By K.N.

Are the movie portrayals of women with ASD reflective of reality?

In the movie Please Stand By (2016), we meet 21-year-old Wendy.

Wendy loves her dog Pete, hates to eat pizza on Thursdays, and spends her time writing Star-Trek fan fiction.

Wendy has ASD and lives in a group home. One day she decides to run away.

The movie attempts to dispel stereotypes about women living on the Autism Spectrum, by presenting Wendy as a complex individual, one who astonishes those around her with a myriad of strengths, while coping with the challenges of everyday life. The existence of ASD in a social context is also addressed, as the movie realistically portrays ASD as being experienced by Wendy’s family, and the entire social environment that is Wendy’s life.

The movie raises an important point, that women with ASD are especially vulnerable to exploitation. However, this should not stop them from venturing outside their comfort zone and negotiating with the outside world on their own terms. For Wendy, the outside world is a chaotic and confusing place. Akin to Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole and embarks on a journey in a world that is foreign to her, Wendy’s journey takes her to discover her own strength and capacity for independence.

Wendy is enigmatic, and her character’s presentation is full of contradictions – much like many real women living with ASD. Wendy constantly surprises people with her abilities.
In this regard, the movie does a great job of presenting ASD as defined by a mosaic of striking ability contrasted with areas of challenge.

The character in the movie, certainly dispels a common ASD stereotype of total social ineptitude, as Wendy presents as a creative problem-solver, able think on her feet and challenge those who stand in her way. It is inspiring to see a character with ASD persist in her goals, in spite of obstacles, and people around her underestimating her.

In the movie, Wendy’s sister is apprehensive about bringing her infant daughter to visit Wendy at her group home. It is empowering to hear Wendy challenge her sister’s conviction that Wendy is unable to care for a baby:
“You can’t take care of a baby”
“How do you know I can’t?

Rather than internalize her perceived lack of ability, Wendy challenges this limiting perception.

Does the movie provide a realistic representation of family life with ASD?

In the movie, the viewer is given a glimpse into Wendy’s journey through early intervention and witnesses the severity of Wendy’s symptoms in her early years. Wendy’s older sister is presented as tirelessly involved in Wendy’s programming. The movie does a great job of showing the struggles of family life – a reality for many families living with ASD. Families living with ASD often experience economic hardship and stigmatization. In the movie, we learn Wendy comes from a single-parent home. After her mother passes away, Wendy’s sister becomes her primary caregiver.

This brings up a question which may resonate with many siblings of people with ASD:
What will happen to my sibling when my parents are no longer around?
Will I be able to care for my sibling?

Is the character’s progress portrayed realistically?

This is a really difficult question to answer. It is not impossible for children with more severe ASD to make great strides in their development. It is important to remember that every individual with ASD is different, and each develops at their own pace. For many individuals with ASD, intensive early intervention is a key part of their progress. Having the right types of early intervention, is still largely a factor of access to resources. Many families living with ASD do not have access to the type and quality of services that could potentially aid their children’s development. Many families with ASD experience poverty due to cost of these therapies and the extra child care needs for their child with ASD.

Wendy’s family struggles – she loses her mother, and her sister becomes her primary caregiver. In reality, many families with ASD struggle financially, and many experience burnout – these are all factors that affect a family’s ability to access, and actively participate in ASD interventions.

To what extent can a neurotypical actress transgress the stereotypes of Autism?

Wendy’s character, played by actress Dakota Fanning, does come off a bit cartoonish. We need to remember – It is an imitation of an individual with ASD.

More importantly, the movie sends a positive message:
Life on the spectrum is definitely not an easy life – but it can be an interesting life, and a life full of adventures.

Life on the spectrum does not need to equate living in fear if one is willing to let go of fear and embark on the unknown path ahead.

It is all about the journey, not the destination.