It can be difficult to be a parent of a child who has Asperger’s Syndrome in a world that generally doesn’t understand much at all about this disorder. If your child is overwhelmed by a situation, and has a meltdown in a public place, you may feel embarrassed and stressed out. Things don’t get any easier when random strangers glare at you, assuming that your child is spoiled, or that you are an ineffective or lax parent. Parents who have a child with Asperger’s Syndrome may find some solace in the television show Parenthood, which includes a character named Max, and his family.
Parenthood is a show on the NBC network. It is a drama that was inspired by the movie of the same name. It follows the lives of four adult siblings, and their children. One of the families has a child named Max, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. The show has gotten quite a bit of attention regarding Max, and the show’s depiction of Asperger’s Syndrome. People diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome are sometimes said to be on “the autism spectrum”, and, as the term implies, there are a range of behaviors that a person with Asperger’s Syndrome may exhibit. I have heard kids who have Asperger’s syndrome described as “high functioning” or “low functioning”. As such, it would be impossible for the writers of Parenthood to cover the entire range of possibilities with just one character.
However, a lot of what I have read online in blogs and articles regarding the way Asperger’s Syndrome is shown on the television show Parenthood is positive. Overall, the show mostly gets it right. I’ve only had time to view some quick clips of the show so far, but what I have seen hit home for me.
One of my brothers has Asperger’s Syndrome. Growing up, he was the only kid I’d ever met that had Asperger’s syndrome, in a time before that term was used. His meltdowns caused people to stare, and my family to become uncomfortable from those stares.
The meltdowns that Max has on Parenthood are very similar to the ones I have seen my brother have on occasion. My brother, like Max, needed a system to follow, and would get very upset if plans were suddenly changed, throwing off the expected order of the day. Watch the scene where Max is on a roller coaster with his dad, when he learns that the ride is going to be shut down for repairs. Max has a meltdown that involves insistence upon adhering to what was planned, before running, screaming non-verbally, from the ride. This is not dissimilar to how my brother would sometimes react.
Image by LGEPR on Flickr