Albrecht, K. (2011, October 13). Did Sherlock Holmes have Asperger syndrome?

[Blog
post]. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainsnacks/201110/did-sherlock-holmeshave-asperger-syndrome
The blog post discusses the logistics of diagnosing a fictional character with an ASD. The
things used are such traits as in-text personality, the way the character is viewed by
others, and the real-life model for the character (in the case of Sherlock, Joseph Bell
and Conan Doyle himself.) One of the biggest arguments from modern literature is the
question of how someone could be autistic pre-Asperger and pre-Kanner, before
anyone knew what autism actually is. The answer is that those people were still
autistic, simply undiagnosed due to lack of knowledge. Also explored are the
implications behind having such a famous and historic character diagnosed, such as
the stereotypes that may arise and what the diagnosis reveals about human nature.
The author is a Ph.D. with over 20 years writing experience, who has extensively explored
intelligence and psychosocial interaction. In the post, he does not definitively try to
say whether Sherlock is autistic or not. He instead uses his expertise with the human
mind to look at the impact Sherlock Holmes has had on society, and the impact his
diagnosis would have on the same. The lasting impression of Sherlock Holmes has
contributed a lot to the modern super-savant stereotype, a root which will not be
ignored by the project.
Badesch, S. (2015, October 19). Research questions about autism activism [E-mail to the
author].
This email exchange with Scott Badesch discussed how laws have changed in response to
autism activism. Some of those changes are the raise of the disabled minimum wage,
the role of ASDs under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the fact that
electroshock therapy as a treatment for autism has largely been made illegal. He also
discussed Ruth Sullivan, one of the longest-serving and earliest-rising autism

activists, and one of the founders of the Autism Society, who is considered one of the
most impactful autism activists of the century.
Badesch is the current CEO of the Autism Society, a group which guides autistic people and
their families in day-to-day management, legal guidance, and treatment options. From
that position of authority, he can be relied on to know how activism has influenced the
real world, and how to plan further changes in real-life.
Berryessa, C. M. (2014). Judicial perceptions of media portrayals of offenders with high
functioning autistic spectrum disorders. International Journal of Criminology and
Sociology, 3, 46-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2014.03.04
The journal article differs from other sources gathered because it focuses on the media
depiction of actual, real-life autistic people who have committed crimes and ended up
in the public eye. The hypothesis is that the focus on portraying individual criminals
with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (hfASDs) has resulted in
stereotyping of autists as dangerous and untrustworthy, among other harmful
stereotypes. There is also mention of the influence this stereotyping has in the legal
system (with judges, lawyers, and juries) and the treatment wherein autistic criminals
are treated. This direct correlation between media portrayals and read world
consequences makes the article an excellent source for the project.
The article is published on an online peer reviewed medical journal, with focus to citing the
(sometimes controversial) statements on hfASD criminals in order to establish them
as fact and not mere opinion, and which coincidentally paves the way for more,
already vetted, sources. The authors studies are focused on the legal impact of
modern neuroscience (such as that which has formed around ASDs), which makes her
skillset a perfect junction to create an accurate article of this quality. The article will
be used to verify a direct link between depicted behaviour and stereotyping.
Bethune, B. (2009, July 13). Autistic licence. Maclean's, Culture, pp. 44-45. Retrieved from
http://www.macleans.ca/culture/autistic-licence/

The article describes the veritable explosion of characters in recent media that are written to
have or explicitly stated to have ASD. The author's hypothesis is that the modern
model of "high-functioning" autistic characters are common because they are
relatable, that their savant skills make them impressive heroes and their social
awkwardness makes the viewers think themselves deeply in touch with their own
emotions. The author says that this growing commonness of depiction is lending itself
to the 'normalization' of autism (or more specifically Asperger's syndrome)--wherin
autism is written as a character trait rather than a developmental disorder. The article
goes on to describe exclusively savant characters: Raymond Babbitt (Rain Man),
Simon Lynch (Simple Simon), Temperance Brennan (Bones), and others. However,
the author also describes the actual, non-comedic effects that common autistic traits,
such as social misunderstanding or lack of willingness to be touched, on autists, and
points out that "low-functioning" and nonverbal autistic characters are often given the
role of victim.
The author's previous writings--of which there are many--often focus on belief and
understanding of ideas, and demonstrate his expertise in the field of which makes him
a valid source to describe the modern beliefs held on ASD-coded characters (one of
the main focuses of the project). However, the seeming back-and-forth description of
modern autistic characters as being lovable heroes and simultaneously being
unrelatable tools of message for the writers of media confuses the purpose of the
article itself, and is polarizing to the reader, forcing them to definitively choose one or
the other.
Draaisma, D. (2009). Stereotypes of autism. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 364(1522), 1475-1480.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0324
The journal article is about the changing scientific and mainstream perspectives on autism.
It begins at the very beginning, providing background on the discoveries of Hans
Asperger, the man considered to be the father of modern neurodiversity studies. The
article goes on to describe the lasting effects of Asperger's research: the proliferation

of the savant stereotype, the necessity of a scene in most modern media that explains a
character's autism, and the use of autistic characters as vessels of a moral or other
ethics-related lesson rather than as their own self-driven people, to give a few
examples provided in the text. Given the chronological nature of the research
question, this following of the growth of the depicted autist in media provides relevant
and useful information.
The article is penned by a doctor with a good deal of prior experience in the field of
neurological development and has been published by a scientific society, which keeps
all of its sources as up-to-date as possible. There are also many references, which both
enforce the accuracy of the information and open channels to new resources for the
further development of the project. The most important aspect of this source to the
project is the fact that it contains a comprehensive list of the stereotypes that have
been applied to autistic people historically, and makes suggestions as to their cause.
Felperin, L. (2011, April 4). Autism on film: Can cinema get it right? The Guardian, Arts.
Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/apr/04/autism-bestfilm-portraits
The newspaper article was written to review multiple movies with autistic main characters.
Rain Man, acknowledged as many people's first introduction to the concept of autism,
is criticized for perpetrating the savant stereotype as well as for founding the style of
'inspirational disability,' in which a character's autistic worldview is used to make
another character or characters grow as a person. Nell and Snow Cake are two other
movies noted for using the same type of 'autism as a tool' plot. However, the article
remarks that movies are developing to be more accurate and to tell the stories of
autistic characters themselves rather than using them as aparati to develop someone
else. My Name is Khan, Adam, and Temple Grandin, while not perfect movies, are
remarked upon for not using the characters' diagnosis as the sole vehicle of the plot,
and for allowing their protagonists to have personalities beyond "autistic."

The author of the article stated that she (and her husband) have responded to their son's
autism diagnosis not only by reading medical books that describe the diagnosis but by
reading and watching as many pieces of media containing autism as they could. This
deep exposure to the field of autism in media suggests a certain level of authority to
the author, her profession as a film critic assures it; and that her reviews will be from
the stand of someone who has seen and can compare the depiction of autistic and nonautistic characters in film without lacking information on either. The reviews
themselves offer the titles of many movies and biopics, all about autism, and their
accuracy, which is useful information in regards to the project.
Finerman, W., Tisch, S., & Starkey, S. (Producers), & Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1994).
Forrest gump [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount.
The film Forrest Gump tells the tale of its titular character and is unique even by modern
standards in that its protagonist is mentally disabled as well as implied to be on the
autism spectrum. The story of Forrest follows his childhood as a disabled kid, his
military service, and his entrepreneurial success, with other achievements spread
throughout. He is, in fact, a wholly successful protagonist, made all the more obvious
by his blunt honesty and sweet nature. These last two, combined with his general
difficulty interacting "normally" with others, has led many watchers over the years to
place him on the spectrum.
The film is unique because it does not shy away from depicting Forrest as mentally disabled,
but this stark difference is never used to alienate the character. In fact, Forrest is the
most sympathetic person in the whole movie: the failures of the society he lives in,
not his own traits, are blamed for his ostracization. Forrest Gump has been preserved
as a cultural classic by the National Film Registry, and that alongside the commonlyread ASD diagnosis makes it a valuable representation of the rare sympathetic
depiction of autistic characters in media. It will also be used to see how an autisticcoded character views himself in media, because the story is a frame narrative being
told by Forrest to various others.

Fisher, E. (2010). Autism in literature: The negotiation between syndrome and silent wisdom
[PDF]. Unpublished working paper, American University, Baltimore, MD. Retrieved
from http://aladinrc.wrlc.org/bitstream/handle/1961/9279/Fisher,%20Evelyn%20%20Spring%20'10%20(P).pdf?sequence=1
The research paper discusses the author's own experiences working with autistic people,
addresses the limitations of the understanding of modern autism, both from the
scientific study and the popular portrayal. The savant condition is described as being
inexorably linked to the autist, and this implies that the human worth of an autistic
person is dependent upon their extraordinary talent; an implication that is not only
critically damaging but which at best erases or at worst demonizes people with a more
severe form of autism. This inaccurate, lacking view is discussed at length, using
examples from pre-1930s characters onwards. However, the author tends to shy from
diagnosing characters with ASDs, preferring instead to interpreting their actions
through the lens of an indefinite what-if.
The author works with autistic people often, on all parts of the severity spectrum, and thus
has real-life experience of what autism actually is. The basis behind the paper--the
observation of autistic characters in media and their relationship with the real world-is extremely similar to the project here, so extremely specific information (such as the
analysis of autistic actions) will be present where it is absent in other resources.
Additionally, the citations from this paper will surely be able to guide the project,
because of the similar topic.
Harrison, D. J. (2014, April 23). Neuroatypicality in the 1930s. Unpublished working paper,
Long Reach High School, Columbia, MD.
The research paper analysed To Kill a Mockingbirds Boo Radley as an autistic
character from the 1930s in a book written in the 1960s, and what stigma was present
against mental disorders and illnesses during these periods. The paper focused more
on the medical treatments of mental disorders (mainly ASDs) and how the process has
changed rather than on the depiction of autistic characters themselves, but it had a

fairly in-depth exploration of Boos autistic traits (such as light sensitivity and
nonverbal communication). The paper also stated that depicting symptoms of autism
as symptoms of villainy, insanity, or homicidal tendencies--a habit that still exists in
modern media--preys upon the otherness of the neurodivergent and is deeply
deceitful.
The papers sources are mostly medical, which guarantees them to be both accurate
and relatively unbiased. Because of the severely differing subject matter with the
project itself (medical treatment/understanding of mental disorders in the 1930s
versus modern media depictions of autistic characters) the paper will only be useful as
a dissection of Boo Radley as an autist; nonetheless, sources which definitively state
this (rather than dancing around the idea of a personality disorder induced by
childhood trauma) are few and far between, so it is valuable for that if nothing else.
Harrison, D. J. (2015, October 22). Research questions about autism stereotypes [E-mail to
the author].
The email exchange between the author and Dr. McKeever answered two questions about
autism in media: the importance of framing news stories about autism (very
important) and the stereotypes applied to real-life autists in the news (unable to
advocate for themselves.) It also discusses the erasure of autists and the reliance on
paternalistic communication/advocacy. The real-life treatment of autistic people stems
from stereotypes about autism, which are derived from other media: movies,
television, and literature. Therefore the exchange offers something of the real-world
effects of stereotypes in media.
The author has done an article on the way autism is framed in media and the news, and works
at university in the field of journalism and mass communication. She also has
extensive experience in combining the medical field with the written medium, and is
actively in print for both. Given her position to mix medicine and media, Dr.
McKeever is a reliable source with reason to be trusted.

Johnson, M. (Producer), & Levinson, B. (Director). (1988). Rain man [Motion picture].
United States: United Artists.
The film Rain Man is essentially about the sleazy Charlie Babbitt learning to love his autistic
older brother Raymond. Charlie's father dies, leaving $3 million to the mental facility
which takes care of his hitherto-unknown brother. In trying to get his hands on the
fortune, Charlie checks Raymond out to move back to Los Angeles and the two travel
across the country, learning about each other and ultimately becoming true family.
Charlie is an extremely dynamic character who goes from selfish and greedy to
understanding and loving over the course of the film, while Raymond is by design a
static character: he must follow certain routines each day because of his autism.
Ultimately, Charlie chooses to abandon his quest for the money in favour of building
a proper relationship with his brother.
Rain Man is one of the most famous films about autism ever produced, even almost three
decades later. While Raymond's depiction is not the only way an autistic person can
behave (he is a strict routine-following mathematical savant), he was among the first
protagonists to explicitly be called autistic and to have their behaviour explained not
as them being 'weird' but as a result of their disorder. Almost every work about autism
in media will cite Rain Man at least once, and many modern stereotypes about autism,
especially that all autistics are savants, owe at least part of their basis to the film. It
will be used at the first example of a protagonist who is explicitly autistic, and how he
is depicted compared to neurotypical heroes.
Kemick, A. (2010, August 12). Stereotyping has lasting negative impact. U.S. News, Science.
Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/ 2010/08/12/stereotypinghas-lasting-negative-impact
This newspaper article looks at the results of studies from the University of Toronto,
Scarborough on the impact of stereotypes on the people being stereotypes. The effects
of discrimination linger, and those are increased aggression, decreased self-control,
and the impaired ability to make rational decisions. Even subtle exposure to

stereotypes during activities, such as biased phrases or implied meanings, are enough
to cause the negative reactions found in the study. While the study was not
specifically about the effect of stereotypes of autism on autistic people, the results are
universal, and thus show the impact of stereotypical characters on the people they are
supposed to be based on.
The author of the article worked with the University of Toronto, and has written other pieces
on stereotyped interactions and medicine, so she can be trusted to know how to
interpret the results of a study on stereotypes. The study says that stereotypes and
coping with them remain with people after they have left the situation where they are
being stereotyped, giving a purpose for stereotypes in media to be avoided beyond
'generalization is bad.' Additionally, the negative effects of stereotyping on autistic
people may lead to people creating even more stereotypes, thus creating a cycle of
mistreatment and misunderstanding.
Kras, J. F. (2010). The "ransom notes" affair: When the neurodiversity movement came of
age. Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(1). Retrieved from http://dsqsds.org/article/view/1065/1254
The paper describes a series of advertisements published throughout New York which used
threatening language and fear-mongering with the intent to promote awareness of
assorted psychiatric disorders, including autism and Asperger's syndrome. It goes on
to detail the severe backlash against the "ransom notes" advertisements, and the
collective effort by various groups within the disabled community (such as the
Autistic Self Advocacy Network) to get the ads removed. The article also describes
the beginning of the self-advocacy era among neurodivergent people, and the end of
the paternalistic model of advocacy--wherein the families of people with psychiatric
disorders spoke about the disorder, instead of the people themselves.
Advertisements are a form of modern media, although the topics they focus on are rarely
psychiatric disorders. Given that, and the focus on stigma against and portrayal of
autistic people, this source provides an excellent view of the rapid change in social

perception of autism and autism spectrum disorders in direct response to media

portrayal. The paper also has over 30 references, which opens the door to more,
already vetted, sources.
Loftis, S. F. (2014). The autistic detective: Sherlock Holmes and his legacy. Disability
Studies Quarterly, 34(4). Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3728/3791
This journal article discusses at length Sherlock Holmes' popular position on the autism
spectrum (typically with Asperger's syndrome,) both the logic behind his diagnosis
and the projected implications of such a thing. The extremely focused special interest
in crime and deduction he has, impressive lack of social tact, and difficulty in forming
and maintaining relationships all lend to readers' understanding of Holmes as an
autist. However, the article acknowledges that some neurotypical readers may
diagnose Holmes based on a list of shorthanded stereotypes, or basic criteria such as
that found in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders. Also
addressed is the consistent dehumanization/othering of Holmes by Watson and the
narrative because of his autistic traits, and the legacy of stereotypes (savant-ism,
coldblooded, emotionlessness) that Holmes has left behind.
The article's references have both the neurotypical view of Holmes--a deductive and
unfeeling machine--and the neurodivergent one, that his depiction is somewhat
inaccurate and very harmful. The article consistently showcases both of those points
of view repeatedly, and additionally addresses the clinical assessment of autism
alongside the one present within the autistic community itself. This consistent
showcasing of all points of view prevents the article from being biased (by only using
one side.) The author also specializes in disability studies, and has written both about
fictional autistic characters and Sherlock Holmes in specific before, which not only
reinforces her reliability but offers up other sources.
McKeever, B. W. (2012). News framing of autism: Understanding media advocacy and the
Combating Autism Act. Science Communication, 35(2), 213-240.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1075547012450951

The paper is about the agenda and framing style of the depiction of autism in the news and
similar informational media over the past decade. There is special focus on media
advocacy, and how news hype (such as with the MMR controversy in the early 2000s)
impacts the proliferation of new, sometimes unsubstantiated information. Throughout
the piece there is heavy citation of past studies and experiments that provide the
numbers that are dissected within the paper. As a whole, the paper is about news and
its strength with regards to news advocacy and the spread of knowledge.
Because the paper is about the real-life framing of ASD issues--a part of the project that has
thus far been somewhat difficult to gather information on--this hefty source will go
far in analysing the depiction of autists in modern media. The author has a Ph.D in
mass communication, and is currently an assistant professor of public relations and
health communication, making her the perfect author of a piece about the media
depiction of health disorders. The paper itself is also cited very, very heavily--every
fact, number, and other piece of data is backed up by at least one source--which
makes it both very reliable and a very good source for other sources. The relative
recentness of both the paper and its data, especially compared to other sources, adds
more timely data to the projects backbone.
McKeever, B. W. (2015, November 17). Continued research question [E-mail to the author].
The email exchange identifies several key factors in the portrayal of autism, including
stereotypes and the logic behind them. For example, the fact that some autistic people
have difficulty communicating (either difficulty with the act of speaking itself or
difficulty with syntactic choices) has made the media hesitant to address autistic
people directly, which has lent to the stereotype that all autists are nonverbal or
otherwise unable to communicate. Autism is also considered a childrens disorder, so
real-world services for adult autistics tend to disappear as they age. The biggest
problem with autism stereotypes in media is that they are repeated--most people are
willing to overlook an outlier, but when all or almost all characters who are autistic

are portrayed similarly, it begins to paint a picture in the audiences mind that says
this is what autistic people are like.
The author is an expert in the field, and is the adviser of the project, so she is familiar
with the subject matter and is capable of tailoring her responses to answer key parts
vital to the project rather than a broad answer. Additionally, the exchange was
partially based on information that has been gathered outside of the emailing, so it has
been cross-corroborated by the other sources.
Parlock, J. (2015, March 31). Writing characters, not symptoms: A gamer with autism
discusses what our hobby gets wrong. Polygon, Opinion. Retrieved from
http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/31/8319167/gaming-and-autism-what-we-get-wrong
This article describes the modern problems with the depiction of autistic characters in current
media, namely video games. The author uses such characters as Amy from the game
Amy to address the issue of 'savant-ism' -- the idea that disabled people must have
some type of above average skill (or even superpower, in modern media) in order to
hold as much worth as a non-disabled person. The author also delves into the matter
of personal agency and the lack thereof in the depiction of autistic characters, the
various and contradictory stereotypes of autistic characters including both that of
them being completely lacking emotions and them being almost childishly
overemotional, and the overall unsympathetic treatment of autistic characters.
The article is written in a way which makes it accessible to neurotypical people, and defines
the assorted terms and traits used to shorthand the implication that a character has
autism. It is written by an author who both has autism and plays video games (thus
interacting with the media he describes), and both of those facts provide a primary
perspective from a market consumer that games are willing to inaccurately depict but
not listen to. His own view, combined with his diverse selection of characters, will
shed a different light on some of the most common depictions of autism.

Prochnow, A. (2014). An analysis of autism through media representation. ETC: A Review of

General Semantics, 71(2), 133-149. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database. (Accession
No. 99149554)
This journal article is an analysis of the various portrayals of autistic characters in media,
from the realistic to the fantastical. It begins by acknowledging the extreme variation
within the lives of autistic people and proposes that rather than attempt the Sisyphean
task of depicting every autistic person, media should attempt to show a wider and
more accurate range of autists on media. The article goes on to describe the four kinds
of autistic characters depicted in modern media: the savant, the quirky-by-choice, the
implied, and the realistic; the last being considerably rarer than the other three. The
article is mostly focused on analyzing the types of characters who fall into each
category, both in the depiction of their ASDs and the depiction of their character
compared to others onscreen.
The article originated as a college honours thesis paper which was vetted by a professor who
is noted in media ecology (Professor Lance Strate), so it is guaranteed to be reliable.
The article is about the stereotypes in media, but doesn't have a huge focus on how
these stereotypes translate to day-to-day life; nevertheless, it will prove valuable
because it is a multifaceted analysis of autism in modern movies--thus providing an
already thoroughly examined analysis which can be used as a springboard for new
ideas, rather than forcing one to begin entirely from scratch.
Sepinwall, A. (2010, February 28). How TV shows try (or choose not) to depict Asperger's
syndrome: Sepinwall on TV. Star-Ledger, Entertainment. Retrieved from
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/02/how_tv_shows_try_or_choose
_not.html
The newspaper article is about the difference between implied autism (such as with Bones
and Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory) versus explicitly labelled autism
(Max Braverman from Parenthood), and the causes of the rift. It cites two reasons in
particular: the reluctance of writers to take on the responsibility of creating an

accurate autistic character, and the fear of executives that an explicit "autistic" label
would turn away potential viewers. It also discusses the effect of seeing more
numerous and more realistic autistic characters on real life: to destigmatize and
demystify autism, and to make people seek out information rather than accepting
stereotypes at face value.
The article has extensive quotes from prominent figures in both autism advocacy and media,
including Lori Sherry (president and co-founder of the Autism Spectrum Education
Network) and Emily Gerson Saines (co-founder of the Autism Coalition for Research
and Education). The fact that it explores the "why" behind studio unwillingness to
create an explicitly autistic character rather than quoting the "what" of implied
characters has made it unique compared to the other sources thus far, and the usage of
primary material from experts in the field makes it reliable and allows a look into
what goes on behind the scenes.
Shute, N. (2010). Desperate for an autism cure. Scientific American, 303(4), 80-85.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1010-80
The article is written to reveal the prevalence of unsafe and untested treatments performed by
the parents of children with autism spectrum disorders in an attempt to "cure" their
children.The article goes on to describe the difference between treatments, such as
behavioural therapy, for autism (which are tested and clinically designed to lessen the
more severe symptoms and to improve the quality of life of autists) and a cure. The
article stresses the fact that parents are willing to damage their children, perhaps
permanently, in exchange for using off-the-wall, unregulated tests and treatments in
the hopes of "reversing" their children's autism.
The author is a professional science writer employed by the National Public Radio who has a
lot of experience researching and writing articles about medical issues, especially the
effects of various substances on the body. The article is not about the portrayal of
autists in media but rather the held view on autism, specifically by parents of children
who have received an ASD diagnosis. The implicit definition of autism as something

scary and dangerous which needs to be treated or even cured, as has pervaded most
real-life circles today, seems at odds with the "normalization" of autistic characters.
The article thus supports the idea that even though autism is becoming more
commonly depicted in media, the lurking stereotypes of yore have not yet faded from
the public eye.
Silberman, S. (2013). Neurodiversity rewires conventional thinking about brains. Wired,
21(5), 116. Retrieved from Science Reference Center database. (Accession No.
89374696)
The article defines the birth of the term "neurodiversity" in the nineties in regards to people
with autism spectrum disorders, Tourettes, attention deficit disorders, dyslexia, and
other similar disorders caused by 'crossed wires' within the brain. It further describes
the development of self-advocacy among the neurodivergent community, referencing
such groups as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and describing how the internet
has helped users of screen-based communication. Ultimately, the article is about the
forward traction of acceptance and understanding of differently-structured minds in
the modern age.
The author of the article has written extensively about various medical issues, including
autism spectrum disorders. The source is not about modern media and its relation
therein to the understanding autism, but it does describe many of the problems faced
by neurodivergent people (such as difficulty getting hired or communicating) that
stem from a fear based on inaccurate information or a lack of understanding, which
are caused by common information and media depictions--someone who is already
reluctant to hire an autistic person will probably not actively seek out information on
the disorder, after all.
Simon, A. (2015, January 10). Hollywood and Asperger's. The Huffington Post,
Entertainment. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-simon/
hollywood-and-aspergers_b_6449470.html

The newspaper article briefly summarizes the history of Asperger's syndrome and goes on to
cite Asperger's expert Dr. Tali Shenfield (a new name in research thus far.) It mentions
that depictions of autistic characters vary from sympathetic to offensive and
everywhere in between, and lists several of what experts consider the most accurate
and least offensive movies with autistic protagonists. These films are Little Man Tate,
Mozart and the Whale, Adam, My Name is Khan, and Temple Grandin, movies which
have been mentioned by name in other sources but here are analysed in a way that
does not aim them at autism-interest people but typical moviegoers, describing plot,
character, and tensions in a way which does not have autism as their focus.
The direct reference to Dr. Shenfield lends a good deal of credibility to the source, and sets
the stage for the analysis of autistic characters in movies not as devices but as people
which follows. The fact that the article analyses the characters for their characteristics
and personalities (other than the definitive "autistic") provides an example of how
characters should be treated, to be compared to how they most often actually are. The
article also provides several new pieces of media whose autistic protagonists can be
examined for stereotypes and inaccuracies.
Thibault, R. (2014). Can autistics redefine autism? The cultural politics of autistic activism
[PDF]. Trans-Scripts: An Interdisciplinary Journal in the Humanities and Social
Sciences, 4, 57-88. Retrieved from
http://sites.uci.edu/transscripts/files/2014/10/2014_04_04.pdf
The journal article focuses heavily on the neurodiversity movement, and details the
contextualization and culturalization of the modern autistic narrative. It cites such
trends as the false "epidemic" that has caught the minds of the nation and the victim
story: the idea that autistic people and their families have been subjected to a horrible
disease which they must strive to overcome. It also examines the gap in treatment of
hfASDs and lfASDs within autistic communities themselves. The journal contains not
only dissections of the autism framework and the motivators holding it in place, but

uses the primary stories of day-to-day life of everyday autistic people as a result of
contact with or interaction with media, such as TV series and movies.
The journal extensively cites sources both academic and personal-advocacy based, and brings
up such professionals as Ari Ne'Eman (founder of the Autistic Self Advocacy
Network), Scott Robertson (who is active with the Pennsylvania Autism Services,
Education, Resources and Training Collaborative), and Jim Sinclair (cofounder of the
Autism Network International). Additionally, the author examines the responses from
these "big names" in ASDs to media, and describes their rise to significance within
their communities. As an informational narrative the journal offers a lot, and as both a
source and a springboard for other sources it affords even more.
What is autism? (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from UC San Diego Autism Center of
Excellence website: http://autism-center.ucsd.edu/autism-information/Pages/what-isautism.aspx
The web page discusses autistic disorder and the 4 other diseases on the AS (Rett's
syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and PDD-NOS.)
Also discussed, unusually for descriptive sources like this one, are the changes in the
diagnosis of autism over the years, with specific reference to the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV. Also outlined are the theories of possible
causes, symptoms (among them inappropriate social behaviour, stimming, and
language abnormalities,) and the current treatments available for autistic children.
The publication is from the UC San Diego School of Medicine's department of neuroscience,
which means that the information given is accurate, well-researched, and unbiased.
The basic information given here is also the basest knowledge necessary in the
project--without this information in specific, what autism is, viewers will not be able
to further develop any knowledge or understanding of the topic. UC San Diego also
has an Autism Center of Excellence, which may be able to offer the names of real-life
experts who may be able to provide new and high-level information now that the
project is sufficiently advanced.

Yergeau, M. (2010). Circle wars: Reshaping the typical autism essay. Disability Studies
Quarterly, 30(1). Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1063/1222
The essay is written by a woman on the autism spectrum, with the intent to discredit the
modern neurotypical formula of autism-spectrum-based publishings. She refuses the
concept of a 'functioning' binary (the labels of high functioning autistic and low
functioning autistic) and disagrees with the general idea of circular discourse: that
each community exists separately from one another, with hard and fast boundaries to
their identities. She also explores the concept of identity overlap, or the fact that
multiple seemingly exclusive labels can apply to a single person or group. Circular
discourse is a modern response to the understanding, or lack thereof, of autistic
people, with less reliance on media depictions as other sources and more on
paternalistic- and self-advocacy from the autistic community as a response to a
skewed interpretation of what it means to be autistic.
The author is an assistant professor of English who has worked at the Universities of Ohio
and Michigan, and has worked extensively in the fields of disability understanding
and activism. She has been part of several books, many journal articles, and an invited
essay, which not only cement her experience and reliability but may open the door to
other similarly-focused sources for the project.
Young, L. S. (2012). Awareness with accuracy: An analysis of the representation of autism in
film and television. Unpublished working paper, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL. Retrieved from http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp/256/
This research paper was written following an in-depth study of various autistic characters
from limited media (the movies Rain Man and Mercury Rising, and the TV shows
Parenthood and Arthur) to analyse stereotypes. The study focused on the portrayal of
five major myths/stereotypes/symptoms of autism: individuals with autism never
make eye contact, individuals with autism are unable to verbally communicate,
autistic individuals are unable to show and respond to affection, autistic individuals
do not smile, and autistic individuals are not perceptive to cues from other

individuals. The paper examines the media's accuracy regarding ASDs, the depiction
of stereotypes within the aforementioned media pieces, and how those stereotypes
have evolved since 1988's Rain Man (among the media first to portray an autist as its
protagonist).
This source gives the first historical background (related to the evolution of autistic
characters) that has been found, and also lays the groundwork for a chronological
evolution of autistic characters in media--more films and shows will be observed in
my final product, but the usage of Rain Man as one of the first mainstream movies
containing an autistic character sets a definite starting point. Additionally, the source
explicitly states several of the most pervasive stereotypes of autism (see above) which
can be used to build up a survey for modern audiences.
Yu, W. (2013). Autism spectrum disorders: What every parent needs to know (A. I. Rosenblatt
& P. S. Carbone, Eds.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
This book is a medical resource aimed at the parents of young children who have been
diagnosed with mild to severe autism, which discusses the important topics in living
with an autism spectrum disorder such as medical treatment, family care, and
handling the education system. It relies on an even mix of personal experiences
(gathered from families with autistic children) and medical fact to guide parents
through the difficulty of child rearing with the added factor of autism thrown in. The
book is written in a way which avoids the common pitfalls of medicalised autism
which are most common in the paternalistic model of education and advocacy, instead
focusing on the needs of the children--such as a different model of learning, how to
master each child's behavioural quirks and traits, and explaining what might be going
on in the childs mind during certain events--and how the parents can fulfill those
needs.
The book was edited by two doctors and written by a highly published author, all of whom
have some form of experience in the field: Dr. Carbone has a child with autism, Dr.
Rosenblatt is a specialist in neurodevelopmental pediatrics, and Ms. Yu has authored

and co-authored many medical books and magazine articles. This undoubtedly
reliable source will be used in the project to set up the basis of how autism is
understood by the modern medical field, as a touchstone for where the stereotypes
present in media are actually coming from.