Autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that there are huge variations in severity between autistic children. I'm training to be a therapist, and i've seen autistic children who are just like Max -one child even went so far as to try and run his 2 year old sister over with one of those chairs with wheels, and then when I tried to explain to him why it was wrong to do that, he just hit me, screamed at me, and told me he hated me. The thing that people have to remember about autistic children is that they view people as objects, which means their interactions with others are very one sided. They don't get the reciprocity of a social interaction. It is very hard for autistic children to understand the give and take of a social interaction, even if they are receiving some kind of behavioral therapy.   See 6 other replies

the thing is max doesn't FIGURE IT OUT.... he had to have tons of therapy and practice to TEACH him how to recognize when he needs to apologize and how to express that. Children with Asperger Syndrome have difficulty identifying and understanding emotions and emotional expression. The attachment to the games isn't like most kids who just love them and would rather not do chores... its deeper and related to his disorder. While I do agree that he has some level of manipulation, he genuinely cannot control his outbursts, interruptions, and inability to relate socially and emotionally to rest of the world. The passion for his interests are a fixation related to his disorder. Plus his mom only caved to let him go on the trip in the end, not because of him showing sadness and sorry and being nice... it was because of the card he made for the great-grandmother, it showed a level of understanding and thought for others that kids with his disorder are usually not capable of without prompting and it showed his mom how much progress he was making, how hard he was trying to think of others and relate, and how much seeing his great-grandmother really meant to him. Considering his disorder, it was a huge thing, it shows care for another on a level that people with Asperger Syndrome have a hard time expressing.   See 31 other replies

at first I was going to apologize for saying I hate that kid Max - but I'm not sorry. They let him get away with murder and everyone walks around on egg shells with his flippin behavior - yeah I GET that he's got an illness - but they are NOT helping this kid... he's gonna get his ass beaten down if they dont pull their heads out of their b u you know what's.   See 31 other replies

The only person who ever consistently dealt with Max's behavior was his behavioral aide, Gaby. She actually spoke sternly to him at times, and she gave him rewards and consequences for his good and bad behavior. She actually was doing him some good, unlike his parents who often blow up at him in frustration or bow to his every whim.   See 6 other replies

My 11-year-old brother-in-law has Asperger's, and while he does have issues with insensitivity, he is nowhere NEAR as selfish, insensitive, and belligerent as Max is. I like and enjoy my b-i-l most of the time, but Max is surly, self-centered, and disrespectful in pretty much every episode. There is almost never a pleasant moment involving Max, and when there is, it's usually because his parents are giving him his own way--yet again.   See 6 other replies