When we see characters like Forest Gump from the film, “Forest Gump” or Raymond from the film, “Rain Man”, we sometimes lazily believe whatever Hollywood’s scriptwriters would have us believe about certain disorders. Truthfully, these are fictionalized stories are not meant to be actual medical facts. However, if you look deep enough into the psychiatric health medicine field, you will see that there are more reference guides and medical journals than you can imagine that offer insight on what the unique condition known as Autism is.
Autism is a disorder in the brain that develops before a child is three years old. This disorder will impair the cognitive development and can hinder ones ability to interact in social settings “normally”. While this is a relatively new development as far as the mental health field’s ability to “pinpoint” it in the broad sense of the word, the disorder of Austism is growing as far as the community itself.
While children are being diagnosed as having Autism is not something that has a stigma that it might have had years ago, it is still something that many celebrities and groups work towards shedding more light on. While there is no cure for the disorder, each treatment in helping a child’s growth and development is tailored to fit the needs of the child. There is never one specific cure just as there is not one sure bet symptom that will tell you that the child is developing autistic traits.
While some cases reveal that a child can grow into an adult with Autism, developing cognitive tools to help them function in daily life as a productive adult, most children who have Autism will live their whole lives with their parents or under the care of some guardian.
So, while the movies may depict characters with similar traits to those of Autistic individuals, or even provide a completely accurate portrayal of someone who has a developmental disorder like Autism, it is always important to remember that this is a very real disorder that affects many children worldwide.