MovieChat Forums > The A Word (2016) Discussion > The show is all about the family not abo...

The show is all about the family not about Joe

posted 8 years ago by artistathome
2 replies | jump to latest

Why call it the A word, when most of the show is the rest of his family arguing their way thru life? Joe is not the reason there are so many issues with them.
He is only 5, and all their relationship problems started many years ago I am sure with Maurice and Sandra and the way they raised
Allison and her brother.

As for Joe and his problems, the fact that they could not tell by age 2 that he was affected by "something" is part of the problem right there. Yes, you want to ignore it, but by getting analysis right off the bat and being diagnosed at age 3 instead of 5, enables Joe to get help early before school even starts.

This show is not doing parents of A kids any good at all. I want to scream at the tv to Paul, take away the headphones!! Joe needs to be able to tune out the sounds of the world in a normal way. and that takes desensitization.

The teachers at his school are pretty clueless and don't know what to do with Joe. Joe needs intensive therapy designed to address his particular issues.

I just hope that whoever is writing it, actually knows something about the spectrum.
And that season 2 is better.

[–] jeddahgal 8 years ago

I think one of the characters, possibly the child's father, said in one of the earlier episodes that Alison's focusing on Joe, largely to the detriment of her other relationships, has a lot to do with Alison not being able to accept that she has produced a child with problems. And because of that she feels it reflects badly on her.

[–] LiveFromNewYawk 8 years ago

The A word is most certainly about the entire family and much, but not all of it, revolves around Joe. He is the central figure though and the family dynamics are certainly impacted by his autism. Everyone handles it differently and has different opinions on what Joe is feeling or what would help him.

Of course it would probably be exhausting if every second was spent on him plus each family member does have an interesting storyline. They could barely bring themselves to even say the "A word" in the 1st episode which is why I like the title.

I do hope that they will start exploring ABA and other modalities of treatment for Joe. Music therapy is also beneficial and could be key for tapping into Joe's mind. Only they do have to work on gradually helping Joe get the headphones off for longer periods of time. He obviously has sensory issues and needs to learn how to process sensory information in a way that will help him function more appropriately.