brooke Report post Posted August 22, 2009 i really enjoyed watchig this it gave me great insight into the future for my son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special_talent123 Report post Posted August 22, 2009 i really enjoyed watchig this it gave me great insight into the future for my son glad you enjoyed the documentary- i was the girl involved in the programe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gordie Report post Posted August 23, 2009 But the big one was Alex, why was his Mum everywhere? She was even at the date! If my mum came on a date with me, I'd probably shoot her. I know we're all different and Alex may have wanted it. But isn't part of a parent's gig to try and make sure their child gets to grips with the world; including at times facing things that are unfamiliar or daunting or make us apprehensive? She seemed to be holding on a bit too much, and the guy did seem really quite intelligent enough. Alex is 24 ... ... at the other end of the spectrum to him and his mum, I flew to the US in 2001, aged 20, entirely on my own, to stay with my then-girlfriend in Iowa at her parents' house for 6 weeks (was supposed to be more like 10 weeks, but I got too homesick)!! However did I manage?! If I had Alex's mum for a mum, she'd have had a heart attack at the prospect, I would imagine! James Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mandapanda Report post Posted August 27, 2009 Hi special talent I finally managed to watch the programme. It was really good. 3 quite different characters (and parents!). I thought you did really well on the date, getting the conversation going with your questions. It looked like Alex would have sat there in silence otherwise! Alex looked very cool and spoke well (to the camera, anyway!). I was really impressed with the way he was succeeding and being appreciated at work. A very nice young man. I really liked Ollie and thought he had a great personality. I liked his parents' attitude too (except the blunt way mum suggested a boring data entry job!!). I thought Tom's case was quite sad really. It was like his parents didn't really know him, or hadn't made any effort to understand him. When his dad talked about having to 'restrain' him and Tom then talked about needing to be strong for when his dad 'attacked' him, I felt it spoke volumes about their relationship. Tom was able to tell the camera all this stuff, but I wonder if his parents had ever tried to talk calmly to him about it, and listened to what he had to say. They just seemed indignant because he kept 'hitting' them, and obviously didn't realise that their behaviour towards him might be escalating matters to that point. During an argument, one of his siblings called him a 'retard', without any rebuke from mum or dad. I was horrified mum went through his stuff and took the card - she should have talked it through with him, and just because he had young DVDs does not mean he 'really ONLY' likes them, my son likes stuff for his age but also finds younger stuff comforting. When Tom's friend said she couldn't come and he was in bed, his mum walked in, leaned over him and pulled at him. Surely she should have been able to tell from looking at him that it wasn't good news? His mum's note talked to him like a toddler, which also showed how little she understood him and how she didn't realise he was growing up. It was very troubling to me that he could only be happy away from his family, but I really hope he does well in the future. I wonder if they will make one for the girls in the future, or maybe they felt the girls' difficulties weren't so easy to spot, as it is supposed to be generlly harder to diagnose girls with asd. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites