The way the autistic character (Sam Gardner, played by Keir Gilchrist) is portrayed, makes it look like he’s brave and deserving of praise, just for going on dates. I think we see very similar issues in the Netflix show, Atypical. It’s for them to think, ‘at least my dating life isn’t like this’, or ‘if they can do it, I can’. Simply put, this show feels like autistic people being used as inspiration for neurotypical people to reflect on themselves. Throughout, I felt uncomfortable watching their embarrassment and anxiety, because it is so similar to my experiences.Īlmost daily, I end up anxious that I’ve done or said something wrong, even if no-one else will notice or remember. We meet people like Dani, a highly motivated and focused animator Subodh, who’s been single all his life and eager to change that (and whose mother feels ill-equipped to help him navigate American dating culture) and Steve, a. Some of them are lucky enough to discover love, while others are left still searching for their special someone by the show’s end. Love on the Spectrum is back, this time in a new country and with a new group of autistic people looking for love and a little outside help in their quests. It also doesn’t seem necessary – if they’re dating other autistic people, why would they need to mask?Īt times, we see the young people struggling significantly, like when Amanda can’t cope on an overly formal date and has to leave, upsetting both her and Michael in the process. In Love on the Spectrum U.S., a group of singles on the autism spectrum attempt to navigate the messy world of dating and relationships. I worry for their mental health because we need to be allowed to be ourselves. You can see the effort the people on the show put into this, and the awkwardness they feel. Below, meet the six singles looking for love. Masking is when autistic people try to seem neurotypical for self-preservation, which takes significant amounts of energy. Jennifer Cook from ’Love on the Spectrum‘ Has ‘Cracked the Code’ to Finding Love May 19 With the help of autism coach and expert Jennifer Cook, who was diagnosed as being on the spectrum at age 35, these neurodivergent young adults are set to navigate the complex dating world some for the first time. The overarching theme, to me, is of othering – treating us as intrinsically different from neurotypical people. But to only show this dynamic across all five episodes just isn’t reflective of society. Many disabled people like me meet people in regular places, and there are great examples of disabled and non-disabled couples on social media like YouTubers Jessica Kellgren-Fozard and her partner Claud.Ī couple of the show’s participants said they wanted to be with another autistic person because they were more likely to be understood. Intentional or not, this portrays that disabled people can only date disabled people. I held out hope during every episode that just one of the young people would go out with a neurotypical or non-disabled person. When that date didn’t work out, Chloe went on to date Lotus… who is autistic as well. However, it wasn’t until the first date between Chloe and Marcus – who are both autistic – that my main issue came to light.
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