By Nils Skudra
This week, I had the opportunity to watch After Thomas, a heartfelt 2006 film based on the true story of Kyle Graham (Andrew Byrne), a young British boy with severe autism whose close bond with his Golden Retriever enables him to develop emotional connections with his parents. The film delivers a highly multifaceted portrayal of the ways in which Kyle’s struggle with autism affects the different relationships in his life, including his parents’ relationship with each other as well as with their son. Since recent autism studies have shown that animals can make a profound difference in the lives of autistic individuals, I felt that this film would be an excellent topic, as it demonstrates the valuable role that pets can have in helping children with autism to connect with the wider world.
The film opens in 1993 with Kyle’s mother Nicola (Keeley Hawes) taking Kyle to a shoe store. From the outset, Kyle displays severe symptoms, screaming and crying all along the way to the store. Once inside, he continues to throw tantrums as one of the clerks tries to help Nicola with fitting some new shoes on Kyle, who aggressively kicks the clerk in the chest. Kyle then runs outside and experiences a meltdown in the middle of the street, bringing traffic to a halt as Nicola tries to calm him down while a crowd of passerby stand on the corner and watch. Following the episode, one of the onlookers contemptuously remarks, “Appalling behavior,” to which Nicola angrily replies, “Oh, yes, a crowd of people staring at a handicapped child! Very disgusting!” This scene demonstrates the prevailing attitude throughout mainstream society toward people with autism during the early 1990’s, a time when public understanding of autism was extremely limited and characterized by prejudicial assumptions about the behaviors of autistic individuals and their capacity to function as integrated members of society.
Once Nicola brings Kyle home, his severe behavior does not come to a stop. Instead, he locks his mother in a closet and ventures into the kitchen, shattering a glass bottle on the floor and walking over the broken shards while she desperately pounds on the door and yells for Kyle to let her out. Oblivious to her distress, he turns the TV on and watches Thomas the Tank Engine, his favorite show. Meanwhile, Nicola, hearing a car outside, screams for someone to help her and breaks down crying when no one arrives. Finally, when Kyle opens the door after finishing the show, Nicola tearfully embraces him, overwhelmed by the experience and not knowing what to do. Normally, one would expect a parent to punish their child for locking them in a closet, but Kyle does not understand the import of his behavior or the difference between right and wrong, and Nicola cannot determine how to convey those lessons to him.
When Nicola’s husband Rob (Ben Miles) returns home from work, she has a heated argument with him about their son’s behavior, insisting that she does not know how to get through to Kyle and that she cannot do it alone. Rob counters that Nicola should perhaps channel some of her love toward him, indicating that her preoccupation with Kyle’s challenges has strained their intimacy with one another. In addition, he argues that they should accept their son’s condition rather than continue trying to connect with him. Kyle possesses a talent for art, as he likes to draw pictures of trains, and has an echolalic tendency to repeat certain words, including “Thomas” and “Trains,” since these are associated with his particular interest. However, he never uses the words “Mum” or “Dad” or expresses love for his parents, a concept which, Rob believes, Kyle will never understand. Furthermore, Kyle’s frequent tantrums and meltdowns are a recurring source of stress for Nicola, and Rob concedes that they will take him to a special boarding school for children on the autism spectrum and decide whether it would be the best place for their son.
Nicola and Rob take Kyle to meet with John Havers (Clive Mantle), the headteacher for the boarding school. Havers displays an understanding and caring attitude toward the students in his charge, and he gives Kyle’s parents a tour of the campus, showing them how it encourages a thriving academic and social atmosphere for children with autism. While Rob is very impressed with the school and feels that it would be beneficial for Kyle, Nicola is hesitant to let her son go into a boarding school environment where he will be secluded from the broader world. This leads to another volatile argument between them after returning home, with Nicola insisting that being at the school will only keep Kyle in an autistic world, away from the parental love and guidance that he needs. Rob maintains that Kyle will thrive in an autism-friendly environment and that he can come home to visit on the weekends, prompting Nicola to make a damning accusation: “You just want to get rid of him so that you can hang out with your mates and not be bothered with an autistic son!” This statement tears at Rob’s self-image as a parent who wants what he considers best for Kyle, and he angrily replies, “If that’s what you really think, then maybe I should be the one to go,” before leaving the house.
This scene illustrates the extent to which Rob and Nicola’s relationship has been affected by their conflicting views over how to treat Kyle’s autism. This is often true of many couples with autistic children since they initially do not expect to have a child with autism and are frequently overwhelmed by trying to cope with their child’s particular challenges. In some cases, one parent may be embarrassed by their child’s autism and might seek to distance themselves from addressing the issue, while the other parent may take the position that they should do their best to help their child’s personal growth so that they can successfully function in mainstream society. This is the case with Nicola since she desperately wants her son to emotionally connect with her and help him to overcome his fears of everyday activities. While Rob equally loves Kyle and cares for his well-being, his view of how to accept Kyle’s autism is fundamentally different from Nicola’s, affecting everything in their marriage to the point where it appears on the brink of dissolution.
With the support of her parents, Nicola conducts research on different autism therapies and learns about the benefits of having a therapy dog, which convinces her to adopt one for Kyle. Rob is initially resistant to this, pointing out the challenges and responsibilities of dog ownership, which he feels will add to the difficulties of raising Kyle. Furthermore, he believes that Kyle will either be terrified of a dog or be oblivious to its existence, due to living in his own world as a person with autism. Nonetheless, Nicola is persistent in her determination to find a pet who will provide valuable therapeutic assistance, deciding upon a Golden Retriever since they have a very gentle and patient temperament. Therefore, they go to a local therapy dog specialist, who shows them several Golden Retriever puppies. Kyle initially shows no interest in the puppies, turning on the TV to watch Thomas the Tank Engine. However, when one of the puppies comes over to Kyle’s side, he places his hand on it and strokes its fur while remaining focused on the TV. This encourages Nicola and Rob to adopt the puppy, which they name Thomas after the show.
Through Thomas’ therapeutic support, Kyle gradually learns about emotions and interpersonal relationships, and he begins using complete sentences when speaking about Thomas. Rob further contributes to this improvement by speaking in Thomas’ imagined voice, which helps to quell Kyle’s tantrums and meltdowns. However, he remains skeptical about whether Kyle can form an emotional attachment to his parents, telling Nicola that their son will never love them the way a neurotypical child loves their parents. Things take a turn, though, when Kyle first uses the words “Mum” and “Dad” in a sentence, indicating that he has grown to process their meaning. As the film draws to its conclusion, Rob and Nicola are faced with the question of whether Kyle will regress in the event of Thomas’ passing, which they must meet by providing emotional support for each other and for Kyle.
After Thomas features a highly compelling, often disturbing storyline, together with stellar performances by the cast members. Hawes and Miles deliver heartwarming and sensitive portrayals of Nicola and Rob, brilliantly capturing their efforts to help Kyle connect with them on an emotional level. Byrne provides a deeply convincing depiction of Kyle, leading the viewer to wonder whether the actor is autistic in real life. Furthermore, the film beautifully illustrates the value of animal-assisted therapy in the lives of children with autism, demonstrating how dogs can help their owners’ emotional and personal growth. While the film does not elaborate upon the different functioning levels of autism – Kyle’s symptoms would be seen as fitting the lower-functioning range in today’s vernacular – it captures the essence of how autism was perceived during the 1990’s and the treatments that were then considered suitable for children with autism. In the subsequent decades, there have been significant advances in the professional and public understanding of autism, which has enabled the emergence of more resources for people on the autism spectrum to live as integrated members of society. By watching this film, viewers can learn about the influential role that therapy animals can play in the lives of children with autism, while appreciating the strides that have been made in autism therapies and resources since the 1990’s.
I am an artist on the autism spectrum. I received an MA specializing in Civil War/Reconstruction history at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and I have been drawing hundreds of Civil War-themed pictures since the age of five and a half. I recently completed a secondary Master’s in Library and Information Sciences. As a person with autism, I have a very focused set of interests, and the Civil War is my favorite historical event within that range of interests. It is therefore my fervent desire to become a Civil War historian and have my Civil War artwork published in an art book for children. I am also very involved in the autism community and currently serve as the President/Head Officer of Spectrum at UNCG, an organization I founded for students on the autism spectrum. The goal of the organization is to promote autism awareness and foster an inclusive community for autistic students on the UNCG campus. The group has attracted some local publicity and is steadily gaining new members, and we shall be hosting autism panels for classes on campus in the near future.
