What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a movie following two brothers, Gilbert and Arnie, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, showing their relationship to each other and with the rest of their family. It illustrates how they all cope with Arnie’s disability, and how they all interact with the rest of their community. Throughout the movie, the screenwriter uses the plot to get across the message of how difficult it can be to care for someone with such an extreme disability, effectively portray the communication disorder of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and show how the disorder affects the people around it.
Peter Hedges’ intent in including a character with Autism Spectrum Disorder in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was to portray the difficulties of caring for someone who is on the spectrum. He does this by showing the relationship
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In some cases, this might be true, but in others it is not; there are varying levels of severity within the spectrum. People may not always remember that with the different levels of severity comes different levels of capability, so one person with Autism Spectrum Disorder may be more capable than another person on the spectrum.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape did a lot to support the ideas I already had about Autism Spectrum Disorder. I had previously worked with children and young adults who were on the spectrum, so I already had an idea of what it was, and what it entailed. It informed and shaped my views in showing me how different people on the spectrum can behave. I was able to see a variety in severity of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I can now use that new knowledge and experience in the real world, whether it be in my career or just in everyday