According to the World Health Organization (WHO), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of diverse conditions, characterized by some degree of difficulty in social interaction and communication.
Fortunately, autism, in its various manifestations, is increasingly discussed in the world of cinema and television series, especially when productions give priority to the inclusion of people who try to convey the struggles and victories of living with this condition. while they illustrate the plurality of profiles and situations, since no two people with autism are exactly the same.
For this reason, in the framework of World Autism Awareness Day, commemorated on April 2, we share with you our selection of series and films to better understand autism spectrum disorders.
Series
1. unusual (Netflix)
Determined to have a girlfriend and find his independence, an 18-year-old teenager with an autistic disorder ends up leading his family on a journey of self-discovery.
2. It is good not to be good (Netflix)
The crossroads of the lives of an asocial children’s book writer and a dedicated psychiatric assistant opens the least expected path to emotional healing.
3. love on the spectrum (Netflix)
In search of the perfect match, a group of young adults on the autism spectrum venture into the unpredictable and challenging world of dating.
4. The Good Doctor (Amazon Prime Video)
This Show focuses on a young surgeon with Savant syndrome who is recruited into the pediatric surgery unit of a prestigious hospital, where he will have to overcome the skepticism with which his colleagues receive him.
5. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max)
Leonard and Sheldon are two privileged brains who may be able to tell everyone more than they want to know about quantum physics but who don’t have the slightest idea how to socialize, especially when it comes to women.
6. Moon Girl and Devil the Dinosaur (Disney+)
Based on the hit Marvel comics Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, This animated series follows the adventures of Lunella Lafayette, a super-intelligent and socially awkward 13-year-old girl (whose creators have commented that she may be on the autism spectrum) and her ten-ton T-rex, Devil Dinosaur.
Films
1. Radio: They call me radio (HBO Max)
This film, inspired by a true story, centers on the teacher-disciple relationship between a high school football coach and Radio, a boy with limitations, and how their only friendship ultimately transforms the conservative attitudes of a small Carolina town. South, in the United States.
2. Counter (HBO Max)
A treasury agent pursues an accountant who works for various criminal organizations. The closer he feels the weight of justice to his neck, the accountant takes more drastic measures to keep his double life and freedom safe.
3. Temple Grandin (HBO Max)
A biographical tape of Temple Grandin. It tells how an autistic woman rose to the top of her career as a zoologist and professor at an American university, becoming one of the leading scientists in the humane livestock management industry.
4. The lighthouse of the orcas (Netflix)
A mother travels to Patagonia hoping that a ranger and a pod of wild orcas can help her autistic son make an emotional connection.
5. Mozart and the Whale (AppleTV+)
A heartfelt romantic drama that follows the love story of a couple who suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, but their condition threatens their relationship.
6. when brothers meet (Amazon Prime Video)
After a yuppie Learning from Los Angeles that his father left a fortune to an autistic brother in Ohio he didn’t know existed, he elopes with him on a cross-country trip, hoping for a larger inheritance.
7. Mary and Max (Amazon Prime Video)
This animated film narrates the friendship built beyond the borders of age and distance through letters between an Australian girl and a man with Asperger’s syndrome who lives in New York. It is a story about forgiveness within the framework of a very peculiar plot with hints of both comedy and drama.
8. Forrest Gump (Amazon Prime Video/Paramount+)
Tom Hanks gives an astonishing performance as Forrest Gump, an ordinary man whose simple innocence is at the center of pivotal events in American history.
9. After Thomas (Youtube)
This film based on a true story follows the story of Dale, a boy who suffers from a severe case of autism, but his pet, a dog named Henry, teaches him the meaning of friendship and company.