TV and movies give exposure to autism disorders
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2012 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2012, 9:43 AM
THE RECORD
Max Braverman, 10, is obsessed with bugs and cannot handle any change in plans.
Linda (Sandra Bullock) comforts her son, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), who has Asperger's syndrome, in 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.'
'Parenthood's' Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) also has Asperger's.
Jake Bohm, 11, does not speak or make eye contact and cannot tolerate being touched — not even by his father. Oskar Schell, 9, is fixated on finding the lock to a key that his father — who died on 9/11 — left behind.
These characters — from the TV shows "Parenthood" and "Touch," and the Oscar-nominated film "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" — have Asperger's syndrome or (in the case of Jake) another autism-spectrum disorder.
Add these depictions to other recent projects about adults on the autism spectrum — including HBO's Emmy-winning "Temple Grandin," and the movies