I like trains ASDF movie

[miranda]

Anyone know what's up with this music video called "I Like Trains": www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHkKJfcBXcw  I've done a deep google dive and can't come up with much. "Wrong Planet" message boards seem to think it is ASD related and they think it is funny.

It seems to be about a kid with autism (likes trains, doesn't speak except to say I like trains, parents try to "fix" him with Ritalin). And the group that makes these movies is called "ASDF Movies." Which could be a qwerty keyboard thing.

DS was watching it and cracking up last night. He said his BFF showed it to him. I blurted out that it is about autism. DS got really quiet. He isn't a train kid, and it never occurred to him that the video was about autism, and I know he was probably wondering if his friend was making fun of him by showing it to him (or maybe that was just me thinking that!).

I don't know that the movie is necessarily an affront to autistics. DH was offended as a parent of a child with ASD. It kindof reminds me of that Onion video from awhile back where the journalist with autism reports on a train that hit a man, but his report is all about how the train was unharmed and doing okay.

Thoughts?

[waverly]

I didn't care for it. I would be offended.

[akafred]

I did a tiny bit of research and it appears asdf is coincidental that it contains ASD. asdf are the first 4 letters your fingers usually type on a keyboard. That seems to be why TomSka Youtuber chose the letters. His video 7 things you don't know basically alludes to him being determined to be gifted or a genius when he was a kid. It seems they looked for some kind of condition and found out he was smart instead. So it appears he does not have ASD but perhaps he has both and either is not "out" about the ASD or they missed it because he is high functioning or Aspergers wasn't a "thing" when he was a kid or something. (Did not bother to find out when Aspergers was a "thing" in England where he grew up, just saying it is possible.

On the topic of the video, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I personally doubt if the other kids would pick up on it being ASDish esp if your DS isn't that into trains. Personally I find the song to be more about the value of individualism, it's ok not to be "normal", and be true to your interests. In other words, it's ok to be MORE like the "I Like Trains" boy. Also it's quirky and catchy and fun. That said, I TOTALLY get why it strikes a nerve for you. It would have me, too, in your shoes.

[auntie]

Eh, a lot of the folks on Wrong Planet think everything is about ASD. They spend massive amounts of time plumbing the depths of sitcom characters' for signs of ASD. Maybe this is related to that statistic that claims 85% of adults on spectrum don't have fulltime employment. 

Not sure this is intended as an autism thing; you may have misspoken there. Trainspotting has a different context in the UK as a much more mainstream activity as compared to here where it is shorthand for ASD. TomSka's range of other videos, vlogs and memes are all over the place in terms of content and degree of political correctness.

Did you ask you DS why he thought it was funny? Did he really find humor in it or was he appeasing a friend to fit in? Was it the message? The art work? The catchy tune? I'll ask DS if he thinks it's amusing; he has a millennial sense of humor I don't get. 

[miranda]

Thanks for the background on TomSka, I hadn't really looked at him but was zeroed in on the video. I was actually defending the video to DH, who was disgusted. I didn't really see a negative message. DS was laughing mostly over the catchy tune and watching people get run over. He has more of an interest in ADHD than ASD, and he thinks it's hilarious that parents try to "fix" their kids with medicine. He has a deep love of his Dave Pilkey and Nick Bruel book collections, both of whom have ADHD.

Years back I was on here wondering if the character "Strange Kitty" in the Bad Kitty series was inappropriate- auntie , told me not to fret. I then learned the author describes himself as a "strange kitty" when he was a kid. I like having the perspective of the author, or maybe I just like to fangirl everything!

Don't get me started on Dan Bull... DS adores his Minecraft songs, and the one about his cats, but not so much his one about

having autism.