**May Contain Spoilers**

Okay… where to start… I love this show! I find it comforting, it does only show Autism from the way Sam experiences it, but it is a fantastic way to start educating people who wouldn’t normally choose to research Autism.

Atypical is a Netflix original series, about an Autistic teenager called Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist) attempting to navigate through his Senior Year. It shows how Sam experiences the world, handles relationships, special interests and education.

The way this show captivates an Autistic experience is brilliant. (Although I wish there were more of a variety of experiences from people on the spectrum as it definitely only shows one small piece of what it might be like to have Autism). They adjust the sounds to match what it might sound like for Sam when it is overwhelming and the difference it makes when he wears his headphones, it accurately represents someone who is hyper-sensitive to sound. You get to see this in the first episode at Sam’s school where he narrates his experience and activates his headphones noise cancelling feature, he also uses his headphones on a date in a noisy restaurant despite the girl his was with thinking it’s weird.

They also show his experience riding the bus. He will not sit with his back against the seat because he finds it uncomfortable and the bus driver is even more careful when Sam is on board. Sam makes a humorous comment about how most people must have developed extra layers of back skin, before going on to a tangent about penguins to which he laughs out loud and receives an ensemble of strange looks.

Sam has a complicated relationship with his parents. They don’t get along with each other all the time (as they attempt to navigate their marital problems throughout) and Sam tends to heavily rely on his Mum. His Dad (Doug) wasn’t always accepting of Sam’s diagnosis and still continues to struggle throughout the show as he doesn’t know what to do to help. Sam doesn’t feel as confident confiding in him as his Mum (Elsa) always knows what to do. Elsa has studied and learnt as much as she possibly can about Autism, she goes to groups, helps the other parents and manages to keep everything relatively under control. She will go to any length to make things easier for Sam. At one point in the first series she talks about how she called the company that makes the shirts Sam likes even though they no longer produced them, but managed to get the company to ship all they had left so that Sam could have them. (In addition to be sensitive to bus seats, he is also sensitive to clothes. He will only wear the same clothes that he knows are comfortable and soft enough. Anything else is too distracting and will avoid wearing different clothes at all costs). Doug spends the show trying to connect with Sam, while Elsa learns to take time for herself and figure out who she is independently without Sam.

Sam’s sister Casey has struggles of her own. She is very protective of Sam and would never let anyone hurt him. Although, she struggles with the lack of attention as Sam requires so much support, Casey tends to be overlooked. Even at an important race she was a part of both her parents left early to help Sam after a meltdown. She also started to explore her sexuality which meant a lot of different people and scenarios left Sam confused and distressed while taking more care away from Casey.

Sam also has a best friend called Zahid who, although isn’t always a good influence, is very confident and outgoing. He encourages Sam to be himself and to do what he wants to do. They are very close, and Zahid understands Sam’s difficulties and tries to adapt around them.

I would love to see Sam’s Mum or Casey be diagnosed with Autism or simply more female characters with Autism to show how it may be for someone who masks their traits. They have announced another season and I really hope their progress in advocating for people on the Spectrum. Authentically show the good, the bad and the sheer uniqueness or each individual!

Sadly, Netflix have announced that Season 4 (coming in 2021) will be the final season. I am gutted as they have so much more to explore and so many experiences they could share. Although it isn’t a surprise that a show surrounding a disability is short lived, it is controversial and not well received especially with those that are upset that it portrays a narrow view of the spectrum.

In conclusion, I love this show. I find it light-hearted and is very much a feel-good show, meanwhile tackling hard hitting issues. I would love to see more shows like this where Autism is presented differently. I enjoyed the fact that he wasn’t a complete genius and showed more of his social struggles. I am so glad the Autism community is being represented in TV in a somewhat positive light and that hopefully we can move away from the ableist, poorly educated society we live in.

How do you feel about this show? Do you think they did a good job? Let me know in the comments or click subscribe for more content like this!

May all your wishes come true…

Kayleigh

Happy Autism Awareness Week! Use the hashtag #autismawareness on social media and let’s try and educate the world on our spectrum of experiences! Let’s claim back Autism Awareness Week and Educate the World on Who We Really Are! – @kayleighcreativeworld

Atypical Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieHh4U-QYwU