With everyone dating other people with autism, the show misses a major aspect of dating on the spectrum: having relationships with neurotypical people, something every person with autism has to do. Having everyone date other people on the spectrum misses some of the extra stress many people with autism go through, including myself, and it unintentionally isolates autistic people from their neurotypicals as if their differences keep them from mixing with everyone else. The show, while offering a stellar portrayal of how people with autism may interact with each other, doesn't show autistic people being forced to do a “social fake” or other ways which autistic people like me feel pressured to conform in almost all aspects of life.
Within the show, however, there was also an accurate portrayal of people that were diagnosed with autism later in life, showing they likely didn’t have social skills lessons when they were younger that other people on the autism spectrum had, and as a result really struggled to communicate themselves, even with other autistic people.
Some of the good highlights of the show include watching the show's relationship therapist, Jodi, using a lot of visuals and role play in her lessons on relationships, which better helps me understand what to do in complex situations. Also, everyone on the show had such unique and detailed interests and knowledge in all sorts of different topics, showing not just a disability but an ability that varies with each person with autism.
All in all, the show did the best job of portraying social interaction with autistic people that I have seen for reality TV, and I hope to see shows that are even more precise in the future, hopefully with an autistic director and crew that can really understand our struggles and abilities.
Written by: Sean, Client