“The reality is, savantism makes exciting film and television,” said Michelle Dean, a special education professor at California State University Channel Islands, who recently co-wrote a study of academic research about film and television representations of autistic characters. Having three very different leads also helped the show’s writers push back against a longstanding Hollywood convention: the autistic person as savant. “But you watch the show, and it’s anything but that.” “You talk about the show and it sounds so serious,” said the creator, Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights,” “About a Boy”). The diversity of characters helps with one of the central challenges of the show: How do you create characters who struggle with social interactions but whom viewers still want to engage with and be around for a full season - or multiple seasons? For a viewer, three Jacks might have been tough to take (imagine “The Big Bang Theory” but with three Sheldons), but the mix of three such divergent personalities becomes a rich breeding ground for not just conflict, but humor. “Everybody has their own deficiencies and strengths, and this show does a really honest job capturing that.” “There’s a great quote that I love that says, ‘If you met one person with autism, you met one person with autism,’” Glassman said.
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