Hollywood Experiencing an Explosion of Interest in Asperger Syndrome

In one of my earlier blogs, I wrote about how excited I was to hear that Hollywood had taken an interest in Asperger Syndrome with the new movie, ADAM. Amazingly, that was just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to ADAM, there are two other movies – one this summer and one next summer – that are also based on Asperger Syndrome.

The other movie out this summer is an animated film entitled, Mary and Max. Like ADAM, it premiered at the Sundance film festival. Mary and Max is based on a true story of a relationship between a middle aged man from New York with Asperger’s and his unlikely pen pal, a little girl from Australia. The original idea for the movie came from Adam Elliot who was the young pen pal to the man with Asperger’s. He wanted to share his 20 year friendship with the film world.

The second film is still untitled and will debut on HBO in 2010. The story is based on the life of Temple Grandin, a woman with Asperger’s who became a professor at Colorado State University. Temple Grandin has written books on autism. In the past I have recommended her book , The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspective of Autism. I look forward to seeing her story played out onscreen especially since it is from the perspective of a woman which is different from the other two films.

For more information on these films, I recommend the New York Times article Asperger’s Syndrome, on Screen and in Life. Continue to check my blog for my “reviews” once I have seen these movies. Unfortunately, they are not currently available in my area.