different from the rest.

About those around

No less attention in “Atypical” is paid to those around Sam, especially to parents. With the advent of a child with special needs, family life changes. Mother and father have to get used to the idea that their child is not like everyone else, reacts differently than they are used to, and look for ways to interact with him and develop him. At the same time, it remains necessary to pay attention to other children.

In the past, the Gardner family has gone through all the typical stages for such situations, not excluding the sad chapter of the father’s departure from home (it is known that the appearance of a child with ASD in the family increases the risk of divorce), but the viewer gets to know them at a stage when life seems to have become relatively orderly. But it only seems: the growing up of a teenager with ASD, his desire to separate, become independent, can be a real blow for a mother who has devoted her whole life to caring for him.

From this: blows and changes, ups and downs, typical everyday conflicts and examples of how modern progressive American society perceives people with disabilities, this incredibly life-affirming story is woven that in life you can achieve anything you want. Even if your starting positions are seriously different from what others start with.