Joe Hughes in "The A Word"

Joe Hughes, played by young actor Max Vento in his own little world, living out the ordinary life of a little boy struggling to connect and understand the norms of the society. Additionally dealing with his mother who will not even say he has Autism and she prefers to say that he has The A Word. The show titled The A Word written by Peter Bowker is about the challenges of parenting a young child on the Autism spectrum before an official diagnosis. The young little boy that is featured goes by Joe Hughes and has some particular behaviours that are on the line between being on the spectrum and not being on the spectrum. Upon watching the show, many viewers inquire if the actor who played Joe has autism because the performance was so convincing and well-done that it felt authentic to a majority of viewers. Upon a bit of investigation, viewers quickly learn that Max Vento is the actor who plays Joe and is not on the Autism Spectrum in real life. This is a bit shocking considering that show-writer Peter Bowker is known for encouraging and avoiding that actors with the disability play the character with the disability he is writing. In this case he argued the contrary. In an interview with Mirror, part of which is highlighted in this “Entertainment Daily” news article the screenwriter explains his reasoning in saying “it was too big an ask for a six-year-old on the autistic spectrum to imitate a whole range of emotions in keeping with the piece. By definition they have difficulty processing and imitating”. His comment is clear and makes logical sense, that by the nature of the condition it is difficult for adolescent and adult actors on the spectrum to act out various roles in connection to their disability, such a task would simply be overwhelming and impossible for someone so young on the spectrum to handle. Therefore, in this respect I can understand the choice that was made. Clearly the goal in casting Max Vento for the role was not to take the role away from a capable actor on the spectrum, rather it was an effort to respect the nature of the condition by avoiding putting such a young actor on the spectrum in such a position long before they are ready or able to handle it. The mere fact that this screenwriter is known for advocating for the rights of actors and characters with disabilities matching up demonstrates his knowledge of the subject and attention to the delicate matter. Additionally, an article in “The Guardian” reveals the verdict of a father and his young daughter who is on the Autism spectrum regarding the show. Their opinion about the show is that it feels authentic for someone who is just close enough to the line of the Autism spectrum that they do not have all the symptoms, but have enough troubles that it affects their life. For Maya, the young daughter on the spectrum, the most emotionally connecting piece of Joe’s character was the demonstration of how he, like she does, feels isolated at his own birthday party. These sorts of events are overwhelming for both Maya and Joe and for her to see a character on screen portraying the way she feels made Maya feel a connection with someone, which is a rare occurrence with this low on the spectrum Autism condition. Another element that The A Word does a good job portraying according to this father and daughter is the fear of labelling the child. Throughout the series the fear of little Joe’s mom to name him as Autistic leads to a deep denial where she prefers to say that Joe has the “A” word, meaning Autism because she is afraid that in saying the word it will have a negative impact on him, when in reality she is in denial of the situation.