Autism Soccer: Atypical: Is It Relatable to Autistic Individuals or not?

"Atypical" tries to show us what is like to be an autistic teenager on a daily basis.

It’s not easy doing a portrayal of the lives of families with autistic children. And it’s even harder to show how it would be in the media. Most parents could find it insulting that their sons are shown as disabled, or in any other way that's totally out of what autism really is. “Atypical” is a television series produced by Netflix that has received positive reviews on almost every website.

But there’s an important group that is not being taken into account: autistic individuals.With neurotypical users covering the reviews, it’s hard to tell what people with autism really think about this show. Before getting into that, we’ll give a short overview of what this show’s about.

Atypical, is a comedy television series that focuses on the life of Sam, an 18 years old autistic teenager. The storyline focus on his daily experiences and the struggles of being autistic and dealing with an environment that’s definitely not suited for him. Overall, Sam’s desire is to fit in while embracing his condition.

The comedy source in the series is the reactions and behavior of Sam, due to the traits of his condition. You can tell the show tries to demonstrate the people around Sam understand well his condition and try to help him be accepted.

Atypical tries to portrait what is like for autistic teenagers to deal with life, interacting with others, finding someone to love, and being understood. Details like his overwhelming dislike for clothes with too many zippers are perfectly portrayed.

Is it relatable for autistics or not?

After doing some research on forums and social media, I’ve found that most autistic don’t relate to Sam’s way of portraying autism. Most opinions are based on how he represents a stereotype (how society sees autism) and how far he’s from what actually means being an autistic individual. Sam just doesn’t seem to care about being the “comedy” in the show.

Autistic teenagers who did receive treatment early on are more aware of their actions and tend to be quiet most of the time. Sam is completely the opposite. He is openly factual and doesn’t miss a moment to share things with everyone he comes across. That’s a major stereotype of autism, and with a deeper research, the character could’ve been played differently.

On the other hand, Sam displays an abusive behavior that’s totally different from the average autistic people behavior (again, autistic who received treatment early on). It looks as he’s more a bully than the commonly portrayed victim, which puts him in a strange position from the eyes of viewers. Again, this only adds to the wrong perception some people have about the autism spectrum.

Still, there are some factors that do represent autism. Atypical does show that besides having a difficult condition, Sam is a person with dreams and thoughts, just like everyone else. He is an autistic teenager going through one of the hardest stages of growth, and its creator did its best to let others know what it means.

Before getting fed up with reviews, my advice is that you go and watch the series. But while you do it, try to put yourself in the shoes of those who live with this condition. Try your best to see it from an atypical perspective, and you’ll come up with your own opinions about it.