I'm speaking here as an #autistic person, my score is 7 out of 10.
Also note:
I've heard a lot of good things about this.
This was released 10 years ago.
Those said and considered:
The show is not about the autistic person, or #autism for that matter. Autism was only used as a literary device to create a drama, like most other shows (be it Asian or Western) where there is an autistic character.
There was an excessive emphasis on "dumb", "stupid", and "idiot". Instead of it making people emphatize, it makes an audience hateful.
None of them actually showed that they finally understood autism and autistic people. To the very end, it was all about "do this" and "do that" so people will accept you and respect you. Sure, this is a common problem with society, however, should they have ended it that way? People will unconsciously think that's the proper way. It is not acceptance, it is forcing an autistic person to be "neurotypical".
And yet, 박시온 (Park Shi On) said in the last episode that it hurts him more when he's trying to remove his difference. But the people around him still acted the same way to end. There's a disconnect there.
The female lead is a prime example of a lover who doesn't understand a single thing about autism and autistic persons. She never showed any sign that she's doing her best to understand him, nope, instead she's doing her best to make him a "normal" person.
Yes, that's how it is in the real world. I've been in such a relationship. However, why leave it that way? She want to do things her way to the end. She will eventually get tired and quit. They will have a lot of fights. 시온 (Shi On) will just keep doing the same thing, keep quiet, say it is okay, say he is not mad, because he is always the one doing the "understanding".
What they did was to only validate that this relationship is doomed to fail instead of showing how a relationship with an autistic person can be if done properly.
The entire show, it was 박시온 who did the understanding and adjustments. Basically, the show taught us that autistic people should mask, mask, mask, and mask more. That no one will accept you unless you "get over" your autism (or in other words, mask your autism).
Conclusion:
While it did show the discrimination, stereotype, and prejudices against autistic people.
While it did capture the traits and quirks of an autistic person well.
I cannot recommend this show at all because it does more damage than in helping the autistic cause.
If I watched this when it was released in 2013, yes, I would say the same thing and rate it similarly. I'm sorry.
Just watch 이상한 변호사 우영우 (Extraordinary Attorney Woo).
I am still a little different from other people.
I speak and act a little differently.
So I tried very, very hard to eliminate the differences, but I couldn't do it.
The more I tried, the more it hurt.
So I thought I'd always be different until the day I die.
But many nice people filled in the gap for me.
And that is how I am standing before you today.
Thank you for filling in the gap.
Thank you for not avoiding me.
And thank you very, very much for your love.
I voted earlier today. We have two, one for Barangay (Town) and one for Sanguniang Kabataan (SK or Youth Council).
The election rep handling the ballots asked for my ID because he had to confirm my age.
SK (Youth Council) is open for 15 to 30 years old voters.
I look like I'm in my late 20s.
While he did not ask me for my age, better to confirm it with an ID to avoid election fraud, when people ask me, I used to say, "I stopped counting at 30" (now it's 28). It's half-joke, the other half is the truth, people do mistake me to be in my late 20s.
Many #ActuallyAutistics, for some reason, look half their actual age once we enter adulthood. I'm not aware of any scientific explanation regarding this, but it has been observed.
For me, this was not the first time. I was always mistaken to be underage (under 18) until I hit 25-27. It was always funny whenever I was with friends or colleagues because they all reacted. 🤣
It was a 5–10-year gap. Now it's a 20+ year gap. Maybe one day, there will be a 30-year gap with my actual age.
It describes it as:
“Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterized by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.” ~Raymaker et al, 2020
Typically the Autistic person in question will still have multiple demands in their life that require cognitive resources, despite having little to no resources left to give. Life goes on, as they say.