Have you seen the new show “Parenthood” yet? Well, technically it is not a new show. It was originally a movie by Ron Howard that came out in the 1980s. It was later turned into a series starring Robert Townsend. Now Ron Howard has brought it back again, this time starting Peter Krause (from Dirty Sexy Money and Six Feet Under) and Lauren Graham (from The Gilmore Girls). It is about a family whose siblings bond over the trials and tribulations of raising their respective children.
My wife and I saw the pilot the other night and discovered yet another show to add to our limited television watching. The part that grabbed our attention the most and a lot of discussion was the discovery that the older sibling’s (Peter Krause) son has Asperger’s Syndrome. It started with the child, who appears about 9 or 10, having trouble in school and subsequently being diagnosed by a psychiatrist.
The steps they go through mirror those that a lot of families experience, including us. The mom meets up with her husband and tearfully gives him the news. He immediately denies that there is a problem; but she obviously has accepted the situation and begs him not to let her go through this journey alone. He finally gets it when he sees how his son interacts with his classmates. Though the boy knows that they are trying to communicate with him he shrugs it off as meaningless focused only on his immediate concerns.
Later when the grandfather (Craig T. Nelson) tries to get the boy involved in activities the father responds by saying sadly “Dad, there is something wrong with my son; I’m going to need your help.” I sat there thinking “Dad where are you? I need your help”. My son Max has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, aspergers, and adhd.. My dad passed away in 1985.
My wife commented that the family should have known there was something wrong at least with the boy several years before the situation at school. Certainly we knew there were issues when Max was 2 though we didn’t know what; he is 8 now. This family seemed very surprised and yet my wife and I both knew there was something wrong with that boy at the beginning of the show. Coincidentally his name is Max too.
Perhaps they should have known earlier but my thought is that they were both in denial. I certainly was; but my wife has this sense about things related to health. I have learned to trust her judgment. Frankly, however, I think I still have some denial. I was reading an article yesterday that was called “Misdiagnosis of Bipolar disorder” and my first thought was that maybe Max has not been diagnosed correctly. Perhaps not but this story was more about how a lot people who actually have the disorder can be diagnosed incorrectly with other conditions. It seems like Bipolar scares me more than aspergers and adhd so I would rather my son didn’t have it. Actually, I’d rather he was so-called “normal”; I know other parents want the same for their kids too.
I hope the show, with all the different storylines, will not forget about their Aspie child and continue to bring us updates on his condition.
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