MovieChat Forums > Rain Man (1988) Discussion > Did Raymond have other problems besides ...

Did Raymond have other problems besides Autism?

posted 8 years ago by Matthew7819
8 replies | jump to latest

I recently watched the movie again for the first time in a few years and yes Raymond is portrayed as being Autistic but probably also was low functioning Autistic and not high functioning at all, there are varying degrees of this illness and he had the lower level spectrum.

I also believe that Raymond was severely mentally retarded and bipolar in addition to being autistic but because this was released in the 1980s and he had been living in the care of the institution for years they did not know all of his other problems because his autism made him hard to diagnose.

His mental retardation and mood swings suggest that he was bipolar but not diagnosed as such, they clearly overlooked his condition and misdiagnosed him as being only a low functioning autistic savant, if he was tested professionally today he would be diagnosed as being Low Functioning Autistic Savant, Mentally Retarded and Bipolar, along with obsessive compulsive disorders.

Raymond basically had issues that the limited medical and mental health professionals of the 1980s were to stupid to detect, today they would have better training and would know him for what he is.

[–] MoviemanCin 7 years ago

Well okay then.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] NGMI (1184) 3 years ago

In my day, we could sum it up with just one word- RETARD! And it worked and that's the way we liked it!

[–] Furienna (3322) 3 years ago

Believe me, I'm autistic (even though I'm more high-functioning than Raymond).
I had so much mood swings as a teenager, that I could be just as bad as Raymond at his worst.
Thus, I can promise that you don't have to be bipolar to be like that.
And I would even say that it's a pretty normal thing among autistic people.

[–] strntz (10884) 3 years ago

..if he was tested professionally today he would be diagnosed as being Low Functioning Autistic Savant, Mentally Retarded and Bipolar, along with obsessive compulsive disorders.

He was not mentally retarded. His IQ was probably very high. His degree of autism though affects the way he processess information. It's unlikely he understood sarcasm or humor.

He could read and do complex math calculations in his head. Some described as mentally retarded couldn't do that.

[–] Strazdas (2328) 3 years ago

They even make it a point in a movie where he does not understand a joke (the abbot and costelo routine) and in the end of the movie he makes a joke to the doctor, thussymbolizing his progress and benefit of the trip.

[–] strntz (10884) 3 years ago

Yes! While Raymond clearly was intelligent and well read, a concept like humor escaped him. Great scene.

[–] LookMaAFag (145) 3 years ago

Yes he had a flatulence problem.

[–] Strazdas (2328) 3 years ago

Bipolar is overdiagnosed. Not every mood swing is a disorder.