From an article on the website of the Asperger’s Association of New England:

“We hope this movie becomes the Rain Man of Asperger’s,” said Dania Jekel, executive director of the Asperger’s Association of New England. “When people talk about autism they say, ‘Oh, you mean like Rain Man?’ So maybe when people talk about Asperger’s they’ll say, ‘Oh, you mean like Adam?’”

Earlier posts start here.

Andrew O’Hehir writes in Salon that films like the newly released “Adam” are dull because they “take their educational function so seriously, that they don’t have any time or energy left to be, you know, movies.”

He labels the film “a subdued, minor-key weeper, utterly conventional and glum, in which an Asperger’s/non-Asperger’s couple teach each other valuable life lessons.”

An excerpt:

Autistic and Asperger’s characters in movies are only beginning to move beyond the “Sidney Poitier phase,” in which members of previously despised or misunderstood minorities are presented as symbols, saints or seers — whose most important function is to provide other, more relatable and “normal” characters with the opportunity for moral and spiritual growth. African-Americans, gays and American Indians have already enjoyed this dubious cinematic-shaman role, which is undeniably superior to old-fashioned bigotry but a long way short of actual equality.

See also:

Marshal Fine, Huffington Post

It would be simple to cynically dismiss Adam as condescendingly feel-good, but that’s a lazy reading of a film that is full of heart and wit. Give it a chance and you’ll find yourself drawn into this character’s life in ways that will both touch and amuse you.

Alonso Duralde, MSNBC

Given the challenges involved in having an intimate relationship with someone who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a love story on that subject certainly has the potential to be both moving and eye-opening. But “Adam” isn’t that story; it’s merely a Very Special Episode of a TV series I never wanted to watch.

Earlier posts start here.

(Fox Searchlight photo)

The newly released film ‘Adam,‘ starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, is the tale of a young man with Asperger’s whose life is changed when a beautiful woman moves into his New York apartment building.

Excerpts from some reviews:

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Subtlety and nuance mark both the film’s dialogue and performances. It’s hard to see how Dancy and Byrne could be any better … “Adam” is a most welcome summer treat.

Rick Warner, Bloomberg

The film succeeds largely because Dancy pulls it off with grace and virtually none of the crowd-pleasing gimmickry that marred Dustin Hoffman’s performance as an autistic savant in “Rain Man.”

Rex Reed, New York Observer:

Far from just another exotic Disease of the Week, Asperger’s is an incurable neurological disorder similar to autism that turns outwardly normal-looking people into high-class idiot savants. I know at least two people with Asperger’s. They are incapable of thinking of anyone or anything outside of themselves. (more…)

In ‘Adam,’ Hugh Dancy plays a man on the autism spectrum whose difficulties with social interactions get in the way of his hopes for a romance with a neighbor, played by Rose Byrne. The small-budget film will be released Wednesday. An excerpt of the dialogue, thanks to the New England Cable Network:

He: My brain works differently from NTs.

She: NTs?

He: Neurotypicals. Sometimes I can’t understand them — especially when they mean something different from what they’re actually saying.

She: You don’t do that?

He: Most Aspies are really honest. Psychologists think it’s a lack of imagination, but psychologists are mostly NTs. Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Mozart — they all had lots of imagination.

She: They had Asperger’s?

He: Probably.

See also:

Offbeat love story in ‘Adam’ a real friendship — USA Today

Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne are two of a kind — Los Angeles Times

Love interest breaks type, uses brain — New York Times

Playing it straight — Scotland Daily Herald An excerpt:

What Adam is fundamentally about, of course, is the difficulty in making any relationship last. “It’s made me reflect on how it’s a miracle that we ever connect with anybody in a proper, honest way,” says Dancy, “and even when we do, even when you’re in a relationship that has lasted, it’s an ongoing challenge. That’s what got me interested in this movie in the first place, and it’s something you don’t have to know anything about Asperger’s to understand.”

(New York Times photo)

From the Boston Globe:

A television interview show produced by the Triangle program in Malden, Massachusetts, involves people with disabilities in every step of the creative process and production.

Called Ablevision, the program strives to demonstrate the abilities of more than 50 participants, teaching them video skills as well as life skills like organization and teamwork. The shows are distributed via cable television and the Internet.

“Part of our mission is to help the world at large understand that we are all people with abilities,” said Mike Rodriguez, chief executive of Triangle.

Recent shows have featured members of the dance troupe from the Gimp Project and an  interview with actor Kevin James of the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

(Photo from Ablevision video)

Last ‘Percy Jackson’ book is released as Fox shoots movie version of earlier title

From the Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly,  Austin American-Statesman:

Former middle-school teacher Rick Riordan, left, is “one of the hottest writers on the planet today,” thanks to his series of children’s books that pairs Greek mythology with a hero who has learning disabilities.

The series, which has already sold more than five million copies in the U.S., culminates this week with the release of the fifth and final installment, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Central to the concept is a hero who learns that he is the son of Poseidon. He also has ADHD and dyslexia — traits he shares with Riordan’s son, who inspired the series — and comes to understand that his learning disabilities are signs he was sired by one of the gods.

Dyslexia, you see, is simply the natural confusion that arises when you’re hard-wired to read ancient Greek but forced to read English. And ADHD? A side effect of the need to constantly survey your surroundings for monsters eager to destroy children who are part-mortal, part-god.

Twentieth Century Fox is shooting a movie version of the first book in the series. Starring Uma Thurman and Pierce Brosnan, it is expected to be released next February.

(Photo from Wall Street Journal)

Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times, says the organization’s style manual now decrees that the word “dwarf” — not “midget” — should be used to refer to people with a genetic condition resulting in unusually short stature.

The recent change came about after a public outcry was raised over the use of the word “midget” in an article by David Segal last month. Hoyt said Segal had “no idea” he was using an objectionable term when referring to a 1930′s-era photograph of financier J.P. Morgan, Jr., and circus performer Lya Graf (left).

“Midget, once used to describe dwarfs of otherwise normal proportions, is now widely considered offensive and should be avoided,” [the style guide] says.

… Betty Adelson, a psychologist who has written two books on dwarfs and is the mother of one, said midget has become anathema in the United States because it is derived from the name of an insect (midge), is associated with circus spectacles and is flung as an epithet on the street (“Look at the midget!”).

We’ll be watching carefully to see how the Times covers the premiere of “Midgets vs. Mascots” at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend. Decribed as a “mockumentary,” the film stars Gary Coleman and features fictional teams competing in ridiculous contests for cash prizes.