OPINION: Laigha Anderson: 'The Good Doctor' is good representation

Apr. 30—Normally I like to start these off with some kind of anecdote about how the topic relates to me but I have a lot to say so I'll just cut to the chase — I have autism.

After my diagnosis, I struggled with what I saw on screen. I felt so unlike all of my classmates with autism and the image of 10-year-old boys who can't speak but can scream was just so unlike me. Other depictions of autism were introverts with a 4.0 GPA. I felt like a zebra among horses.

That was, until I found "The Good Doctor."

When I watched "The Good Doctor," it wasn't because of autism, it was because Dr. Mike, the most famous doctor on YouTube, said it was more medically accurate than my beloved "House."

What I never expected to find was a character I related to more than anyone else. Shaun, for lack of a better word, is someone with autism living a normal life, just like me. He doesn't want or need anyone to take care of him. He has his challenges but he grows, and I want to talk about that.

Throughout the series, Shaun, portrayed by Freddie Highmore, has a number of breakdowns, but three tell an arc of Shaun growing.

The first episode happens in the middle of the first season. Shaun's mentor, Dr. Glassman, had been trying for weeks to get Shaun to meet with someone that is supposed to "make his life better." Shaun had avoided meeting her at all costs and after weeks of bribing and asking and making plans, Dr. Glassman makes it clear: you are going to do what I told you to do. Shaun has a melt down, hitting himself in the head and shouting "I want to make my own decisions." When Dr. Glassman tries to comfort Shaun, Shaun smacks him and runs away.

In season two, Shaun again gets overwhelmed when he faces a clear act of discrimination in being reassigned solely due to his autism. After being upset for several episodes, everyone tells him to confront the person who reassigned him. Shaun tries but when he just can't be again begins screaming and when we next see Shaun he is at his locker packing up his things because he has been fired.

In the end, the doctor who reassigned Shaun due to his autism gets fired and Shaun gets his job back.

The final incident which really shows how Shaun has grown is late in season three. A patient had given Shaun the idea to smash the car of the woman who had just rejected him because of his autism, despite the fact she had previously kissed him. At the last minute, Shaun changes his mind, but Lea had come down. Lea confronts Shaun and Shaun lets her have it. He is mean, but he is also clear and concise.

And while I am not going to defend Shaun, no one has a right to be anyone's boyfriend. But Lea had done so many things in the series to make Shaun think she wanted to date him that his former girlfriend broke up with him because she thought Lea was in love with him. To Shaun, being told that Lea would not date him because of his autism was the last straw.

In each incident Shaun is clearly in the wrong. He clearly acts inappropriately. But the point is Shaun learns how to communicate, how to express what is wrong and how to keep himself from completely falling onto a state where he cannot communicate. He grows, but he still has a lot of growing left to do.

These aren't the only times that we see Shaun have a hard time, and honestly those deserve a mention too. The parallel between Shaun's sensory overload in mid season two and his breakdown in season three show how the people around Shaun have changed as people, too.

During Shaun's sensory overload, everyone is screaming and calling his name, even though he is clearly in distress. It is one of his fellow residents that outlines a clear plan, get Shaun's attention to get his mind going on anything other than what his causing him to be overloaded.

Shaun's brain starts focusing on one problem and as a result, he is able to get up and perform a caesarean section, saving two lives. Even though the procedure goes in a way that he had not expected, Shaun is able to put a plan in place to save both mother and baby.

By the time season three rolls around, Shaun's other colleagues have learned a little something about communicating with Shaun, too. During his first solo surgery (because apparently the C-Section doesn't count as a surgery) Shaun is upset about the surgery and begins to say 'can't do it'. When another surgical resident gets told to take over, Shaun says 'no, no can't do it'. That other resident figures it out — its not that Shaun can't do it, it's that no resident can do it. The surgery that needs to be done is too complex and as a result Shaun is going to lose his shot at his first surgery.

Shaun has grown in his communication, but so too has everyone else. There is no such thing as learning too much about communication. What the doctors learn from communicating with Shaun, someone who uses their language, can be transferred to their patients and their families. You never know when you will run into someone who has difficulty communicating and these incidents show that we can all do with a few lessons in communicating.

All of this is to say that "The Good Doctor" is good representation.

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