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Prisoners - Alex/Barry

Is he meant to be autistic or genuinely developmentally challenged from birth, or is it the effect of the so-called ‘accident with snakes’ Holly Jones alludes to?

The impression I had from the film was of a person with a low IQ or significant developmental delay.

But a quick internet search shows that snakebites can lead to neurological effects, so that could have been what caused it.

Re: Prisoners - Alex/Barry

Yeah not autistic.

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WARNING: "Prisoners" spoilers below

With what Takoma said about snakebites and... the other thing is the drugs that Holly and her husband use on kids.

Alex, originally Barry... is Mr and Mrs Jones first kidnapped child.
They originally had a child called Alex, who died.

The whole thing is exposed in the bathtub scene when Alex (Barry) says "I'm not Alex. I just wanted to play but he never came."
Barry, would come over and play with the original Alex.
When Alex Jones died, Barry was abducted, drugged, brainwashed, and abused.

The way I read the movie, is that a lifetime of abuse and being drugged has left him socially, emotionally and mentally damaged rather than something like autism or Asperger's.

Originally Posted by The Rodent (Post 2133495)

The way I read the movie, is that a lifetime of abuse and being drugged has left him socially, emotionally and mentally damaged rather than something like autism or Asperger's.

Or honestly even some mix of a pre-existing developmental delay exacerbated by drugs and trauma.

Children with disabilities are much more likely (three times likely according to one study) to be abused. After all, it's harder for a child to tell on an adult when they have trouble expressing themselves. And it can be easier to control and manipulate a child in that state.

And, of course, his difficulty expressing himself then leads to him being brutally tortured by one of the film's protagonists.

Thanks all, I’ve also read it could be the LSD-spiked drinks Holly has presumably been giving him throughout his childhood. Anyway, just felt it was only inferred. I guess I felt she’d drug them when they first got to her house and then stop, but if it’s meant to be ongoing, then that makes sense.