Tag: books

Autism in ‘The Unbreakable Boy’

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to take a look at autism in the film ‘The Unbreakable Boy‘ based on the book ‘The Unbreakable Boy: A Father’s Fear, a Son’s Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love’ by Scott Michael LeRette and Susy Flory.

Starring Zachary Levi, the film tells the true story of Scott and Susy’s experiences as first time parents to Austin who has both Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and autism. The film gives us an honest depiction of the ups and downs of caring for a child with needs like Austin’s and the strain that this can put on the family unit.

You can see a trailer for the film below:

So how did I rate the films depiction of autism?

It’s always interesting to see how Hollywood will handle an adaptation of a true story about an autistic child, but this film did a pretty good job. Keeping with the current trend in autistic representation, Austin is played by autistic actor Jacob Laval (who also happens to have Osteogenesis imperfecta) which always helps to truly translate the autistic experience. In the film, we get to see some of the classic signs of autism we’re used to like lining up toys and counting them, nerdy specialist interests like Star Wars and dinosaurs, violent meltdowns, OCD, food issues and literal thinking. I did get a chortle when Austin is told he was asked to do something 100 times for him to respond that it’s only been 4 times 🤣

However, the film does showcase some lesser known autistic traits like constant talking (which is rare given how often we’re presented with the non-verbal/introverted autist), tendencies towards daydreaming and fantasies, issues with hand-eye coordination, and sensory issues around clothing. In one particular scene, Austin takes off all of his clothes in the bathroom at church- a behaviour that’s common among some autists who struggle with clothing sensitivity.

The real Scott and Austin at the film premiere

On another level, while I don’t know much about the author, Scott’s character in the film certainly shows some higher functioning autistic traits himself, which is often true for parents of autists. Throughout the film, Scott struggles to cope with parenthood and develops issues with substance abuse to get through. There’s also a throwaway comment about money being wasted on Scott’s hobbies and gadgets which could be a subtle indicator of specialist interests. However, a lot of critics have remarked that focusing on Scott’s experiences in the movie tend to sideline Austin who is the primary focus of the book.

Whilst the film was a fairly lackluster affair (it doesn’t quite hit the warm and fuzzy wholesome feels you’d expect from this type of film), the depiction of autism and the strains it places on the family unit are fairly spot on, charting the highs and lows that come from life on the spectrum.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife

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Autism in ‘The Princess Diaries’

Greetings Earthlings! 😀

This week I’d like to discuss autism in one of my favourite teenage book series ‘The Princess Diaries‘ (we won’t go into the films- they deviated too much from the books and Anne Hathaway comes across more adorably awkward than autistic).

So what are the books about?

The books focus on American teenager Mia Thermopolis and her discovery that she is secretly a princess to the small European principality of Genovia. Mia keeps a diary to help process her feelings in the wake of this massive revelation, whilst also navigating the ups and downs of school life, teenage crushes, bullies, self image and self-discovery. Two later books geared at the adults who grew up with Mia document her royal wedding and experiences of quarantine life during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But what about autism?

Now here’s where things get interesting. Reading these books was probably the first time that I had ever heard of Asperger’s syndrome (the original series was written pre-2013 when Asperger’s was still a separate diagnosis). Mia is assigned to do a report on the condition in psychology class in book 5 ‘Princess in Pink‘ (or ‘Give Me Five ‘ as I knew it), quickly identifying with many traits, and subsequently diagnosing herself and everyone in her social circle. However, her mother reminds her that she thought she had Tourette’s syndrome during her previous assignment, brushing away her fears and never mentioning autism again. Her mom does suggest that Mia’s best friend Lily might have Aspergers- which is likely, but in my opinion Lily tends to veer more towards narcissism than spectrum.

Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot

So is Mia really autistic?

Despite being brushed off by her family, I (and many other autistic readers) believe that ironically Mia is quite likely on the spectrum. I always identified with Mia and saw a lot of myself in her. Tomboyish and nerdy, she always marched to her own beat (in spite of her bullies), but struggled to fit in outside her close knit friend group. She’s a highly sensitive over-thinker with a tendency to catastrophize and create scenarios in her head out of nothing. She obsesses over the minutia of how the world perceives her and the social pressures and expectations of society (she spends several books overthinking about her readiness for physical intimacy and what is expected of her), often describing herself as a ‘freak’ who wants to be normal. An avid writer, Mia journals everything in detail, her thoughts often resonating with ADHD thinking. Moreover, she is quite drawn to smells like her brothers head and her boyfriend’s neck, feeling calmer after she has sniffed these- something that many autists can relate to. She also tends to look to romantic comedies and romance novels for how relationships should play out- something that many experts have noted autistic women do.

One moment in particular stands out to me with the hindsight of my diagnosis. In the 6th book Princess in Training (Sixsational in the UK/Ireland), Mia completely cracks under the pressure of her princess duties, running for student council, her first ever B in English, and her paranoia that her boyfriend will break up with her as she’s not ready for sex. After seeing her grandmother handing out pens in school for her presidential campaign, she freaks out, starts throwing the pens and completely breaks down crying and is hauled off to the nurses office, an incident the nurse described as “a crying jag”. This seems far more like a classic meltdown to me. Moreover, there are many more instances of things like this where when things go wrong, Mia goes into flight mode running off with her diary to her fire escape, the school roof, abandoned stairwells and spends an awful lot of time in bathroom stalls mirroring my own responses to upsetting situations as a teenager.

Some readers however were not happy about Mia’s assumption that everyone she knows has Asperger’s. Meg Cabot has apologised on her blog for any pain caused by this as she was trying to portray how Asperger’s can be so diverse in it’s symptoms and how we all have traits, but was mainly trying to show the phenomenon of thinking you have the disease you’re reading about. On another level, I think this is really interesting how Mia keeps seeing it in her friend group as quite often neurodivergents tend to gravitate towards each other (a number of my friends have sought autism/ADHD diagnoses as adults), so it’s fair to say her friends likely do have many autistic traits.

Not much was widely known about the female experience of autism back when these books were written, but it’s a pretty accurate depiction, however unintentional.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife

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Autism in ‘Freya Harte is not a Puzzle’

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to talk to you about an exciting new book for autistic teenagers- ‘Freya Harte is not a Puzzle‘ by up and coming Irish author Méabh Collins. The book centres on 14 year old Freya Harte who has just received an autism diagnosis and details her experiences as she comes to terms with it.

Having read an article about this book and it’s author Méabh (she and I are the same age and interestingly also diagnosed at the same age!) I was very excited to read it. Finally- a book about a teenage girl with autism written by a fellow autist! Best of all, Freya is coming up through the Irish education system- just the kind of book my teenage self could have related to.

So what did I make of it?

Author Méabh Collins

Quite frankly, I couldn’t put the book down! Freya’s experiences of autism were so similar to my own (apart from the timeline on the diagnosis), I really connected with her. Her literal thinking, the constant battle to fit in with her peers, the struggles to keep the tears at bay, the solace of the confined bathroom stall- it all hit very close to home. One of the things I most liked about the book was how Méabh gave us a genuine insight into the workings of the autistic mind and the issues we can have with twisted logic. For example, Freya struggles with an eating disorder because she read an article about foods for a healthy brain and thought that if she changed her diet drastically, maybe her brain would be more normal. She also gets up really early on a Saturday and takes the Luas into Dublin city to buy a Disney magazine far away from where anyone she may know might catch her buying it so that her peers don’t judge her for her specialist interest. It seems a bit daft when you read it, but these are the kind of logical decisions/conclusions the autistic mind makes- there’s method in the perceived madness!

This book gives great insight into how we work and I would highly recommend it for any teachers, parents or friends who are trying to support a woman through an autism diagnosis. No two autists are the same, but it’s a very good starting point to help you to understand what our minds go through on a day to day basis, how we see the world and rationalize every aspect of our day. Méabh deliberately took the approach of focusing on autism from the inside out. No stereotypical savants, no tricks or exaggerations for dramatic/comedic effect; just a nuanced exploration of the female autistic experience so that the reader can begin to understand how and why we think the way we do.

Understanding goes a long way to helping an autist, so this book is a must read for anyone who knows a woman with autism and would like an insight into the autistic mind.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife

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Autism and Hyperlexia

Greetings Earthlings!

Leading on from previous post about dyslexia, this week I’d like to discuss the phenomenon of hyperlexia and autism.

So first things first, what is hyperlexia?

Hyperlexia is a phenomenon where a child begins to read at a surprisingly early age beyond their expected ability compared with their peers. Onset is usually before 5 years of age, and the child tends to develop the skill without any training or prompting. It’s often described as a “splinter skill”- unique, but not very useful. It’s estimated that approximately 84% of those diagnosed with hyperlexia are on the autistic spectrum equating to between 6-14% of the overall autistic community.

There are 3 different types of hyperlexia:

  • Hyperlexia I– occurs in the neurotypical population where children learn to read at a very early age. This is usually considered temporary as their peers will eventually learn to read and catch up to hyperlexic children
  • Hyperlexia II– this is the form of hyperlexia that is most associated with autists. Beginning in infancy, hyperlexic autists are often obsessed with letters and numbers, tending to show a preference for books instead of other toys. Autistic hyperlexics also tend to have excellent recall for important numbers like phone numbers, dates and licence plates
  • Hyperlexia III– is quite similar to hyperlexia II, but the symptoms tend to decrease with time and disappear. Type III hyperlexics may have delays in verbal language and development like autists, but they tend to have remarkable skills for reading comprehension and excellent memory recall. However, unlike autists, these children generally have no issues with social interaction and anxiety

In my own experience, I’d say I probably had some mild hyperlexic tendencies as a child. I loved books- my mother couldn’t buy me enough to keep me entertained! As I’m sure I’ve told you in previous posts, my reading skills were so advanced at 6 years old in senior infants, my teacher from the previous year invited me to come and read to her junior infant class (4/5 year olds)!😂 I’ve always had an excellent memory and am pretty good at remembering dates, but as the experts say this skill isn’t the most exciting or useful- no point in donning a cape and calling myself a superhero 😛

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!

Have a lovely weekend 🙂

Aoife

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