Jason Katims, the creator and executive producer of "Parenthood," stated in an interview that he did not write in a character with Asperger's for awareness reasons. He wrote the character entirely from a personal standpoint. He has a son with Asperger's and that is why the character of Max was created.
The way in which the Braverman family is shown dealing with the issue of Max having Asperger's is portrayed beautifully through the performance of Burkholder, who in fact, does not have any form of autism as an individual. His performance is one of aesthetic expression and his stylistic and poetic approaches truly dramatize ideological thinking. He is such a real and believable character, but it is not only Max who shows us how difficult it is to live a life with a mental illness. Kristina Braverman (Monica Potter) and her husband Adam (Peter Krause) really struggle with finding out and learning about their son's syndrome. It is through these characters, as well as the rest of the extended family members, that we become apart of the story. We get to see the struggles and that the people the have to deal with this boy go through, physically and emotionally.
So, not only do these portrayals affect the actors, they effect the viewers of the television series - especially those who have children with autism. An article from Child Mind states:
"Many parents of kids with ASD and adults on the spectrum have embraced the show, created by Jason
Katims (Friday Night Lights), who has a son with Asperger's. They applaud him for portraying
realistically a very complicated disorder and its effects on a child and his family, quite an
accomplishment within the confines of a one-hour network series (childmind.org)."
Portraying a mental illness on a television show that is constantly throwing curve balls at every one of its character's certainly seems like a daunting task. However, Katims takes on the challenge quite well. Because through their trials and tribulations, the Bravermans always seem to pull through. The show is designed in a way that makes you look at these struggles as just the little bumps. Why? Because family is always their in the end. So, every time that Max has a temper tantrum, meltdown style, you cringe for Kristina and Adam and Haddie and whomever else is there to witness it. At the same time, you realize the reality of the situation. It is made evident that this thing, this is life. And sometimes you're dealt a hand you're not really ready to deal with yet. And that's what keeps this show so unpredictable, so heart-wrenching, and yet so incredibly amazing at the same time.
Through another speech, Katims wonderfully explains how the good can shine through even through the bad news. At the start of the show, the Bravermans were shown all jumping on a moon bounce, somewhat symbolizing fun, happiness. However, Katims believes that through these trials, we realize that's all they are - they are merely hiccups in the world of the happy moon bounce. At right around six minutes, he explains it perfectly by stating:
"But the truth is that I had nothing to worry about because our network had not only become our biggest supporters, they had also become some of the biggest fans of the show. The Bravermans tend to do that to people. Over the series, our stories have looked at teenage alcoholism, infidelity, unemployment, infertility, the complications of adoption, racism, PTSD, panic attacks, abortion, and autism. And yet when you watch this show, it doesn't seem to be a show about issues. What you feel from the show is the tremendous love in the Braverman family. You feel their courage and their belief in each other. And that is what makes "Parenthood," despite all the challenging subject matter, sort of a little like a bouncy house."
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