I thought one of the interesting aspects was the mother's drive to help Temple seem as NT as possible, and the aunt's "let her be herself" attitude.
I think both views have real merit, but it seems difficult for one parent to balance the two. Fortunately, many Aspies grow up with a father who plays the role that Temple's mother played, and a mother who plays the aunt role.
In the movie, mother and aunt respected each other's viewpoint, so Temple benefitted from both. It saddens me when mothers write in here complaining about their husband's attitude. Of course the problem may well be that the father does not respect the mother's view - I'm not trying to assess blame, I'm just saying that outcomes for the child might be a lot better if the parents could cooperate.
It was the mother who insisted that Temple go to college, while the aunt would have let her stay on the farm. It was the aunt who helped get the "hug machine" built (and accepted by the college) despite the mother's reluctance. In hindsight, both were no doubt glad they had deferred to the other.
In some cases IMHO it seems that mothers have made it very difficult for their husbands to participate in raising an Aspie. I can see it's a hard thing to do - usually the mother spends more time with the child, and therefore feels she has the right to the dominant voice in decisions. Unfortunately, this tends to make the father withdraw more, and a vicious circle has begun.
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John
http://www.caseint.com/john"I'm not sure of much of anything these days. Maybe that's why I talk so much." Robert Persig - Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance
I hope they put it out on DVD.
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