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Was Raymond's dependency on routine developed by the Institute?

posted 8 years ago by NikolajCostas1005
5 replies | jump to latest

I don't know anything about autism. At the same time, I wonder if their theory that routine was "all he has" was the best for him. Dr. Bruner didn't want Ray to leave because he felt that the routine was somehow protecting him and therefore was the best treatment. Sure enough, every time Ray is torn from his routine of watching Jeopardy and eating fish sticks, he breaks down. But these routines were developed or at least emboldened by the Institute. So my question is, was keeping Raymond confined to a routine at the Institute the best way to handle his condition? Were they helping him or making him worse?

They don't call me Col. Homer cause I'm some dumbass army guy!

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

I have no clue, but that is an excellent question.

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[–] TheCaliforniaOp (78) 2 years ago

It’s a Catch22, isn’t it?

There’s more attention to many syndromes now, but the beings attached to those syndromes still languish in largely private, some public institutions across the country.

The only way to make a rescue, sanctuary, boarding place work reliably, so that it can be depended upon, is to have some sort of established time-connected routine in place; stay with me; I didn’t say it has to be a routine where one can feel the rebar crushing the spirit out of everyone.

The reason for the routine is to support the goals already reached and to give everyone the hope of reaching new goals: In a place similar to Raymond’s institution, one of those goals is probably for the adult residents to rediscover how much functioning ability they DO have, with the hope they can live either on their own, or in an environment of increased independence.
But you bring up a GREAT point. The doctor himself seems to have established that routine as a comfort zone for everyone in the institution and that’s that, baby. He’s worn out. The actor does a good job. One empathizes with him; one is exasperated with him.

But you see: The doctor hasn’t had the ability to do “one-on-one” work with all the residents, either.

Kind of heartbreaking, isn’t it?

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

"was keeping Raymond confined to a routine at the Institute the best way to handle his condition?"
Yes.

"Were they helping him or making him worse?"
Helping him.

[–] CaptainCrozier (607) 2 years ago

I think it was a bit of both.

I've known many real life autistic people, but never heard of anyone as dysfunctional and robotic and dependent on routine as Raymond. I think his need for the routines was greatly exacerbated by living that way at the institution for decades.

They may have thought they were helping him, but they were only hurting him by making it all the more unlikely that he would ever be able to function on his own.