Sparrowrose wrote:
I'm watching the second season of it and yes, they got lots of early intervention for Max. I like how the show will focus on the parent's excessive worry for a while and then suddenly show a different side of it that puts everything into a different perspective and shows that they parents are trying but just don't "get it."
Like a week or two ago, the dad was upset with one of the home-visit therapists because she was "just doing his homework with him" and not teaching him how to pay attention to the all-important and most wonderful dad. Okay, I can see dad's point: he wants to connect with his kid. But what is he offering Max? Max doesn't want to watch baseball with dad, Max doesn't like dad's music, Max couldn't care less what dad does at work at the shoe factory.
Dad doesn't realize that he has to meet Max half-way; he wants it to be all on his own turf and so he's upset with the therapist for not training Max to like him. And even his wife sees how silly the whole thing is and tells dad "he's not some trained monkey that we can just tell what to like and who to want to spend time with."
At the end of the episode, dad makes a major breakthrough with Max by straight out telling Max that he feels left out and wants to be Max's friend and talk about stuff together. So they end up talking about pirates -- something Max loves a lot.
I don't like that they haven't told Max about his asperger's, even though he's asked very leading questions twice now (and the doctor said to tell him when he asks and he's asked now but his parents can't deal with it. I'm waiting for the fallout in a later season when Max finds out and realizes that everyone but him knew for several years and gets really pissed. I really hope they do write it that way!) And I don't like the huge support near the end of season 1 for Autism Speaks as if it were the only option out there for people wanting to help those with autism and their families.
But by and large, I think "Parenthood" is the most realistic depiction of asperger's and the family dynamics that go along with diagnosis in most cases than any other show on TV. There have been a lot of REALLY lousy depictions of asperger's on television and I think it's nice to see such a realistic and human depiction as "Parenthood."
A co-worker told me about Parenthood after she saw an episode on an airplane. She told me to watch an episode and let her know what I thought. I did. I watched the episode where Max's father has trouble connecting with him. I never knew that his parents did not tell him that he had AS. The dillemma that Max's parents were going through is what I went through with my parents. I was diagnosed at age 6 but not told by my parents until I was 8 or 9. They told me at the most random time, during a 60 Minutes story on kids with Williams Syndrome attending a music camp and having great musical abilities. My mom told me in a matter of fact sort of way and I felt mad years afterward that my mother would lump me in with other people who have a visible, mental disability and compare me to them. Max's parents do not want to tell him because they probably want him to be 'normal'. I did not realize that until about a year ago. My mother was told by my elementary school that I would not graduate. She did everything she could to make sure I did. That included not telling me I had Aspergers. Sometimes I wish I never knew. Max's parents don't want him to go down the road that so many of us Aspies go down when we find out: suicide, anxiety and depression. If Max thinks he is normal, he will not have these feelings. Sadly, this show is only fiction, not reality. Sooner or later, you will know. But, I agree a great depection of what SOME people with AS are like. When I was Max's age, I didn't know when to shut up. I appreciate showing the parent's emotions as well. I will definately watching because I like all the characters.
12 Oct 2010, 10:03 pm
