Autism in the Media & Presentations

Autism in the Media

This new page is meant to take a look at how Autism is portrayed in the various media, television, magazines, newspapers, radio, movies, books, etc. Unfortunately, due to copyright laws we cannot duplicate everything and are dependant on links which sometimes are briefly available. If a link expires please let us know.

Since the webmaster has limited time, and can't see everything, this is where your contributions come into play. When you see something about Autism in the various media, please forward your thoughts on it. Let's start a discussion and see where it goes, maybe we can raise awareness just a bit....

Autism & Entertainment

Too often, entertainment portrays persons with autism in a negative light. Presently the variety show "America's Got Talent" has a 9 year old competitor with autism. This young boy (David) is high functioning and sings well enough to have advanced to the semi finals. How far can he go?

CBC

The Boy Inside: Filmmaker Marianne Kaplan turns the camera on her own family, creating a rare and intimate first-hand portrait of living with Asperger Syndrome (AS)-a form of high-functioning autism characterized by socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior, and an inability to interact successfully with others. More

CBC Radio story/interview on autism screening. Listen to the interview. (loads slowly)

Book by Author with Autism

The Stonking Steps by Will Rogers. This children's story is an insightful look into the imagination of a child with autism, written by an author who himself has autism. More.

Book on Autism by a local author:

"now you know me think more" A Journey with Autism using Facilitated Communication Techniques by Ppinder Hundal and Pauline Lukey. (Following describing from the publishers web site) They have worked together for over twenty years. Ppinder lives with Pauline in British Columbia and attends the Garth Homer Day Center. Pauline is a qualified nurse and caregiver and has worked with autistic clients for over thirty years. Pauline Lukey first met Ppinder Hundal when Ppinder was eight years old, at which point Ppinder was non-verbal and had no formal way of communicating. This book charts their development together as, through the use of facilitated communication techniques, Ppinder has shown herself to be an eager and increasingly fluent communicator. Beginning with the use of sign language, moving on to assisted typing (the title of this book being drawn from the first spontaneous phrase that Ppinder typed) and finally to Ppinder's current desire to learn to read and write, both authors recount their remarkable journey from Ppinder's first signs ("coat," "more," "cookie," and "finish") to her ability now to discuss her medication with her caregivers and converse, via laptop, with her autistic friends. This honest and moving account demonstrates the remarkable effects of facilitated communication and highlights that communication is a skill that everyone is entitled to enjoy. Available from Bolen Books and the UVIC Bookstore. The author donates a portion of the revenues to VSCA.

Links to various articles:

The Lynn Johnston comic strip "Better or Worse" has new subplot involving children with special needs. Its worth a look. Our archive of this theme.

The Key to Genius

The New X-Men

Think Different? Autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen on "mindblind" engineers, hidden pictures, and a future designed for people with Asperger's.

The Geek Syndrome Autism - and its milder cousin Asperger's syndrome - is surging among the children of Silicon Valley. Are math-and-tech genes to blame?

Take The AQ Test What is your Autism Quotient?

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