MovieChat Forums > The A Word (2016) Discussion > Headphones - More Education About Autism...

Headphones - More Education About Autism in Season 2

posted 8 years ago by AmandaJoy1978
1 reply | jump to latest

I know Joe likes the music and it is a way to distance himself from a world he can't relate to, but I hope next season addresses more scenarios of why Joe hides behind the headphones. I worked with a few children who used the same earmuffs that people who work at airports on the runways use. The children don't hear the same way you and I do and the headphones drown out the exterior noise. The one boy would unplug the fridge at night because his room was above the kitchen and the hum of the fridge kept it up at night. It took his mom a while to figure this out.

This show could be used to educate not only the public, but help parents of autistic children as well. Joe's mom needs to learn to love Joe as he is. The conversation his parent had in the last episode about grief was perfect and could apply to all parents who expect their children to turn out one way, but their dreams for their children rarely happen. I know he was just diagnosed, but hopefully season 2 has moved past the grief and is moving towards acceptance.

[–] hilaryjrp 8 years ago

It's very rare to find anyone here in the U.S. who cares about the issue of noise--in the general population, let alone the autistic. Public housing for those with extreme and lifelong noise sensitivity (I believe it's called council housing in the U.K.) will never happen until the families and advocates of those with autism and other noise-vulnerable disabilities becomes cohesive, an active, vocal, national presence.