The Autism News

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Photo: Van Redin/HBO

By Emma Rosenblum | NY Mag

Saturday night saw the premiere of HBO’s original biopic Temple Grandin, the story of the renowned autistic animal scientist and best-selling author who pushed herself to succeed in the sixties when her disorder was widely misunderstood. Grandin was just the latest in an increasing number of movies, books, and TV shows that have focused on autism in the last few years. Much like any other illness, disease, or issue that hits critical mass in the news, autism has become — and wow, this feels crass to say — hot. There was John Elder Robison’s 2007 memoir, Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s, while last year’s Sundance Film Festival had two movies about autism: Adam, a sweet romance with Hugh Dancy, and the claymation Max and Mary. On TV, last season’s Amazing Race had a contestant with Asperger’s, the first episode of Community introduced Abed as having the same disorder, and in the pilot of the upcoming NBC drama Parenthood, Peter Krause’s son is diagnosed with autism.

Increased education about a disorder is a positive thing. “These portrayals do bring awareness to the issue, making people more comfortable with autism, and raising sensitivity,” says Sabeeha Rehman, the President of the New York metro chapter of the National Autism Association. But it’s hard to ignore that nearly every autistic we see in movies or TV is of the high-functioning sort: a quirky Asperger’s genius with social issues, say, rather than someone uncommunicative and incapable of interpersonal connection who needs full-time care. And the majority of those with autism are not high-functioning, says Rehman.

Movies and TV are entertainment, so it makes sense to have uplift in plots about those with autism. Danes did a wonderful job of capturing Grandin’s anxieties, fits, and difficulties relating to others, but in the end, Grandin comes out on top, rising to extraordinary professional heights. She’s an aspirational story, the kind on which Hollywood thrives, but she’s not an example of a typical autistic child. The takeaway from movies like Grandin, Adam, and TV shows like Parenthood (in which the autistic child overcomes a social hurdle in just one episode) is so hopeful that it’s not representative: It educates, but in a happy, slightly misleading way. “Most of the movies have been about those who are high-functioning, with Asperger’s, with sharp memories and unusual traits,” says Rehman. “But it’s really the low-functioning part of the spectrum that needs the awareness. It’s a condition that affects you physiologically, there is severe pain. Some of these people are completely non-verbal, and it’s very draining for parents. But I realize that doesn’t make for good entertainment.”

St. Elsewhere and Rain Man showcased autistic characters incapable of a climactic hug or dramatic progression, but very little since has. Rehman recommends The Horse Boy, a 2009 documentary by a father whose severely autistic son forms a special relationship with a horse. “It shows a child with very difficult issues, but still how he makes the world a better place,” she says (Even The Horse Boy is hopeful — the boy’s speech and behavior is markedly improved after a visit to the horse-driven culture of Mongolia). But Rehman admits that it’s not an easy film to watch. “It’s upsetting, of course, to see the true realities of autism onscreen.” So which is more important: being realistic about what audiences want to see, or giving a realistic picture of the whole autism spectrum?

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/hollywoods_big_on_autismwithin_1.html

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The Autism News | English

Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy star in “Adam,’’ which explores Asperger syndrome. (Julia Griner/Fox Searchlight)

Asperger’s community says film will help others understand disorder

By Meredith Goldstein | The Boston Globe

Just a few weeks before the movie “Adam’’ opened in theaters, the film’s director, Max Mayer, and its two stars, Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, visited Boston to host a sneak-preview screening.

The trio was nervous because it wasn’t a typical audience viewing the film that night. Most of the invited guests were affiliated with the Asperger’s Association of New England, which supports people with the neurological disorder that affects the way a person processes information – specifically, his or her social skills.

That’s what “Adam’’ is all about – a young man with Asperger syndrome, played by “Confessions of a Shopaholic’’ star Dancy, who falls for his unlucky-in-love neighbor, portrayed by “Damages’’ actress Byrne. As one might expect, a love story involving a character with a social disorder isn’t a smooth one. Dancy’s Adam doesn’t know when to hug and eats the same thing every day. He fails miserably at parties and begins screaming like a child when he realizes he has been told a white lie. Within the first 20 minutes of the film, Adam misses just about every social cue imaginable.

The screening in Boston was the first time the actors and director had shown the film to a group that represented the Asperger’s community. It was clear based on the number of people who showed up that, even if “Adam’’ didn’t set out to be a film that speaks on behalf of people with an often misunderstood neurological disorder, it has become just that. Despite the growing awareness of Asperger’s, there are few examples of the condition in the media. Save a few documentaries and an “America’s Next Top Model’’ contestant who had the syndrome, there isn’t much out there that shows what it means to have Asperger’s.

“Awareness is one of our missions and there’s nothing like a movie that does well for awareness,’’ said Dania Jekel, Asperger’s Association of New England’s executive director.

What has been an intense reception of “Adam’’ by the Asperger’s community makes sense to Mayer, who also wrote the film. He has a friend whose child has the disorder, and he used to work at a camp with children who, looking back, probably had the condition but were misdiagnosed at the time. Still, it was never Mayer’s mission to make a movie about Asperger’s. Mayer admitted after the screening that in his mind “Adam’’ was always supposed to be a simple love story. Giving a character Asperger’s was simply a good way to explore relationships in general. If his hero had trouble navigating social interaction and the strange rhetoric of dating, how would he succeed at love? And more important, is Adam so different than any other person struggling to find emotional intimacy?

“I wanted to represent [Asperger’s] well and I wanted it to be accurate, but it was sort of a means to an end,’’ Mayer explained in an interview after the screening.

Dancy also admitted that, as an actor, he stayed away from considering the implications of his portrayal of the disorder while he was shooting the film. He did spend time with people with Asperger’s before filming and did some reading on the subject (he recommends the John Elder Robison book “Look Me in the Eye’’), but he also focused his attention on the love story. He never pondered how “a room full of Aspies’’ would take his performance.

“You can’t afford to step outside and think of the implications,’’ Dancy said. “Now that we’ve done it, the fact that it has that message . . . it’s great.’’

In the end, the movie went over well at the Asperger’s Association screening. Audience members praised Dancy’s portrayal and Mayer’s script. Some people raised their hands to admit that they had committed many of the character’s social faux pas themselves.

Dancy and Byrne said that after the screening they were approached by a young, attractive man who told them that because of his Asperger’s he never knows when women are flirting with him. He just can’t figure out what they’re trying to tell him.

“He was like the real-life Adam. He was like, kind of good-looking and kind of lovely,’’ Byrne said, adding with a giggle. “Really awkward.’’

Dancy liked him, too. “We all conferred after and said, ‘He should have a girlfriend.’ He was charming, honest. . .’’

Mayer and the actors said the positive reviews meant more coming from the Asperger’s audience. People with the disorder can have a tough time lying just to be nice. That kind of politeness just isn’t in their repertoire.

“We would have known,’’ Dancy said, of bad reviews, adding that one woman in the audience told him his work in the movie was “competent.’’

Related story:  Heartfelt romantic comedy “Adam” debuts in Sedona on July 21

Source: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/08/08/aspergers_community_takes_adam_to_heart/

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THEY CAN RELATE: “Adam’s” story about two people trying to find a connection in an often uncaring world appealed to Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy. “It was really a lot of fun,” said Byrne, who like Dancy, has built a career on offbeat parts

By Lorenza Muñoz | Los Angeles Times

A self-possessed individual graced with the good looks of a matinee idol — large, bluish-gray eyes, a firm jaw line and fistfuls of brown, wavy hair — actor Hugh Dancy seemed, at first glance, completely wrong for the lead in Fox Searchlight’s unconventional romantic drama “Adam.” But soon after meeting the 34-year-old English actor, director Max Mayer realized that Dancy had “the requisite insecurities” to play the part of an awkward, introverted young man with Asperger’s syndrome who struggles with social interactions.

Dancy, the son of a prominent British moral philosopher and a University of Oxford graduate, said he was interested in taking on the role of a person with the autism spectrum disorder because “there is something paradoxical about trying to empathize your way into somebody” who has a hard time demonstrating empathy because of his condition.

“There was never a point where I felt in my comfort zone,” he said. “But it is a good way to work. It enforced a kind of discipline that I wish I always had. It was an unusual and complex person to portray and very different to anything I had attempted before.”

Both Dancy and his costar, 30-year-old Australian actress Rose Byrne, have quietly been building careers on offbeat and interesting choices.

Dancy has played opposite Helen Mirren as the Earl of Essex in the HBO series “Elizabeth I” as well as a tortured, alcoholic young man in the ensemble film “Evening.” Byrne is perhaps best known for her role as the besieged and fresh-faced law firm protégée Ellen Parsons, sharing the screen with Glenn Close in the TV drama “Damages.”

“Hugh is very analytical — he starts from his brain, while Rose is the opposite,” said Mayer. “She is very smart, but she is an impulsive, spontaneous, feeling creature who lets her body respond to a situation. She came in and opened the windows and let in some light and air into this young man’s life — and that is what Rose is like as a human being.”

Byrne, who has the doe-like, chocolate brown eyes and long eyelashes reminiscent of 1960s Italian star Claudia Cardinale, said she related to the story about two people trying to find a connection in an often uncaring world. The film, set in New York’s Upper West Side, speaks to how all people are in some way hobbled emotionally. But “Adam’s” gentle tone was a refreshing contrast to the sharp darkness of “Damages.”

“This was so different. There is humor in the script, which I really wanted to explore,” said Byrne. “It was really a lot of fun.”

Nancy Utley, president of Fox Searchlight, is hoping that “Adam,” which will be released in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, will offer a counter-programming choice to the assault-the-senses summer popcorn pictures. “We thought a more sophisticated audience would appreciate an alternative like that,” she said.

“Adam,” which won the Alfred P. Sloan award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a prize given to a feature film that focuses on science or technology as a theme, won’t be launching either actor into the celebrity mainstream. But for both Dancy and Byrne, fame isn’t the end all when it comes to picking projects.

“You don’t want to temper your choices for fear of becoming a household name, but I think diversity in a career is important,” said Byrne. “I feel lucky that I have worked consistently and I still have a completely anonymous private life.”

Adds Dancy, “You have to be very clear about why you are doing something like this. The most elusive thing for an actor is any kind of control over his career. . . . You have to have a realistic acceptance of the odds and how they are stacked against you. It makes me all the more grateful about how it’s worked for me.”

Related stories:

Heartfelt romantic comedy “Adam” debuts in Sedona on July 21

Movie preview: Adam

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-dancy28-2009jul28,0,6045563.story

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The Autism News | English

What happens when you fall in love with someone for whom love itself is an alien concept? Can people with Asperger Syndrome have meaningful, intimate relationships? The answer to these and other important questions can be found in Dr. Kathy Marshack’s new book.

Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism that creates difficulties in social interaction, is being portrayed in the new acclaimed romantic comedy “Adam”. What happens when you fall in love with someone for whom love itself is an alien concept? Can people with Asperger Syndrome have meaningful, intimate relationships? The answer to these and other important questions can be found in Dr. Kathy Marshack’s new book: “Life with a Partner or Spouse with Asperger Syndrome: Going over the Edge? Practical Steps to Saving You and Your Relationship” published by Autism Asperger Publishing Company (March 2009).

Interest in the subject of intimacy and Asperger Syndrome is growing, but the answers are scarce. In fact, so little is written on the subject of adult Asperger Syndrome (AS) relationships that Dr. Marshack received hundreds of emails from desperate people around the world—primarily women married to men with AS—after posting just one chapter of her book on her website. However, she’s also received hate mail from those that view her position as unfavorable to the Asperger community.

This doesn’t surprise Dr. Marshack, a licensed psychologist and marriage therapist, who has observed these Asperger/Neurotypical couples developing very strained relationships. Worse yet, conflicts can escalate to damaging proportions involving divorce, domestic violence and depression. Many therapists don’t have the necessary training on how Asperger Syndrome impacts intimate relationships. In her book, Marshack dives right into these sensitive issues and shows readers how to take control of their lives and grow away from dysfunctional behavior and dysfunctional relationships. . . even if that means divorce.

Dr. Marshack shares poignant true stories based on the lives of her clients and even her own family members who have Asperger’s. The book focuses on how partners/spouses of someone with AS can take back his or her life and find true meaning and happiness. The forward was written by Dr. Stephen Shore, internationally known author, consultant, and presenter on issues related to the autism spectrum who candidly shares insights from his own Asperger marriage. Both Dr. Marshack and Dr. Shore will be offering book signing at the Autism Society of America’s 40th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders in St. Charles, Illinois on July 22nd – 25th.

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By Sedona.biz

Film festival presents Sundance award-winner two weeks before its theatrical release

SEDONA, AZ (July 8, 2009) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Arizona premiere of the new romantic comedy “Adam” on Tuesday, July 21. There will be two screenings of the film at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres. The film is the second in a seven-week “Best of Fest” series presented by the film festival.

“Adam” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it received the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award and Audience Choice accolades. It has been playing to rave audience and critical reviews at festivals since then. Fox Searchlight, who will be distributing the film, opens “Adam” in New York and Los Angeles in late July.

“This is such a coup for us to get this film nearly two weeks before its release in the major film cities,” said festival director Patrick Schweiss. “It is a delightful feel-good romantic comedy with a lot of heart that is sure to please.”

What happens when you fall in love with someone for whom love itself is an alien concept? In the unconventional romantic comedy “Adam”, the tale of a romance between a bright, sophisticated young woman and a mysterious, sheltered brilliant young man becomes a humor-laced excursion into the riddle of romantic chemistry and the moving ways people find to connect, even when they can’t possibly see the world in the same way.

Romance can be risky, perplexing and filled with the perils of miscommunication – and that’s if you aren’t Adam, for whom life itself is this way. In this heartfelt film, Hugh Dancy (The Jane Austen Book Club, Confessions of a Shopaholic) stars as Adam, a handsome but intriguing young man who has led a sheltered existence all his life. Then he meets his new neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne, “Damages,” 28 Weeks Later, Knowing). She is a beautiful, cosmopolitan young woman who pulls him into the outside world, with funny, touching and entirely unexpected results. Their implausible and enigmatic relationship reveals just how far two people from different realities can stretch in search of an extraordinary connection.

The film marks the breakout feature film from writer/director Max Mayer, who has directed more than 50 new plays Off-Broadway and around the country, and has also directed for some of television’s most prestigious shows, including “Alias” and “The West Wing.” His inspiration for “Adam” came, rather appropriately, out of the blue. One day, Mayer was listening to the radio when he was suddenly riveted by a story about a man living with Asperger’s Syndrome, an increasingly common form of high-functioning autism that is hallmarked by an inability to read what other people are thinking and feeling. Those with Asperger’s Syndrome can be highly intelligent, even off-the-charts brilliant, but are often socially cut-off because they perceive ordinary human behavior as strange, irrational and even wildly incomprehensible.

In the heartfelt romantic comedy “Adam,” Hugh Dancy stars as Adam, a handsome but intriguing young man who has led a sheltered existence all his life. Then he meets his new neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne), who pulls him into the outside world, with funny, touching and entirely unexpected results.

It struck Mayer that we all get a dizzying glimpse at that kind of confusion in romantic relationships – when we each become bumbling amateur detectives trying to figure out this total stranger that makes our heart beat faster — and he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for a person who has Asperger’s Syndrome to carry on a romance with someone who doesn’t. The concept seemed rife not only with relatable mishaps but a vivid new way to view the pinnacle of human emotions — from the fresh perspective of someone who sees emotion differently.

Thus was born the character of Adam. If women are from Venus and men are from Mars, Adam appears to be from another galaxy entirely, but that doesn’t stop him from going after his own, albeit disaster-prone, version of romance with remarkable spirit and courage.

A long-time New Yorker, Mayer wrote “Adam” as a classic Manhattan boy-meets-girl-in-a-building romance – but with a unique twist. After all, this boy and this girl have more than just the usual circumstantial obstacles standing between them; they have the mystery of the human brain itself.

“Adam” is not just an offbeat love story. It’s also very much a New York love story. For Mayer, part of the fun was creating two different views of New York – the bustling city of struggle and opportunity that Beth lives in; and the secret city of hidden nooks and urban wilderness that Adam inhabits. The overall result is a quieter, greener, more elegant Manhattan where love blossoms out of view.

“I grew up in New York and I knew that if you shoot in New York it becomes a character in the movie because the city always encroaches in its own way on the story and you never get perfect conditions,” Mayer notes. “To add to that we have a character who tries to live in a glass bubble in the middle of the city, so it was quite a challenge.”

Related story: Movie preview: Adam

Source: http://www.sedona.biz/movie-adam-sedona0109.htm

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The Autism News | English

Ever since I heard about Adam, which premiered at Sundance this year, I’ve been dying to see a preview for it — and now it’s finally here! This sweet-looking romance stars Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne (Damages) as two twenty somethings who live in the same apartment complex. They become interested in each other and might be on the path to love if not for one little thing: Adam (Dancy) suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, which means he has trouble navigating dating and other social situations.

I was worried that this movie might be a little too sentimental, but the trailer is charming, with a few moments that made me laugh out loud nestled between the emotional scenes. The reviews out of Sundance were generally positive, with one critic describing it as “extremely touching and sweet.”

The movie also stars Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, and Mark Linn-Baker and will hit theaters July 29.

Photo courtesy of Sundance

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The Autism News English Adam, Amy Irving, English, Hugh Dancy, Mark Linn-Baker, movie, Peter Gallagher, preview, Rose Byrne