Autism Tropes in Media [CC] 

people have a lot of trouble understanding that conditions, disorders and disabilities are not personalities

Yes

I am autistic and I've noticed that so many people don't seem to get this. I've heard things like: "But my autistic cousin doesn't struggle with that so why do you?" or something similar, so many times. I constantly have to tell people that autism is a spectrum and everyone experiences it differently. Also since I've been diagnosed all my friends have been trying to compare themselves to me and say things like: "Oh yeah I struggle with that too, I must be autistic then" and all I can say is that if they think so they should get that tested. It really annoys me for some reason that when I talk about my struggles people can only talk about how they struggle with that too. Like, no you're not struggling with the same thing, something similar perhaps but everyone is unique so stop comparing please.

Amen! I have a brother with autism and some people think autism is one thing. I had someone ask me if my brother was a savant...........

jUsT liKe rEguLaR pEoPle?

Under. Rated. Statement.

I have had these same thoughts and noticed the same.....I have also noticed that although we are the ones who are labeled as having "mind blindness"...we at least still give a crap about it....a vast majority of the general population is so self-centered they refuse to care/think about what others think/feel....to me that's true blindness...we're just mind nearsighted or mind farsighted, since there's still some effort there from our "eyes" at least. Lol. Sorry. Terrible analogy.

@@SoManyRandomRamblings It's actually very insightful. Little wordy, yes. But it's genuine and it's yours. There's some history backing your sentiment up too. ❤️ ~ "It's the blind leading the blind." - The Upanishads, 800-200 B.C. ~ "In the land of the blind, the One-Eyed man is king" - Desiderius Erasmus's Adagia (1500) Look into it, do some reading, and you could construct a beautiful argument. I think what these two quotes can ultimately teach us, is that this isn't a new occurrence. Humans have long since been this way.

@@SoManyRandomRamblings perfectly valid. Like Annie, I'm an excellent masker, and, having studied neurotypical interaction extensively, I've come to believe that all those social interactions we don't understand are codes and sort of... stock vignettes; like archetypal themes, but on a more mundane level. They learn them and play them, but they don't ever go underneath them; for the autist, it's ALL underneath.... We don't have that layer of social armor, and, while we see it on other people, we very often see through it.... Either that, or we see it and take it for their real essence, which is definitely a handicap. I think the degree to which we are fooled reflects the degree to which they are consciously hiding their motives. So, basically, neurotypical behavior at its most deceptive IS self-interested; it's in aid of protecting their soft emotional underbelly with ritual behavior....

I'm not in any way suggesting that's true of all NTs.

When I was being evaluated for autism, the doctor took of some "autism points" (idk what they're called) because I was too self aware. I had told her, "I am very obsessed with pirates right now, but chances are I will have a different obsession in a year or so." (11 year old me was right about that, btw.) Low self-awareness isn't part of the criteria for autism, it's just a stereotype. Mind blindness is very different from low self awareness.

@@tvaholicsquidney ??? you have no idea what you’re talking about and how much autism affects people in ways you don’t see. I also have been seeking a diagnosis but rejected due to stereotypes and a male based criteria. (Despite the fact that every doctor or social worker who has worked with me for long enough comes to the conclusion of autism). It’s actually quite difficult to reach a diagnosis for a lot of us. Just because you don’t see the way their autism affects them does not mean it isn’t there. I suggest you look into what masking is and please educate yourself before speaking further on the subject.

@@tvaholicsquidney You are deeply misinformed about autism and it’s diagnostic process, please educate yourself. I’ve seen a few comments from you on this video in particular and all of them are spreading misinformation.

"Fun fact": I seeked diagnosis by an autism expert who works in a very respected hospital in my country (Germany). The first thing that bothered me and stressed me out was that I had to wait for over an hour despite having an appointment and people there knew I wouldn't see the doctor for a while... yet no one bother to tell me that... Additonally I had to travel from a different city there and would need to catch my train back home in less than three hours. Massively stressful... By the time I finally got to see the doctor I expected him to apologise for not having the appointment on time - because that's what every doctor so far did in the past in my experience. He didn't. He didn't say why the appointment didn't happen in time. In fact I noticed that he had been there all the time, chatting with people about random things, etc. and didn't do his damn job. That's a big no in my book... So naturally I was upset about not getting seen on time when he clearly did have the time for that and he didn't even bother to tell me a white lie. I was literally standing in front him fidgeting and stimming and rocking and being SO painfully obviously autistic and after not even five sentences from me and no questions about anything relating to me seeking an autism diagnosis - he looked at me straight and said that he can test me for autism but that he doesn't see the point and that I'm "VERY likely not autistic" in a very condescending way... I was just shocked... I was literally showing stereotypical autistic behaviour and stressed out of my mind and he said THAT. His medicial bias couldn't have shown any stronger apparently... And that was someone who actually worked on a study about autism where they took blood samples of people and wanted to look for differences between autistic and neurotypical people... (That alone sounded very dumb and illogical to me tbh.) So after that I needed an entire week to recover from that experience and the stress of it all. Luckily I was already on the waiting list of a hospital in my city who also diagnose autism in adults. The whole time I was there I felt actually heard and they kept asking when they weren't sure if they understood something correctly. When I got my diagnosis from them it was SUCH a relief and I was told totally stunned by the doctor that he didn't understood how I wasn't diagnosed already because it's SO obvious that I'm autistic... I was too overwhelmed to actually tell him the multiple reasons as to why (half of my family seems to be on the spectrum without knowing it and are very heavily in denial about a bunch of things) and I'm still not sure if he actually wanted an answer to that or not (probably not but I would have given him one anyway). I was lucky that I got my diagnosis only a couple of weeks before going on holiday to Disneyland Resort Paris because that way I could get him to write a small statement about having autism and thus getting accomodated in the two theme parks (which is mainly being able to skip lines and being able to return at a certain time for a character meeting - it was so much less stressful than the other times I've been there before getting my diagnosis and made a huge difference for me) - which was something he didn't know. I'm actually really glad that he learned that from me because he's responsible for diagnosing children and can tell families about it now and maybe that way some people actually will go there and have it less stressful as well... I can't wait to go back once everything is back to "normal" and my son is a bit older. Now that I have an official disability card the cost is gonna be less because my boyfriend won't have to pay for his stay basically since he's gonna be the one who helps me around and stuff - and that's a perk Disneyland Paris hides really well on their websites and they have a fool proof way of going about it so it doesn't get abused. (You have to book via phone, get an email with the normal price for everything, then you send them a copy of the disability card via email and then you get an email with the reduced price back.) I just really LOVE Disney (I think that's pretty clear.) and going to Disneyland Paris is way better for me than going on to a health resort (I've been dragged to one once and after that I would have needed four weeks of something like that but this time without the dozens of people. It stressed me out so much.). The last time I went there I was so stressed out that I felt like I might need two years of therapy and at least half a year with no human contact to destress. Once I was there for an hour the entire stress that had piled up in the last few years was pretty much gone... If I would be able to speak French I would have applied to work there ages ago but I really don't get the hang of it, so I have to save up for a few years in order to afford going to my number one happy place that destresses me... but it's worth it for me... 😶 (Sorry for the massiv rant!! 😅)

@@tvaholicsquidney my experience was nothing like this and neither are the experiences of plenty of people (especially woman and young girls) it's not even like this with other disorders misdiagnose and lack of diagnose can be dangerous, i was put of medication that's known to make my disorder worse for y e a r s and while it was making me literally lose my mind i was constantly told it was my fault by professionals also, what are the negatives to people who have autism actually being diagnosed? do you think you're suddenly going to have to pay millions in taxes or something because of it??? (i personally don't have autism but the combined symptoms of my other disorders are similar to autism in many ways)

Also, "hollywood autistics" are almost always portrayed as asexual, and while some autistics are asexual, the vast majority are not, and autistic people have the same range of sexualities as NT people. Although, apparently, autistic people are twice as likely to be LBGT as NT people, but that may be because more NT people are closeted.

I am not an autistic person [though it has been proposed many times, I am nuerodivergent] is it perhaps because, not just autistic people, but neurodiverse people as a whole, have to explore themselves much more? Perhaps such is why we apparently tend to be in the LGBT+ community? It is hard for me to try and translate these thoughts into words, because I'm not exactly sure where this idea I just had came from anymore, but I am curious of your thoughts.

that's a pretty convincing theory, given my experience. i'm autistic and bi! I'm AFAB, but I've also experimented with gender through my life! at first I thought the reason i felt weird about my gender was because I'm a trans guy, so I tried that out, didn't fit. so I thought maybe i was genderfluid? but nope, didn't fit either. but when I sat down and decided I was just a "regular girl" that didn't feel right either. then I understood that I just, *don't understand* what the big deal about gender is. a group of online friends I hung out with thought I was a guy for months, and I didn't even notice. (lol) i go by all pronouns now. in everyday conversation I use any gendered terms to refer to myself, not on purpose, it's just the way I talk. I've never understood why gender was this sacred cow to cis people, where this goes with this, that goes with that, stereotypes are inflexible FACT, and you would NEVER want to end up doing or wearing something that made you look like the opposite gender. Nowadays, I understand that people's identities simply mean a lot to them, but society sorta blew the whole deal out of proportion. But I still can't relate to the solid idea of gender, I still don't even call myself non-binary because even THAT doesn't feel right. I don't feel on OR out of a binary. at all times I'm comfortable with being a woman, and I'm also comfortable with being a man, and just a person too. the closest label I've ever really identified with was Gender Non Conforming. I just don't think I'll be able to care about gender as much as it seems everyone else does. I'm just a dude living their life, y'know? tl;dr? lol relatable

I am agender, pansexual, and autistic. We are all unique and often experience gender in an abstract way.

exactly ! [black nb lesbian here !]

Yep, me too.

I always want to help them.

Same here. More than once.

Idk if you meant it as this, but that's not an autistic thing. I almost have panic attacks when I see people arguing and used to cry when I saw my sister cry/my parents yell at my sister and I'm completely normal.

@@keiraschneider4769 hi! I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but using "normal" to refer to not-autistic people can be harmful. "neurotypical" is generally considered the politically correct term to use, although it also has its flaws as being autistic, having anxiety, etc., don't make you not "normal", if that makes any sense. That being said, I think tendencies like this are probably more common for autistic people than people in general, but other factors such as anxiety could also certainly contribute to why you experience this. Disclaimer: I'm not autistic, but I have general and social anxiety and possibly mild PTSD

I was reminded so hard of my year nine health oral: "using condoms is just like brushing your teeth..." My teacher started laughing and I had no idea why! Strange analogies are my favourite :)

autistic and italian, this is my life

I think that makes me a dried tortellini

As an autistic person I approve this analogy because I too am crunchy if you try to eat me before cooking. :)

Also I think I'm fusilli lunghi. On account of loving the concept of it in a recipe about making The Twits wormy spaghetti in the Roald Dahl Revolting Recipes book which I spent hours upon hours re-reading as a kid.

Same my dude... The low self esteem actually kept me from enjoying and therefore doing the things I am supposedly gifted in (art and science). Because every time I did something that was great, everyone expected it and there was no praise. Everytime I completely bombed something, people were in shock, how could this be, you're better than this, etc. So I started to feel like I couldn't get anything right. At the same time I felt immense pressure to not "let it go to waste". But I started to draw again last year, and I started studying a science at university. After years of being lost and career hopping. I'm doing it for me and myself only. I won't talk about my grades or show my drawings to anyone. My point is: do what makes you happy and f**k expectations from others!

❤❤❤ :D this is a golden realisation! Thank you so much for sharing it 😍💜💙

I went through the same thing. I remember doing my talented and gifted class homework in my special Ed class. If you come out as trans too you might be younger me

You do you. Don't try and live up to something that is not you. 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

I can relate :/ but the thing is, my anxiety and depression have gotten in the way of my “gifts” in ways that other people can’t see, so now I try to be kind to myself and consider myself and accept that I’m disabled, not intellectually or physically, but emotionally, due to the loneliness that accompanies my Asperger’s diagnosis. Thinking like this has helped me stop wondering “so which is it, am I a genius or am I useless??” Because it’s neither. Overall, I’m more like just another average person, with some good and some bad :)

I use to work in a facility with senior autistic clients so it’s nice to see more “ high functioning “ characters but most of the people I cared for were non verbal and deaf and sometimes blind to boot , there are many different ways it can effect a person. In grade school I had classes with autistic classmates I wasn’t ever told what was “ wrong “ with me so I never really improved in school just told me I had a learning disability but not what it was or how to combat it and my social anxiety stopped me from asking for help,Later my foster mom told me I might be on the spectrum but I never got an official diagnosis. Even after seeing doctors they chalked most of my issues up to PTSD from my traumatic childhood saying I was just so abused as a child I couldn’t function emotionally or mentally as a teen now adult.

Same. Trauma

I’m sorry to hear about what happened. Spoiler alert: the exact same thing happened to me, except, I was also accused of being manipulative.

When I was a little kid my parents used to punish me when I had meltdowns which just made it worse. Once I was diagnosed they realised that wasn’t the right approach and starting supporting me more and it really helped.

I’m sorry that happened to u hope ur ok now. I think doctors sometimes know someone’s autistic but they just can’t be bothered with paperwork

Yes! I really was offended by his portrayal of Turing, and sad that people will likely remember the movie better than the real Turing

It didn't even make sense within the film version. CumberTuring: hello I have no social skills and am rude to everybody because I don't know any better CumberTuring: btw I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and persuaded him to give us an unlimited budget and ponies for everybody, no biggie

Also the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch has said in interviews that he doesn’t like it when people say that Alan Turing and Sherlock are autistic because it gives autistic people ‘false hope’ that they can achieve things

It's no big secret that Cucumberpatch is a bigot that thinks EXTREMELY poorly of autistic people.

Even Sheldon shows warm moments yes throughout the show they make him cold and negates any warm character development and it sucks They also made Penny more of a bitch vs how open and warm she was with the guys not being the ‘mean girl’ troupe Yet in later seasons she more and more mean

Love it! We have a lot of people that say things like that about my son all the time. Like he a really good memory but they think it because of autism

Brenda Brodhagen yeah I never really understood it to be honest 😂 I can recall events and memories pretty well but ask me to remember a bunch of terms for a test, haha no thank you

I just say trivia and making people uncomfortable, then say a very disturbing true fact and stand there awkwardly 😂. Sometimes it can be fun playing to stereotypical expectations

Carey Roberts haha brilliant. I usually try and come up with really outlandish responses for stupid questions like that. Livens the conversation up a bit 😂

@@doodars9357 exactly! My son can remember things that happened when he was 4 but never tests well except for spelling

It also helps that the people trying to "fix" him have a multitude of mental health issues themselves.

"I've got self-esteem falling out of my butt"- Abed Nadir

What about the empathy simulation room episode in season... 3? I think?

@@TheMewtata if i remember the episode correctly, i think at the end of the day annie admitted that abed didn't need to change, but he hose to keep her addition of empathy??? also she helped him overcome his insecurities bc they are things everyone goes through more than proving she was right to change him (i havent seen the episode in a while) but overall the other characters don't try and change him, there are only a few episodes kinda like that

Yes! Thank you

Yeah, like how you're supposed to make justice to the Autism SPECTRUM, if you only show ONE side of that spectrum over and over?

Well that’s kind of the point of this video.

One time I explained to someone that I was autistic and they literally said “oh like Sheldon?”

@@jennycatzzbokii3680 Bruh

@@jennycatzzbokii3680awful! As a kid I always got compared to him but we’re nothing alike in personality, I was just an autistic “boy”

Yes exactly!

Yes this is so true.

Honestly so done with that trope, time to do some spring cleaning!

I haven't really finished watching it but I'm pretty sure Bron (Swedish & Danish criminal series I guess) has quite okay autistic woman character as the main character

YES! Our representation sucks!

Grace Raimo Lol I hate that ad

I'm never buying anything from asos because they're annoying as hell

WhiteVII en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability (I’m aware that this is a Wikipedia link, but it still makes a good quick explanation on the social model of disability)

WhiteVII I wasn’t specifically calling autism a disability but referring to Jessica’s videos about them in general. Like I said, I am learning. I’m sorry if I offended you.

@WhiteVII as someone who has autism, it is absolutely a disability. Some of it stems from society, yes, but much of it, at least in my experience, really doesn't.

That's so true. I can't stand that a lot of dogs are (often educated) to be offensive towards other people. I know that my cat has the best mood when you leave him alone and he is sleeping somewhere, and he comes to you and shows you explicit when he wants to be caressed or wants to eat or play. And also sometimes he is teasing me and I am teasing him, but it's perfectly fine.

I saw cats and got excited. Cats helped me explain to people how my brain works and how to interact with me the best. And I always preferred cats over people because I felt it easier to understand cats than people.

That's a great analogy, never thought about it like that. I love cats and dogs and they definitely require different accommodations and behavior to interact with them, but they are both a pleasure to be around :)

That’s awesome! It reminds me of voidpunk sorta, like relating to non-human things more than human ones. I personally connect a lot with the fae, like, I’m vaguely human shaped but a little off, I take everything literally, I don’t understand people all that well

It's ME although I'm nonbinary but cats are absolutely my first and longest lasting special interest. And I identify very closely with them, also probably understand them better than many humans tbh. Multiple partners and friends refer to me as Kitty, and as I'm sitting in front of my computer right now (with a real cat behind my chair) I can see at least eleven different cat-shaped or cat-themed objects without even turning my head; also 50% of my tattoos are of cats.

I love love love Abed

In Cooperative Calligraphy when it’s revealed that Abed was tracking Annie, Britta and Shirley’s cycles, it was funny but seemed strangely thoughtful. He really did his best to try to make them have an easier time without making them too uncomfortable.

abed was the first autistic coded tv character i saw myself in and didn’t feel remotely insulted by. plus, i have special interests in TV and other entertainment media so his comparisons just match mine. i wish i’d seen community earlier than i did

@@sidoniegabrielle269 same!! I relate to him not just as an autistic person but as an arab (he is half palestinian and im lebanese.) I also appreciate that they also made him multilingual as opposed to speaking just english cuz "learning difficulties"

Thank you so much for this. I have autism and Community is actually my special interest. Abed is just such an interesting and compelling character :)

Seconded. It also bugs me when they basically have autistic people speak in those almost robotic voices.

@@idunnobutyay2520 Exactly, especially when some of us are some of the most sarcastic humans on earth

Other people are a problem to us though lol

Can I stand behind this as a neurotypical sibling of a brother on the spectrum?

@@amedeacatpaw5987 Yes

Exactly! We had to adapt to our environment before being finally diagnosed.

It took 10 years for my son to be able to handle being around helium balloons without freaking out - but only inside. He also isn't fond of a lot of wind if he's out of doors. After kindergarten it became an issue, before that his ODC was the only real sign of autism. He works tirelessly to assimilate into society and I'm proud of him, but I wish he could understand I love him just the way he is. he tries so hard not to be autistic - he doesn't wanna be. And that kills me, I wish he could be self-aware, you give me hope one day he will accept that neurotypical is not the only way to be! Much love

I can totally relate. I'm sixty and got a diagnosis five years ago. I'd been treated for depression and social phobia all my life as well as other issues and of all my therapists not one considered it until I brought up the subject. Which I only thought of because my sister got diagnosed....in her forties. Both of us have high verbal ability and Mensa level iq (not bragging here, it's just true) so it was never considered.

and masking causes depression, at least that happened to me and a lot of other autistic people I got to know in the last few years

I haven’t been able to brush my teeth is almost 18 and a half years of my life. I can’t stand it. My grandma used to brush my teeth for me because that was the ONLY way I’d be able to stand it for long enough. If that isn’t an autism sign, I don’t know what is

oh.... wait. WAIT. .....shit

I feel you. (Sorry, I couldn't resist) In high school I often mediated conflicts between my friends, by focussing on the facts and bringing some much needed calm and perspective to bear. When it's about myself however, that all goes out the window, and it's like I'm a 9 year old again.

@@hansakkerman2611 bro, I'm the exact same. Mediator gang 😂

Yeah, this is sooo true

As an educator, I feel this statement. Prior to us going into lockdown, some of my autistic college students will automatically pick up on the bad day I'm having or if I'm moody.

I LOVE ABED SO MUCH 😭

Yeah, it also would be indeed nice to show some people more on ADD side, constantly forgetting everything, not able to focus but not because of hyperactiveness, just because they can't etc.

This would be especially interesting since some of her struggles with memory and processing really hit close to home to me with ADHD.

Yes, please do this video! Much like Autism, it's got a rocky diagnosis/representation history with girls.

Yes! That would be amazing. I have ADHD and while I'm so glad it isn't one of those mental challenges that some people have that are portrayed as "psycho killers" (such as the stereotype around schizophrenia) I do not want to be seen as just some energetic kid that is the punchline to every joke

@@magpiem0th YES! That's soo annoying. Like no. Even if you're on hyperactive side more, it doesn't mean you're always energetic, you can even seem out of energy often, but still having some moves that others do not notice. People make it seem like it's always the /healthy/ and /visible/ energetism, also... Which isn't true.

Thank you me and my cousin both have autism although he's High spectrum and I'm low Spectrum. And it's honestly astounding how many times someone has told either one of us that we're not autistic because we don't do this one particular thing a friend of a friend's friend who's autistic does. I kid you not I've been told that because I'm not good at math I must not be autistic🤦🏼‍♀️. and he's been told that he talks too much for an autistic. at this point thanksgiving's are just the time where we exchange "interesting" stories.

Absolutely true! My brother, my husband, and my daughter are all on the spectrum- as well as several others I know who either are themselves or have family members who are. And none of them have any more in common than anyone neuro typical would really. Each person is affected differently because they’re all different.

This is a popular saying in autism communities. Although it's usually phrased to mirror the "if you've met one, you've met them all" saying, so it goes, "if you've met one autistic person, then you've met one autistic person."

I’ve been in childcare my whole life and have met and interacted with MANY people with autism and I love this saying because of how true it is.

@@TylaGrant I love your vids! Black autistics unite! xd

It’s also just a garbage show.

Conversely, I enjoyed the show and Sheldon's character. He portrayed symptoms that are shared with other disorders and allowed me to laugh at some of my own issues as well as remind me on occasion of issues I need to work on a bit.

And it only makes jokes about nerd culture, not jokes that nerds would actually make. So overall, it's badly representing EVERYTHING

The Big Bang Theory is SO sexist. So much so that when they tried to solve their Smurfette problem it actually made the whole thing worse 🤦🏻‍♀️

@@franboos And? I'm a nerd, but I can laugh at myself. What, it's okay to laugh at everything else but not at affects you?

Yeah, yeah! Like, I'm positive Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia (he's the guy in my pfp) is on the autism spectrum! I could tell from the start that he was a lot like me, and I got really attached to him really quickly!

@@andromeda_va39 I got the same vibes from him! Deku has an obvious special interest in heroes with how he can memorise so much information about every single one, his determination and single-mindedness when it comes to focusing on goals, and the way he was singled out socially when he was younger but was able to make friends when in an environment that compliments his special interest (aka the academy). Being autistic-coded is instant grounds for becoming a comfort character.

TRANSFORMERS SPIN GANG OMGOMG it's been my biggest interest since i was maybe 2?

@@mammoneymelon HI FELLOW TRANSFORMERS FAN!!! We are friends now, them's the rules. Who are your favourite giant alien robots?

YOO transformers was my first ever spin!!

I both felt seen and not by that xD Like, I can form romantic attachments to people, and when I do they might never be sexual. Rejections always hurts tho.

@@MiotaLee I also felt seen/not seen by that comment, because the situation she provided was a romantic one. As a person who is aromantic but not asexual, the comment was misguided but appreciated.

There’s a huge difference between ace and aro!!

@Miro Kai i think she just mixed up aro and ace bc a lot of people do that. If she hadn't mixed it up it pretty much would have been accurate. I think she just wanted to show that she remembers not evryone will relate to that scenario, altho tbh its not like it will only be aro people anyways, some ppl might just not care bout rejections.

I didn't love everything about this representation, but Chance in The Promises She Keeps (a book) is an artist. His character leans a bit into the 'magical autistic person' trope, but the author kind of magicifies all of her characters and makes all of them feel alien and strange, regardless of neurotype. He draws trees and his art focuses on negative space and only putting down light/white.

Musician here, I second this

I third this, as an artist and also a piano player

Quinnie from heartbreak high draws and stuff

Right 😊

Same with the fanfic thing. I even read a The Untamed fanfic where the lwriter didn't even say the character had ADHD but was written so clearly ADHD that either the writer intended him to be, or is ADHD themselves and doesn't realise , which was amazing but also a little weird not knowing if it was deliberate

I think it's because a lot of intentional portrayals of autism by non-autistic writers seem to go off a checklist of behaviors, and more often than not those symptom lists are written from an allistic point of view. Whereas good writers think of characterization in terms of the character's internal experiences and motivations, which allows for both more realistic and more compassionate writing. There's a lot of characters out there who could easily be diagnosed with something even though the author never intended to write a disorder, because what do you know, thinking about how your character thinks makes for a more realistically written person.

That seems to be the case and I find it really frustrating haha. I think Legosi from Beastars is literally the perfect representation of both the struggles and strengths I have, but it’s non-cannon. Still if I had to point to one character as a representation of my different way of thinking and experiencing the world I would point there.

This! It was never intended but Aziraphale from good omens is absolutely autistic in my eyes and its a shame it's not canon but a lot of fan creations portray him that way and i think its really sweet. It's taught me alot about myself.

I hope I can do this well, because in a book I'm working on, every major character has some sort of generally poorly represented or under-represented neurodivergency, and while I have experience with about half of them myself, I'm always a little worried I'm going to fuck something up in the ones I don't have experience with, like bipolar, shizoaffective, PTSD, dyslexia, tourettes, BPD, synesthesia, OCD, OCPD, etc. etc. etc. I just wish I knew people that have these things so I can check in with them to get an idea of what it's like. Some of the ones I'm including that I'm more confident in being able to portray properly are autism, anxiety, depression, cPTSD, dyspraxia, traumagenic plurality, and endogenic plurality, mostly because I have actual experience with them.

I feel this feels in my soul

Same. Like I’m all about spreading awareness of the thing we deal with on a daily basis, but they really need to do it better. And I don’t like people who assume a character is autistic by the way they act when it’s never actually mentioned.

same, i can't watch most of it.

ONE OF US!

When good representation is wanted, look in the direction of Mary and Max.

I love how Entrapta is written because they clearly show that even though she has a hard time with socialization and she has interests she fixates on, she is one of the most understanding and empathetic characters on the show; that's part of the reason why she doesn't give up on her friends and is able to connect with characters others see as unreachable, like Emily or Hordak. It just flies in the face of the stereotypical "no emotions" thing that so many autistic characters are written with, and I love her and the show so much for it.

YES!

This this this this this, I love She-Ra but Entrapta resonated with me so strongly (I've never been tested or put on the spectrum but I'm severely ADHD and have thought about looking into formal diagnosis more than once) I watched that show for the first time just for her - her character in itself is brilliant and she's written beautifully to me, especially her relationship with Hordak (who is also disabled) and Scorpia (who is never really mentioned to be but I interpret her as extremely ND as well). My one issue with She-Ra is how she is treated outside of that, like Catra is obviously a villain with ulterior motives, she uses everybody, I took no issue with that storyline, but the way the other princesses treated her really upset me. I felt like her arc came so close to having meaningful closure in season five but it got pushed to the wayside with all the prime stuff going on. The ableism was never addressed (and they even put all the pressure on HER to do all the apologizing) and it still bugs me idk. Entrapta herself is great though

Entrapta was the first character I truly felt represented me ever. I am autistic, and ADHD/Dyslexic and I never really felt like media representation spoke 100% to me until I watched She-ra. I was definitely more emotionally involved in her arcs than almost all of the other characters.

@@Kvedvulf SAME, it felt so good to not JUST see her struggles but also her triumphs and happiness too, she was critically important to both the horde AND the rebellion, they seriously never would have won without her and she played a huge role. Fans are randomly split on her pairing with Hordak but personally I love them, and the moment they had in season three where they both unpack their like, internalized ableism and found mutual understanding and respect, I legit cried

Oh gosh. I'm the exact same way. My natural inclination is to try and find a solution. And I have to force myself to not do that and just let a friend vent. I feel like I should be trying to help. And intellectually I know that I am helping just by giving them a place to get their feelings out, but it doesn't feel like it.

I feel the exact the exact the same way about my relationships between my family and friends. I do this with my best friend quite often because it helps her process what she's going through in life but also helps me understand the situation at hand. With my family, on the other hand, I try to diffuse tension with witty banter and humor and within minutes everyone is either laughing or smiling because they feel so much better. I've only had one romantic relationship in the past, and that's the way I felt when trying to get my ex to calm down and think things through rather than get all worked up over nothing. While at the same time trying to help him feel better about what was bothering him at the time. I'm just glad that you and you're boyfriend are working things out and I hope the two of you stay for many years to come 😊👍.

This. This is what should be shown in media more often. How Autistic people are often more helpful and in tuned with what loved ones go through. I see this with friends and students often.❤

Oh my god, I felt like crying reading this. I struggle with this so much, to a horrible extent it’s frustrating. This happens often to me (I’m not diagnosed with ASD but I’ve been researching extensively on autism and think I may be autistic) and it makes it difficult for me to be there for my friends during difficult situations.

Yeah I may or may not be neurotypical (thinking of checking with a doctor finally this year at age 27), but I've certainly learned over time that sometimes I need to be a feelings mirror and sometimes not. And sometimes no matter what I do my friends will still go through problems. But even today, after learning how to respond different ways, I still don't instinctively know what response someone wants or needs. As a side note, hasn't there been some research showing that men tend to do the problem solving approach vs. being a feelings mirror (I like your terminology)? Or maybe that was just some sensational nonsense I had heard.

I’m exactly the same way!

Wow, similar to mine, i have empathy to a certain extent. Extreme empathy to some people yet to some i have a lack of empthy ...let alome sympathy. And this often causes me frustration cuz i feel somethijngbis missing and wrong with me ...

I loved Entrapta in She-Ra because her character was both autistic and extremely emphatic, even towards the head villain of the show for the first 4 seasons. As an Aspie myself, she’s top tier representation.

I wish, I have little to no empathy at all. I’ve lost so many friends over it because I’m a bit of a dick when it comes to supporting them. Although my best friend is autistic and is over empathetic! We balance eachother out (:

The deepfried friends and that’s okay! My brother has the same issue but his is with sound and reading comprehension

He’s probably my favorite community character!

Cool cool cool

Abed’s one of my favourite characters of all time and I don’t think I’ve ever related more to anyone on screen! Of course, not everyone on the spectrum will identify with him but I certainly did :)

This is so true! I love Abed.

Plus while they do show him struggling with certain things he is largely in complete control of himself and his own space. He isn't portrayed as a burden or incapable and is just as involved as everyone else with the hijinks and is usually at the center of it. While his friends do call him out if he is rude or goes to far he isn't othered at all by them and is an essential and never questioned part of their friendship group.

at least when it comes to Ariels collecting tendencies.. i relate waaaay too much lol

Disney characters that are autistic imo: Lilo (omg so much), Vanellope, Ariel, Randall from Monsters inc, Russel from UP and honestly...many others

Lilo is precious and I hated when she got bullied! I definitely head canon lilo as autistic 💖

I am not diagnosed with anything related to the spectrum even though I feel like I belong on it, but I definitely related to Ariel as a child and if her characteristics could indeed be viewed as autistic traits but also accepted as normal things, I feel like this could be a big reason why I never felt "different" until later in school. My favorite movie characters always had some similarities to her: being fascinated by how things worked, knowing a lot (or trying to know) about a specific topic, having one or two close friends but being a bit awkward otherwise. To the person who made this observation, I am extremely thankful. I have no idea the best way to go about getting a diagnosis (due to living in the US right now -_- but also I have several other physical issues I am working on treatment for), but this made me feel a bit more... Self aware, less irritated with my own perceived short comings, etc. Not that being different is anything bad, but I'm sure many of us still worry obsessively over being viewed as "annoying" or some other negative word.

Jiirah This was worded very nicely! I love talking with other autistic people over the internet seeing as I don’t know any in real life😄💖

i remember watching the show as it aired and relating so much to Abed in a way i hadn't related to many other fictional characters before. in addition to the characteristics you've mentioned, i also loved that he would always view the world through the perspective of what he saw in movies and tv. this is something that i do myself, one of the strongest reasons i related to him, and it shows a framework for communicating with him. there are definitely times where the other characters realize they need to translate what they're trying to say to Abed through the pop culture filter to get the message across to him. it's not just something that makes him weird or different, his friends actually embrace and use Abed's methods of communicating. sure, sometimes they get annoyed by it but it felt to me like how you can get annoyed by anything your friends do lol part of the whole concept of the show is that each of the main characters is a bit weird in their own ways, they all have parts of their personality that hold them back in certain situations and cause them to clash with others from time to time. in the end, they all accept each other... well maybe with the exception of Pierce but that's a different topic :P

I definitely agree with this analysis, and I'm so glad his character clicked for you!

As an autistic woman, I totally agree. Another aspect I love is how he uses pop culture, tropes and such to understand the world around him. One of my special interests is media (like movies, anime, tv shows, etc) and analysis about those subjects, so I tend to do the same thing as well. Abed doing that was very relatable.

Agreed! I've just finished season 1 of Community, and in episode (3?) of season 1, we're clearly shown that although he may lack obvious empathy, he is willing to sit in a room for 27 hours and miss out on a special interest activity just because a friend asked him to.

Troy and Abed in the Morning 🌅

Servitude doesn't determine our wealth! If I'm an inconvenience because of something I can't control, I can't do anything. If I'm dependent, I'm still a human being and my worth isn't based off of that! Remember that you are still worthy of humanity and respect

You are totally valid! Having the only representation be practically superhuman is super toxic.

You make the world a better place just by being in it 👍

Rosie Cooper I relate to this so so so much. As an autistic person who struggles with being able to function, I often feel I have nothing to contribute and I don’t have any ‘special gifts’ . I’m mostly just an anxious mess

I had a theraphy focusing on like accepting and learning what autism and adhd is. (Because panic attacks at the word) And well. What they gave as examples of being successful were einstein and this really annoying adhd comedian. To an 11 year old girl, that sucked at maths, bullied and laughed at all her life, and knew einstein didn't have freaking friends. A girl that just wanted to be normal. That theraphy is also part of why therapies. Eventho I've been in them for like 9 years. And just talking about my diagnosis or problems in a professional causes me to just cry and go back to that place. It was kinda traumatic. A year long. An hour a week (I think. Maybe it was half an hour) just crying and like on the verge of full blown panic attack or meltdown. (Still don't really know the difference. Never diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression. Eventho been suicidal and like being a depressed 8 year old was the reason my parents fought for a diagnosis given the school really didn't like feel the need to given not disruptive). That trope was like in actual therapy and it was actually traumatic.

Is the use of the term "cool" sarcasm?

I think there are good examples of representation even in this stereotype, for example Data from TNG fits into this and is an excellent well rounded character that breaks the “lack of empathy” stereotype and has multiple facets to his characterization. I’m only halfway through the video so idk if he is brought up

literally all the characters I ID with in star trek except bashir sygfdhf

@@jasongretencord3326 ​ @The Dire Tarrasque yes, sorry, should have been clearer. I mean, I think it is genuinely cool to explore the idea of empathy and whether it's innate or learnt (as an autistic person who has conciously contructed their moral rules), but i was being sarcastic in the original comment because i don't think the attitude most writers use to approach the topic is cool

I could see Anya from Buffy fitting this.

I’m sorry, that’s awful. :(

Yeah, if anything, my feelings of empathy can be overwhelming. If I make somebody feel bad, even in a minor way, that haunts me for a very long time. It's hard to handle all the suffering and death in the news. 9/11 absolutely broke me.

Yes, that trope is so harmful and never made sense to me. I'm autistic, but extremely empathetic. I grew up around a lot of animals and my family had cows. I came across a video of a slaughter house when I was 9 and immediately refused to eat meat ever again. I just could not imagine the suffering the poor creatures in that video felt and could not bear to be apart of it. My grandfather still is in the cattle business today and we're from very rural WV, hunting and fishing is almost a religion here. My family thought it was a phase, even tried to cook non-vegetarian food for a couple days, but I have been vegetarian for 14 years now and vegan for 3. A few years back a woman my mom knew lost her young daughter. The little girl walked outside while her mom thought she was taking a nap, fell in the pool, and drowned. I still cry about it to this day if I think about it. I cannot begin to imagine how it felt to be in that woman's shoes in the moment she found her daughter like that. I feel most of the autistic people I know, including myself, tend to be empathic, almost to a traumatising degree in some cases. My guess is that maybe it's a result of spending my entire life mentally putting myself in others shoes so I could try to better understand their emotions, figures of speech, sarcasm ect.

Exactly I despise that trope. If anything I'd say I'm hypersensitive and struggle with overwhelming feelings. The idea I've upset or hurt someone will haunt me for ages and creates alot of anxiety I have to deal with on every interaction I have

@Levi Tooker. Same here.

I agree, it has benefits on the process of identifying your own struggles and traits and to know that you are not the only one and get rid of that inner shame... in the beginning. However, it can be dangerous if that doesn’t lead to a professional diagnosis later, or if it leads someone to self medicate without consulting someone else knowledgeable on the topic. There can be something else happening

self diagnosis is often needed? im sorry but this is not true, you can't diagnose yourself if you aren't a doctor, sure you can think maybe i have this but making a diagnosis? without fundamental studies? and how will you know how to do the treatment?sounds silly to me. I'm sorry, i know many people don't have accessibility and is injustice , but for me, making self diagnosis is irresponsable because you don't have the experience nor the knowledge. Sorry if this sound awful but i think thi is a bad idea is my opinion so don't take it seriously

Mugiwarafan I respect your opinion, and I’m glad that you never encountered a disease that has no treatment. if you’re interested a really good resource is the documentary UNREST on Netflix

@@mugiwarafan2687 You can't diagnose yourself like to self medicate or something, but you can suspect something is wrong and then go to the doctor. It would be perfect if schools or jobs helped reporting things, but we know that doesn't happen often.

@@mugiwarafan2687 While I agree that you can't officially diagnose yourself with anything, I do think that a sort of "self-diagnosis" has a place. Like I once attempted to get tested for autism and was shot down by my doctor...because I can talk. And make eye contact. There aren't exactly a whole bunch of doctors in my area, so I kinda just gave up and tell people I'm probably autistic. It helps me explain to others why I struggle with certain things and find coping mechanisms that help me.

Omg, friends son is neurotypical because he can read a book (??!) I was not depressed because I read a newspaper regularly (I didnt, never have, couldnt but thats not the point) Oh, and no chronic fatigue, had I considered I was just lazy? Medical professionals are flipping terrifying. I truly recommend, if you want a diagnosis, exhibiting the specific traits in an interview/appointment whatever and sticking to your goal, good luck!

Bloody same, just in America... Being AFAB doesn't help... Had a former teacher flat tell me matter-of-factly "oh, you're autistic too" (20~ years too late) after handling my diagnosed brother, and you know having learned girls can have it too...

I had a similar case when I was kid, because girls on the spectrum weren't even heard of back then. Instead I was misdiagnosed with non-verbal learning. Trouble is the spectrum covers mainly traits in men, as Hans Asperger only studied boys.

Same. 100% Same. Even when I pour my heart out on the internet, this is what I get: "oh, you just have social anxiety!" except I don't have social anxiety * at all* when I 100% know what Is ging to be said and done and can prepare for it (example: I don't have any problem whatsover having a standardized conversation asking for help in a shop) with autism, I pretty much relate with 90% of it. But I am just an introverted girl with 'random' social anxiety and awkwardness who is always bothered by sound and wnats to learn how to make corsets.

This is why I have a hard time believing basically any statistics about autistic people. Those statistics are missing a good deal, possibly even a majority of actual autistic people because of the ridiculous gatekeeping. I wasn’t diagnosed as a kid because I had good grades and friends, I suppose I wasn’t suffering enough for the liking of the experts. It’s been a massive struggle to find one place in my state that will diagnose an adult. It’s awful but it’s hopefully breaking down, and those terrible stats can’t be used to justify cure movements or stripping us of agency anymore.

Show name?

Give us the name!!! (please)

also, I've just learned that one of the actors, Tom Hopper (who plays Luther) has an autistic son!

After 10 minutes of watching Harlan i felt i could understand what he was doing and why. It was really nice to see a "human" representation of autism, stimming and all.

i'm not autistic but i connected with harlan almost immediately due to having depression and anxiety (i get the meltdowns and heightened anxiety and such) it was nice to have a neurodivergent character that wasn't labeled as crazy or weird

i just wrote a comment about this but i think it's so important to have autistic (or autistic-coded) characters shown throughout history! people think autism is a brand-new thing that never existed prior to the last few decades, which can fuel some harmful rhetoric. it's important to show that that's not the case!

Yes!!! I love love love TUA and as an autistic kid I loved Harlan him and Sissy remind me of my mom and I :D

That’s awesome! So glad you felt included. ASD is truly a spectrum and there’s space for everyone to be seen 😊

@@alexe7012 Thank you, and I fully agree! For so long in some ways its been that you had to be a "certain type of autistic" to be acknowledged as such, which is also so damaging. It's great to see different parts of the spectrum be included in a video like this. 👍🏻

Me too. I had to fight for a diagnosis because I don't have an obsession with one specific topic and because I use and understand sarcasm. People (even psychiatrists!) need to understand that you can be autistic without ticking every single box on the list.

@@mistyminnie5922 Exactly. A few times I've been told I don't "come across as autistic", which is so insulting, and what they actually mean is "I don't fit their limited understanding of autism". Hopefully that's beginning to change with resources/discussions like this video! (PS, hope you were able to get your diagnosis!)

@@Lee-ey2mu Thank you! I did manage to get the diagnosis of "mild autism" whatever that means, but I couldn't be happier :)

Thank you so much for being part of the video Luke! ❤️

That sucks not being able to retain words long enough to order and say them. I've had that problems only under certain circumstances (I'm autistic but don't normally have that problem) and it was very frustrating.

@@jessicaoutofthecloset Writing you this way because it's quite important, the "Theory of Mind" hypothesis actually describes how autistic people are supposedly unable to understand that other people have their own feelings, opinions,viewpoints and such, not "just" that they may have difficulty with Neurotypical expressions, something that's both extremely ableist and extremely inaccurate. It mostly resulted from using ableist presumption as extreme as...well, most people "studying" autism, taking a very tiny handful of children, most of who had difficulties understanding speech, and doing the Sally-Ann test. Two dolls are in a room, both have boxes in front of them, one (Sally) has a marble which she puts in the box before leaving the room, the other (Ann) then takes the marble and puts it in her box. The question is, where will Sally first look for the marble (or EXPECT the marble to be, depending on the phrasing, which already brings up problems). Now, this both fails to account for not really understanding the instructions, not being able to answer well or, something that has at least anecdotal evidence, thinking outside of the scope the researchers want or expect children to think it (ie: Considerign that Sally may have been testing Ann to see if she'd do such a thing, that she may have asked Ann to take the marble which, as no other communication was shown, may be a okay assumption...). psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-75285-001.html

Same, I'm very bad at sarcasm most of the time, luckily (or unluckily) my family is very sarcasm driven, so I've sorta picked up on the "tone" but if you mix up that tone AT ALL, I lose the sarcasm immediately

completely unrelated to your comment, but yayyy another plural system in the wild!! (or at least that's what I assume based on your username) love when we randomly see systems in random non-plural spaces

@@Phiwipuss you're correct!! I'm glad to see you in the wild as well lol, it's hard to find fellow systems out here, nice to meet you!!

what’s popping fellow enby 😎

@@donotresuscitatetrampstamp Not much, you?

Me looks at the likes: hello LGBT community

Let's turn this comment into the nonbinary meeting ground!

Heyoooo!

Me too. And it really helped my partner to understand myself AND himself better!

i am not autistic, but watching the show i was bothered by how his girlfriend treats him, kind of like a token if that makes sense? like she was proud of herself for having an autistic s/o. however, i do appreciate the fact that he was with someone who understood what autism was and how it worked and didn’t break up with him when his autism became ‘inconvenient’ for her. i completely agree that the mother seemed to be written as a bad character on purpose

the first season was bad. the second was super cute.

My mom was his mom twin

agree, im an autistic girl, but i saw alot of both myself and my brother in Sam and especially his relationships with the people around him. The show isn't perfect, but it was good, and I liked the representation that showed how there are both positives and negatives to being autistic in a NT society, but at the end of the day, are still people who want people things.

Agreed! And as someone who is def ace and probably aro this still bounced for me. I've definitely still pursued romantic relationships because life is confusing and also Societal Expectations. Rejection is still embarrassing even if you were pursuing a thing that you wouldn't actually want long term. Although it seems a lot of ace folks in comments appreciated the shout out and lord knows I enjoy when people acknowledge we exist.

@@angelal8829 I agree it's great to have asexuality mentioned, goodness knows we need the visibility! I love that Jessica is so inclusive, eg featuring us in her video about what not to say to an LGBTQ+ person (so good, definitely recommend!). But at the same time the comment reinforces a common misconception, and also misses out on the chance to give some love and visibility to aro peeps too!

@@heartsopenminds8270 Totally agree!

Oh god, I remember a similar experience I had. I was telling my dad about how my psychologist had mentioned that I had possible signs of ADD or ADHD and dad just said "well, you're not stupid, and you're great in school" as a reason for why that diagnosis would not fit me. Just, fuck...

@@haichie1341 Literally JUST had that conversation with my dad lmao, psychiatrist said a high possibility of ADHD and Asbergers and my dad argued that that's their go to diagnosis for everything and that I couldn't possibly be those since I get As in school.

Reminds me of the time I said to someone that I’m an introvert with social anxiety and they said that I’m not because I was able to have a conversation with them. Like thanks I already have so much self doubt, why don’t you random classmate diagnose me.

i had exactly the same thing, the girl that told me has adhd and she told me that fixing this vitamin deficiency would cure her adhd????? and when i told her that if it does she got a misdiagnosis she said that i dont know anything about adhd and that its just "not being able to concentrate and being hyper" ??????????

My uncle is a doctor and literary read the papers and conclusions from my doctors and still claimed that I did not have problems with my working memory.

That's a really interesting point. I've just been diagnosed with ASD, aged 16, and I flew under the radar so much because I'm a good student and show affective empathy. In honesty, I didn't even know there were different types of empathy. And because the empathy confusion is the main reason I was never picked up, I think it's important I educate myself more on it. Thanks for explaining it a little!

Oh, my. This... This struck me, ngl. I've known I belong to the ASD community for a year now, and I was so confused. My therapist said I was empathic, my sister, classmates and other peers think I'm "heartless", because I just can't understand. I console them, I try to help, but I just can't understand why they feel like that... And, this makes so much sense. Woah. I had seriously been doubting myself from even being a good person, but this is making me reconsider. Woah. Thank you!!!!

I’m really glad this is helpful!

I have trouble with cognitive empathy. I’m told that I’m very empathetic/sympathetic and warm as the sun but I sometimes have trouble interpreting others emotions. I will often ask someone exactly how they are feeling. I’m very maternal in that way.

That's it! I always get so frustrated when people tell me that people with autism don't feel empathy, because I feel lots of empathy! I just don't know how to deal with it appropriately. I can sense people's emotions just fine, I just have a harder time understanding where it comes from and how to respond.

I have ADD. Absolutely hate looking in people's eyes when talking... I tend to look at foreheads cos other facial features just have too much going on so I get tend to get distracted looking anywhere else on someone's face.

@@sarahportelli93 Understandable. Sometimes I can't do the nose trick just because I can still see they're eyes in my peripheral which is enough to be uncomfortable.

Eyebrows, eyebrows are great to look at :p

@@hollyblyth6285 Eyebrows for me are just a bit too close to eyes because people will sometimes just stand up a bit straighter, but do what makes you feel comfortable :)

Thank you so much! I’m not officially on the spectrum but I have so much discomfort looking people in the eyes!

A close friend of my who is autistic said something similar of X-Men 2, the scene were Iceman tells his parents about being a mutant. The part about being gifted, having very high IQ and her special interest having helped her developed extrodinary skills in certains fields due to spending so much time at them. And then the part about Iceman's mum telling him not to be a mutant. My friends mum told her she had to train away her autism...

I really love mutant as an allegory for disability, not only because is manages to be fun for disabled people without trying to say what "inspirations" we are, but also because it actually makes a specific parts of x men storylines work better and make sense. Such as when a "cure" is presented. When a writer sets it as an allegory for a different group it puts the cure debate in a n awkward position where they have essentially let go of their life line and have to tread water in actually fully exploring there concepts AND/OR keeping it from sending a bad message through their current analogy. (IE: If your doing the LGBTQ+ angle, then you really can't say that a "cure" would be a good thing for anyone, and it also implies that some LGBTQ+ people are inherently dangerous). But if it's an analogy for disability suddenly you can actually safely make a point again. Because then you can have the framework of real world issues of how diffrent disabilities are but how there all just stuck together into one category. Think Depression compared to Autism. Now I'm sure there wouldn't still be issues and challenges. Comparing anything in our world to humans sometimes getting superpowers is super difficult. (Honestly some of my favorite media are obes that just do not make it an allegory and just explore what would happen.) But I do REALLY love it as a lense and I wish an author or director would use it.

Yeah I know the feeling.

Same. My job involves a lot of what you mentioned in your comment & my brain just can't anymore so I'm moving to a new department.

It's my main meltdown enabler

The main room in my office has two radios working on different sides of the room, each with a different station on. Lucky I only rarely have to go in there. I don't know if I have autism, but if anything could give me a meltdown it would be that. I don't understand how a dozen people can stand it eight hours each day.

Altoid Bazingá Fucking mood. All the same shit except my brain was like, boy? Nah. Girl? Nah. What ever the fuck the pile of goop my gender is? Yeah.

I've found that Autistic people have a high rate of being LGBTQIA+ in general. My theory is that since we have to self-examine and question ourselves and our perceptions so much, we have a higher rate of realising that we aren't cis/het, shrugging in acceptance, and research-binging to figure out how to incorporate this new information. For myself, I'm Panromantic Asexual. I figured out fairly early that gender wasn't necessarily a factor in who I was attracted to, and that I was impatient and uninterested in my peers' seeming obsession with sex. My only real requirement is shared interest and personal compatibility, and preferably also Ace, or at least Poly and ok with sex being a thing that will never happen involving me.

@@natasjarose1321 I've been thinking about that a lot too, and that's been EXACTLY my theory as well! (Bi enby here btw, hi!)

I've thought that it may be because autistic people may not particularly understand why social norms like gender roles/expressing the "correct" ones according to your assigned gender is so important to everyone else and simply live freely and express themselves however they like. That especially explains it for me when nonbinary people are autistic. Just my perspective, sorry if I misunderstood anything about autism in this comment.

I'm certain that researchers will find some correlation. Sarah Hendricks, who's a stand-up comedian, and also on the spectrum, explains how she personally relates to that theory - her video is long but often very funny! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-diE7f6CKj6c.html. Tony Atwood, a leading expert in ASD, also sees a correlation: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LuZFThlOiJI.html. Hope that research project your friend participates in gets the publicity it deserves.

Oh that is soooo annoying when people say that to me! I am an Autistic woman and that always frustrates me!

Omg yes!

There is literally a book about autism called You don't look autistic. So you are not the only ones.

Argh!!!! I get this. I had someone at my last job telling I was faking cause I didn’t ‘look autistic’ I asked her what I was meant to look like then? She didn’t speak to me after that

I counter with ‘you don’t look ignorant so I guess we’re both wrong’ when I get told I don’t look autistic! It’s like people want us to be happy that we don’t ‘look disabled’. 😑

Warning: keep tissues on hand🤧 Nanette made me sob

Nanette just made me feel. And I’d known Gadsby before from her panel appearances. But ya, so many feels.

I had mixed feelings about the show and Sherlock himself. Without knowing what the writers had said, I was annoyed by the "high-functioning sociopath" bit they kept doing. (I also think the stuff with Moriarty as well as the final episode felt a lot like Shonen Jump manga/anime adaptations.) But yeah. Strange that they would comment like that. (I'm also not a fan of Stephen Moffat in general.)

That quote ruined the imitation game for me. And I actually loved that movie.

Yeah it's fucked up

@@naomitheminion6275 yes. Now it's still my special interest (Sherlock) but it doesn't hit the same way as it once did. I needed to develop the kind of maturity that lets things like this go as it takes too much energy to fix either the problem or my emotional state. So I'd feel worse for the lack of energy

That show actively seemed to hate most of its audience. The LGBTQ+ ones, teen ones, disabled and autistic ones. In hindsight, it’s so hateful and mean-spirited as a whole.

You need better friends

That’s not your friend, that’s a leech: from a fellow autistic. I went through something similar. I think we both know neither of us deserve that treatment.

The "superpower" claim is a way for some people to ignore a lac of services in some areas. "If you have a superpower, why should I care if you don't get more help? You have a superpower!" Those memes don't originate with people who have those conditions. It's started by physically healthy and/or neurotypical people who want to feel better about doing nothing, who then enforce the superpower-label onto others.

Thanks for the responses, I had been worried I was overreacting but it’s comforting to know that you share similar concerns :)

I'm pretty much the smrt autistic person. Yes I'm actually autistic.

My mom literally thought i wasn't autistic for my whole life because I "was only different and incapable of connection because I was smarter than the other kids." Nevermind all the fucking other signs lol. Recently diagnosed officially and damn it feels good.

With me it was the opposite: I've heard there's no way I can be autistic because I'm smart, and autistic people usually have learning impairments

@@smig2801 Yeah, my mom says, "i thought you were different from the other kids because you were so much smarter." Nope I was autistic.

Pssssst I have a secret to tell you... You are 100% valid

Me too! I was watching with my mom, and when Vanya saved him from her powers, I said something like "if he starts talking now I'm going to riot." And my mom didn't get it at all but it meant a lot that they didn't go there.

On an unrelated note, it seems like the writers or whoever gave Elliot Page an awesome place to explore transitioning without actually coming out yet. Super interesting to me now that he has come out.

@@tanner1548 the creator of the show (and the comics it was based on), Gerard Way, has been a gnc icon for decades. Not surprised if they had something to do with it.

@@tatltails3923 TIL about Gerard Way and the term GNC :D :D :D And I couldn't be more pleased! Thanks for that!

I was worried about that too! I mean, how things went wasn't great, but I'm so glad they didn't "cure" him. That would've been dumb.

I would also like medical professionals to look into whether or not ADHD is part of the spectrum. As someone with ADHD, and everyone in my immediate family has it, ADHD folks share many of the diagnostic criteria for ASD.

@@danielmatson4209 hello, in the Netherlands ADHD and more are considered part of the autistic spectrum

@@danielmatson4209 My mom and sister have (confirmed) ADHD, and I'm on the spectrum myself. I have a lot in common with my mom on many levels, but I don't consider ADHD as being on the spectrum. Then again, we never know how medicine and mental health discussions will change in the future (like how Asperger's was its own thing and is now considered part of the spectrum instead).

Completely off-topic: Tutant Meenage Needle Teetles

I'm autistic and also love the Ninja turtles. When I was a little girl, our cat had four kittens. They were all boys. I named them Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo and had blue, purple, red, an orange colors respectively. I was even a ninja for Halloween one year with nunchucks because I wanted to be Mikey.

I am also a bisexual autistic woman and I agree with you 100 percent. I’m tired of the media portraying autistic people as only white boys who can’t do anything or white boys or men who are savant. There is way more variety in autistic people and autistic traits then the media or just people in general like to talk about. I also hope to get married one day and adopt kids. I am currently majoring in environmental engineering and I want to help build real solution to help combat the climate crisis.

That's awesome! Let's keep the fight going! 😊 We have to protect our planet.

We don't say enough : there's enough being apolitised as well. I remind a woman whose son was autistic, who wanted to design an app made to follow "help" autistic people, that can reaveal thei position anytime to their parents. When I raised the privacy issues floating around that, she didn't even answered, at that time, I was minor. It was before Snowden affair by the way. Too many people used Greta Thunberg's autism to invalidate her speech and it's infuriating. It could be nice to see more autistic people with political opinions (Temple Grandin is among the rare examples I have in mind, perhaps the only one). Or the writers consider autistic people are naturally egoistic, which is quite ironic, when when we are the ones who got used to permanently adapt to an hegemonic standard for them to be at ease with often no equivalence.

Thank YOU my dear! ❤️

22yo (afab) enby and have just realised I might be autistic. Trying to start persuing diagnosis as it might help me get through the rest of uni without repeating again. Sorry you were treated so badly, hope you've had support since. Edit: also somehow managed to get my age wrong I'm 21

I'm sorry that you've had to go through that stuggle. I was diagnosed at 11 myself (mostly because of my mom, who is very good judge of character and has ADHD), and it can be a struggle without proper representation. I hope that with your diagnosis and more rep and information, you can have a good and prosperous life! :)

Most of us on the spectrum over 40 are just getting diagnosed now. Be glad things aren't as bad as when I was a kid, adults all called us names back then.

@@blisles7626 You should definitely try to get a diagnosis if you can. I was able to get a lot of support from my school (my own dorm room for one thing) after I proved that I had autism. It does depend on the school, but if they have a disabilities office, you should certainly use the resources provided. And good luck in your education!

I'm struggling with this. I'm always questioning if I should seek a diagnosis. Throughout my life it's been suggested that I should get tested for asperges but I was always turned away because "girls don't have autism". It's also difficult to talk to people about as it then brings in my being trans too. So many descriptions really resonate with me, but I then wonder if it's worth looking into anymore as an adult.

I'm so grateful other people are commenting on that, I'm not gonna lie as great as it's been to see ace mentioned in other videos (like what not to say to LGBT+ people), that comment kinda hurt, and it's a stereotype that really needs to die off. (I'm ace, but not aro).

Also aspec people still... have feelings? Rejection of someone you have feelings about (and both asexuality and aromanticism are spectrums) still hurts no matter what your orientation is.

Tazzie1312 THIS! I’m ace & arospec & i definitely still understand & relate to the experiences she’s describing

@@Tazzie1312 Well put! I definitely didn't mean to imply otherwise!

I’m ace and aro, ty for this! ♡

This is so relatable. I too pretended to have an imaginary friend to mimic what I thought other kids were like. Her name was Suzy and she always let me win at board games.

I did the same thing too! I had a lot of imaginary animals, but I just didn’t see the appeal of imaginary friends. I saw lots of kids in media have them so I thought I would try it lol.

Wait, I did this too 😅

I did this too aaaaaaaaaaaa

Lol, I actually had an imaginary friend for the opposite reasons, no one else I knew had one and I had(and have)trouble befriending others, so I just made one. To be fair, I daydream a lot and she was also part of one of my stories sooo that may have played a part

You can pry this heancanon from my cold dead hands I love it thank you so much

@@youdontseethateveryday7581 Your welcome! I'm glad to see other people like it too. It makes for a fun lense on a rewatch. I wish I could remember who I first heard it from so I could give them more credit.

god absolutely! trouble with humor and picking up social cues from his peers? blunt to the point of not understanding other's reactions/emotions? fixated on honor to the point of ignoring other things? one of the only benders we see who picks up another form of combat, presumably because of special interest? we love an autistic firelord. plus the narrative of not being naturally talented at a traditionally valued trait (firebending) and being devalued by adults in your life for it, despite talent in other areas (dual dao swords)? being punished for a perceived 'lack of respect' that in reality is just speaking your mind bc you don't know all the secret little ways people move around their point? having to work and struggle to get to the same point that some seem to just have naturally, and then realizing that the markers for success that you were raised with are inherently flawed? very relatable to this autistic viewer, though maybe I'm just projecting.

@@mylahobbit1815 Well, if you are then I'm projecting with you and a whole lot of other autistics!

0.0 intresting headcanon, i must ruminate on this.

It was canonised. There was a lot of input from a crew member with ASD

I loved her s5 arc so much.

Entrapta was wonderful! Tiny Food!

Yes! It definitely has some problems, mainly that it does not clearly enough points out that the ableism Entrapta faces by the Princesses is bad (seems like a no-brainer but I saw so many neurotypicals victim blame her) and that she is a villain, but other than that its so detailed and on point. Also her romance with Hordak (another disabled person). I literally never saw a romance between two disabled character, *and* then there are also talking about how they are othered by their society and about their internalized ableism and help each other out of it ("Imperfection is beautiful"). I felt so seen. And sadly, how much she wishes to just fit in and how nearly everybody around her mistreats her was so realistic too

I was scrolling to see if anyone had mentioned Entrapta. I love her so much!!

love this!

Ahhh, interesting! And I was a fan of the Paddington Bear books growing up, so this perspective is good to know!

I love that! As an ADHDer myself, I relate a lot to Pooh Bear for similar reasons. He’s just a nice dude who is sometimes a little bit dumb.

@@rancidprince3133 dumb is not a great word :s (jessica here has a video about that) how about you go with clueless instead???

Oh my God! I have loved Paddington as long as I can remember and you have just blown my mind.

My mom thought I was way too unorganized to be autistic. My desk is a complete mess. If I could put a picture here I would lol

@@analuisa1214 same here - my therapist has recommended I take the Autism Spectrum Quotient because I display some of the traits...

Yeah, great point!

Zuko doesn't show autistic traits

i’ve never seen this head cannon but i’ll have to check it out because i just finished the series!

Guage Henthorn yes. He was generally dismissive as a doctor as well so I eventually convinced my parents to let me switch doctors.

Your experience is obviously awful & drs being dismissive leaves a lot of people to struggle alone. I am glad you managed to get a diagnosis, even if it was 4 years later due to negligent medical care. However what I find particuarly annoying is that they don't educate themselves & realize that they have probably missed 80% of autistic adults they have seen because of their stupid narrow-minded steryotypes of what an autistic person looks & acts like. So they continue to dismiss all other autistic people looking for a diagnosis, or even argue with autistic people who already have a diagnosis.

I basically had to give my GP a presentation on how autism in women shows differently before he was willing to give me a referral for official diagnosis.

I'll go you one worse. I am diagnosed autistic, and also believe I have ADHD due to self-diagnosis from awesome RU-vid channels such as "How to ADHD" which was the first time I ever felt seen/heard in my life on many of these issues. I then recognized similar issues in my son, so we brought it up with my son's therapist. (He had been in therapy for various things for years already.) My son was told by his therapist that he "couldn't possibly have autism or ADHD" because "they could tell by looking at him". This was at my city's official mental health facility! Later, when I complained and demanded an official diagnosis we were told they didn't do diagnoses of either of those conditions and I would have to go find my own doctor somewhere to help me if I wanted that. Every time in this facility we brought up the need for help, with these conditions in mind, we have been asked "what do you think a diagnosis is going to do for you?" We've been struggling since my son was 14 (he's 20 now) to get him the therapy he needed because he was struggling so hard with everything. But I was barred from being involved with his therapy in any way because I was not the client, even after both he and I begged to have me there because he needs me to help translate/interpret what each side means, and express what he struggles to find words to say, and advocate for him when they bulldoze over his right to be heard or believed. After he turned 16 he was told he could not possibly have ADHD or autism because "surely they would have detected it in you as a child if it were true". Now that he is 20 they claim he cannot have ADHD because "that is something that only affects children". So yeah, most of our progress with these issues has been due to self-diagnosis, and seeking out independent sources of advice and understanding such as RU-vid videos on the subject. Even the systems theoretically put in place specifically to help people like us are not being helpful, and are gaslighting and denying our lived realities.

I sympathize with your replies. I have ADHD as well. It’s one of the reasons that effected me getting a diagnoses as well. I was already diagnosed with ADHD.

Level 2? Is autism a video game lol?

@@rachelcookie321 Yes, I am actually playing life on hard mode.

@@criticalmaz1609 what does it actually mean though? I have diagnosed autism but nothing about levels.

@@rachelcookie321 It's something like 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = high in terms of symptom severity and support needs, according to the DSM-5. In the past I would probably been have diagnosed with Asperger's or "high-functioning" autism.

@@criticalmaz1609 I think I was just diagnosed as high functioning which was in 2018.

I completely agree with you. Bella's impulsiveness screams ADHD to me, and the way she can't manage to write to her mom sounds just like executive dysfunction, and my inability to stay in touch with people I cared about as a kid, if they moved away

Yeah, ADHD and ASD have so many overlapping symptoms but they still have enough differences to be told apart I think. It makes it difficult to self diagnose, though. XD

abed says in season three(?) “on the spectrum, none of your business and i think that sums it up pretty well

I find both the autism and the ADHD theories to be very interesting takes that I never really considered before. I always thought Bella reminded me of my brother, who my parents suspected of having both ADHD and being on the spectrum, but who was "only" diagnosed as being an extremely shy introvert with social anxiety and depression. I thought of Bella as not trying to make friends because she was very shy, not having the energy to fit in or make plans for her life because of her depression, and just wanting to take up as little space and attention as possible because of both. I feel like she picks up on a lot of social cues when it comes to her female friends, like changing the conversation when people are upset or trying to hint that people should do other things as to not hurt others feelings. She is overall just extremely passive when it comes to everything (at least for the first book), except her obsession with Edward, which felt like a teenager in an unhealthy and obsessive relationship would be like. And I don't think autism would explain why Edward can't read her thoughts. There's no way that he has been able to read people's minds for 70+ years and has NEVER ran into a person with autism before lol. Bella could totally still be on the spectrum, but that can't be the explanation. (Edit: I am reading more about autism in women now and I'm starting to really see and understand some of these points now. Wow. I am painfully undereducated in how autism tend to show up in women)

@@BrightonDestiny thank you for taking the time to look further into it.

I'm not Autistic, but I have an attachment disorder, and I identify with Bones probably more than any other female character I've ever seen. I also work in a field where death and gross things are part of my daily life and often accidentally make people uncomfortable by discussing those things in casual conversation (because I'm so passionate about what I do), so that deepens the feeling.

I'm neurotypical, but I've cried so many times at his plotlines, because I can see that he really feels a lot of emotions, but he has trouble expressing them. Also I love his relationship with Troy because it never is portrayed like he burdens him, but rather adds another layer of fun and adventure to their everyday life

I would call it "flat affect" - thinking of the psych experiment episode in particular. "I was livid", in the same tone as if he was reading a grocery list. That episode really hurt to watch, because I've been in almost identical situations where people don't listen to my words and just go by misinterpretations of my body language/tone.

True, I was a bit surprised when I heard the description! I’m currently watching community and abed is frequently warm and kind to his friends!

There's so much complexity in Actual People that they just don't want to have to think about in character interactions because it's more complicated than dismissing everything and focusing in on a single character or trait

This exactly this! We find each other!

I'd highly recommend watching she ra!! theres only one autistic character (who absolutely owns my heart i love u entrapta) but almost everyone in the mostly female cast is lgbt!! its so so good

This Is literally my friend group

as a not autistic person, i also almost cried the first time i saw loop. it was really sweet and i’m happy that there’s good representation for you like that!!

Nice profile pic

I have autism but I don’t think I stim lol

​@@rachelcookie321 Eyo everyone stims at least a little, loads of different things can be stims (skin picking, humming, fidgeting with objects, doodling, leg bouncing, biting lips/cheeks, drumming fingers, tapping foot, stroking a soft toy, biting nails, sucking thumb, chewing objects, chewing gum, playing songs/movies/etc in one's head), almost anything tbh that basically everyone does, it's usually that autistic people are more likely to stim more and have a wider variety of stims that might seem more different, but this isn't always the case so that's fair, it's just more likely rather than for definite. But ye just a note that everyone stims, usually a lot more than they know, including non-autistic people, we often don't realise that we're stimming when we are.

I thought she might bring up eleven when talking about autism and superpowers, as (although I am not autistic) I thought she was supposed to be hinted at having autism/have some traits but they never confirmed or denied it.

@Mister Squiggles Well yes that’s true, but to me it seems like she has many autistic characteristics too, although I suppose they could all be from PTSD

@@louisadsc it could easily just be adhd too many people find out later on in life that they got misdiagnosed with autism when in actual fact they have adhd because they somewhat overlap that most girls get diagnosed or like you assumed someone is autistic when in actual fact it's adhd

@@tvaholicsquidney yes that’s a good point!

What about Will and Johnathan

even in the first episode he asks how he should have people to refer to him and his coworker responded "Doctor Reid" because he didn't want him to be viewed as anything diminutive due to age or other reasons

Plus the actor has the same characteristics

I'm autistic and I'm horrible at math and technology

@@ShainaCilimberg same

@Altoid Bazingá that's really cool! i know a guy who's special interest is phone brands!

@@ShainaCilimberg Me too. I'm obsessed with history and fan fiction, and quite good at handmade crafts, but I never got above a B in math or science.

I get that. My special interest is taxidermy and animal welfare studies.