Abstract
Abstract Contemporary US media increasingly portray autism “positively.” Based on critical realism and guided by the Disability Studies in Education (dse) framework, three television shows—Atypical, Touch, and The Good Doctor—with fictitious Autism Spectrum Disorder (asd) character(s) are qualitatively analyzed to understand the impact of the media’s portrayal of autism on the perceptions of neurotypical educators from the perspective of a disabled teacher educator. Autism in the three comedydrama series is portrayed as a savant syndrome of White heterosexual male experience affecting middle-class families. These portrayals of asd are less representative of the autism community and therefore lead to two prominent television strategies of misleading information—false balance and false identity. Since media are not neutral informers, entertainers, educators, and persuaders, it is vital for consumers especially educators to engage in dse informed critical literacy to ensure the consumption of meaningful information about autism.
Highlights
An increased representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder characters in the media in the past two decades is creating awareness about autism
This paper aims to explain how media portrayals of autism impact perceptions of neurotypical educators of autistic students from teacher educator’s perspective
The guiding question is as follows: How do tv shows with autistic characters influence teacher educators and teacher candidates’ knowing and understanding of autism? To answer this question, I circumscribe autism and autistic people based on current knowledge
Summary
The genesis of the autism can be understood either through the medical or social lens (Siebers, 2008). Autistic advocates (Sinclair, 2005) who mostly embrace tenets of social models of disability theory (Siebers, 2008) consider autism a natural human experience and identity, and just like race, sex, or gender, a difference as naturally. It is because of this naturalness of autism as a human phenomenon that autistic self-advocate groups, such as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (asan), want autistic individuals to be valued for who they are as part of a neurodiverse and enriched human existence (Sinclair, 2005). Individuals with autistic disorder exhibit different functioning behaviors, including restricted and repetitive behaviors, poor reciprocal social interaction, and overall communicative problems (NIMH, 2016).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
