Kate Ducca

Those not on the spectrum should not have a say about this show and how "great" it is when in actuality it's actually problematic. I will be honest, I did really like this show at first. I loved that they cast actually autistic actors to play autistic characters and was super excited to see some real representation of autistic people like myself. I could resonate with every character. I can't leave my apartment like Harrison, I have issues with emotions and stuff like Jack, and I'm seen as vulnerable and gullible like Violet. The entirety of this show felt like a neurotypical pity party. About how hard it is "dealing" with autistic family members. That's how we're constantly seen as it is. As burdens and hard to deal with. The more I watched, the more upsetting it was to me. Mandy didn't correct AJ's mom when she was being rude to Harrison. She didn't say hey, he's autistic, cut him a break. I don't care that she said he's a great person and he would never hurt anyone. JUST SAY HE'S AUTISTIC! It's so frustrating when they would skirt around the subject when that's what the show was about. Also, they used a ton of outdated stuff. Aspergers isn't a thing anymore for starters, and most autistic people prefer identity-first language. Then when it ended with Jack's dad saying this is a hell of a burden...Talking about having an autistic family member, I couldn't stand it. I'm very disappointed in Joe Mantegna. He has an autistic daughter, so he should have advocated for that to be taken out. A lot of autistic people DO feel like they're burdens and seeing a show with neurotypical family members confirming that was very upsetting. Watching this show made me wonder if they even asked the actors their opinions of anything or if they just gave them the script and said go with this or you'll be fired. The ONLY reason I gave 2 stars is because they did hire actually autistic actors to play autistic characters. Other than that, this show has a lot of work to do to be accepted by the ASD community.