Person With Autism Is Not

¶ … Person With Autism is Not a Savant

I chose to write this paper on the 1988 film Rain Man because while it does contain some important and accurate information about autism, it overall presents a picture of this disability that is finally inaccurate. While I recognize that this film (written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson) is a piece of fiction, it bothers me that it should represent a condition as common and as disabling as autism in a way that may might hurt affected individuals and especially their families come to terms with the condition and seek the most appropriate treatment possible.

The film tells the story of Charlie Babbitt, an obnoxious yuppie (no doubt intended to be to some extent an update of Sinclair Lewis's archetypal businessman). Babbitt's father has died but rather than leaving his money to Charlie (from whom he was estranged), he has left it to Charlie's brother Raymond. Charlie had never known he had this brother, who is autistic as well as a savant.

Autism is a well-recognized condition that -- for reasons that are not at all well understood -- is becoming increasingly common so that it could now be considered to be at epidemic levels. Autism is a developmental neural disorders that primarily affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others in essentially all social situations. People with autism (which is usually diagnosed in toddlerhood) also engage in repetitive behaviors and often have a far more limited range of behaviors than those without this disorder (American Psychiatric Association).

Savantism (or savant syndrome or -- formerly -- idiot savantism) is, on the other hand, not a recognized diagnosis or official mental disorder, although the phenomenon is recognized by at least some scientists, although researchers stress that it is a very rare condition. Treffert (2003) describes it as a condition in which people with developmental disorders such as autism have one (or possible two or three) areas in which they demonstrate an almost unbelievable level of skill or expertise. In Rain Man, Raymond's area of phenomenal skill is his memory: He can remember specific details to a degree that seems supernatural. This combination of autism and specialized skill can exist but it is not at all typical of those with autism.

The cause (or causes) or autism are not yet known, although there is clear genetic component. Scientists do not even know if autism is in fact a single (or small number) of disorders or actually a large number of disorders with a variety of different causes (Geschwind 391).

Currently the gold standard of treatment for autism is a combination of special education interventions and behavioral modification therapy. Neither of these (alone or in combination) is highly effective (Myers and Johnson 1164). Certainly standard treatments for autism will not create the kind of person we see in the character of Raymond. Most autistic people will never have the kind of skills that Raymond has, and this movie might therefore raise a false sense of hope in families who have a member with autism.