A difficult child was how Sylvia described Roy as a little boy. He went rigid when she tried to cuddle him, even as a baby. He preferred to be in his room instead of being around people. She said it was difficult to love a child like that and he overheard her. You could tell it hurt him but she tried to explain. In the end, he actually defended her against Becky's sniping and I think maybe he's starting to realize what it must have been like from her point of view. Perhaps caring for Hope and having paternal feelings brought a new understanding for Roy?
His father left, his stepfather didn't treat him well, either. He had a lonely childhood, some of it by choice. Roy has resentment, Sylvia has regrets though she does love her son. I also think that she did the best she could. Nobody knew back then why Roy was the way he was. As she also said, people thought he was slow or weird, or both. She probably wondered the same herself, sometimes.
Roy is likely somewhat autistic or has Asperger's Syndrome and these days, though there's no cure, it's understood and there's better ways to help children and parents dealing with it. Kids learn with a different process and they can thrive when their parents are understanding and help them properly instead of getting frustrated with them for something they can't help.
We're seeing a thawing in the relationship between Roy and Sylvia, and a slow acceptance between Sylvia and Hayley and the writers and actors are making it into pure gold.
18 comments:
Corrie back to it's best with this story! It's been a long wait but worth it.
I like the way this is being explored and hope it continues to be done sensitvely. Dont forget when Roy was brought up in the 60s/70s we werent such a "touchy feely" society that we are today. We would never hug everyone the way we do now, a handshake or a nod of the head and that was that. I dont think Roy is autistic at all, just slightly eccentric and "different".
I haven't seen last night's Corrie yet, but I do love watching Sylvia as she is a right moaner, and a bit like Blanche. by the way, why doesn't Roy send his mother a bunch of flowers without her knowing who they are off. He then does this several times, until she eventually puts two and two together which later, brings her a little more closer?
i like this ongoing story into their life how she felt etc-i also dont feel though that roy is autisitc at all hes too calm around people even though he has a flap every now and again hes not completely devoid of social skills
It goes without saying that Stephanie Cole is a brilliant actress, but its nice to see David Neilson, Julie Hes and Katherine Kelly more than holding their own in these scenes. So much is conveyed by looks, tone of voice and facial expressions. It is very subtle and so interesting to watch.
Roy does exhibit a lot of the signs of being mildly autistic or having Asperger's.
I see myself in Roy. Asperger's explains a lot, and knowing helps a person deal with life better.
David Neilson has said in interviews that he portrays the character of Roy as if he had Aspergers', although I don't believe there has been a direct reference to this in the script.
This is a terrific storyline and very touching. The scene last night where Sylvia and Hayley were chatting was really rather moving. Good stuff all round
Some of the scenes involving Roy, Hayley and Sylvia have been amazing, there's so much nuance packed into them, you can really feel the weight of the history between Roy and his mother. I wish more stories on the show were told like this: nothing dramatic or sensational, just powerful storytelling drawn from the characters themselves, instead of shoehorning them into contrived plots.
I believe David Neilson says that he has always approached the character as if he had a form of Aspergers, although that has never been officially confirmed.
Very well done scenes last night! Well written and acted. I've always had my reservations about the Asperger's Syndrome idea, even if David Neilson did say that in an interview. Of course, the character does display some of the behaviour, but not consistently. Which is why i would either like the writers to make it part of Roy's story, or leave it out. I always saw Roy as just being very eccentric, intellectual and happy with his own company. His interests lie outside of most people on the Street. But then, it is good for viewers who identify with him, to feel better about themselves.
Ether way - it's so nice to see mother and son getting closer. Roy is too nice to have let this go on too long anyway.
This is a fantastic example of how you can start with two seemingly "outrageous" or "sensationalist" concepts [the "evil" mother vs. the Asperger's son; a transvestite daughter-in-law] and turn it into an opportunity to explore and develop characters while showcasing brilliant acting. Keep it up, Corrie, this is great!!
Yes, great to see characters allowed to act their parts and with sublety, not the usual shouting at each other to make things obvious to the viewer; some folk must have been wondering what was going on without it being spelt out in capitals for them! Roy has Aspergers similiar to my own, it isn't always apparent because one learns to copy "normal" behaviour and fit in when required, but at other times you just be yourself. Roy's inherent kindness, willingness to help and sense of justice stem directly from this condition. Which is probably on the cusp of high-functioning autism, like myself. Certasinly he's the only character on the streetI understand and isn't having a complete personality change every few months!
Anonymous, thanks for sharing your experience. It helps me to understand Aspergers better. And the Roy character.
I agree with all of the above, but would also like to say I think this stroy has been paced correctly. Not rushed, like the Stella storyline, not dragged out as nauseum, like the Nick/Leanne saga last year. They introduced Sylvie, apparently an abrasive old cow, and having established her and her relationship with Roy, gradually began to unpeel the layers. Without such a solid approach, the impact of the superb, subtle performances on Friday would have been greatly diminished. Carefully placed plotting is what inevitably suffers when stoyliners pursue sensationalism.
I have a good friend who has a child who has high functioning autism so I've seen how she's learned to support him and understand how he thinks and feels.
David Neilson plays his part brilliantly with nuances of Asperger's syndrome. My 9-year old grandson has ADD with some traits of Asperger's and I see this in David Neilson's portrayal of Roy, socially inept, a little lost in the world, given to monologue speech when describing something, etc. Luckily now there is much more help with this syndrome, teaching kids social skills and how to relate to people....I can only imagine the pain of Roy's childhood where nobody understood him and his quirks. Great episode, fabulous acting and wonderful writing.
I am an autistic adult, around Roy's age. I have always identified with him. It's true he has some social skills; so do I. It is possible to learn these things and the analytical skills characteristic of autism are a great help. I hesitate to say this but suffering also helps.
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