Before Rain Man, I imagine the vast majority of people had no idea what autism or neurodivergence was. Of course there were families who did, and people who did, yet the cultural conversation hadn’t swung in their direction yet. When Rain Man was released in 1988, however, it hit like a bomb.  The fact that Rain Man won Dustin Hoffman an Oscar is perhaps one of the less important parts of its legacy. More importantly, it caused people to simultaneously understand and misunderstand autism on a wide scale. Even now, a misconception exists that a neurodivergent person also has savant syndrome,... Read More