On the other hand, films that accidentally portray the autistic, or do so without it being the primary focus of the plot, are legion. Many of them predate Rain Man by decades. Dustin Hoffman was even in one of them – Midnight Cowboy. The recent Iron Man 2 could be argued, albeit weakly, as a portrayal of an autistic adult under severe emotional stress trying to cope through self-destructive behaviour. But the ultimate winner of the prize for best accidental portrayal of people on the autistic spectrum? Blade Runner, by a very lengthy margin.

I have joined your Facebook group in spite of its statement about being for parents, partly because I am concerned that there is too much focus on parents and not enough on those of us who grew up autistic during the 1980s and thus can testify to some very unpleasant experiences. But perhaps sometime we could sit down and work out a list of the films that portray the autistic correctly. The way I see it, if we provide people with examples of when the industry gets it right, we might effect change more than would be the case with censuring.