People are ANGRY about AUTISTIC HEADCANONS 

Any autistic viewers, what are your opinions on any confirmed autistic characters? (Good Dr., Big Bang Theory, Atypical, Community, etc) Is there any canon autistic character you really like or don't?

My only annoyance is that I can't headcanon my physical disability onto people; wheelchairs can't be implied.

Headcannon hate has real "you're playing make-believe wrong" vibes.

I find the backlash really interesting. Most people widely accept Sheldon Cooper as an autistic character even though it was never explicitly said that he was, and producers have even come out and said that he was not. But he meets the very stereotypical presentation of what people expect an autistic person to be like. Now autistic people are making statements about characters they relate to indicating they are likely autistic and it causes an uproar. Why? Probably because these characters don't quite fit the stereotypes people have about autism, so they just can't accept these new representations. A girl? A cool kid? A guy in a band? These are all things that really haven't been part of the media representation of autism. I actually think it's a positive thing to suggest that all these different characters could be considered autistic. And if someone find it's distasteful, I'd wonder why being autistic has such a negative connotation for them.

…just realized that a big part of neurotypicals (or straight people) being “offended” by neurodivergent (gay etc.) headcanons… is probably because they have a poor perception of those people…so they’re basically scared of “omg I love that character but now what if everyone thinks im gay and autistic too!!!” *gasp!* *the horror!* 🙄

I personally saw Eddie Munson as being more reflective of an ADHD experience (much like Robin), but now that you mention it, the intensity of his focus on his hobbies and the ways in which he fails to follow social norms are very reminiscent of people I know who have or suspect they have both ADHD and autism.

One of the things I have noticed is that autistic-coded characters are often better or more realistic portrayals of autism than actually canonical autistic characters. I think one of the reasons this happens is because the writers and the actors don't have all these stereotypes and narrow ideas of autism in their minds when writing for/acting as the character. A big example of how this can work better is with Data from Star Trek. The writers didn't write him as autistic and the actor Brent Spiner didn't play him as autistic but he is seen as one of the big autistic characters in Star Trek (along with every Vulcan ever, but that's another discussion). Data's actor Brent Spiner was later told about how Data is viewed and he stated that he was glad he didn't know when playing the character that people saw Data as autistic. Because he would have leaned into it and had his knowledge of autism in his mind while playing the character, he acknowledges that it probably wouldn't have remained as good a representation if that had happened. So yeah, just a big ramble to say that I hugely support head-cannoning characters as autistic and I think that until canonical autistic representation gets better/more representative, it's going to continue to be some of the best representation we have.

@haleyanmarie -- a note on Wednesday also that I notice is when she is talking with Principal Weems. Weems mentions "The world is not just black and white. There are shades of grey." and Wednesday replies with, "Maybe for you." so it seems like Wednesday is a very literal black and white thinker as well. Something to keep track of :)

I think there is a subtle, but very profound idea that people might be overlooking. If a person is upset because a casual diagnosis of autism, or any other form of neurodivergence, for a character makes it harder for them to identify with said character, then they have just established that representation matters.

"A fake doctor can fake diagnose fake people if they want to." I love that.

I think the ADHD community will fight you for Eddie Munson, but overall you made a lot of very good and important points. NTs need to let the ND community see themselves in the characters we feel are like us. Not just the characters they tell us to identify with.

I'm sorry but Wednesday Adams is _so_ obviously neurodivergent you'd have to be intentionally ignorant not to see it. The _very thing_ that makes her such a popular character _is_ the very things that showcase this. I hadn't actually associated all of her mannerisms with Autism specifically, only because I don't have a good knowledge about the intricacies of Autism. But the way you described it absolutely makes sense to me! Doesn't change how much I adore the character of Wednesday, in fact it explains a few things I didn't quite understand, so if anything it's expanded upon her character and made her even more interesting and detailed.

I think another problem in addition is that people like to idolize them as perfect and beautiful but autism is not often seen as perfect and beautiful in media so I they say that a character isn’t autistic because they see autism as a major flaw, no matter how evident it is in said character.

I love diagnosing characters with autism. An here’s a thought it’s not that deep. Also just because a group of people heavily identify with traits in a character shouldn’t take away from the enjoyment and relatability for other viewers. It’s like don’t be mad you also relate to/maybe even idolize a heavily autistic coded character. It’s almost like people don’t want autism to be humanized, cause the outrage is dumbfounded

Funny thing, I heavily suspect I'm autistic (and a doctor said I was autistic when I was younger, but I was never formally diagnosed) and I have an allergy to a specific blue dye. I'm literally allergic to colour.

I love this video, my sister is diagnosed as autistic and it was so cool to see someone in a show who she can relate to that wasn't simultaneously being mocked for their said "autistic traits". (cough cough Big bang theory, cough cough atypical)

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of autistic people head-canon characters as autistic, because we can relate to them. Just like neurotypical probably head-canon them as neurotypical because they also relate to them. Autistic people also have this thing called special interest, so if we get into something like a tv show we get *REALLY* into it. So of course if we relate to a character of course we will talk about it or produce fan works about it. Of course there's a good chance that a big percentage of the people that write, draw and produce fan videos and sacrifice a significant amount of their free time, sleep and effort into creative works that will not be directly marketable due to copyright reasons are autistic and neurodivergent folks. In-depth (video) essays about our interests, researching everything about a character/fandom and collecting stuff...it's a stereotype but *is* the way we consume and and interact with media for a lot of autistic people. Of course those people, when they write stories, will write from a neurodivergent perspective and of course there's a high chance that the way they write characters is going to be from a neurodivergent perspective as well. because that what they know. It's not hurting anyone anyway. Another thing to keep in mind is that fan work, like fanfiction or fanart are in general easier accessible for autistic people than other types media. - we already know the characters and overall plot/setting, so we don't invest time and energy to get to know them when we just want to read something to soothe us - fanfics on a lot of pages use tags, so if we read those we can avoid getting surprised by story elements we might be not ready to read at that moment... which is different in other movies or books... - if we want to indulge reading the same plot over and other again for a quick, predictable dopamine hit, "coffee shop" AUs have our back without shame - we have the chance to interact with other people that are just as obsessed to lose sleep over writing/drawing/reading fictional stories about our favourite fandoms, which means it's much easier to interact with those people than with the general public - drawing, reading and writing are hobbies where you don't have to interact with people, which means it's less likely to be misunderstood or be treated badly...which is a big plus if you are either neurodivergent or just have experienced being seriously bullied or both...

I felt an immense sense of relief and validity looking towards characters perceived as autistic rather than characters (often cishetero white American boys) who were explicitly said to be autistic. It felt like we got some agency back to say to the world "this is what autism actually is and looks like"

hating on harmless headcanons is so strange cause its literally a headcanon that you arent being forced to beleive in, and theyre usually made for someone to find comfort in a character they like

I feel like some nuro typical people who love and relate to these characters get offended with autistic head cannons because they have negative associations with autism and are disgusted (bit of a strong way to put it) by the idea of liking something related to it. Great video btw!:)

I realized I could be on the spectrum thanks to a headcanon. In Umineko no naku koro ni, there is a character named Maria, a little 9yo girl with, according to her mother and other characters, weird movements and moanings, problems with understanding metaphors and jokes in the right context, tantrums for insignificant reasons for the rest, being bullied in school, and so on. In the series there is no confirmation about her ASD, but it's known that the autor has experience as a social worker, attending children with "special needs", and this is a clearly portrait of an autistic child, declared by the fandom . I felt identified with her, the headcanon called my attention, then I considered the possibility and started to research about.

I recently had (I kinda still do) a hyperfixation on the Danganronpa franchise and I headcanon so many characters as neurodivergent (autism, ADHD, other things). It just makes sense, you get a whole class of students who have been fixated so much on one of their interests they’ve received enough attention to be scouted by said school. A lot of them have probably a neurodivergent brain. This is just like when people started talking about how all the “gifted” kids are now neurodivergent mentally ill adults. The character that struck me most as autistic was Gundham Tanaka because look at him, he hates physical contact, he speaks in his own special way (like a immortal god warlock in a DnD campaign) he’s clearly got special interests (animal breeding, animal training, mythology, magic stuff), he puts a lot of value in material things that belong to him (literally not paying attention to a literal crime scene of murder because he lost his earring), also he prefers the company of animals to people which I’ve found is a pretty relatable experience in the autistic community, and through the game he proves that it’s not that he’s not interested in socializing, he just doesn’t know how to and people often find him annoying or awkward or cringe. Okay I’m done rambling now

When a character has so many traits of autism e.t.c and fans kind of diagnose it, it can really help people like myself to connect and make us feel better. Well thats just my thoughts anyway

I have to say I personally find when it comes to confirmed autistic character the savant stereotype to be very annoying. It adds an expectation onto those of us autistic people who are able to function in society to excel at something like math or science. I excelled at school but that is due to the way the system is set up and me putting hard work in. I suspect part of the reason this stereotype exists because of the bias towards white boys in middle class (or wealthier) homes being diagnosed more. Also subbed to see more of your content and liked on how you started the video saying your only an expert on your experience.

i remember asking someone on tumblr a few months ago whether or not they thought they headcanoned a certain character as trans and autistic. the person responded saying that I should not headcanon characters as "genders or *mental illnesses*". while I am not trans myself, it really pissed me off that, I, as someone who CLEARLY stated that I was autistic IN MY BIO, was being told that I couldn't headcanon a character as autistic. also that "mental illness" comment really irked me

I think another reason why people get so angry at autistic headcanons is because so many people still see autism as cancer and stuff. They act like being autistic is something to be ashamed of.

Honestly when characters who are hailed by mainstream media as autistic suck (yes it happens) I figure why not headcanon it with my faves, it's not gonna hurt anyone. And with Wednesday it resonates with me because she's a child who never naturally smiled, just like me for the longest time (I had to force it for pictures and explain to my parents, yes, I am having fun, my face just won't do that). That and also freaking people out is something I did on purpose because at least I knew what people's reactions meant. I have to say though props to Asian media for having pretty good autistic rep (aka Gin Ibushi my beloved)

i love analyzing characters, the only thing that is annoying about all of this is that some people (specially on tiktok) think quirky = autism, therefore, if if I'm quirky and/or if fictional characters are quirky, then we're all probably autistic. which in the end, kinda minimizes autism as a medical diagnosis and more of a personality trait. though I am hoping it at least gets some people to try to get diagnosed themselves if anything. it happens with other medical diagnosis as well, so I get where some people are coming from in that perspective. in the end, it would be better if there was just better autism representation in media. I still wouldn't be surprised if they did confirm Wednesday being autistic, I think she'd make a great addition.

My favorite headcanon right now: I have a thing for Victorian novels (autistic special interest), and one of the most popular was The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. One of the main characters is Marian Halcombe, and she is smart and brave and not at all like the fainting housewife stereotype we have of women in Victorian novels. The last time I read it, I headcanoned her as a transwoman, with a big fluffy mustache, low-cut ball gowns, a hairy chest, and complete acceptance from her community. It made me very happy. It did not affect Wilkie Collins in any way.

If you ask me, they’re fictional characters, so they are whatever you think they are until it gets contradicted by the official media.

I'm showing my age here but the French film Amelie hit me in all the feels I never knew I had when it was released in 2001. The protagonist is super eccentric and craves solitude in a way I really relate to. I've comfort watched it for 20 years before recently realising that I am ND myself. If you haven't seen the movie I'd totally recommend it 🎥✨

"Why label them" rings very similar to "Why are you making me think about this, I relate to them and I don't want to think about if I'm [ableist slur]"

The Cinema Therapy Channel is ALL about fictional character“head cannons.” It’s a great channel!

I think it’s sad that people who get very little representation, can’t be allowed to headcanon characters, who share common traits with a minority. I am not autistic but I am bisexual, dyslexic and have social anxiety. I have so many headcanons of so many characters.😅

The thing NTs seem to forget about characters... book character, movie characters, acting characters... so on and so forth... are MEANT to make people think. They create people that are all kinds of different in order for large amounts of people to be like "Hey I am just like that person... that makes me feel good." Lets be honest... if you read a book and every character was the same... wouldn't you stop reading? How is that even good for business? You want someone to read (harry potter for instance)... why would you make every character Harry? Each character is art as you said and meant for individual interpretation. Just like no two people are the same... neither will be any two persons opinions. Love the videos keep them coming ^-^

ME PERSONALLY, I feel like the whole n-typical vs. n-divergent thing doesn't really apply to any of the Adams family simply because they are meant to be abnormal. I feel like her "quirks" are just a product of who and what she grew up around, as well as how she was raised. I just feel like most of the rules from our "normal" world can't really be applied to hers. Especially since we are literally worlds apart from hers. She literally mutilated a boy's body and didn't have ANY consequences.

I am not autistic, but I do have bipolar type 1 and I rarely see those types of characters in media, and when I do they're usually portrayed as unstable basket cases who heck up their kids. Thusly I relate very hard to Harley Quinn (c'mon, not much of a stretch) because she just exists (to me) in this heightened but mostly functional state of mania and especially in the animated series manages to make a (for her) stable life for herself. Now I know in real life that level of mania can't persist without the hard crashes but don't really care I just love everything about her. I even enjoy watching the first Suicide Squad just because she's in it.

Headcannon is headcannon, it’s so silly to complain about people’s headcannon when it is an individual’s/community’s take on something, headcannon is objectively subjective. Also the point is relating, the characters do not need an in-universe diagnosis. I think the main reason some people do not like labelling is because it breaks their view of the character, but they should realise we’ll all relate in our own ways and have appropriately different views.

i hate it when allistic people tell me not to headcanon a character as autistic, especially when they say its offensive or i'm "romanticizing" and "glorifying" it. like, "what do you mean you see this character as autistic. that's not possible. they're nothing like my autistic 5 year old cousin. you saying that about this fictional character is actually deeply harmful to autists. never try to relate to a character again." it's so ANNOYING, because dude what would you even know about autism? why are you trying to police the way i relate to my own disorder? god damn.

Subscribed! 🥰👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Absolutely love this video. You forgot one autistic trait many of these characters share: saying something true that no one wants to consider or do anything about in a way that can’t be denied… Except of course by gaslighting, humiliating, patronizing, ostracizing and ignoring which are the not good things that happen to autistic people (for any neurotypicals who didn’t understand that.) Unironically that is exactly why NTs are mad about a character being labeled “autistic” because that would make them an unacceptable outsider instead of a beloved weirdo 🤦🏾

“The goal of creating head canons is to create representation” please repeat that for the toxic fandom members in the back! I say this so often but people still get so offended.

'Why label them? Can't they just be weird..." umm, weird is a label, so are all those other words people use for characters like Wednesday. If you're weird and you're not autistic you don't need to feel antagonistic because someone else sees something relatable in a fictional character that you don't, even if you also relate to the character. That's the beauty of fictional characters, there's enough mystery about them that you can fill in the headcanon in a way that you can relate to. That's the whole point of headcanon!

I hate it when people hate on other people's headcannons. Unless the headcannon is genuinely problematic, let people do what they want. Every character I relate to looses gender privileges (becomes nonbinary) and becomes autistic. Why? Because it makes me happy. It doesn't effect anyone.

the intro actually scared me for a second bc i didn't realize it was sarcasm anyways, autism hcs have literally changed my life. i wasn't diagnosed until i was 16, and prior to diagnosis, my family and i knew absolutely nothing about autism. when i got to the point i was thinking about representation, it was kind of a mixed bag. i already felt so marginalized-the only majority i really am is white, since i'm autistic, other kinds of mentally ill, the host of an osdd system, physically disabled, queer, born a woman, and struggle with gender-but there was a certain relief as well knowing now WHY i never really connected with a lot of the media i consumed. autism hcs (as well as FINALLY writing a few of my own autistic characters) brought me so much comfort. comfort characters are such a big thing, especially for minorities, and having someone who looks like you means a lot. even if it's just for you. i now 'collect' autistic hcs and my current favorite one is carlton lassiter in psych

If there's one concept I'd LOVE to have soak into the brain of EVERYONE in fandom it's this: Other people's opinions, ships, and headcanons do not invalidate or threaten yours. Your opinions are just as valid and special to you even if everyone doesn't agree with you. Fandom is a big place with plenty of room for multiple interpretations.

"Not supporting self diagnosis is gross." I absolutely agree. I love your response to all the criticism. I'm tired of people getting their undies in a bunch over stupid stuff.

"A fake doctor can fake diagnose a fake person if they want to" perfect

I used to be totally for self diagnosis, as a very late diagnosed autistic (at 37 y.o. But, in the last four years, things took a very bad turn in our community. A lot of these self diagnosed people, who themselves say that they have no cognitive deficits (such as executive functions, memory, language) and no sensory anomalies, are trying to silence me everytime I say that I'm very much disabled on a daily basis by my autism. They even tell lies about me, trying to discredit me or even plain smears campaings. They are everywhere saying that autism is just a difference and causes no disability. In my country, because of that, the politicians felt OK to remove autism from the list of recognized disabilities for social welfare, and we no longer have access to disability allocations, even though the employment rate for autistic adults here is about 10% (and even those have to take sick leaves very often, or have jobs that are outrageously below their qualifications, or are very mesirable because of coworkers bullying). I do get that a lot of people can't get a formal diaagnosis, I couldn't up to 37 y.o. I know an autistic guy who's a plane pilot and would loose his job if he got a diagnosis. Waiting lists here are at least 2 years before you have a first appointment. Etc. But there are actually people who "self diagnose" who have much more symptoms of personnality disorders and say themselves that they have no autism symptoms ..

Here's the thing though, headcanons don't change the source material, so if you don’t agree, you can still enjoy it in your own, plain, unimaginative, exclusively cannon way. Wednesday and Eddie aren't going to change just because people on the internet have certain perspective/opinion about them, so if this doesn’t affect you, why are you bothering us? Why are you angry? Maybe you relate to this character and us (autistic people) saying they are like us makes you scared because of what it says about you...

I am 99.99% certain I'm Autistic, but the process for diagnosis in my country is 1) extremely time consuming, on the order of years, and 2) difficult and unpleasant for an Autistic person to get through. So it's become a thing that would be nice to have some day, but isn't happening soon. I would like to thank you for supporting self-diagnosis, and I have indeed subscribed.

"Don't see yourself in characters" is some bullshit statement.

I’m an afab trans man who is Autistic. I wasn’t diagnosed till 35. I also in that year came out as trans. The spectrum for just about anything is pretty vast but you as a person know yourself best. If you truly think you are autistic then keep talking to your doctors till you can find someone who will listen. It makes a difference even if all it is is a label, because at least you can point to it and say, “yeah I’m weird but I’m not the only one!” (And Snape and Luna from the Harry Potter series always struck me as different ends of the autistic spectrum 😂😅)

Self-diagnosed aspie here (and long-ago diagnosed ADHDer, though these days I'm more confident in the self-diagnosis). In *my* headcanon, Tim Burton's Wednesday is most definitely on the spectrum. Only Tim can say one way or another whether that is true. My guess is he won't, if only because he didn't originate the character, and that's fine - it's not the artist's responsibility to explain their intentions or validate our interpretations. But just because they don't explicitly state that a character is X or Y, doesn't mean that those interpretations are wrong. I just don't get how incredibly indignant some people get when these discussions come up. I mean, NT folks have pretty much every other character ever written to identify with. But suggest that some beloved character may be on a spectrum that they don't personally identify with, and look out. I mean, it's art, people!

So there's this show I've been obsessed with for almost as long as it's been out, and it was my special interest for a good long period of time. So of course I overanalyzed the heck out of the characters, including the guy who has the least amount of screen time. I always liked this character. And then at the end of 2021, he became a comfort character for me thanks to a hard time in my life. And I started noticing how many of his understated traits reminded me of well... myself. Specifically, autistic things about myself. So I started headcanoning him that way. It's my way of relating to the character and part of why I'm so attached to the guy. It all started with "wow, this guy notices things none of the other characters do" and then "wow all the other characters are kind of dismissing him when his logic actually makes sense". And then I was like "He's comfortable around this one character but acts like an aloof tough guy around everyone else while putting on this skater dude persona" and "He just states exactly what he thinks and gets people ticked off at him, that is literally me when I remark on the color of green beans or something and my mom takes it as an insult". And in my own fanworks I imagine him being very into certain things he'd consider "cool". In his case, anything that goes fast. Fast bikes, cars, skateboards, video games, and of course, guitars. So when I write him, I'm imagining him as autistic. -Cy

Headcanons are just that. Imaginary scenarios, not real facts. Anybody can like or dislike a headcanon, or be neutral about it... and it's alright. Just as I headcanon one of my favorite characters as genderfluid, not everyone is gonna see it as a fact because it isn't. They're not obligated to like it, either. The issue comes when 1, they get unreasonably mad (maybe because they think people making these headcanons legit think they're right?), and for the other part, 2, people that force said headcanons as the ultimate truth, and being against it is enough to be labeled as a hater and worse. If you keep your own headcanons, and leave other's untouched, you'll have a good experience inside a fandom.

I think one way media can counteract or reduce stereotyping (you can't get rid of it altogether) would be to portray multiple, different autistic people, interacting and talking about the different ways their autism affects them. Same goes for stereotypes about any group of people.

THANK YOU! Seriously this is the best video ever, and a perfect answer to this topic! I do this too, and it gets on the nerves of people around me for all these same reasons you gave. Anyway lately I have been headcanoning Genshin Impact characters as autistic because I see some of my same struggles and strengths represented in them. Biggest one from Genshin for me right now is Hu Tao. There are a handful of characters I headcanon as autistic and it makes me really happy 😊

"a fake doctor can fake diagnose a fake person" i love this video 😭

It's interesting that people are concerned with stereotyping when it comes to head cannons. Representation is so scare that we get the shaun from good doctor, Sheldon Cooper, and like the sia abomination. That's it. Headcannons broaden who can be seen as autistic. It's also usually the community seeing themselves in characters and not neurotypical writers creating characters based on what they think autism looks and feels like. Edit: oops you said that. Shouldn't have jumped the gun 😄

I always liked characters with characteristics that I could relate to, even before I was fully diagnosed. It really helps me feel less alone in this world that seems to hate me. -audhd gal

“Hello weirdos” I love that as an intro 😂😂😂

Hello. Has anybody considered Jeff Goldblums character in 1986's "The Fly"? His character was solitary, worked from home, modeled himself after Albert Einstein, and invented his teleporter technology because he suffered from crippling motion sickness. (If I remember correctly.) I enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing. - 🎩☮

"Why can't you relate to an autistic person?" Exactly!! Thank you for this! We all have ways that we can relate to others or their experiences. Everyone deserves representation. Everyone deserves kindness, love, and respect 🙏 At the end of the day, Wednesday, Eddie Munson, etc are all just characters. Theorizing or labeling them one way or another isn't going to make the Earth stop spinning. Thank you for this video 🫶🙂

Somebody headcanoned my favorite characters with Autisum and ADHD and I absolutely loved it!

I mean, I understand people being upset about headcannons if they felt like it creates an inaccurate image of a certain disorder or maybe over-romanticizes certain symptoms, but it feels like people are just mad at the idea of a character being neurodivergent.

So, funny story, I remember when I was younger the character I could probably relate to most as an autistic person was Tina Belcher. I definitely saw a lot of myself in her, and enjoyed her performance in Bob's Burgers. I more recently stumbled on a scene where Louise refers to her as autistic and something... changed. I don't know why, but having it outright stated someone's autistic (though Bob disagrees with it, so I don't know if Tina's actually supposed to be autistic in canon) kind of dampened the appeal in a weird way. I guess because it changed the situation from me being able to look at a character and say, "Yeah, that's me" to having the show point at the character and say, "This is you". Which kind of causes the funny situations involving the character to become less funny with the implication that I'm somehow being made fun of? I think I kind of prefer character portrayal without the label to leave things up to interpretation for that reason. I guess a lot of people say they want representation, but I find direct open attempts to "represent" me are more likely to miss the mark, so it feels better to just throw stuff at the wall and if anything sticks, great.

Things that actually make me angry as a postgrad psychology researcher in the making: diagnosing everyone as a narcissist; not knowing the difference between narcissistic personality trait and narcissistic personality disorder; calling everything a trauma; not knowing or understanding trauma; calling everything toxic (although it's not a psychological term); talking about how important it is to end the stigma for mental health, but only if it is something relatable like depression, anxiety or eating disorders, but not psychosis, personality disorders, or god forbid borderline; saying "everyone is a little bit ADHD/Autistic/OCD". I find it especially funny when they say: "You're not a psychiatrist!", because when I tell them that I'm a researcher on mental health, they don't listen, either, and know everythinbg better.

"Take Wednesday from us," so... because a character is recognized as being POSSIBLY Autistic, suddenly you can't possibly like her anymore? You no longer have access to a character because we've seen parts of ourselves in her.... when the whole point of her character is that she's anything BUT typical? Seriously, in what way are we taking Wednesday away from non-Autistics? Are allistics not allowed to like Abed Nadir?

You are my new favorite youtube channel simply due to yourself. I’m 75, and have no skin I can think of in this game except that I love intelligent and precisely logical and therefore compassionate reasoning. Thank you so much for your work. I’m a fan now, and will keep up with it. Be well.

If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend watching Lego City Adventures. In my head cannon, it has several characters I think are on the spectrum. Mayor Fleck is uncomfortable doing anything other than paperwork and discussing work. Even for a cartoon character, who tend to have one main trait, he takes it even further than most. He also has a hard time even thinking that other people care about things other than work. While it's never mentioned at all, he dresses in a corncob costume at all times. He straight up doesn't understand imagination or jokes. Only one time in the entire show does he change his tone of voice. To a lesser extent, there's also Duke Detain and Top Hat Tom.

Another example: Sylvia Tilley from Star Trek Discovery. A lot of fans are thinking she's neurodivergent. The reaction from the creators of the series and the actress were measured. They stated that Tilley wasn't written with that intent in mind, but they were happy that neurodivergent people were identifying with the character.

The internet is only mad because they love to use "autistic" as an insult but if their favourite characters are autistic then.. well yeah..

I mean I know people who act like wednesday. they're not moody or gothic, they just act the way they want and don't give an f about what others think, and even say purposely cringey/weird things knowing that people will judge but find it interesting to see their reactions, and find it hard to make connections with others. But the ones who got professional diagnoses found out that they were not autistic at all. I can see how it becomes annoying when as soon as a character is weird and doesn't care about social expectations means they are autistic/neurodivergent, when in real life some people are just like that not due to a mental condition. Although the hate towards the headcanons are a little extra.

Just to add, looking for representation isn't the only reason people might headcanon. It can also be for self-shipping reasons or maybe just because it's fun and feels right and you're vibing with it.

4 characters who I think are probably autism coded whose autism doesn't get talked about much on the Internet. 1 David Tennant and Matt Smith's Dr. Who 2 Deku from my hero academia. 3 Hermione Grainger from Harry Potter 4 Senku Dr. Stone

As someone who’s autistic, I headcanon a character as autistic. Alhaitham from Genshin Impact! He wears noise canceling headphones because he can’t handle loud noises, says things in a pretty monotonous way, usually excuses himself from social interactions because they’re tiring for him, turned down a high ranking and important position because it would mean giving up the position he already is comfortable with, and has a different interpretation of what to share to people he trusts (“Huh, I was under the impression that sharing what you do in your free time is more personal than telling someone your thoughts or opinions.”). He literally even says that people are wary and intimidated by him, so they don’t really talk to him much... *And he hopes it stays that way.* His roommate also can’t stand him because he’s ‘insufferable to be around’ and that the reason everyone doesn’t know how bad of a roommate he is is because he knows how to hide his actual self... Meaning Alhaitham is comfortable enough around his roommate to not put up a facade and be who he actually is. There’s so many other things that point to him being autistic without being a caricature that it’s crazy... But he isn’t confirmed as autistic. So, it’s my headcanon. He’s a really cool and fun character and imagining him being autistic as well gives me a little bit of confidence!

I would add that characters that are headcanoned as autistic are better representation than characters consciously written as autistic by the writers, and that are full of their inaccurate presumptions about autism

I think Robert Pattinson's Batman is autistically coded, and that's a head canon I haven't seen a lot of people discuss yet.

I've been watching Columbo and as someone with ADHD I see so many of my mannerisms or behaviors in him. I know people often say he does this on purpose to annoy the suspect but, I prefer to think that just how he is and has found a way to use his ADHD to his advantage.

people who say ''why does everything need a label nowadays why cant we be quirky and weird'' are the same people to say ''there are so many people autistic nowadays in my time only the little 5 year old white boys were autistic''

I think some people are upset about autistic headcannons because of internalized ableism that makes them feel like relating to those characters means that they are autistic and therefore “not good enough.”

I'm autistic too but I wouldn't be surprised if either or both were true

As an autistic person I want to see more representation, and ..in the general absence of it, enjoy and have headcanons of autistic coded characters _in principle.._ though it can be frustrating whenever that representation or headcanon is for a very _specific_ idea of what autism is, or what autistic people are like. The range of depicted/decernable traits, -like ASD itself, i feel could stand to be way more varied and nuanced to the individual. Ideally a show that deliberately goes to show/explore autism should do so in a subtle way where maybe the other characters don't really know that character has autism, just that they are different and want to understand why that may be. Conversely a character who isn't ever stated in universe to be autistic, but demonstrates distinguishing traits like unconciously approching social problems with logic rather than emotion, reacting adversely to touch or high sensory enviorments, tendency to stay socially withdrawn despite the desire to be seen. I'm tired of the steryotypical super genius or the super weirdo. --They exist yes, but they do not represent the vast majority of people who have ASD, --some of which may not even be aware they have it because of this narrow perception. Effectively, I just wish there was more creative variation in the representation and headcanons of autistic characters.

If I didn't have two daughters younger than you, I'd feel like a doddering old gen-x geezer right now trying to follow this video. I'd never heard "headcanon" before, but I've watched both Wednesday and Stranger Things because of my girls. I never really thought about Wednesday in relation to mental health or neurodiversity because she lives in a universe that requires SO MUCH suspension of disbelief. As for Eddie Munson, and the whole gen-x kids / 1980s thing, I can speak from life experience that they actually NAILED it! I was Eddie Munson, as were a huge chunk of my high school cohorts. Eddie might have been neurodivergent, as may have been some of my high school friends, but also that personality type was just VERY POPULAR back in the day and a lot of it was just emulation and trying to find a way to fit in as a teen in general... It turned out if you acted like Bon Scott from ACDC (that's who Munson reminds me of) or John Bender from The Breakfast Club or whatever it seemed to pay off in more respect from the other guys and some attention from the girls.

I didn’t know about the color thing for neurodivergents. I’m not diagnosed but I’m 95% sure I have ASD so ya know. I have really bad imposter syndrome, so when you said autistic people tend to not like colors immediately my brain said “I told you aren’t autistic, you’re just crazy”, but you also said autistic people could also LOVE color and that’s me, the more the colors and patterns their are the more I’m happy lol.

I am a lover of headcanons, my sister, however, hates my headcanons, she loves to say that I made everything gay and neurodivergent and that I have 'ruined all her favourite shows' I am never allowed to gush at home about my favourite shows because my sister literally tells me to shut up, I'm annoying, it is so annoying to live with her.

I loved the video, then Loved the excitement you showed over just crossing the 1,000 subscriber threshold, and then LOVED seeing that as of this moment when I finished watching the video, you have over 67,000 subscribers (including me). Seeing you blow up in under a year and a half is SO cool - and in my opinion, extremely well deserved. Love your perspective, and look forward to seeing whatever you post, even though I never manage to catch it in real time... obviously, since I'm just now seeing a post from Dec. of 2022. Anyway, keep it up!!!

I just love your content. Discovered you yesterday when I was researching women with adhd and autism because I believe I am one. You are very talented and I appreciate your wit. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of amazing women you will become.

When we head cannon characters as neurodivergent it’s because we relate to them a LOT Besides people who actually are diagnosed with stuff like autism and adhd I find are pretty good at identifying it in others as we are often very aware of how it affects ourselves in certain cases. It’s not like we’re head cannoning random characters as neurodivergent for no reason other than just for the sake of it!

The very first time i watched the show Bones I could see how autistic the main character presented. And as it turns out, that character was based on a person in the creator's life that has autism. They just never confirmed it in the show because of the backlash they'd probably get. I watched the show and rewatched it. Never made it to the end cuz i've read spoilers of what happens and just don't wanna see it. But I absolutely loved the show because of the autistic representation (which I only just now found out was canonical cuz I looked it up to make sure this comment was accurate.)

Quirky, awkward and weird are literally whys that people LABEL others!!!!! Its LABELING how they act!!!!!! That just frustrates me so much!!!! And "weird" or "quirky guys" are also ways ppl label groups of ppl to be rude and mean!!

It’s tricky, actual representation is preferable, for sure. But, in lieu of that, is pointing out a character that may be on the spectrum such a bad thing? The character may be undiagnosed and unaware, like many people in the real world.

My internal response to someone being mad is always: "well I think you're just headcannoning that they're neurotypical🙄"

I think you kind of nailed it when you said better, more realistic representation is needed? Tbh as a neurodivergent person, I don't mind if people think that unconfirmed characters are or aren't neurodivergent, what annoys me is that it seems like only two extremes get jumped on, either the really cool (not without flaws obvs) characters or the really awful ones (almost as an excuse or buying into stereotypes, like Sheldon). That's fine, but not as the *only* time that happens - I want more diversity. I'd kind of like there to be more people excited to label a character who isn't "obviously" X as X. It can be kind of upsetting thinking that people are only willing to identify someone's neurodivergence if they're either a walking stereotype, or "cool enough" that it "doesn't matter"?

What you said about the lack of representation is so true. There’s also the fact that conditions like Autism and ADHD are often laughed at, dismissed, and boiled down to jokes about “the minecraft kid your mom made you hang out with” and “SQUIRREL!” So maybe there’s some catharsis for me to watch a show like Avatar or One Piece and headcanon the main protagonists as having ADHD. Like you said, maybe if we had better representation in the first place….

Great video! It’s always weird to see how viscerally angry people get at autistic/nd people for relating to fictional characters.

I personally think what your saying is completely true. Im just here to say that when people mention Wednesdays odd dance its supposed to gothic (because goth is a music based subculture) and the dance is a gothic dance.

As long as the creator of characters doesn't explicitly states certain things about the characters there will always be room for interpretation. And these interpretations can't be wrong or right. And I have no idea why some people are so opposed to the idea that others might see certain characters differently. Have to say though that characters which can only be interpreted as neurodivergent often come across as more believable and realistic than characters that are neurodivergent in canon.

I recently got bullied for asking a neurodivergent group if they think Tinkerbell is autistic and some allistic got SO mad. LIKE WHY ARE YOU HERE!! I have a special interest in headcanons, this video is so helpful because people don’t get it 💖

This is just the teen/adult version of my little cousin telling me I’m playing pretend “wrong”. Anyway, I love headcanoning characters as autistic because I’ve never related to many characters at all *because* of my autistic traits, so when I see a character that’s ‘like me’, I’m like “AUTISM ♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️”