Representation of Asperger's Syndrome in The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time Essay Example

The artwork, inescapable, portrays the concepts explored in the Curious incident of the Dog in the Night time. The artwork represents the indirect consequences of  aspergers through tone, perspective and symbolism to display the struggles that Christopher and his family experience. Chrsitophers response to the overload of visual stimuli increases readers' understanding of his social disorder. This disorder is further explored by the minimal interactions he has throughout the book. Christopher's parents make rash decisions in an attempt to accommodate his disorder which often result in neglect of his true feelings.

The sensory overload Christopher frequently receives influences his actions and perspective throughout the book. Individuals who experience Asperger's are prone to hypersensitivity involving at least one of the five senses. Christopher predominantly receives visual and audible stimuli from people and objects around him.

“There is a village in the distance which has 31 visible houses and a church with a square tower and not a spire” (Haddon 175). The artwork portrays Christopher’s visual hypersensitivity through excessive detail. The monochrome theme represents Christophers unique perspective and the wooden grains shown on the back carriage indicate his inability to ignore minor details. This creates discomfort and mentally suffocates Christopher, causing him to respond by groaning, hiding or yelling. “And I felt sick and I started groaning really loudly” (Haddon 216). By telling the book through Chritsophers perspective, readers can view the mind of a child with a social disorder. It allows further comprehension of actions that may seem uncommon to most, encouraging societal development to benefit various individuals in similar situations. Christophers sensitivity pushes the concept of subjectivity and gives readers an insight on christophers mind. 

Christophers development disorder restricts his interactions and places him in an isolated position. Throughout the book Christopher struggles with communication,  understanding jokes, metaphors, facial expressions, body language and other non-verbal forms of communication. The minimal amount of interactions Christopher has signifies the effects of his disorder, this idea is further implied  when Christopher explains his reasoning.“I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand” (Haddon 45). The painting portrays the factor of social isolation through the  inescapable position Christopher is placed in. The thick chains symbolise the aspects of his disorder restraining him from seeking help. Christophers aspergers prevents him from recognizing the intentions of people he isn’t familiar with. This is shown by his minimal interactions and further enforced by the following quote, “I didn't understand about other people having minds” (Haddon 145). By telling the book through first person perspective, readers are more likely to connect and sympathise with christopher. Christopher's disorder allows readers to recognize the social limitations of individuals with aspergers, encouraging accommodation rather than limiting opportunities for them in workplaces and education forums. Christopher's social disorder deprives him of various communication skills.

Christopher's vulnerability to fear and anger impacts his parents' decisions, causing multiple misunderstandings and an unhealthy relationship. A child with aspergers may have frequent meltdowns caused by fear, anger or overstimulation.  Recognizing this, Christopher's father believed deceiving Christopher would benefit his mental state and prevent a drastic reaction. I did it for your good, Christopher. (Haddon 143)

The two trains speeding at Christopher embody the effects of the rash decisions made by his parents, on his mental state, leading to a ruined relationship. Ed’s controlling attitude towards Christopher decreases his mental development, by preventing him from gaining independence. Similarly to Ed, Judy allows her stress to overcome her and neglects christophers feelings, “Look. It’s only an exam. I can ring the school. We can get it postponed. You can take it some other time” (Haddon 249). The concept of unhealthy relationships contributes in building a connection with  many readers as it urges them to sympathise with christopher. Other readers may recognize Ed's attempt to protect Christopher or Judy’s genuine regret in her actions and display empathy for them. The aspects of Christopher, Ed and Judy’s relationship assist in increasing the reader's interest in the novel. Ed and Judy made impulsive decisions in an attempt to accommodate Christopher, which ultimately led to a destructive relationship.

The artwork portrays the effects of aspergers through symbolism, tone and perspective to explore the concepts of subjectivity, problematic families and social disorder. The concept of subjectivity was enforced through perspective and tone, christophers social disorder was shown through the helpless position he was placed in and the relationship issues were displayed through symbolism. Similarly in the novel christophers perspective was the main aspect controlling subjectivity, his social disorder was also indicated by his lack of interactions but the concept of unhealthy relationships became evident as the story progressed. The explored concepts were portrayed in the creative piece, inescapable.