MovieChat Forums > The Accountant (2016) Discussion > What's so bad about autism? Not having l...

What's so bad about autism? Not having lots of friends? You can be rich!


I used to think this was some kind of deadly disease or something like that, kinda like depression or rubella, but it just seems to be like uber-glorified social awkwardness.

I mean, I'd rather have those super human math-skills and "difficulty" to leave a task unfinished than to have lots of facebook friends (with whom I don't even talk to anyway).

Anyway, cool movie.

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Yes, uber-cool. But I think calling it glorified is way overstating it. Examples like Chris are apparently (maybe??) the rare exception.

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I saw a proverb recently :
"Some people are so poor, all they have is money"

Satisfaction = having enough of what you want, whatever that is.

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Not everyone has super math skills.

Also think about poor people outside of America who can't afford to end their children for occupational therapy. These children get thrown out of schools. Unless they have a dedicated parent to home school them, their future is bleak. And these children are often not the most affectionate. It's very easy for the parent not to give a *beep* about the demanding child who they can't even touch, especially if they have other normal children.

This movie is more about Aspergers. And it's only a slightly more accurate portrayal of autism than Big Bang Theory. Autism is a big vast spectrum.

It's not having a super power and being different in a cool way.

Not being able to leave tasks unfinished... Think about that in a practical way. If you're a secretary or somebody that other people are waiting on to get something done, and you have to finish something to your own personal definition of finished. You get fired. If you are rich and self employed, yeah, but if you need a job where social skills are required? His do you do an interview when you can't do eye contact.

The percentage of children with Aspergers who end up rich math geniuses has to be so low it's negligible. Even if you just think about Americans who get treatment. Spread that out to cover the whole range of autism?

Think, man. Or go meet some autistic people in real life.

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I believe they were making a joke about the fact that most of the time if someone in a movie has autism, it's an advantage for them and automatically makes them super smart or some variation thereof. I doubt they actually want to exchange FB friends they don't talk to for a case of autism...

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You would think so, but thanks largely to TV and movies getting it wrong, and the generally willful ignorance of "normal" people, Aspergers/autism really does mean to then either "genius smart but friendless person" or "like Downs Syndrome?"

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Believe me Dana Cummings is a much more accurate portrayal of a highly functioning person with Asperger's than Christian Wolff. You end up being the lowest paid junior accountant or engineer in your department because you never ask for a raise or promotion, your boss orders you out of the meeting room when the CEO comes in so that they can take credit for your work, you end up working all night long on tedious projects that no one else will touch, and you brown bag your lunch instead of going out and socializing with your coworkers.

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Many of us are feeling sorry for Chris, because he wasn't able to seal the deal with Dana ; but you suggest that she probably felt he was her best chance of an LTR, in a long time. That makes sense ; and also explains why she tried to make conversation on the steps, and came onto him after just a short time, even allowing for the fact that he saved her life.

They say that Aspergers is less common in females, but most agree it is only that they hide it better.

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That's not Asperger's, that's just being a shy doormat.

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Well...you are fortunate enough to find support, and if you are wise enough to not let your obvious weaknesses effect your motivation and ego at that sensitive teenage - which is so crucial for learning, then yes, you might end up in a very successful career.

But more often than not, the obvious weaknesses gets us more than our strengths. It really depends, on how mature and wiser you are at an early stage, and how much support and guidance you get. Focus is the key here. As you can imagine, a lots of things happen around us which are much much more than enough to demotivate us and drive us into depression! Plus we are generally, more sensitive than others, so its not that we can become rough and bruised up.


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You are just so dumb.

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For one thing, he is high-functioning. Not everyone with autism is capable of being independent.

For another, I don't think he's ever had sex.


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I don't think he's ever had sex.

. . . with someone else.

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It is not otherwise called "sex".


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Uber-glorified social awkwardness??? You don't have a friggin' clue.

My brother in law is autistic. Presumably due to the double dose of vaccines using mercury as a preservative he received when he was a toddler. He's 32yrs old and has the mind of a child. Due to his grand mal seizures, he has to take a seizure medication that has made his bones brittle. At 32yrs old, he has osteoporosis bad enough to have had double spiral fractures in one lower leg from stepping down stairs too hard. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" when his mother finds him crying and can't get him to tell them why. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he loves cars but will never be able to drive. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he loves people but can't carry on a conversation with them. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he loves babies but will never be able to have one of his own. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he would love to have a girlfriend but will never be able to. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he will never be able to have a job and have the satisfaction of paying his own way. I'm sure it seems like "uber glorified social awkwardness" that he will be dependent on others his entire life.

And he is considered a high functioning autistic, mostly due to the work his family has done with him for 32 freaking years. There are many who are not so lucky.

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grand mal seizures

Is this a characteristic of autism, or of a second condition ?
i haven't heard of anti-autism medication causing osteoporosis.

I think that autism can be co-morbid with many other conditions ; and they can impede the coping strategies, making the autism seem worse.

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