Being autistic, adhd and random stuff

[diavolo2025]

Is this an adaptation of a French series with a similar premise?

 

[Underscore_2]

I saw confirmation that there's going to be a 3rd , longer tv series called Patience - a police records staffer who's autistic and she helps solve tricky crimes. I believe the first series is available in the US now.

I also collate seemingly irrelevant snippets of information and solve things that didn't even appear to need solving. I'm sure I would have enjoyed those series, but I don't own a TV. That's the price I'm resigned to paying because I refuse to pay a TV licence fee (stealth tax on the poor).

 

[PMarky3]

I also collate seemingly irrelevant snippets of information and solve things that didn't even appear to need solving. I'm sure I would have enjoyed those series, but I don't own a TV. That's the price I'm resigned to paying because I refuse to pay a TV licence fee (stealth tax on the poor).

I can sympathize. I live in Virginia where they just love those stealth taxes and nuisance taxes!*

* The expression 'nuisance tax' comes from a humorous t-shirt logo of the 1980s which began with the line "The government has successfully taxed everything except your dong. However, in the new budget..." Apparently, those with a whopper were to be charged a 'Pole Tax' and so on down the scale until those possessed of a small reproductional appendage were to be charge a 'nuisance tax' which passed into the family lexicon for a small, annoying tax. My whole family is a bit weird.

 

[Noor]

I saw confirmation that there's going to be a 3rd , longer tv series called Patience - a police records staffer who's autistic and she helps solve tricky crimes. I believe the first series is available in the US now.

It’s on pbs passport in the us

 

[stickygirl]

Is this an adaptation of a French series with a similar premise?

They've made no secret of pinching the idea from the French series, Astrid and Raphaelle. The main difference - and a big one - is that the UK version is played by an autistic woman, while the French one isn't.

Having seen both, I can see why the Astrid is popular, because the crime plots have more drama, have some more steamy affairs, but I found their central actor off-putting. I felt she was performing a pastiche of autism and could almost hear her autism coaches pushing her to add more vocal and physical ticks in her portrayal.

By contrast, Patience has a lighter touch. She still has the occasional shutdown and red lines that people keep trampling over, but her reactions felt human, not the mechanical ones shown by Astrid. One might almost expect to see a large key in the back of Astrid where they wind her up each day.

But as I say, Astrid is popular, sub-titled but I've seen commenters shouting in outrage that the UK version is a rip-off and 'How dare they?' and 'I prefer ground coffee, not Nescafe, so there!' You get the picture. I finish the Patience episodes feeling happy, not tense.


ETA
One other point that I feel is relevant, is that employment rates for autistic people in France lag far behind those in the UK - about half the rate. So there's no surprise that they cast a NT woman to play the role of an autistic one. Plus ca change!

 

[PMarky3]

They've made no secret of pinching the idea from the French series, Astrid and Raphaelle. The main difference - and a big one - is that the UK version is played by an autistic woman, while the French one isn't.

Having seen both, I can see why the Astrid is popular, because the crime plots have more drama, have some more steamy affairs, but I found their central actor off-putting. I felt she was performing a pastiche of autism and could almost hear her autism coaches pushing her to add more vocal and physical ticks in her portrayal.

By contrast, Patience has a lighter touch. She still has the occasional shutdown and red lines that people keep trampling over, but her reactions felt human, not the mechanical ones shown by Astrid. One might almost expect to see a large key in the back of Astrid where they wind her up each day.

But as I say, Astrid is popular, sub-titled but I've seen commenters shouting in outrage that the UK version is a rip-off and 'How dare they?' and 'I prefer ground coffee, not Nescafe, so there!' You get the picture. I finish the Patience episodes feeling happy, not tense.

I can imagine that many in the entertainment industry would miss the fact that for many of us autism (and ADHD, etc.) is actually subtle and pervasive rather than immediately obvious. After all, they are trying to tell a story to what is very often a not particularly subtle audience.

 

[diavolo2025]

Thanks for the detailed reply, @stickygirl, much appreciate it. I had known of the series just in passing and i don't watch TV a lot. But your write up has piqued my curiosity on the UK version. I am not surprised that their entertainment industry has more options for neuro-divergent performers, I remember seeing a few excellent series with outstanding performances.

 

[PMarky3]

Judging by the trail of wreckage my AuDHD has been messing with me badly this week. Apparently I forgot to send a set of class notes out, and sent an assignment to the wrong group. Dead embarrassing, but nothing admin is going to shit-a-brick about because I found it reasonably quickly.

Still haven't dealt with the phone company.

Now having trouble with the insurance folks over a piece of inherited property overseas. I used to be able to pay the bill using the debit card, but now I am going to have to do it BACS - which is a hassle.

Right now, I have a compulsive urge to fix the basement window that has been stuck for the last six months.

 

[stickygirl]

I read a clever twist on a well-trod meme: vaccines cause autism. Someone had turned it on its head... you guessed it - given the number of people in science then, autism causes vaccines.

 

[PMarky3]

I read a clever twist on a well-trod meme: vaccines cause autism. Someone had turned it on its head... you guessed it - given the number of people in science then, autism causes vaccines.

I was wondering how long they could go without someone turning that well-worn trope on its head. Now we know!

I did get the insurance thing taken care of... Still haven't got to the phone company. Today has been a stresser. It was supposed to be a chase-around-and-tidy-stuff-up-day, but it ended up being lunch-with-the-wife's-granddaughter-because-it-is-her-birthday-day. This utterly derailed the plan because it was an early lunch that cut into my work day, but maybe I will have a second wind and get some of it done late this afternoon. I hate 11:30am or Noon appointments because they heavily impact my morning.

PM

 

[anthrodisiac]

I read a clever twist on a well-trod meme: vaccines cause autism. Someone had turned it on its head... you guessed it - given the number of people in science then, autism causes vaccines.

Whoever that is gets an Anthy gold star. Fuck, that's great. My thought when you said it was that only people who hadn't gotten vaccinated became autistic, but that's much better.

 

[stickygirl]

I see the right wind (sic) press ( ie The Press ) is getting its teeth stuck into Autism and ADHD now. Perhaps Uta ( crazy and past it ) Frith has opened the door to scepticism and scapegoating. The latest claim from her is that TV presenter Chris Packham is not autistic, when the entire UK public knows that, patently, he is: he obsessive, arrogant, blunt, lives on his own miles from civilisation and counts leaves on trees for fun and a tireless advocate for everything environmental.
So yeah, not content with attacking everything trans ( which is probably becoming a bit stale as a topic now ) the gutter press is having a pop at neurodivergent folk, or as Frith claims, people with imaginary mental health issues. Are they all out to get me?!
I also saw New Scientist have an article about autism in women ( apparently women are different!!! ) but it was a dangled carrot asking you to subscribe so I passed over the link. If anyone subscribes and can post a copy here ( wow - copyright infringement huh? ) then I'd be grateful to read how I'm not trans, a woman or autistic!! Can't wait!

 

[Underscore_2]

I see the right wind (sic) press ( ie The Press ) is getting its teeth stuck into Autism and ADHD now. Perhaps Uta ( crazy and past it ) Frith has opened the door to scepticism and scapegoating. The latest claim from her is that TV presenter Chris Packham is not autistic, when the entire UK public knows that, patently, he is: he obsessive, arrogant, blunt, lives on his own miles from civilisation and counts leaves on trees for fun and a tireless advocate for everything environmental.
So yeah, not content with attacking everything trans ( which is probably becoming a bit stale as a topic now ) the gutter press is having a pop at neurodivergent folk, or as Frith claims, people with imaginary mental health issues. Are they all out to get me?!
I also saw New Scientist have an article about autism in women ( apparently women are different!!! ) but it was a dangled carrot asking you to subscribe so I passed over the link. If anyone subscribes and can post a copy here ( wow - copyright infringement huh? ) then I'd be grateful to read how I'm not trans, a woman or autistic!! Can't wait!

I get similar treatment here from mods and other litsters who claim to be neurodivergent and yet because my divergence differs from theirs I'm 'fake autistic' or whatever even though they describe me in exactly the same terms as Mr Packham (above), and I'm simply weaponising neuro-divergence for my own ends.
Small world, isn't it?

 

[Strixaluco]

Perhaps Uta ( crazy and past it ) Frith

I just recently watched someone tear apart her editorial in a scientific magazine meticulously. Just a minute.... Here it is:

Someone in the comments speculated that she might, in fact, be dementing. She's 85 and the editorial has gaping holes in the logic. Another pointed out that even the research she did decades ago has only done harm....

Yes, this is actually one of those where reading the comment section is fine.

 

[stickygirl]

I just recently watched someone tear apart her editorial in a scientific magazine meticulously. Just a minute.... Here it is:

Someone in the comments speculated that she might, in fact, be dementing. She's 85 and the editorial has gaping holes in the logic. Another pointed out that even the research she did decades ago has only done harm....

Yes, this is actually one of those where reading the comment section is fine.

How funny - I popped by to link that YouTube video, which I found excellent.

 

[PMarky3]

I think the old girl's cheese is sliding off her cracker. It happens to most of us eventually. But there is a deeper problem in that we tend as a society to try and treat science as a religion, and to some degree religion as science with the result we can, and do, get both of them awfully wrong. The response to COVID-19 in both the USA and UK was a masterpiece of both scientific and political ineptitude, whereas Sweden got it largely right.

Anyhow, I get a little bit frustrated with folks who try to deny the reality of certain conditions such as Autism and AD[H]D, but perhaps even more frustrated with those who want to turn them into diseases so that Big Pharma can find "treatments" and cash in. I looked at the history of the main ADHD medication for adults - Adderall - and found out it started out as a slimming aid in the 1930s being a low dose version of Hitler's Happy Pill, and was repurposed c. 1990 when someone observed it could be used to quiet ADHD. When medication was offered for my ADHD the thought that occurred to me was, "do I want to be on progressively larger doses of amphetamine?" Answer, "No." The other catch was that treating the ADHD would make the ASD more noticeable, so - erm... This is not to say that that approach is not right for some people, but I decided to pass.

Anyhow, I had a look at what the sensible alternative medicine folks were saying, and embraced the supplements route to calm the ADHD. It took me about a year to do the research - actually, about 6 months to decide that my ADHD had become a problem and then about 6 months to do the reading, and my conclusion was ASD-me can cope with the regimen, so let's give it a whirl. Again, this approach is not for everyone, but I have noticed I am just a little bit calmer, and a little bit more focussed, and that is really all that I am looking for. I still want to be me, not a drugged up Zombie.

I am also coming to terms with the fact that "AuDHD" does colour every aspect of my life, even sex, so stop being angry about it, and get on with life. Being ND does have some benefits, and I chose a career where the negative traits are less of a nuisance, and the positive ones a benefit, so that is all good. Personal relationships are something I'll be working on until I drop, unfortunately.

Sorry - bit of a random rant, but I am prone to those. Now what was it I was supposed to be talking about...?

 

[Noor]

I think the old girl's cheese is sliding off her cracker. It happens to most of us eventually. But there is a deeper problem in that we tend as a society to try and treat science as a religion, and to some degree religion as science with the result we can, and do, get both of them awfully wrong. The response to COVID-19 in both the USA and UK was a masterpiece of both scientific and political ineptitude, whereas Sweden got it largely right.

Anyhow, I get a little bit frustrated with folks who try to deny the reality of certain conditions such as Autism and AD[H]D, but perhaps even more frustrated with those who want to turn them into diseases so that Big Pharma can find "treatments" and cash in. I looked at the history of the main ADHD medication for adults - Adderall - and found out it started out as a slimming aid in the 1930s being a low dose version of Hitler's Happy Pill, and was repurposed c. 1990 when someone observed it could be used to quiet ADHD. When medication was offered for my ADHD the thought that occurred to me was, "do I want to be on progressively larger doses of amphetamine?" Answer, "No." The other catch was that treating the ADHD would make the ASD more noticeable, so - erm... This is not to say that that approach is not right for some people, but I decided to pass.

Anyhow, I had a look at what the sensible alternative medicine folks were saying, and embraced the supplements route to calm the ADHD. It took me about a year to do the research - actually, about 6 months to decide that my ADHD had become a problem and then about 6 months to do the reading, and my conclusion was ASD-me can cope with the regimen, so let's give it a whirl. Again, this approach is not for everyone, but I have noticed I am just a little bit calmer, and a little bit more focussed, and that is really all that I am looking for. I still want to be me, not a drugged up Zombie.

I am also coming to terms with the fact that "AuDHD" does colour every aspect of my life, even sex, so stop being angry about it, and get on with life. Being ND does have some benefits, and I chose a career where the negative traits are less of a nuisance, and the positive ones a benefit, so that is all good. Personal relationships are something I'll be working on until I drop, unfortunately.

Sorry - bit of a random rant, but I am prone to those. Now what was it I was supposed to be talking about...?

What supplements?

 

[Underscore_2]

So now I'm waiting on everyone's thoughts about the adhd diagnosis boom programme on BBC Radio 4 this evening...