‘Rain Man’ Image

“Rain Man” producer Mark Johnson’s April 16 letter misses the point. The issue is not how many charity premieres he and his cast attended, but how honestly the film deals with autism.

An extremely small percentage of autistic patients have the ingeniousness found in Dustin Hoffman’s character. The “Rain Man” portrayal is not helpful and only further confuses the public about this disease.

I would have never thought that a delicate subject such as autism could be treated in such a tactless and campy manner. Only Hollywood could take one of its victims, dress him up in a tux, have him kiss strangers in elevators and send him into a Las Vegas casino to play blackjack.

STEVE KOKZAK

Burbank