Dating is hard enough, but for someone with autism, it’s a whole other thing. The show Love on a Spectrum follows several people looking for love and seeking a relationship. The reason why it’s such a good autism representation is that it doesn’t filter out the so-called “bad” parts of autism. Some shows oversell it and just use it for entertainment, but Love on a Spectrum is different. Several of the people are very awkward, and most of them say stuff that some people might find inappropriate or just have no filter, which is good because it shows people without autism how they (and also me) act.
I am glad that there is a show like this to properly educate people. As someone who is autistic themselves, I can watch the show and be like “oh, I’m like that sometimes.” It shows burnout, questions that should not be asked, inappropriate reactions when they do not like something, for example someone brought up that they had a child and was a single mom, and their reaction was making a face of disappointment and quickly changing the subject, and earlier in the episode he made a note that he would not like children at that time.
There are some upsides to it, too. One couple in the Australian version got engaged, but they were together before the show, and another couple in the American version, who got very close due to their mutual love of lions, led to the guy planning a whole trip for them to go to Africa to see lions. There are a lot of different couples on the show, and some last, but some do not. One couple ended their relationship because the female was very pushy about certain things; she was very honest about what she wanted, and the guy found it as she was pressuring him. He ended the relationship, and it was a very sad moment in the show.
This show is very good at showing how autistic people interact with the world and cope. I would check it out if you want to learn more about it or have a loved one who has it and just wants to understand it more.
