Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder currently defined in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases. As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations. Additionally, media about autism and statements by political figures may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication.
Since the 1970s, portrayals of autistic people (and now-defunct autism subtypes, such as Asperger syndrome) have become more frequent, and contemporary portrayals of autism in the past two decades are listed. Public perception of autism is often based on these fictional portrayals in novels, biographies, movies, and television series. Portrayals of autism in popular culture have limitations that recent developments hope to address through consulting experts and those with lived experiences. Increased awareness of autism from notable figures and users on social media who discuss their lived experiences have also shaped understanding of the condition in popular culture.
Autism in popular culture (2000s) Children of the Stars (2007) is a documentary about autistic children in China. The film examines hardships experienced by parents of autistic children and the lack of international resources for these families.Library Journal. (15 April 2009). Video (Reviews). Accessed 9 September 2010. Autism: The Musical (2007) is a documentary about the lives of autistic children and their families, while the children write and rehearse a stage production. The film won several awards, including two Emmy Awards. The film centers around The Miracle Project, a nonprofit organization focusing on providing a creative outlet for autistic children. The Horse Boy (2009) is a book and documentary (both released the same year), which follows the Isaacson family on their journey to Mongolia to help their autistic son.
Autism in popular culture (2010s) Temple Grandin (2010) is a biographical dramatization of the life of autistic public figure Temple Grandin. American feature documentary Loving Lampposts was released in May 2010. Ocean Heaven is a June 2010 Chinese dramatic feature film about a single father trying to teach his autistic adult son how to survive without him. The book A History of Autism: Conversations with the Pioneers was published by British autism writer Adam Feinstein in June 2010. The first edition of Revista Autismo (Autism Magazine) was published in Brazil in September 2010. Israeli TV drama Yellow Peppers first aired in December 2010. It featured a family caring for an autistic child. It won Israel's best TV drama award. A British version, The A Word, first aired in 2016. Greek and Dutch versions have also been made. An American version is currently in production. Danish-Swedish crime drama TV Series The Bridge premiered in Denmark and Sweden on September 21, 2011. The Swedish detective in the series is suggested, but never stated, as being autistic. It was not originally the intention of the writers, but many viewers came to interpret the character as autistic. It later came to be partially written into the series, and the actress has said "To me, she has Asperger's". The 2011 British children's documentary My Autism and Me aired as part of Newsround, and featured autistic girl Rosie King. It won the International Emmy Kids Award for Best Factual in Cannes that year. Journal of Best Practices (2012) is a memoir written by autistic engineer David Finch about his marriage to his neurotypical wife. American TV series Touch first went on air in January 2012. It is a drama centring on a single father with an autistic son. In 2013, the American feature documentaries Citizen Autistic and Neurotypical (July) were released. Speech therapist Barry Prizant (one of the SCERTS authors), also released a popular book in August 2015 - Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism. The book explains autism from a neurodiversity perspective. A new edition was published in 2022, with the help of writer Tom Fields-Meyer. The TV series Good Doctor, featuring an autistic doctor, began on South Korean TV in August 2013. The popular book Population One: Autism, Adversity, and the Will to Succeed was released by 17-year-old American author Tyler McNamer in August 2013. In the UK, April 2014 saw the BBC broadcast an episode of Horizon entitled "Living with Autism", featuring Uta Frith.. X+Y (2014) is a film whose protagonist, Nathan Ellis, is based on mathematical genius Daniel Lightwing who has Asperger syndrome. The American feature documentary Autism in Love was released in cinemas in April 2015, and later aired in the US on PBS in 2016. The Autistic Gardener (2015) is a Channel 4 documentary series in which a team of autistic people redesign people's gardens.Wednesday's best TV The Guardian 8 July 2015. Girls with Autism (2015) is a documentary following three girls at Limpsfield Grange, a specialized school in the United Kingdom. Bestselling book NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity was published by American writer Steve Silberman in August 2015. It did much to spread the concept of neurodiversity, and explain the history of autism. The French novel La Surface de reparation was released in 2015. It was made into a comedy-drama movie called Monsieur je-sais-tout in 2018. A four-year-old autistic girl Muppet named Julia was introduced in 2015 in an online story as part of the Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative. The Big Short (2015) is a film about the 2008 recession which focuses heavily on the hedge fund manager, Michael Burry, who is played by Welsh actor Christian Bale in a leading role. Burry believes himself to have Asperger's syndrome. During the course of the film, this is never revealed but rather it is strongly implied. However, a scene was filmed that showed the diagnosis process of Burry and his young son, but the scene never made it in the final cut of movie. It is possible to see the deleted scene since it is published. Some promotional material of the movie also has shots from the deleted scene. French romantic comedy movie Le Goût des merveilles was released in December 2015. It featured a young man with Asperger's syndrome. The book In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker was released in January 2016. The authors found and interviewed the patient Leo Kanner first formally recognised as being autistic, Donald Triplett. It was nominated for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Australian factual TV series You Can't Ask That about different groups of unusual people began in 2016, and as of 2023 was subsequently remade in 11 other territories. The Israeli version broadcast an episode about people on the autistic spectrum in 2018. The Canadian version followed in 2019, and the Australian one did likewise in 2020. An American version of the series is currently in production. Chicos de otro planeta (2016) is a documentary about young adults with Aspergers in Chile. The film is narrated by Chilean actor Grex. The Accountant was an October 2016 American feature film, starring Ben Affleck as an autistic accountant. It was followed up by a sequel released in 2025. A four-year-old autistic girl Muppet named Julia was joined the main Sesame Street show in April 2017 after being first introduced in 2015 as part of the Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative. American TV series Atypical, which centres on an autistic 18-year-old named Sam Gardner, was first released in August 2017. Singer's 1998 thesis Odd People In: The Birth of Community Amongst People on the Autistic Spectrum, wherein she had first coined the term neurodiversity, was republished as Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea in September 2017. The American iteration of Good Doctor (South Korean TV series), titled The Good Doctor (American TV series) first premiered in September 2017. Pablo is a British pre-school children's TV program about an autistic boy. It was first aired in October 2017. A number of books have subsequently been adapted from the series. Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert's Story was a popular book released by British cartoonist Debbie Tung in November 2017. It details a few years of the author's life as she learns she is introverted, and how she found her place in the world. The Autistic Buddha: My Unconventional Path to Enlightenment (2017) is a memoir about an autistic individual's journey to Germany and China, and also about what he learned from the experience. Please Stand By (2017) is a film about Wendy, an autistic young woman who lives in a San Francisco group home, embarking on a journey to Los Angeles to submit a movie script for a Star Trek writing contest, which would prove her independence to her family. Israeli comedy-drama On the Spectrum first aired in May 2018. It won Israel's best drama award. The Japanese iteration of Good Doctor (South Korean TV series), titled Good Doctor (Japanese TV series), first premiered in July 2018. Free Solo (2018) The movie doesn't explicitly diagnose Alex Honnold with autism, but it raises the possibility due to his father's undiagnosed Asperger's and Alex's own traits of intense focus, emotional detachment and blunt communication. The Autistic Brothers (2018) is a memoir written by an autistic individual with less intensive support needs about his relationship with his autistic brother with highly intensive support needs. This book challenges several myths about autism. A play about an autistic child, All in a Row was first performed in the UK in February 2019. It generated controversy, including for its use of a puppet to portray its lead character, while the others were portrayed by humans. Bright Minds Franco-Belgian tv police/crime series about an autistic woman who works as an archivist for the Judicial Police that first premiered in April 2019. She assists a female police officer in her criminal investigations. Miracle Creek, a thriller fiction novel published in April 2019, depicts families who sought hyperbaric oxygen therapy for treatment of developmental and intellectual conditions. Some of the children in the novel were receiving this controversial treatment to manage autism symptoms. Currently, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not shown to be effective in managing behavioral symptoms associated with ASD. Horsnormes (The Specials) was a French drama film that premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously was a popular book written by American psychologist and journalist Jessica Pan, and released in May 2019. It describes how the author spent a year fighting her introversion and succeeding. The Turkish iteration of Good Doctor (South Korean TV series), titled Mucize Doktor, first premiered in September 2019. Love on the Spectrum (2019–2021), an Australian reality television show that first aired November 2019, follows autistic people as they explore the dating world.
Autism in popular culture (2020s) The January 2020 Pixar short film Loop by Erica Milsom, featured a non-verbal autistic teenage girl. Freeform comedy drama Everything's Gonna Be Okay premiered on January 16th, 2020 and features Matilda, a character with autism. Matilda is played by Kayla Cromer, an actress who was diagnosed with autism at the age of seven. The book Our autistic lives: personal accounts from autistic adults aged 20 to 70+ was compiled by British autism writer Alex Ratcliffe, and was released in January 2020. A Kind of Spark was a book for children about an autistic girl, released by British author Elle McNicoll in 2020. In 2023, the BBC released a TV series based on it.