I was just about to start writing today’s blog when my husband called me into the living room to watch something on TV that mentioned autism. It was from a HBO TV series called ‘Life and Times of Tim, Episode 19: Personality Disorder’. Here’s the synopsis:

Stu's three-piece Halloween costume - Tim as a hot dog, Amy as mustard, and Stu as the bun - not only offends Amy but also causes static at Tim's office. When Stu shows up late to work, everyone thinks Tim has dressed up as a penis. The boss is thrilled with Tim's penis costume, but Marie from HR (who is dressed as a sexy nurse) tells Tim he needs to remove his getup before he gets fired.

After helping Tim out of the costume, Stu suggests that he get a note from a doctor to explain the bad behaviour, so Tim visit's Stu's childhood psychologist for an awkward therapy session involving candy and a toy truck. When Tim returns to work with a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome, Marie and the boss have a breakthrough; Since Tim suffers from a disease that prevents him from respecting the feelings of others, they can now put him to work sharing inconsiderate feedback with company employees. Tim tells a coworker that he smells bad, informs the boss's wife that she's gained weight ... He even belittles two girls on a school soccer team. But when Tim is asked to tell Becky to wear a sexy sweater, Stu overhears and is overcome with jealousy (he secretly loves Becky) and arranges for the boss to find out that Tim lied about his disease. Instead of firing Tim, however, the boss assumes he must be a sociopath and tasks him with killing his neighbour's cat.

I felt disgusted that this series writers would even come up with this idea and joke about autism like that. I did not find it funny at all.

Thanks for reading,
Tanaya