why did Kevin get in so much trouble?
Buzz messing iwth him with the lights, Kevin retaliates yet his om screams KEVIIN
shareKevin reminds me of my youngest son, who was diagnosed with Autism/ADHD a few years ago. It's just a theory of mine, but I kind of think Kevin was Autistic/ADHD also (It wasn't a "thing" back then like it is today...I think I would have been on the "spectrum" also...it is a very wide spectrum).
Kevin was really smart for his age. He related better to adults than he did kids his own age (or close). Those are definitely characteristics of Autism/ADHD (not in all cases, but definitely in my son's case). Plus, he was picked on also and that definitely didn't help matters.
I don't think his parents really knew how to deal with him. In the original movie, I thought they were much better parents than they are in this movie (I think they come across very poorly this movie). Today, he'd probably have an IEP at school and would have educational assistance, unlike back then. But I think all these factors contribute to Kevin getting into trouble so much.
autism is rain man.
being weirdo or awkward is not autism.
Not exactly..."Rain Man" is indeed a severe form of Autism, but the spectrum of Autism is extremely wide. This was all explained to me when my son was diagnosed with it 4 years ago. You can have Autism and still be "high-functioning" (I'm sure I would have been diagnosed with Autism had I been tested for it years ago...it wasn't something that was tested for back then).
I think Kevin acts like an autistic/ADHD child in many ways. We're never told he had it (and he may not have, although it wasn't really a "thing" back then either). You can have autism/ADHD and still appear to be a "normal child."
i think autism is excuse. if you can function like normal person then you are not autism.
saying someone is autism is excuse. in western world especially america you always have excuse for failure - because you american cannot accept failure so you bring in excuse. i hear this all time in your tv shows: if child is weird - he autism. if child have no friend - he autism. if child have weird hobbys - he autism. if child is awkward and do awkward thing - he autism. all this bullshits!!
autism is if you speak to autism kid and he no reply back. autism is if he can not walk down street or up stair. autism is if you tell joke and he not laugh.
being social retard is not autism.
kevin mcallister is not autism. he is rambunctious.
Well, like I said earlier, we don't really know if Kevin is Autistic/ADHD, but he sure fits the profile.
And I do disagree with your statements regarding Autism/ADHD. The psychologist who explained it to me was very thorough. Some people's brains and how they process information are different. My youngest son, for example, has a real gift for remembering numbers and math-related information. However, in many ways, he is very much a "normal" 10-year old kid.
The Autism spectrum is a huge one. One doesn't have to be what you described in your post to be "autistic."
"Well, like I said earlier, we don't really know if Kevin is Autistic/ADHD, but he sure fits the profile."
can you please explain golfnguitars?
i do not see anything not normal with kevin. an autism kid would not be able to function like kevin do in this great film.
only thing bad with kevin is he like to torture thiefs so he could be future psyhco.
Sure! Keep in mind that I'm going by what was told to me about my youngest son (who was diagnosed with Autism/ADHD) by the psychologist who tested my son:
1) Being hyperactive, unable to sit still for long periods, fidgety (I think Kevin was like that).
2) Difficult to focus at times, short attention span (We see that at times with Kevin).
3) Relating to adults better than kids their own age (also seems true of Kevin).
4) Here's a question for you...what kind of grades do you think Kevin made in school? I don't think we ever see Kevin in a school setting in these movies. He was obviously a very intelligent child for his age. However, I bet that he struggled in school in some subjects. I have the feeling that Kevin was probably bored and had trouble sitting still/concentrating at times (which would also possibly explain why his parents treated him the way they did...although I think their behavior is inexcusable in this movie, 2).
5) A child can have Autism/ADHD and still be "high-functioning"...he/she can appear to be a "normal child" in many ways.
6) A need for routine. As chaotic as it seemed in Kevin's house, I doubt that he really had much of a routine at all.
Anyway, that kind of explains why I think it's possible that Kevin could have had "Autism/ADHD" like my youngest son. We'll never know for sure...and I don't think it really matters in context to these movies (I think the first one is a classic, but I don't like "Home Alone 2" nearly as much). I first saw both of these movies before I ever married and had kids. It's just that I see a lot of similarities with Kevin's character and my youngest son.
i always think most kid cannot stay still and have poor attention span? i myself wanted to be with older kids when i was kid myself, because they always seem more fun.
i think autism is strong word. autism imply disable severe. sly stallone have son with autism and he can not speak to him! this is bad. i think autism lose effect when used for kid who is just social struggle. they need other word for kid who struggle in social situation.
i think keven would excels in school at creative thing like write and art. he is creative with design traps and build them like we see in film - i can see him grow to be artist or design or artiect. or carpenter. he would probably struggle in mathematic and biology and thing.
your son sound like he have good parent who look after him well. if your son is like kevin then this is good thing. it mean he is normal boy. as long as your son does not collect barbie doll and hang with girls then he will be ok.
Thank you again for your reply. I would agree that Kevin wasn't "severely autistic" (You mentioned Stallone's son...I did not realize that he had an autistic son. Ernie Els, the pro golfer, has an autistic son also...my great-niece also has Autism in that form).
I've done some more research the past couple of days. We have talked a lot about Autism in our discussions, but not much about ADHD and that is mostly my fault. Autism and ADHD are similar in some ways (there is some overlap in some of their symptoms and diagnoses), but they are two different things. After doing the additional research, I would say that Kevin would be more likely to have ADHD than Autism (my son was diagnosed with both). ADHD is not quite as severe as Autism (although it does present some challenges). I can now see why you feel the way you do regarding Kevin and Autism. I know the psychologist who tested my son said he was on the Autism spectrum with his ADHD, and there is some overlap there. But someone can have ADHD and not be Autistic (with the reverse being true as well).
I do agree with what you wrote about Kevin and school. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I read somewhere that Macaulay Culkin has an artistic talent in real life, so he may have been an awful lot like Kevin! 😃
Anyway, I hope it doesn't seem like I'm "moving the goal posts" in our discussion. You've raised some valid points.
thank you for help me understand meaning of autism and adhd. very interest conversation and learn a lot.
yes i agree kevin mcallister is more adhd than autsic. his behavior is bad at time. he beat up brother buzz over pizza. he only eat cheese pizza which is retard to me. why not pick topping off other pizza if you want to just have cheese? this is what i do when i young and now! he only want cheese pizza and is obsess with cheese pizza which is almost like illness in brain. he also enjoy torture thieves and this could be illness.
yes stallone have autistic son very sad he cannot communicate with him but he have three more kids and they ok.
yes i am happy for macauley that he do well and is not dead like other kid actor. being millioaire at young age could be bad but he handle well.
No problem! It's been a very interesting discussion we've had, I think, and I appreciate your respectful tone!
It's tough stuff, Autism and ADHD. I got confused over both of them and I appreciate you challenging me on these.
Yes, Culkin hasn't had the easiest life, but I'm glad he's still alive also. He really was such a great actor. It'll be interesting to see if he ever comes back to acting again.
Have a great night!
thank you golf. if people speak to me in respect tone then i i like to return to favors. if somone is asshole who leave sly comment or abuse get no such respects!!
i wish good health for you and son. i am sure he will cope ok with supports!!
thank you and good nights to you!!
FACT: He does not fit the profile. Prove me wrong.
shareThere’s nothing unusual about Kevin’s behavior other than the cartoonish torture of the bandits.
His family was wrong for punishing Kevin rather than Buzz. Anyone, especially a child with undeveloped impulse control, would snap after having their buttons pushed too much.
Kevin is a totally normal child, what are you talking about? Especially for the time, if you get bullied by an older sibling the most immediate reaction is to fight back. He wasn't in the wrong in either scenario from the first or the second movie. It comes down to the fact that his entire family treat him like crap, always assume he is the one causing trouble even when Buzz humiliated him in front of the entire school and the families that went to see their own kids.
I don't think it's fair to bring autism or ADHD into the conversation when there really aren't indicators of this other than Kevin being a rambunctious little boy.
1) "Kevin is a totally normal child, what are you talking about? "
Kevin was hardly a "totally normal child"...no boy Kevin's age could have done the things he did in the first two movies (which are the only two "Home Alone" movies I've seen). No boy Kevin's age thinks to buy fabric softener, perfectly executes the "faux Christmas party," perfectly devises and executes all the traps, survives in NYC like he did, etc. That was really a moronic statement on your part.
2) "I don't think it's fair to bring autism or ADHD into the conversation when there really aren't indicators of this other than Kevin being a rambunctious little boy."
He was a little more than "rambunctious." Anyway, I stand by what I typed here. It's just a movie (2 of them) anyway. It's not like what happened in the movies would happen in real life anyway. The original post asked why Kevin got in so much trouble and I offered up a possibility (which may or may not be correct...but I did offer up evidence, facts, and real-life human experience to show why what I thought could be correct). Lighten up a bit.
Firstly, just because Kevin is smart doesn't mean that he has either of those diagnoses. If you're talking specifically about how he treated the invaders to his home, yes that would be cartoonishly evil to a point. I'm not talking about that though, I'm talking specifically about his interactions with Buzz and the rest of his family.
It's also incredibly "moronic" to say the things you did and then immediately equate them to ADHD and autism.
"1) Being hyperactive, unable to sit still for long periods, fidgety (I think Kevin was like that).
2) Difficult to focus at times, short attention span (We see that at times with Kevin).
3) Relating to adults better than kids their own age (also seems true of Kevin)."
Most, if not all children are hyperactive at the age of 8-10, we never actually get to see what Kevin is like when he is being supervised by parents while he is doing something that he's enjoying, he wasn't allowed to watch the movie that all the other kids in the household were able to watch, obviously he's going to be upset with that. The only type of pizza that he enjoyed was either not bought (Buzz purchased the pizzas), or eatenj by Buzz.
Buzz is an active bully when it comes to his little brother, we see this in both movies, so it is fair to assume that this happens on a regular basis, at a point anyone would snap, but Kevin being the age that he was makes it even easier for him to lose control and charge at Buzz. It needs to be pointed out that his parents never took Kevin's side once.
Difficulty to focus? Where? His entire fun house that he creates to torture the bandits with is proof of his focus.
Adding to this, what child with ADHD or autism can do what Kevin does? I don't see many children with ADHD wandering the cityscape of New York by themselves and being able to dupe adults to get what they want, or building traps like that.
As for relating to adults better than kids, that's patently untrue when considering his parents or the hotel staff
1. "Firstly, just because Kevin is smart doesn't mean that he has either of those diagnoses."
Yes, but I never said that a child had to be smart to be diagnosed with ADHD/Autism. I only referenced that in reference to my youngest son.
2. "It's also incredibly "moronic" to say the things you did and then immediately equate them to ADHD and autism...."
What is your experience regarding ADHD/Autism? I have first-hand experience with it. By the way, everything you posted just strengthened my points. Name one kid or young adult that Kevin gets along with better than Old Man Marley.
3. So why don't you take a shot at the OP's question? Why do you think Kevin got into so much trouble? You seem to blame Buzz and Kevin's parents. Yes, they were awful (especially in this movie, which I'm not nearly as fond of as the first movie...Kevin isn't blameless in the original). You ignore all of the sadistic elements of his traps while somehow saying he was a "totally normal child." Because Kevin certainly wasn't normal.
I don't see how everything strenghthened your points when my points were completely opposite of what yours were. We only see him talking to Old Man Marley after Marley decides to talk to him at church. It's a small conversation and it's not exactly like Kevin was getting along better with him than anyone else, it just so happened to be the one adult who treated him like an actual kid and with actual respect. Meaning this was on Marley, not on Kevin, so it doesn't say much about Kevin prefers to talk to, and this continues with the Bird Lady in the second film. She was the only one who treated him like a child, every other adult was trying to either apprehend him or scaring him.
I already touched on the sadism of the traps, and I don't know where you see autistic children or children with ADHD torturing anyone. It's cartoonishly evil, and if anything would show that Kevin is a sociopath. My opinion on that is that it's just part of the movie to get some laughs.
As for why Kevin gets into so much trouble, we see it in the first movie quite clearly. Kevin was blamed for what happened at dinner, while Buzz got off completely free without even so much as someone giving him a dirty look. He's a child but no one seems to understand that, literally everyone in the family gave him the stink eye at the same time. I don't see this as some Christmas ritual that the family do, so I have to assume this happens pretty much all the time, so it's less about Kevin getting up to mischief but rather the family going out of their way to assume that no matter what Kevin is up to that he is getting into mischief.
OK...to be honest, I don't really want to debate this any further. Here's what it boils down to, IMO...I can't prove that Kevin actually had ADHD (which is why I've never stated that he DEFINITELY had it...I think he COULD have it and provided valid arguments as to why I believe he may have had it). But we really don't know for sure if he did or didn't have it.
Here's what we do know...Kevin doesn't have the best parents and Buzz is a bit of a bully as an older brother. And, Kevin is NOT a "totally normal kid" for someone his age. He's not blameless in the first movie (which I much prefer to this movie)...the way he talks to people (especially his parents...who, despite being pretty awful parents, are STILL his parents) and his inability to control his emotions are unacceptable behaviors.
One can infer that Kevin gets into trouble quite a bit...and it's NOT always because Buzz antagonizes him. As likable as Kevin can be at times, he's also a bit of a "brat."
Also, I don't think a viewer can do what you're doing in your posts. You can't separate the "Kevin who has lousy parents and gets picked on by Buzz" from the "Kevin who plants sadistic traps on the Wet Bandits." Because, within the confines of the movies, it's the same Kevin. And that Kevin is certainly not "normal."
Anyway, I'm done. Also, as an edit, I forgot to add that, while I can't prove that Kevin had ADHD, you can't prove that he didn't either. We just don't know what, if anything, Kevin had. There's too much about Kevin that we don't know...some things we can infer (as I did above), but nothing definite enough to say what all of his issues were.
I don’t want to invalidate your experience, but I also have a family that is autistic.
There is nothing about Kevin that suggests he is autistic. He sustains eye contact and can have engaging conversations.
Kevin is as normal as this is believable in this movie. He’s getting picked on and acts out. His family is just dumb.