doctor destiny

This is what David Shore says about that scene: "She’s confused. Is she jealous? I don’t know… There’s disappointment, even though I don’t think she was going to say yes… I love Shaun as much as she does, but you’re constantly trying to keep up with what’s going on in that head of his". I think like most people there is a mix of emotions. While Shaun isn't her pet he is a constant in her chaotic life and the whole theme of the series is the positive effect that Shaun has on others. That constant has suddenly changed. I'm looking forward to the next series.

Absolutely agree. She gets Shaun. "Not better"...oh Shaun. I never liked that. It felt painful for me given I have a son on the spectrum and it felt like the writers gaslit him. It felt false her giving out sexual vibes and then reneging Yeah pretty erratic their writing of her. A good foil for Shaun but pretty inconsistent Agreed. He could have fired Shaun at the end of Series 1 but he just gave him a dressing down for his communication. Andrews was a true mensch at the gala. And he continuously rags on Han about Shaun's manifest abilities (he saved another life)...Seems to me it's implied he has been keeping more than a weather eye on Shaun. Shore has said Andrews will "factor" in Season 3. Does that mean Andrews will lose his job saving Shaun? That's quite the redemptive arc.

In the same way Neil Armstrong could say "I am an Astronaut". Because after 6 years of training and nailing surgery after surgery and saving many lives he IS a surgeon. It's not a job. It is a calling. And when it is the equivalent to the civil rights "I am a Man" I believe he is asserting - in his own way - his dignity. It's not child-like petulance. It's from a man pushed to the edge who has been manipulated into a position unfairly.

I loved it and frankly I needed there to be no cliffhanger. I found the prior three episodes incredibly painful to watch. Why did Shaun say nothing? I think it was PTSD from the same thing happening to him as a child. Both his father and school bullies. I don't think it was a loss of agency. I think he just didn't want to think about it. Kick a good man when he is down eh? Which is why he goes to the room of his attacker looking for answers. Han again made a bunch of assumptions on Shaun's motivations here because he doesn't know him. Agreed re: discrimination. I think they deliberately didn't go there as a dramatic device. I think that paints the wrong picture to #actuallyautistic adults. On passivity he tried and tried to be an exemplary doctor and it got him nowhere with a man who was never going to listen anyway. He also has a long way to travel and I think that's Shore's point. Debbie wanted more first and he just wanted a fling - then he turned it around mentally. She showed up at his house after he took the first No for an answer. Marry in haste? As you get older you realize that life is very very short. It's not that implausible.

Shaun was transferred not based on his current assessment but due to what challenges he might have in the future. That is a blatant breach of the ADA. Period. Any lawsuit would add a request for increased damages due to mental destabilization from said breach. It's effectively saying that a bullied person who reacts emotionally to being bullied is being over-emotional and that premise is gaslighting. When he is saying "I am a surgeon" it resonates with "I am a man". Han is essentially withdrawing Shaun's agency. Being a surgeon is the core of his identity and surgical residents are only transferred or wash out due to specific errors not what they might be - albeit Han makes a better point of it in the last episode. We know from Trampoline that Han knew an autie personally so he damned well knew what he was doing putting up the music and he admits to having tested Shaun. He will brook no counter-evidence. Surgeons are also scientists and that kind of attitude is toxic.

But you said he was lucky because he was given an alternate. But that bouncing was based on one direct interaction with a man who had effectively made his mind up prior and had just witnessed not one but two examples of Shaun particular skillset that saved a newborn baby's life. Shaun wasn't over-emotional when he got illegally bounced. He became emotional - and very likely clinically depressed - after repeatedly showing his worth and being knocked back. And Melendez likened him to Audrey Lim as a 2nd year resident nailing surgery after surgery getting ready to be an exceptional surgeon. The hospital was lucky to have him and recognized that over time in the first series.

Agreed. Shaun definitely has the right stuff. No doubt in later episodes there will be other hospitals looking to hire him away from the hospital. "Your the one that is making the old guard nervous". "Wh-hy would people be nervous of me?". "You have a gift and surgeons judge themselves among their peers. Right now you are ahead". Or words to that effect. In the part 2 of the Islands episode last season. This is all hiding in plain sight. A second year resident being pulled in to consult on a complicated operation. "He has a special talent for visualizing complex anatomy". Those who know him know his worth. Han hasn't even tried or having tried too late is too invested in his original decision. Or it's part of a deal to make the medical board go away. He even starts saying patronizingly that they could build Shaun up over time. How easy would it be for anyone to communicate the complex pictures constantly being created in that amazing mind? He is a great surgeon because of his autism not in spite of it. That's where Han gets it consistently wrong.

My point is that "very high functioning" doesn't mean doesn't need accommodation. And that the label is often used to allow for discrimination because they aren't "that" autistic. The effort that "high functioning" autistics have to make to just fit in society is often severely underplayed. http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2016/07/the-effects-of-stigmatizing-language-on.html In fact the life expectancy of autistic adults is significantly lower than NTs due to the high incidence of suicide.

I'm not sure where you are going with this. Are you saying that levels of discrimination are OK for "high functioning" or at least less bad and that the ADA is there for those who are "low functioning"? The show is actually being quite nuanced in this and it's making the argument against that very supposition. A "high functioning" autistic man with an IQ of 165 (such as a Shaun) may not be able to work or find it very difficult due to having very high levels of anxiety, a common problem in many autistic people. In that case an appropriate accommodation is eg. no music in the OR and a style of questioning that is direct and fact-based plus some support on interpersonal skills. Is a person who can't speak and is autistic "low functioning" and therefore deserves stronger protection under the ADA? Quite a few autistics with apraxia of speech have PhDs and their accommodation is to have a computer communication system. It's really murky and best left to the established law of the land IMHO. Because Shaun is definitively not coping right now. He is being pulled down into an abyss or at least into the Muddy Waters of the wonderful LP song at the end of episode 16. That should not have been allowed to happen if the hospital were doing its job properly and if any harm comes to Shaun they very likely would be massively liable for any of the consequences.

Normal is an interesting word. What is normal to an autistic person may not be normal to you. Who is right and who is wrong? IMHO the vast majority of problems for non-neurotypicals is the attitude and misunderstanding of NTs. All that is being asked are reasonable accommodations that are being afforded by law. The little things like an awareness of sensory sensitivities and that there may be communication difficulties that do not reflect a world of words and imagination inside. In fact that would seem to the point of choosing the protagonist on the Good Doctor. Accommodations are there to level the playing field. It's not a special advantage taken. (And in any case Shaun has shown himself to be an exceptional resident). Other minorities are afforded the same right to be treated with dignity and respect too. The ADA clearly protects disabled people from discrimination. And Shaun is most definitely being discriminated against.

I think they may be going there. The place that any parent of an autistic kid most fears. That the suicide rate of autistic adults is sky high. I think it's a bait and switch. If you look at the bar room it looks like the antagonist needs help and Shaun looks after him. Still the good man and the good doctor. The scene with Shaun in bed may be related to self-harm which comes later which is the cliffhanger. I hope that's not what is happening but I fear it is. That would be *exactly* the kind of thing David Shore would do. Subvert the whole premise of the series. You take an abused fostered autistic man with barely a support mechanism (his brother having died in front of him) out of the country, make him jump through hoops due to prejudice, give and then take away a love interest. Almost kill a patient. Look after your cancer-stricken father figure. Have his best friend and supporter move away. Love interest comes back and is no longer interested and finds another partner. You chug along for a while and then you have it all taken away from you by a blatantly prejudiced person - despite performing above and beyond. And you expect him not to crumble? Anyone not to crumble? Claire can see what is happening but no one else seems to care enough because they don't see Shaun as a man. I could well be wrong and I hope I am. But that's my thesis based on the pictures of the episode and the two trailers. Update: Realllly happy to be wrong!

Wow. I was not expecting that. They went all in. A far cry from the first series where after some nice work Shaun was accepted in. Highmore did a superb job playing a man in a no-win scenario. Who couldn't feel for his portrayal of a man driven to the edge? I'm not even sure I can watch that scene again. It was so painful. I liked that there wasn't the Hollywood "let's all band together behind Shaun". That never happens in real life. Same as when Lea called out Glassman on doing an Outbreak at the quarantine. I was pretty sure before that sending Shaun to Pathology was part of a play to get the medical board action behind them. Now I'm certain. Han is a player. Due process is not this man's middle name.

If you notice, he doesn't play music loudly or even at all in other surgeries. It was the same intent IMHO that put Melendez in his place to do the corporate wellness check, that put Claire down for not knowing an equation in surgery and called Resnick out for her toadiness. He has done his homework and would have read the assessments. He says the same to Claire when she brought him the summary of Shaun's unique contributions knowing that she has stood up to her seniors before. It's more than doing things my way; it's the equivalent of a cat pissing on its territory. Therefore it's likely that he pre-judged Shaun as a liability knowing he was up before the medical board. And that makes his subsequent actions illegal.

I am sure there have been hundreds if not probably thousands of Aspie surgeons, many working in the field today. It's a field that lends itself to those specific strengths. Many autistic people are hiding in plain sight and it would be good to showcase some of these co=workers in future series. Surgeons aren't known for having the best bedside manner and are also known for being quirky. Aspies with communication difficulties learn the algorithms of bedside manner very well. As Shaun will do over time. The ability to cut in an OR with others in the end should be the primary function - I know that's what I would be looking for. But of course that means collaborating and a senior surgeon ordering others to do specific prescribed actions. "Shaun never misses a beat in the OR..." That's what matters. As to savant syndrome: http://www.internationalopulence.com/could-a-savvy-surgeon-have-autism-savant-syndrome/ I'm not a great fan of Rain Man because of the misconceptions that followed about other autistic people but having savant syndrome which used to be called being an idiot savant does not preclude a high IQ and precocious abilities in difficult professions. My very bright son has some strong savant abilities and we are hoping to get him through a PhD program eventually. He has also been treated as having cognitive difficulties and bullied due to his dyspraxia. Which is partly why this arc hurts like hell for me personally. (And no there is nothing wrong with having cognitive difficulties but the assumption you have them can lead to the lifepath altering actions).

I don't think there is any doubt that he knew prior that Shaun was autistic and was sensitive to sound. He knew about the medical board investigation (from Aoki and Andrew's conversation) and he knew the individual histories of at least Melendez and Park. He hasn't been playing loud music on his surgeries since. It was at best a test and worst trying to show up Shaun's weaknesses. His remit is to keep the medical board at bay. Pushing Shaun into pathology ahead of the board is a plus for him. He may even think he is doing Shaun a favor making him less of a target.

If a diabetic surgeon (of which there must be many) went into hypoglycemic shock you wouldn't fire them. A reasonable accommodation under the ADA would be the OR staff knowing about the diabetes and responding quickly to any abnormal behavior such as a slight slurring of speech with an appropriate response such giving her a cookie. If an autistic surgeon goes into sensory overload why would that not be seen as equivalent? A reasonable accommodation would be an OR without music blasting in it, a staff who understand high sensitivity to sensory stimuli and a quick response to unwanted abnormal buzzing sounds. Han's use of loud music to put Shaun off knowing it would affect him is in itself is a breach of the ADA and ought to a sackable offense.

The problem is that Shaun is crystal clear that he doesn't want to be a pathologist and it isn't Dr Han's place to make him. Autistic adults have free will in a free society just like anyone else. He is an excellent surgical resident now. To base a decision on how he might turn out is blatantly illegal and unfair.

Glassman treats Shaun like a son. I wonder if he will officially adopt him at some point. I think he will. When your adult son is being discriminated against on the first level you might tell them to stand up for themselves. They aren't children any more. And you won't always be around. But when they stand up for themselves and are subjected to even more prejudice you darn well ought to fund a multi-million dollar lawsuit on their behalf. Or help them go the EEOC. This is a blatant breach of the ADA and given this is a finite arc I hope and presume they fire Han for this. Maybe that's Resnick's support of Shaun? Legal, practical and efficient. These two episodes have hollowed me out. It's so painful to watch not least because I've seen it first hand with my children: He can't go sailing at the yacht club. You need to put him in the disabled sailing group. But they let his bullies sail. Or "he will find him place in life" (yeah well his place is with a PhD!). The non-invitations to birthday parties that you know the whole class is invited to. The indescribable pain you feel when your children are treated as less than. I know what they are trying to do but I will be glad to see the end of this arc. I hope somewhere this is causing a person to rethink their prejudice towards PWD. Because that's the only reason to do this.

I think that's very fair and underlines the truth that the show is for a broad range of viewers some of whom are ignorant of these struggles. I don't think that it's NT savior syndrome/token victim - at least from my read of some of the articles on "Believe". Let's wait and see on that. There is a lot of growth for Shaun in the series - albeit it's a bit uneven in the telling. That reflects the reality for autistic adults and rejects the fallacy that development somehow stops in teenagehood. The essence of Han's argument is that Shaun will never change for the "better". It's a slightly different skew than Shaun-shouldn't-be-here-right-now-because-he-is-plainly-incompetent that we saw in the first series. It's equally discriminatory but subtly different.

This was written by David Renaud who is in a wheelchair. He also wrote "Pain". He is more than well aware of discrimination in the professional field and no doubt knows about the EEOC. I think it's to do with the drama. Shaun needs to be seen on his hero's journey, battling the foes of adversity. The difference this time is that the perspective includes people who have grown to like and respect Shaun and how very different that is from the beginning of the first series. We also know Shaun and are rooting for him. The same guy who looked after his grumpy mentor/dad who has cancer when there were no other people to help. A good man going through a lot who doesn't deserve this. In what better way could they have shown the unfairness of discrimination against autistic adults? That doesn't stop it from being intensely painful to watch.

Reminds me so much of the first series and why I fell in love with it. Yes it's the having to prove myself all over again trope but this time Shaun has lots of support showing how far he has affected the other characters. This kind of stuff - having to reprove yourself, being held to a higher standard - happens to autistic people all the time. It is physically painful when someone you love beyond life is underestimated (again). Note, Han had done his homework (eg. with Melendez) and would have known Shaun was autistic - hence the deliberate use of distractive music and pretend surprise at the lack of Shaun getting the joke. This is true prejudice - pre-judging, no doubt spurred on with by the investigation. If you can say "well, we haven't fired a man with ASD, but taken him away from direct contact with patients so it can't happen again", in Han's mind - result! I loved seeing the visuals again. I guess they didn't do so many of them previously to re-remind us how splendid Shaun's mind really is. The last scene was heart-breaking. I liked the cancer support story. I looked up the drug and that is used for the type of glioma (GBM) that is often rapidly fatal and what Glassman thought he had after the second scan in the diagnostic process. No wonder he had some trepidation but the lovely little encounter with Shaun "autism is a part of me" sealed the deal. Fun to see Glassman reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy too. The secondary patient story was interesting too. Melendez being forced to lower himself and the adult thoughtful nature of the doctor-patient interplay. How informed consent should work. I'm looking forward to the last three episodes with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

But he doesn't want to be a Pathologist and autistic people are often held to a higher standard than neurotypicals. He has been evaluated as competent from his superiors through 1.5 years of residency. This is what autistic people go through every day. It's as enraging as it is real.

It is a total obvious breach of the ADA as was his interview. I'm glad he got to show his competency but, no, that's not how it works. I'd sue the ass off the hospital for doing that.

I went on a big hunt but couldn't find it. There are a whole lot of scenes with Shaun standing in man-made rain made using a big horizontal rain maker. In one you can see he is definitely wearing a tie. In one scene he looks up in the rain. Also looks like Debbie is back in one of the future episodes. Last one? Maybe off on a road trip with Glassman? There is scene where Glassman approaches her at the counter.

Gosh next three weeks look interesting. I saw a clip of one of them and looks like the visuals are back which I love. Final episode looks like he is wearing a tie so three episodes of severe questioning of abilities followed by denouement at the medical board? Equally excited and apprehensive.