Running head: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 1

Autism Spectrum Disorder (Movie Analysis)

Abigail Floriano-Monarrez

Catawba College

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Psychology 3480, Abnormal

2/18/2020
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Autism Spectrum Disorder (Movie Review)

Autism is more commonly diagnosed in males at a young age. In both movies mentioned

in this paper, the two main protagonists from the films Adam (2009) and The Boy Who Could

Fly (1986) happen to be male and are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). What

frequently happens with characters that have a disorder are often not well portrayed or are just

overly exaggerated for movie/show productions. There are some examples in both films where

ASD is not accurately represented but there are examples where ASD is portrayed according to

official criteria. In this paper, both movies will have scenes pulled out and will be critiqued if

they accurately represent ASD or if they fail to do so.

Mayo Clinic (2018) defines ASD as a condition related to brain development that impacts

how a person perceives and socializes with others, that can cause problems in social interaction

and communication (Mayo Clinic, 2018). With ASD, individuals are usually diagnosed at a very

young age. The DSM-5 (2013) states that symptoms must be present in the early developmental

period (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There may be criteria from official sources that

others without the disorder may relate to, but they must be diagnosed at an early age by a

professional. With ASD, there are severity levels that come with the criteria. These levels range

from one to three and represent how much support these individuals need in order to function.

The DSM-5 (2013) describes the levels as the following, a level one implies that the individual

requires support (usually high functioning), level two requires substantial support (average ASD

patient), and level 3 requires very substantial support (very severe ASD) (American Psychiatric

Association, 2013). For more in depth information regarding the levels, see the level criteria by

autism speaks (Autism Speaks). The protagonists in the films being critiqued do not have their

severity levels stated for the criteria they portray but can be implied with watching the film and
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monitoring their actions. In short, ASD criteria can be used incorrectly when it comes to self-

diagnosis but there is more than just the criteria, there are levels for them and how severe a

person may experience the criteria.

One of the main diagnostic criteria for ASD is difficulty in social communication and

social interaction. With this criterion there are contexts in which difficulty in social

communication and social interaction are shown. The first context is that there is difficulty in

social-emotional exchange. For example, in the movie Adam (2009), Adam is introduced to one

of Beth’s friends and the communication leads to the talk of telescopes. Adam goes on a tangent

about telescopes and doesn’t seem to give an opportunity for Beth’s friend to also have a word in

the conversation. Beth has to come in and interrupt Adam to end his tangent. This example

depicts his difficulty in having a normal back-and-forth conversation an example of social-

emotional exchange. Adam in this context can be placed between levels one and two of requiring

support, since Beth had to step in to help break up the one-sided conversation. Adam lies in

between a level one and two since he shares characteristics of both of those levels, leaning more

heavily towards level one.

In continuation, the second context is that there is difficulty in nonverbal communicative

behaviors for social communication. For instance, in the film Adam (2009), Adam has invited

Beth into his living room, and they sit down on the couch. He asks her if she felt “excited,

sexually” last time they had hung out. He didn’t seem to notice the way she asked “what” and

how she pushed back from him, meaning that she felt uncomfortable with that question. This

depicts deficits in understanding gestures and poorly integrated verbal/nonverbal

communication, examples of difficulty in nonverbal communicative behavior for social

communication. This example can be up for grabs for those who self-diagnose but it has to
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evaluated on a severity level by a professional. Adam is more of a level one in this area. Another

example comes from The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), Milly is assigned to help Eric in gym class.

She goes up to him and tries to speak to him. Eric tries to avoid making eye contact with her and

doesn’t want to speak to her or anyone else. During most of the movie, he is mute and has no

expression. This illustrates an abnormality in eye contact, an abnormality in verbal and

nonverbal communication, and a total lack of facial expression. Eric lies in levels two and three

for severity of criteria. He could also be diagnosed with Selective Mutism. American Speech-

Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) describes it as a complex childhood anxiety disorder…

child’s inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social situations, such as school

(ASHA). During the course of the movie, Eric doesn’t speak at all, only one line where he

repeats Milly’s name back to her.

Lastly, the third context is that there is difficulty in developing, maintaining, and

understanding relationships. Two examples of this can be seen in the film Adam (2009). Adam is

introduced to Beth’s friend who has brought her baby to the party. They say they have a video

with the subject being the baby and ask both Beth and Adam if they would like to see it. He very

bluntly says no thanks and immediately shifts the conversation to something else. This first

example depicts an absence in interest in peers and a difficulty in adjusting behavior for the

current social context. He fails to notice that his words can heavily affect others depending on

the subject. In this scenario Adam is in between levels one and two, more heavily leaning

towards level one. The second example from Adam (2009) happens to be when Adam is meeting

Beth’s parents for the first time and he finds out that Beth’s father gets into legal trouble. He

starts asking him a bunch of questions because he becomes curious but didn’t understand that the

place, they were at was not appropriate to be asking questions regarding his legal issues. This
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illustrates a difficulty in adjusting behavior for the current social context. He didn’t have in mind

that he had just met Beth’s parents and questions like those are highly personal. Adam also

didn’t seem to care that they were in a public space and those questions made Beth’s father very

uncomfortable. In this current scenario Adam is more of a level one. Another example can be

found in the movie The Boy Who Could Fly (1986). Eric is seen in class not facing towards the

front and not talking to anyone. He is merely focused on what he wants to do, flying paper

airplanes and not his peers around him. This kind of behavior depicts an absence of interest in

peers. No one can break Eric’s concentration, even Milly who walks in as a new student. Eric is

in between levels two and three, more heavily leaning towards a three. Altogether these

examples are what most exemplify having difficulty in social communication and social

interaction in the two movies being critiqued in this paper.

Another diagnostic criterion for ASD is having restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior,

interests, or activities. In this criterion there are contexts in which restricted, repetitive patterns of

behavior, interests, or activities are shown. The first context being stereotypes/ repetitive motor

movements, use of objects, or speech. An example of this can be found in the film The Boy Who

Could Fly (1986). In the opening scene of the movie, Eric is seen making paper airplanes.

Throughout the entirety of the movie he is posed like an airplane and pretends to soar the sky.

This type of behavior portrays stereotyped/repetitive motor movements. When Eric ends up

acting as an airplane and “soars” through the sky or makes paper airplanes, he resists when

others want him to stop that action, this type of resistance would land Eric in a level two and

maybe a level three depending on the situation in the movie.

In continuation, the second context is the insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to

routines, or ritualized patterns or verbal/nonverbal behavior. The film Adam (2009) relied
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heavily on this context for the film to depict a person with ASD. The first example is Adam gets

fired from his job at the doll company his father helped him get. He gets home and smashed his

head onto a mirror out of frustration. This type of behavior depicts an extreme distress at a small

change and a difficulty with a transition. Although his behavior is rather extreme to an average

joe, Adam still lands in a level one could be leaning towards a level two as well. The second

example takes place in the opening credits. Adam’s home is displayed, and it shows how

organized his pantry and fridge are, containing the same cereal boxes and frozen food selection

for everyday meals. Another example that could accompany the prior example would be that

when Adam and Beth go out to eat and Adam insists that he must have macaroni and cheese like

he always does for dinner. Both of these examples show Adam having to eat the same food every

day. This type of behavior shows the need to eat the same food every day, an example of the

insistence on sameness. This example can make people relate to it due to how common this habit

can be but cannot be used as a self-diagnosis since it has to be evaluated by a professional and

given a level of how much support the individual needs to function. Adam in this case is only a

level one since his case is not so severe. Another example for this context can be found in the

film The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), where Eric would always be seen during the whole movie

going to his window sill and jumping up to the top of his roof, acting like a plane soaring through

the sky. Going to the roof was almost like a part of his routine. This type of behavior depicts the

need to take the same route/routine. This activity is dangerous and does affect his daily living so

his level would most likely be near a two or three.

In continuation, another context is highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in

intensity or focus. An example from Adam (2009), is how throughout the entirety of the film,

Adam displays his interest in everything that has to do with space and space culture. He owns a
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space suit and has a vast knowledge about anything regarding space. He even shows Beth a light

show about the cosmos and gives her a lecture about it the first time they meet. This type of

behavior displays a perseverative interest. Though there are people who can have the same

characteristics, it ultimately comes down to being diagnosed by a professional and how severe it

affects one’s daily living. Adam is at a level one on the scale, where it really doesn’t affect his

daily living too much. Another example comes from the movie The Boy Who Could Fly (1986),

where Eric is heavily interested in airplanes. Milly starts telling her mother at the dinner table

that kids at school had said that Eric has been fixated on airplanes ever since his parents died in a

plane crash. Although this idea of being interested in planes after the death of his parents may

come off as a form of PTSD, it is also related to ASD since his interest is perseverative. Eric lies

in the level two for how strong his interest is and how difficult it is to get him to focus on

something else.

Lastly, the next context is hyper/hyperreactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in

sensory aspects of the environment. An example of this can be found in the film Adam (2009),

where Adam goes out on a date with Beth and it was at a restaurant that was heavily packed and

loud. He is easily overloaded by all the noise and people and Beth realizes this and decides to

take the food to go for Adam’s sake. This example displays an adverse response to specific noise

and visual fascination with movement. All the activity was very overwhelming for Adam to

handle and needed to leave the area before he panicked. Although others may want to self-

diagnose with this small context, they have to evaluated by a professional and given a severity

level. Adam in this case is a level one.

Ultimately these contexts and criterion can relate to many people, these cannot be used to

self-diagnose. Although repetitive, it must be stated again that a professional must evaluate
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someone with these criteria and contexts and given a severity level if it interferes with one’s

daily life.

Both films have their unique portrayal of ASD and what severity level they chose to

focus on. They both touched on how individuals with this disorder can be perceived in a negative

light and also what makes them different from their peers. The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) could

have made Eric more of a three-dimensional character, not so much of a character where he lacks

personality and is deemed bland. Adam (2009) had an interesting plotline and displayed an

almost accurate idea of someone with ASD, was also a more rounded character. Both of the

film’s males with ASD, end up not being with their love interest at the end of the film, maybe a

happy ending with the girl they both fell in love with would be a good idea for future movies.

Those endings sort of gave an idea that those with a disorder don’t get their happy endings. In

conclusion, both films had almost accurate examples for the criteria and the contexts but lacked a

sense of equality for those with a disorder.

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References

Adleson, G. (Producer), & Castle, N. (Director). (1986). The Boy Who Could Fly [Motion

Picture]. United States: Lormiar Motion Pictures.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

(5th ed.). http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

ASHA. (n.d.). Selective Mutism. https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?

folderid=8589942812&section=Overview

Autism Speaks. (n.d.). Autism Diagnosis Criteria: DSM-5.

https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-diagnosis-criteria-dsm-5

Pencier, M., Urdang, D., & Vanech, D. (Producer), & Mayer, M. (Director). (2009). Adam

[Motion Picture]. United States: Fox Searchlight.

Mayo Clinic. (2018, Jan. 6). Autism spectrum disorder. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-

conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352928