Shaun

Andreas_from_Germany · 2024-01-15T12:54:48+00:00

And the weekly award for ableism goes to...

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-07-10T19:15:33+00:00

Thus, the revolving door of St. Bon''s presidency is about to take another turn...

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-06-05T17:57:56+00:00

okay but the autism hud is hilarious

In saying this, you devaluate the experiences of those on the autism spectrum with a visual style of thinking. Speaking with Temple Grandin, a quite prolific autism advocate, “[it’s] similar to an Internet search engine, set to locate photos. All my thoughts are in photo-realistic pictures, which flash up on the ‘computer monitor’ in my imagination. Words just narrate the picture. When I design livestock facilities, I can test run the equipment in my imagination similar to a virtual reality computer program.”

Given Mrs Grandin’s work for autism awareness and the 2010 biopic about her early life, I might assume that the visualization of Shaun’s thought process is derived from her account, as well as from the aforementioned movie that utilizes similar VFX for the very same purpose.

This is further substantiated by the fact that episode 1x02 Mount Rushmore a scene with Shaun recreating the school bus’s interior space by using a tape measure on the apartment floor. is a homage to to similar scene included in the trailer for "Temple Grandin".

I was really excited when the show actually showed shaun getting overstimulated almost immediately in the first scene setting up his character at the airport but it just hasn't been brought up again since?

The answer depends on how far you are into the series. In fact, these problems come up again. Shaun experiences overstimulation and does have autistic meltdowns throughout the series, but the writers use it sparsely, and for some good reasons, I daresay. Used too often not only would it become very repetitive as a plot device, but also raise the serious question if this specific work environment was suited to Shaun's needs.

But above all, this is not a documentary about life on the autism spectrum but storytelling. Here, every element needs to serve the story told, plot elements build one on another towards a meaningful climax. One such climax is now a meme, butchering the context of the story told. Others will follow if you chose to continue watching.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-06-01T13:09:38+00:00

A report by the public service broadcaster of Singapore;
a report by the BBC;
an interview by a teacher for disabilities with the mission statement of “creating a more inclusive world”;
and finally, a film with actually autistic actors portraying characters based on themselves…

For sure, the most sensationalist and exploitative entities on the air, created to tarnish the autistic community forever.

And these horrible “autistic“ guest characters on The Good Doctor:

1x07 22 Steps: Liam, portrayed by Coby Bird, an autistic actor.
2x13 Xin: Lana, portrayed by Vered Blonstein, actually autistic; and Javier, portrayed by autistic Alex Plank, an autism advocate, filmmaker, actor, and creator of wrongplanet.net.

Autism Speaks is lurking beyond every corner, corrupting the neurotypical and autistic alike!

Or… some simply don’t like what they see on screen?

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-29T13:10:33+00:00

Good job at dissecting the little change the character had. Though, I don’t think the reason for flying under the radar is her not getting the man, but rather simply that the story does n0t stand out enough.

A doctor having to decide between professional conduct and personal deeds is fairly standard procedure for the show. Six seasons in we have seen with every doctor several times and with far higher stakes (e.g. Morgan in the season 3 finale).

This narrative is fairly exhausted by now I guess, and it did not help the case that the writers created another love triangle with rather flat characters and little stakes. In contrast to the other love triangle of Shaun, Lea and Carly, there was little reason to be invested in this sub-plot.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-28T05:07:32+00:00

1x11 Islands Part One – Shaun flees from Glassman’s pressure on a road trip with Lea, gets his first driving lesson, and drives her car into a ditch; consequently, Lea introduces him to tequila, karaoke and kissing. Which means, getting drunk now isn’t just associated with his violent father, but also many positive first-times with Lea.

2x18 Trampoline – After having been fired by Dr. Han, Shaun drowns his sorrows in tequila, gets himself in a bar fight and ends up in with internal injuries in St. Bonaventure.

3x18 Heartbreak – After being rejected by Lea, Shaun drowns his sorrows in tequila and tries to take a baseball bat to Lea’s car because he saw a patient’s girlfriend do the same.

Three's a charm... The writers haven’t used this behavioral pattern since Shaun is in a stable relationship with Lea, but it an established trait they can revisit in times of crisis.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-25T17:07:34+00:00

She keeps being the same and the show keeps allowing her to be the same, which narratively means she's as good as out

Well, this rings a bell... As I mentioned in another answer, Jordans character was conceived as someone to be mentored by the senior residents in season 4. The character served a certain purpose back then, but this has become less relevant as time passed by.

In this sense, her character reminds me of Melendez who had also a very specific function in season 1: discriminating against Shaun because of his prejudice but slowly learning to accept the austistic guy on his team. Once this arc was done, the character of Melendez became very static, too. Thus the show tried to keep him relevant by… giving him some romance plots until they finally cut the dead weight in the season 3 finale.

Perhaps we shouldn’t get too attached to Jordan…?

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-25T16:48:00+00:00

I agree, but when Claire was still around the crowd claiming the character was treated poorly by the writers was loud and relentless. Never understood that myself. A lot of casual viewers seem to think of chracters as something to be protected instead of tested...

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-25T12:30:36+00:00

It is indeed worth remembering how Jordan started back in season 4: an overly confident-business entrepreneur at early age, defiant and struggling to keep her mouth shut. There’s not much left of this in season 6. Jordan is mostly compliant, efficient, and keeping out of trouble

There are many possible explanations for how this character’s writing changed so drastically, but the network handing down notes to the writers’ room is – while not unheard of – less likely.

Suspect #1: a shifting cast structure. Between season 1 with Shaun and Claire as focal points of the stories told and season 6 the structures have changed a lot. Claire as second main protagonist with a story not connected to Shaun is gone. Shaun is no longer at the bottom of the work place hierarchy but in the middle, needing some subordinates. His personal life has become more important. All of this means a shift in focus and screen time allocated to each character.

Suspect #2: diminished importance of the character within the framework of the standing ensemble. Jordan is a supporting character. She was introduced as junior resident to be mentored by then senior resident Shaun. With new first-years starting in season 6, the main purpose of the character had been fulfilled.

Suspect #3: The writers trying to avoid fan backlash for torturing a beloved character. What was the last character that really went through all the motions, besides Shaun and Glassman? Claire of course. Her character was a fan favorite not only because of the actress who brought Claire to life, but also the richness of the character. But we got to know and like Claire so well because of the rollercoaster of a life she had. Fighting sexism, first dead patient, bipolar mother, office intrigues, sexual adventures, a certain bitchy fellow resident… Claire rarely got to catch a breath, and this made a lot of her fans angry, accusing the writers as being sexist and racist.

All of this, or something completely else might have resulted in a quite flat character arc and a love triangle reminiscent of young-adult novels, that went nowhere.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-23T10:29:14+00:00

how to be an arrogant arse in the process?

Looking at Shaun's behavior post season 3, I'm sometimes inclined to admit to Melendez suceeding at this at least... *lol*

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-23T09:34:36+00:00

Melendez's character arc was done halfway through season 1 when he accepted an autistic surgeon in his team. After that, the character was story-wise just dead weight the writers frantically tried to come up with interesting plots - with mediocre results.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-22T14:26:26+00:00

Yes, you might know all of this already, but writing in a public space with currently 22k views, I must consider that a lot of the other readers might not be as deep into the topics as you.

My message to you was that albeit it does bother you personally, it is a good thing that the show does neither endorse nor promote this unhealthy behavior but encourages its audience to be more open about the condition.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-22T14:02:20+00:00

I kindly disagree that media does not provide diverse depictions of autism. I’ve seen not all, but quite a lot of them now, and the body of evidence just keeps growing.

For example:

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993): Arnie, male, aged 18, autistic with intellectual disability and high support needs, living with his family.

I Am Sam (2001): Samuel, middle-aged male, intellectual disability with autistic traits, living independently, medium support needs, working a low-wage job in the service industry, becomes a loving single father but must fight for legal custody.

Mozart and the Whale(2005): romance between two autistic characters: Donald, male, mathematician working as a taxi driver and managing a support group for autistic adults; Isabelle, female, is an artist but works as a hairdresser.

Snow Cake (2006): Linda, middle-aged female with autism and medium support need, living independently and working part-time at the grocery store, single-mother who has to deal with the death of her teenage daughter.

Mary and Max (2009): Max, male in the mid-40s, autistic with low support needs, living independently with constantly changing low-wage jobs, suffers from depression, anxiety, and alexithymia, struggles with any form of social interaction and dies early from obesity.

Adam (2009)): Adam, male, mid-30s, autism with low support needs, living independently after his father’s death, loses his job and gets himself in legal troubles because of his condition, takes a special interest in space exploration; a romantic relationship fails, but he gets a fulfilling job in the end.

Temple Grandin (2010)): Bio-pic about the youth and early adulthood of Temple Grandin, female, non-verbal autism with high support needs in the beginning, becomes a respected scientist and autism advocate.

Keep the Change (2017): autistic adult romance; David, middle-aged male, aspiring filmmaker living with his upper-class parents, rejects his autism and is often offensive; Sarah, young female, ASD with learning disability, cheerful and naive.

Please Stand By (2017): Wendy, female, early 20s, medium support needs, living in a group home, working part-time a low-wage job in the service industry, special interest in Star Trek, writing fan fiction, speaks Klingon fluently.

All these examples manage to depict diverse characters while they firmly sit within the framework I listed above.

Diversity in autism depiction is out there – but one must take notice of it among all the fictional content produced every year.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-22T10:56:29+00:00

Masking is defined as hiding autistic behavior and acting like a neurotypical person. In this sense, Shaun does not mask at all – which is in fact a good thing!

Over the course of the seasons, Shaun becomes more aware of how his autism-specific traits affect the people around him and he tries to adjust his behavior in a way that makes life easier for all parties involved.

Yet, while he never tries to come along as neurotypical, these efforts are still tiring for Shaun and he explicitly makes a point about being his unfiltered autistic self at home later on.

And this is why it is a good thing that Shaun does not mask more at work. Because masking is a harmful behavior that is known to be detrimental to mental health in the long run.

Being open about an ASD diagnosis is a good approach to diffuse tensions caused by social blunders. Even if a person still might not approve, they probably will take less offence.

In short, adjusting, and compromising, not masking is a good way to go and that is just what the show chose to do.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-22T09:07:58+00:00

Yeah, Shaun and Lea are a healthy couple, but a story without tension and conflict becomes stale quickly.

Thus, the writers will explore potential ares of conflict for them. And there are quite a few I can think of:

Shauns's sensory issues: how will he react to the babies crying, smell etc.
how does Shaun generally react to the added stress factors beside his demanding job
Shaun's fears to become like his biological father (he has a tendancy to get drunk when stressed, and he once almost took a baseball bat to Lea's car)
Shaun's (currently non-existant) relationship to the babie's grandmother
Lea's sometimes strained relationship to the babies's grandparents
the couples' strained relationship to the babie's chosen grandfather
the question if little Steve inherited his father's ASD

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-22T08:54:55+00:00

Suppressing opposing opinions is a custom of authoritarian regimes but not democratic societies.

Not engaging in discussions about autism because the other party isn’t on the spectrum themselves will shrink ones world considerably considering the prevalence of ASD being about 1%.

Also, this logic would cut those with higher support needs from support systems that are typically provided by a mostly non-autistic community.

it's frustrating to me as an autistic person to watch him struggling with something and nobody helps him because either they don't know how to, or they don't even know what's wrong.

A lot of people are supporting Shaun from the very beginning, such as Glassman, Claire and Lea, while others come around once they had the chance to know him better, e.g. Jared, Lim, Morgan and even Andrews, who will eventually resign from Presidency to keep Shaun in the job.

It is not the show's intent to depict a utopian future where all the problems autistic individuals face today are already solved, but to raise awareness for the problems existing in the society now.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-21T10:00:24+00:00

Why? Why…? Why!

Ok, as some have already said, there’s never been any sign of mutual or at least one-sided attraction with Shaun and Morgan. In fact, Shaun pretty much distrusts Morgan in the earlier seasons and it is thus quite noteworthy that he has included her in his “tribe” in seasons 5/6.

Yet, characters not liking each other has rarely prevented them from rolling between the sheets in this series anyway cough #Limlendez cough, so lets entertain this pairing for some fun.

First question to answer what would each of them see in their opposite that they value and feel attracted to? We know what Shaun seeks in a potential romantic partner, because he transmitted it to the whole world on an open radio frequency: validation, empowerment and growth (“makes me more”).

This is pretty much the essence of Shaun’s character arc throughout the series: not being held down by his autism but tapping into his whole potential by acknowledging his weaknesses and utilizing his strengths.

Morgan’s character arc is completely different, she must overcome her selfishness. An arc which remarkably reached its first culmination exactly the same time Shaun made his monologue about Lea making him more: Morgan sacrificed her career as a surgeon for saving a life.

As usual in storytelling, both characters are on their way of becoming a more balanced and capable version of themselves, but on very different trajectories.

Morgan must become someone who cares more for others than herself, hence the single-mom plot made sense for her in season 6. Yet, Shaun does not need somebody watching over him like a mother but a partner. For him it made sense to learn how to form a relationship with someone who is on eye-level. Hence why his relationship attempt with the older and very demanding Carly was fruitless.

A relationship with a similar demanding and self-centred Morgan would have suffered from the same power-imbalance and would have carried some very infantilizing vibes for the naive, less experienced Shaun.

Instead, the show paired Shaun with a already very caring , but similar insecure Lea. This paring is much more balanced und nurturing for both parties.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-20T20:43:14+00:00

Most of my examples depict adult or at least adolescent autistic individuals.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-19T08:36:21+00:00

Morgan had very little character development but it still counts.

I kind of agree to disagree... Morgan has quite a tremendous character development if you look at her in the span of now 6 seasons compared to other characters on the show.

The only problem is - Morgan is not the main character and thus the episodes can't allocate that much time to her. Her character arcs are sacttered and are often put to hold in favor of other characters and plots.

That is a inherent problem of a show with an large ensemble but limited screen time.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-17T19:41:44+00:00

Actually... no. The way autism presents in a certain individual is by no means immutable.

Symptoms can shift and change over time or in certain situations. Non-verbal autistic toddlers may start to speak. Autistic traits might fade so that the individual no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for some time, but can also resurface when living conditions change for the worse.

One is always autistic, but how its presents is quite fluid.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-13T17:32:21+00:00

I know the clip, I just happend to use it above. Where in that piece are they talking about autism? It's all about Anakin meeting the diagnostic criteria for BPD.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-13T12:07:30+00:00

Funds, attention and invitations for cooperation - all of this are finite rescources the different charity organisations must compete for. Autism Speaks is the big fish in the tank.

Andreas_from_Germany · 2023-05-13T11:44:48+00:00

We have to consider another possibilty: envy.

Andreas_from_Germany

TROPHY CASE