This document summarizes and analyzes the 1988 film Rain Man. It discusses how the character Raymond would be diagnosed with autism according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. It examines three criteria for autism that are clearly exhibited by Raymond's behaviors and manner of speaking in the film. The document also explores Raymond's savant skills of memorization and discusses potential causes and treatments for autism.

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Rain Man:An Autistic Character
Justin Perreault
Lethbridge College

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Rain Man:An Autistic Character
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM),
Raymond would be diagnosed with Autism inthe motion picture Rain Man. To support this
claim, Raymond is diagnosed using this manual.Cause andtreatment are also discussed.
The non-psychiatric definition of autism is the“tendency to view life in terms of one’s
own needs and desires” (Stein, 2001, p.139). Clinically, though, autism is recognized as a mental
disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (2010). This association places autism in a
category called Pervasive Developmental Disorders, which is defined as “any disorder
characterized by severe deficits and pervasive impairment in multiple areas of
development.Areas include reciprocal social interaction, impairment in communication, and the
presence of stereotyped behaviour, interests, and activities”(American Psychiatric Association,
2010, p.38).
Synopsis of Rain Man
Rain Man is a film about a self-centered individual, Charlie (Tom Cruise), who kidnaps
his estranged autistic brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), in order to gain the inheritance
money bequeathed to Raymond by his father. The two brothers are forced to bond together, and
Charlie discovers his love for Raymond. In the end, Charlie cares for hisbrother in favour of
material advantage.
Diagnosis
Clinicians must identify twelve criterions before diagnosing a patient with autism. For the
sake of brevity, however, this work will explicate three out of the twelve criterions.
Criterion 1

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“Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or
rituals”(American Psychiatric Association, 2010, p.71).Thiscriterion clearly defines Raymond’s
behaviour. Consider how Raymond’s routine under his guardian’s care was to have toothpicks
and maple-syrup ready in front of him before pancakes arrived. Unfortunately, this practice was
not encouraged by his brother, Charlie, which resulted in Raymond obsessing over the issue.
Criterion 2
“Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language”(American
Psychiatric Association, 2010, p.71)also applies to Raymond’s behaviour. Raymond exhibits this
behaviour during a car ride though the city. He imitates the howling noise produced by the wind
and tires and compulsively repeats the radio station’s trademark phrase: “97 X BAM! The future
of rock and roll”(Morrow, B., Bass, R., & Levinson, B, 1988). Indeed, a clinician
woulddiagnoseRaymond as using repetitive and idiosyncratic language.
Criterion 3
“Lack of social or emotional reciprocity”(American Psychiatric Association, 2010,
p.71)is evident from his inability to communicate appropriately with his brother’s girlfriend,
Susanna. In one ironic scene, Susannaobserves a collection of baseball cards in Raymond’s
room. Raymond’s reaction to this perceived invasion of privacy was, “Are you on any
medication”? Obviously, Raymond does not treat Susanna with social or emotional reciprocity in
this scene.
Discussion
The American Association on Mental Deficiencies (AAMD) definessavants as “persons
with obvious mental retardation who are capable of performing in sharply circumscribed areas at
a remarkably high level” (Grossman, 1983, as cited in Howlin, Goode, Hutton, & Rutter, 2009).

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These circumscribed areas may be music, memory, calculation, spelling, or art. Being a savant or
possessing some of the attributes is not one of the twelve criterions in the DSM. This indicates
that being a savant is not absolutely correlative to being autistic; rather, it is an accessory trait of
autism. In Raymond’s case, his surpassing ability to recollect information is a trait of savant
autism.This is evident when he identifies a waitress’s phone number by associating her name to a
phone book he memorized the previous night. Yes, this is a characteristic of savant autism;
however, it seems exaggeratedhe would be abletomemorize a phonebook up to the letter “G” in a
single night.
Howlin, Goode, Hutton, and Rutter (2009) considersavant autism in the following study.
The study surveyed parents of autistic persons (average age 34 years). Parents of autistic persons
received questionnaires concerning the outstanding presence of certain skills. Parents listed what
savant character traits their children displayed andresearcher assess if the skills were traits of
savant autism.Data was gathered from 93 returned questionnaires. According to the survey, 24
(26%) autistic persons had some form of savant skill. Of these autistic people, 14 had calendric
calculating skills; 4 had computational skills; 3 had visuospatial skills; 1 had musical skills; 1
had artistic skills; and 1 had both memory and artistic skills. This study, when compared to the
movie Rain Man, indicates Raymond’s case is rare because only 2 out of 24 persons were
identified as having a savant skill pertaining to memory, but it proves the movie is not
completely inaccurate because savant memory skills do in fact exist.
Cause
In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an influential article suggesting a link between
MRR vaccines and the development of autism. Although this is still an issue of debate, there is
strong evidence to support his theory. According to Kemp and Hart (2010), autism is often

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diagnosed at 15 to 20 months of age, soon after the MMR vaccine is given. Because of this
correlation, some suspect the vaccine causes autism. Another proponent of this theory states a
positive correlation between autism and immunization rates. Children in the United States are
immunized against 14 different diseases. Kemp and Hart further maintainbetween 1998 and
2007, the number of 6 to 21-year-old patients receiving services from PDD in public special
education programs increased from 54,064 to 258,305; and in 2006, the incidence of autism was
1 in every 110 persons. Perhaps, although it is not explicitly stated, this is how Raymond
developed autism.
Treatment
The prevailing method for treating autism is psychological therapy. More specifically, it
is a psycho-behavioural therapy called Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). Psycho-Behavioural
therapies rely upon reinforcing behaviour appropriate to the individual’s development and in
turn, changing behaviours which are maladaptive (Susan & Hoeksema, 2008). An ABA method
suggests a maladaptive behaviour first be identified. For example, Raymond’s maladaptive
response, “I don’t know,” to his brother’s question, “Where do you live?” illustrates that
Raymond has maladaptive behaviour because he obviously knows where he lives, but he is
unwilling to answer his brother.Hypothetically, if one were teaching Raymond,they would
suggest the answer to him, Wallbrook. If the child repeats the desired response, Wallbrook, then
he should be reinforced to develop a learned behaviour. This method is proven for the treatment
of autism and an alternative to the biological approach. Raymond’s level of functioning could
perhaps be improved using this approach.
Although Raymond does not take prescription medication, a biological approach to
treatment is an option. Homeopathic treatment involves the administration of drugs in minute

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doses. A recent study performed by Rajalakshmi (2009) validates the effectiveness of this
method for autism. Rajalakshmi implemented the Autism Behaviour Composite Checklist and
Profile (ABCCP) as a pre and post-treatment evaluation. Drug administration was based on
homeopathic principles, which suggest the same drug be repeated till improvement discontinues
(usually 15 to 30 days), and doses be prescribed in low to medium potencies. Comparisons from
the pre and post-treatment evaluation indicated receding behaviours from severe to mild and
even disappeared in some cases. It was also gathered that two autistic people that were non-
verbal developed a low level of speech. Rajalakshmi explains some parents noticed their child’s
loss of certain transcendent skills or abilities (savant skill) once an improvement was made in
another area. For example, one parent said her son was able to hear the sound of his father's
scooter when he was quite a distance away and would be at the gate waiting for him, whereas the
parent was not able to hear the sound. When the child’s speech and communication improved
after homeopathic treatment, he was no longer able to hear the scooter. Indeed, Raymond would
benefit from this sort of treatment.
In conclusion, this essay uses the DSMto simulate a diagnosis for Raymond. It explores
what Savant skills and traits are, and it examines the way Raymond possesses these skills and
traits. The relationship between MMR immunization and the adoption of autism is a concerning
phenomenon. Finally, it acknowledges both a behavioural and biological method for treating
autism, and notes how Raymond would benefit from both of these treatments. Raymond does
have traits of savant autism, but some of them are exaggerated. Perhaps Rain Man gives the
public a misleading view of what autism is because savant autism is a rarity. Autism, more
realistically, is not as idealistic as counting cards and building friendships. The reality of the
disorder is less optimistic than the movie suggests.

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References
American Psychiatric Association. (2010). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
(4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Howlin, P., Goode, S., Hutton, J., & Rutter, M. (2009). Savant skills in autism: Psychometric
approaches and parental reports. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 364
(27), 1359-1367. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0328
Kemp, M., & Hart, B. (2010). MMR vaccine and autism: Is there a link? Journal of the
American Academy of Physicians Assistants,23(6), 48+. Retrieved from
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Morrow, B., & Bass, R. (Producers), & Levinson, B. (Director). (1988). Rain man[Motion
picture]. United States: Mirage Entertainment
Rajalakshmi, M. (2009). New dimensions in the treatment of autism with homeopathy. The
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Stein, J. (Ed.). (2001). Autism. Random house webster’s unabridged dictionary. (2nd ed.). New
York: Random House, Inc.
Susan, N., & Hoeksema, R. (2008).Abnormal psychology (Can. ed.). Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill
Ryerson, Ltd.