Atypical Psychology

Autism from a Normal Point of View

1. Summary Netflix’s original series, Atypical, focuses on the life of Sam Gardner, an autistic 18-year-old. Sam is interested in the dating world and wishes to have a sexual romantic relationship. Sam does not often acquire advice from his father, Doug, but in this case, he does. He is convinced that he needs a practice girlfriend, so his family and friends help him learn about the dating world. As he sets out on his dating quest, his family is learning more about autism as well as self-discovery through his desire for more independence. 2. Description of Disorder In the Netflix original series, Atypical, Sam exhibits behaviors such as not being able to comprehend what people mean when they speak,

On the show, they exhibit a “productive” and “successful” autistic person. Sam is a high school senior with a job, who obsesses over penguins and Antarctica. This is vital information because jobs often discriminate against those with autism. Sam has a positive relationship with Zahid who understands his disability. Sam’s mom, Elsa, is very productive and does everything to make sure he is safe. Although autistic people lack social and emotional relations, Sam overcomes that obstacles and tells his mother that he can dress himself as well as go to the mall without headphones which he often has with him. Pretty much, Sam is starting to rely less on his parents. The one person who makes Sam feel competent is Julia, therefore he begins to crush and obsess on and over her. He is challenged by his therapists, Julia, to start dating. This is a task for everyone associated with Sam because everyone wants to help him and help him

The definition of disturbance is by thought, emotion or behavior (Feist & Rosenburg, 2015, p. 552). Disturbance is only displayed neurologically with its composition. His neurological composition causes him to mature slower than others with various things resulting in him being diagnosed with autism. Dysfunction is the interruption of biological or developmental processes (Feist & Rosenburg, 2015, p. 552), which Sam exhibits with social relationships although in his case, it was not nearly as bad as others with autism. He also did not struggle to keep his job which is an example of dysfunction in the world of psychology. Next, distress has been defined as suffering (Feist & Rosenburg, 2015, p. 552). Sam, did not show symptoms of suffering. Rather, he was pretty content with life besides not having a sexual relationship that he desired. Lastly, deviant is defined as being different from the norm (Feist & Rosenburg, 2015, p.552) and Sam knew that he was different from his peers, but he functioned normally in most instances. The only noticeably way he was different was by not having a girlfriend like most of his