Essay the black balloon

"The Black Balloon" portrays the Mollisons, a middle-class Australian family struggling to keep life normal and going in a new neighborhood while having to care for their autistic adult son, Charlie.
Society marks what is usual and what is not. In the Mollison`s case, they were assumed different primarily because of the inclusion of Charlie in their family. This is typical for most people; that is, to assume understanding of everything they witness - whether their prejudice lies on being good or bad, it doesn`t really matter. Oftentimes, their sympathy goes to the family and almost never in particular for Charlie since it is likely that they have just gone with considering him simply as that autistic man. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that Charlie`s situation cannot be interpreted nor understood with only a glance from afar.
Throughout this essay, Charlie`s character will be explored in the context of health psychology`s control theory, in which a general approach is taken to understand self-regulating systems CITATION Roy99 \l 1033 (Baumeister, 1999); this then would particularly refer Charlie himself, his psychological state, and his lifestyle. Furthermore, boundaries commonly set with stereotypes and false impressions of autism are refuted along the way in order for the audience to gain a more accurate insight on the matter at hand CITATION Par08 \l 1033 (Parr, 2008).
So who is Charlie anyway? Charlie Mollison is characterized as having autism and at the same time, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). His unusual behavior and crazy antics often makes him a laughingstock among youngsters and sometimes an annoyance to some neighbors. More so is that he manages to gather attention even in the midst of a crowd, with their weird stares and hushed whispers.
There is a long list of misconceptions often believed by people to be true of autism. More often than not, they regard this as a disease rather than as a condition. In a social context, people are alienated by autistic people, referring to them as "different" but with a subtle hint of condescension. It is true that in a sense autistic people are different; however, they are only so insofar as they lead different lives in comparison to what has been considered by most people as typical. Hence, this label is only a socially constructed notion - an imaginative figment created by people who don`t really understand autism.
In clinical definition, Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder, which means its emergence and development is affected by biological bases and environmental factors CITATION Ami02 \l 1033 (Ami Klin, 2002). Failure to socially interact is the most recognized characteristic of autism; besides this, other noted symptoms involves having affected language and behavioral aspects CITATION Par08 \l 1033 (Parr, 2008).
Happe (1994) summarizes and clarifies the meaning of autism in his textbook, Autism: an introduction to psychological theory. He s...