The Good Doctor is an American medical drama film, which presents the life of an autistic surgical resident, Dr. Shaun Murphy. The film follows through the life of Dr. Murphy at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Autism is common in the general public, but it appears out of place in the medical field as portrayed in the film, The Good Doctor. Dr. Murphy suffers from Autism spectrum disorder, which co-occurs with savant syndrome. According to Hughes et al. (2018), an individual with savant syndrome tends to portray a remarkable talent in one or more domains, together with a form of a developmental condition. Dr. Murphy's incredible level of skill is evident in his ability to immediately recall diagnostic criteria, his memorized anatomical structures, and other important skills which are necessary for the medical context.
In his surgical residency career, Dr. Murphy experiences communication difficulties and has a narrow interest in which he is less concerned about knowing his colleagues better. Additionally, Dr. Murphy appears to have unusually repetitive behaviors, especially, when anxious and has atypical sensory stimuli (Hughes et al., 2018). Dr. Murphy is depicted struggling with social interactions with his colleagues, especially when he is required to interpret the nonverbal communication signals (Landon et al., 2018). Dr. Murphy is an intellectually abled individual, who is giving back to society as a surgical residency.
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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects many people in the US. According to Anderson et al. (2021), in every 59 people in America, one suffers from ASD conditions. Additionally, the ASD case tends to be highly prevalent among males compared to females. The diagnostic symptoms of autism are restricted and repetitive patterns of interest, behavior, or activities. Another diagnostic symptom as indicated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is persistent impaired interaction and social communication (Wei et al., 2021). These symptoms in an individual with the ASD condition begin early in life, which manifests in the form of difficulties understanding language, having problems with social conversations, and experiencing difficulties when engaging with other peers in social functions. Additionally, an individual experiences challenges in nonverbal communication, which are exhibited through problems in interpreting facial expressions and body language.
According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5, Dr. Murphy had ASD because he had impaired social interaction, in which he experienced difficulties in reading body postures and facial expression. He was also incapable of developing age-appropriate relationships, and failed to share interest and affect with others. More so, he had a qualitative impairment in communication skills, which is portrayed by low development of age-appropriate pretend play. Dr. Murphy also had a repetitive pattern of behavior. Therefore, an opioid antagonist such as naltrexone would help Dr. Murphy solve his repetitive behaviors, hyperactivity while reducing irritability. However, the side effects from the drugs include headache, insomnia, and bitter taste.
The best model to explain the origin of behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder is the biopsychosocial model. According to Kinderman (n.d.), the biopsychosocial model states that there are simultaneous causes of ASD. The three main predictor variables influencing the development of a mental illness are social, biological, and circumstantial. Circumstantial, biological, social, and circumstantial play separate roles in accounting for variance in the development of ASD. More so, these three factors interact to influence the development of mental health conditions in an individual. For instance, neuroticism, which is a psychological vulnerability factor can make an individual emotionally responsive to life events.
On the other hand, the amount of social support tends to influence the effect of circumstantial stressors on mental health. Thus two people experiencing circumstantial stressors, with one having great social support is not likely to be negatively affected like the individual without the social support system. On the other hand, biological processes play a significant role in mental illnesses through their effects on the psychological processes. Therefore, the joint effects of social, biological together with an individual's experiences result in a mental problem.
With the understanding of the underlying causes of the autism spectrum disorder, psychological intervention can be used to shape Dr. Murphy's behavior through instrumental or classical conditioning. One of the key areas that Dr. Murphy portrayed his incapability was in the aspect of showing empathy. Therefore, the problem-solving type of therapy would help Dr. Murphy improve the way he addressed his limitation (Kinderman, n.d). In this approach, Dr. Murphy is required to observe the behavior of caregivers, partners, and families. More so, it requires the patient to appropriately respond and understand gestures, facial expressions, while sometimes applying slang language. Using the problem-solving approach, the interventionist uses voice, speech, and gesture to communicate as well as ask questions.
Geek cards can be used to give feedback on Dr. Murphy's behavior so that he can modify the undesired type. In a relationship or family, the participants distribute colors of different colors such as red referring to the undesired behavior yellow encompassing behaviors that are not positive and green, which means desirable acts and should be reinforced. In this treatment plan involving cards, the behavior reviews occur later in the day and outside the context of a particular action.
Dr. Murphy was incapable of expressing positive emotions through gestures and intonations. Due to such behavior, people in the hospital are perceived as disinterested and cold. Therefore, as a way of adjusting the undesirable behavior, I would encourage Dr. Murphy to communicate possible emotions to partners using the available communication channels. This approach aims to maintain a relationship, which is a problem with people with autism disorder.
References
Anderson, M., Quinton, R., Kelly, K., Falzon, A., Halladay, A., Schumann, C., Hof, P., Tamminga, C., Hare, C., & Amaral, D. (2021). A Collaboration Between Medical Examiners, Pathologists, Researchers, and Families to Advance the Understanding and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 145, 494-105.
Hughes, J. Ward, J., Gruffydd, E., Baron-Cohen, S., Smith, P., Allison, C. & Simner, J. (2018). Savant Syndrome has a Distinct Psychological Profile in Autism. Molecular Autism, 9(53), 1-18.
Kinderman, P. A Psychological Model of Mental Disorder. [Ebook]. Retrieved May 13 from, https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3007724 /4/Harvard_paper_for_mooc.pdf
Landon, J., Shepherd, D. & Goedeke, S. (2018). Predictors of Satisfaction with Life in Parents of Parents of Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Development Disorders, 48(1), 1640-1650.
Wei, H., Hsu, J., Huang, K., Bai, Y., Su, T., Li, C., Lin, W., Tsai, S., Pan, T. Chen, T., & Chen, M. (2021). Timing of the Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 790-797.
