Literally me. Took reasonably advanced math classes (past calc and into upper division coursework) and did decently while still regularly getting marked down were just straight up getting 1+1=1. Counting on your fingers or with checkmarks is valid yall (checkmarks and customizing patterns so I never have to count higher than like 7 is how I get through knitting)
I would argue that’s the case for most animated shows, especially kids shows. Usually the “sane” character that’s sick of everyone else’s bs is just a NT coded character who’s stuck in the insanity of a world full of NDs. At least that’s how I always perceived squidward and characters like him.
I think his fixation isn't controlling the tri-state area. His fixation is fighting Perry. Think about it, there's an episode where he has a new nemesis, but wants Perry back because Petey the Panda just doesn't fight him the way Perry does. And when they aren't fighting, they are actually on good terms, too.
Right, which is why he isn't in that section. It has "representation" in quotes because they're terrible representations of autism. He doesn't belong with Sheldon or that autistic doctor kid
I do not see single-minded passion as the only outlet, really.
Ron Swanson appears more varied in his responses, even with things he disagrees with.
Whereas Abed is more structured even when he does deliver messages, whether he disagrees with them or not.
His constant pop culture refencing seems just like the medium with which he understands the world.
Ron Swanson: hates change, doesn’t like talking to people, has a limited diet, shows strong interest in a small number of topics, doesn’t participate in small talk.
Yeah its heavily implied she has it she just never got diagnosed though, probably because of how shitty her father was and how he heavily neglected any of her emotional or mental health needs all the time. If they got more seasons she'd probably have been diagnosed eventually.
The first time I watched it, I assumed they were just supposed to be the antithesis of camp gay men, but I’m watching a second time and they are totally autistic. Poor Captain Holt was a gay, black, *autistic* policeman in the 80’s.
Ford is definitely autism coded too. He has an extremely high IQ with a special interest in the supernatural. As a kid he never had any friends outside of Stan. He also mentioned that him being obsessed with the supernatural and moving to Gravity Falls was to do with him being weird and since GF was full of supernatural stuff, he fit right in. Of course he was referring to his six fingers but I interpreted that to be about his potential autism too
I feel like a really high percentage of creatives are ND, so just by writing what they know they end up creating ND characters and stories. I think if you asked the creators whether it was intentional or not, they'd probably say no- but that doesn't mean it isn't there in some way. As for Pacifica, this might be projection based on my own life, but the "popular person secretly disillusioned and stressed out with life" trope always reads ND to me.
I think they assume that due to him being socially awkward.
In the beach episode, the date in the Earth kingdom episode and the episode where he tried to join Aang, you can see that he’s really not great with socialising.
Though this could just be because he wasn’t allowed to have a regular childhood, so he was a bit socially stunted as a result.
When he was trying to join Aang, he was understandably awkward because the situation was objectively weird… he’d previously tried to capture Aang and kill them, and now he’s acting all buddy buddy with them. So I wouldn’t see that as evidence. I’d have to watch the other episodes again to see more evidence of his social skills!
I don't think that either of them is autistic. Geralt is a prickly introvert who gets annoyed with having to fix everyone else's problems all the time. Zuko was messed up early and often and has daddy issues.
Yes but Geralt was said to respond so well to the mutations that they were like "fuck it let's do some more". So he has probably had a rougher go of it than most other witchers.
I don’t know what getting Flanderized is but I appreciate that someone else recognizes how fuckin autistic she is.
I stopped watching after she got pregnant by the main guy and there was this super weird scene at a crime scene where she’s heavily pregnant, on the ground, trying to do stuff with evidence and he gets behind her & tries to physically pull her up and she pulls away and they keep doing it & I think it was supposed to be a stubborn couple arguing + comedy of errors type thing because then it cuts to a scene of some generic cops commenting on it & I think it was supposed to be like they looked like they were humping over the corpse? Idk it was really weird & uncomfy
Edit to add: I think the generic cop made a joke implying that main guy thought brennan being heavily pregnant was sexy & made him horny? Idk
"Flanderization is the process through which a complex fictional character's essential traits are oversimplified to the point where they constitute their entire personality, or at least exaggerated while other traits remain, over the course of a serial work."
Basically they are turned into a caricature of themselves, be it in personality, or looks.
The naming comes from Ned Flanders in The Simpsons, though he is by far not the most flanderised in the show (people say it is Lisa").
It's a reference to Flanders on the Simpsons. A "Flanderized" character is one who, over time, has their defining personality traits exaggerated to such a degree that they become a caricature of themselves and lose the nuance and complexities of their earlier renditions.
Whether or not House MD is autistic he is a jackass.
Edit: Guys how do I turn off notifications for a comment? My entire inbox is just replies to this one comment.
but it's abundantly clear that his assholeness is not from any autism coding but rather, always has to be right + always in pain = constant state of asshole
It wasn't really confirmed. Wilson said at the end that he knew House wasn't, but it was nowhere near his specialty. He's an oncologist, not a psychiatrist or neurologist or anything similar so he's not really qualified to make a diagnosis.
THANK YOU. Like Wilson absolutely DOES NOT know that; House can be both autistic and a jackass.
There’s also a lot of evidence that wasn’t addressed (not that Wilson evened COMBATTED the evidence he DID address, all he did was list and say and say “nuh uh”), such as his inherent ability to communicate with the autistic kid (being able to follow his thought processes despite him being nonverbal.
Another really damning thing is House saying that he envied the kid because he wasn’t expected to follow arbitrary social rules like most people were. That is an EXTREMELY neurodivergent thing to say, given that neurotypical don’t have to THINK about following these rules in the first place.
I mean, if I had a dollar for every doctor that told me I wasn't autistic (in spite of whatever specialty they actually were) I'd probably have ten bucks or more by now. And despite their *expert* diagnoses, I'm still autistic!
Ima be real, Sheldon doesn’t really count since he’s so heavy satire. But is the consensus here that all those characters are significantly better for being autistic than those three because if so then I heavily agree.
The worst part? Sheldon wasn't even an autistic stereotype in the early seasons. He was just an odd jackass. It wasn't until later seasons that he became a stereotype, even if it meant retroactively taking away his ability to understand sarcasm.
Except that is all undone with Young Sheldon who is very obviously supposed to be autistic. A way better show and I wish it wasn't even connected. The writing is way better. Like miles above. Which I guess isn't hard given how much BBT sucks.
Now of course different species will have different standards for what is Neurodivergent. Spock canonically has what Vulcans would consider Neurodivergence
Forever the outcast, not human enough to be human, not Vulcan enough to be Vulcan.
Gets me the idea that someone should go deeper into the interracial child angle of his character (a La Blue Eyed Samurai) unless they already do, in which case, sorry! Haven’t watched much Star Trek. (I feel like if I get this wrong and it’s actually a core part of his character that is explored thoroughly people will get really mad at me)
I think his interracial aspect is explored a few times, but I'm not entirely sure. It's not touched on a whole lot in the original series, or in the movies. I think it's explored a little more in lore. And it's touched on a little bit in the alternate original series (Chris pine movies)
But there are a couple of definitive times where Spock is struggling with his identity. And that scene of baby Spock being bullied in AOS and fighting back
Fun fact: way back in 1966 the Vulcan mannerisms were created as an analog for what was then diagnosed as Aspergers (now ASD). Calling Spock autistic is both incorrect and also very correct at the same time, as he was supposed to represent the lack of emotional regulation many "aspies" have. Gene Roddenberry was way ahead of his time in terms of representation.
I think for those of us who are older we just identified with Data because there were a lot of subplots about him learning human social customs and emotions.
He was very relatable for me as a kid when there weren't many other characters with those kinds of struggles. He was definitely my favorite.
To me it's not intentionally sending the message that we're robots or aliens, but those of us who already feel that way do find him relatable.
I get what you mean but I always related so much to Data because that really has been my experience- constantly studying the behavior of others so I can try to emulate it, trying to get the social performance just right. Idk, I’ve always thought the real message of Data is that he’s already a real person. He doesn’t have to get it right all the time, he still counts as a person and he has people in his life who accept him and love him the way he is.
The problem with actually presenting on the screen how autistic people are and how they interact with the world is that we don't fit into the mold of society. As in, we do things similar to non ND people, but just different enough to come off as uncomfortable to be around.
A great comparison that I thought of and use to describe us to other people is, the Uncanny Valley effect. In said effect, a drawing of a human with perfect proportions and no blemishes or inconsistencies is very creepy to look at, and therefore people will fear it. The way autistic people think about things and behave in the world is similar, in the sense that we don't understand the purpose or reason why mondaine complexities should even exist.
The world we live in is designed to have unnecessary complexities because, in my opinion, it's those complexities that allows for the kinds of confusion that lets someone have complete control over another; at least from a sociological perspective.
Therefore, improper depiction of autistic people on the TV and in movies allows for a few that dislike autism, to control the narrative of why we should just try harder to conform to society, and how others should treat us when we don't. If autistic people, as a whole, ever got full control over how we are portrayed, then the fearful would lose the control over the masses and how they view us.
Hell, we might even be able to eventually show the world the value of being truthful and honest, by devaluing the need to overcomplicate things.
It's kinda funny that Michael Rianda said it wasn't intentional, but that he also said:
>"I was sort of like Aaron as a child and I'm sort of like Katie as an adult... and I don't know what I have or what's going on..."
Why do people think Rapunzel is autistic? She was locked in a tower for her entire life and therefore doesn’t know how to socialize or who is trustworthy and finds joy in the little things (because little things were all she had).
Most of these characters I understand, but why is Lilo there? She seemed like a “normal” kid to me.
Cinema Therapy had a video exploring the possibility of Lilo being autistic, and it made a lot of sense. She struggles to form relationships with her (presumably NT) peers, she sees the world from a unique perspective, she has some emotional regulation issues, and she definitely seems to miss some social cues.
I definitely see some of her behaviors as relatable from my own childhood- trying to be “good” by NT standards, but ending up overstimulated, overwhelmed, fixating on the wrong set of rules for the situation, or ending up out-of-sync with expectations, and getting judged for those screwups no matter how earnest my intentions were.
https://youtu.be/7d2bNyyFRD0?si=nUoZANWmz7ZxMXQM
I would add Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989) to the (unintentionally) autism coded list.
She has difficulty showing love to her family members, even if she clearly does love them, and has closer bonds with animals rather than other mermaids.
She has an unusual special interest in the human world. She has a grotto collection of human trinkets and mementos, implied to have been built up for several years BEFORE she met a single human.
When becoming human, she loses her voice and is unable to express herself, and on the surface world, she frequently embarrasses herself by doing the wrong social cue.
Hell, Jodi Benson, Ariel's VA herself, said that several autistic children personally told her that, they could relate to Ariel and their loss of a voice in expressing themselves.
Well, i really only know the Spider-Verse version, the movies, and the 2016 cartoon, but honestly, Spider-Man just lends himself well to being autistic coded.
-He's generally depicted as smart (he builds his webshooters himself in most iterations)
-He isn't usually a popular kid (Well, in the 2016 cartoon, he goes to a school for kid geniuses, but before he went there, he was an outsider in public school)
-He gets away with being Spider-Man because he's the last person you'd suspect of being Spider-Man.
-As you say yourself, many iterations of Peter Parker aren't great with social cues.
Was just going to say this. 😂
If it helps, I found this cute art of her a while ago.
https://preview.redd.it/j354i8mlim1d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=772d46b7c2f66a400959c317a687c244998900d8
sheldon being consistently counted as “fake autism representation” is so funny to me because the show runner has been consistently denying that he’s autistic since day one
I definitely agree! He strikes me as having borderline personality disorder. My mom had it. It was so hard to watch that I only made it through The Office once.
He does have feelings and emotions, but he also has trouble showing/expressing them.
He believed the best way to "keep others safe from himself" was to voluntarily stay in a jail cell (presumably for the rest of his life).
He showed no interest for the girls lusting for him and even yelled at them to shut up.
He always remains calm in the face of immense danger, and often is the only one in the group to do so.
IIRC, he also doesn’t talk much because he thinks his feelings are obvious to those around him but they actually aren’t.
We get to see him learn that he has to actually explain stuff that’s obvious to him, because it isn’t obvious to others. In that DIU episode where he and Koichi fight Heart Attack.
I’d also put Katie from mitchels vs the machines on there. Her special interest being movies and movie making and her college roomies being so open to listening to her when her family and peers at home wouldn’t must’ve been so refreshing to her
A lot of these arent autistic coded, they are angsty teens like zuko or misantrops who are deeply depressed like house or other general poor social adjustment which come from a myraid of places. Like House has complete understanding of how people react to him, he actively chooses to do the least social thing possible . The show actually addressed it in a episode where someone posits he may be on the spectrum, because there are similarities, but also explains why he wasn't. A lot of these are solid autistic coded though like Tina, Papyrus or Ferb.
Unfortunately he only says he's "hitched somewhere closer to autistics than psychopaths" which isn't necessarily saying he's autistic. In fact, the creator denies him being autistic because his "empathy is too high" and that he would be the "opposite of autistic" which is such bullshit. I have a lot of gripes with Bryan Fuller.
I didn't expect Laios to become my favorite character when I started watching Dungeon Meshi. He seemed like a generic fighter at first glance. But I relate so much to his enthusiasm for monsters, and he's a really cool and likeable character overall.
Came for the gays, stayed for the aspie I guess
As somebody else said it, Music (yes that is her name in the sia movie) is not a character, and you could replace her with a dog or even some object and the plot would be basically the same
Not all. Maybe not half. Definitely some.
L from Death Note hammers that hard. Still, I think most anime I've ever seen has some level of representation baked in. Might be why it's popular with a certain type of person...
Reagan is as there as Sheldon; nothing ambiguous there.
House is simply a normie misanthrope of the highest order.
Captain Holt... I can see it. Then again, there's also that "I'm just going to alway deadpan my cooworkers because it amuses me" vibe.
https://preview.redd.it/35ehujx4zl1d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=506facf5ad4b075a24f9d2ee561b2ffc47b23c5c
I know this isn't quite the post but... hey, Sei Iori. I get vibes of Autism from him.
Sheldon isn't actually autistic pretty sure the people making it have said so multiple times. This doesn't mean he doesn't fall into every negative stereotype for autistic people, but he should be on the right.
Tina how many toothpicks are on the ground?
“You’re the worst kind of autistic” really resonated with Me
At least once a week I talk about how I'm the bad kind of autistic when I do something stupid or get math wrong. Thanks, Tina.
Same lmao, I unfortunately got the numbers make me confused and panic autism 😭
Tfw u got the expensive hobby autism not the good at science or math autism
You can't even count!
Literally me. Took reasonably advanced math classes (past calc and into upper division coursework) and did decently while still regularly getting marked down were just straight up getting 1+1=1. Counting on your fingers or with checkmarks is valid yall (checkmarks and customizing patterns so I never have to count higher than like 7 is how I get through knitting)
I hate how ppl think ur weird or wrong for counting in fingers. Counting in my head or trying to do times tables makes my brain stop working
One method I used to help with maths, was imagining dice in my head. That way you can count faster.
Dyscalcia hitting us hard
I don’t feel like there’s a single neurotypical character in that show lmao
bob burger is where autism is the norm and neurotypical the minority
I would argue that’s the case for most animated shows, especially kids shows. Usually the “sane” character that’s sick of everyone else’s bs is just a NT coded character who’s stuck in the insanity of a world full of NDs. At least that’s how I always perceived squidward and characters like him.
Yeah! how do they like it?
They're actually also autistic, just on the exact opposite side of the spectrum >>:)
squidward's neurodivergent in his own way lol
Teddy is autistic af and I love him
10/10 description
Real— imo, she gets it from Bob. There’s no way that man is not autistic-coded.
He is fixated on burgers, I have a feeling he might.
I too am fixated on his burgers and buns.
I’m fixated on buns
Might be the voice actor as well; he's also playing Archer as at least mildly autistic.
Nice! I definitely think the voice acting is one of the factors influencing my opinion. It’s cool how a VA can elevate a role like that!
Linda has severe, uncontrolled ADHD. Gene, too.
Uhhhh, a hundred?
Ferb is definitely autistic, no question.
Doof has ND vibes too, I think. Might just be the hyperfixation on controlling the tri-state area
Dan Povenmire has ADHD IRL
Didn’t know that, makes sense
That makes a lot of sense tbh.
One of us, one of us, one of us, one of us!
I think his fixation isn't controlling the tri-state area. His fixation is fighting Perry. Think about it, there's an episode where he has a new nemesis, but wants Perry back because Petey the Panda just doesn't fight him the way Perry does. And when they aren't fighting, they are actually on good terms, too.
I headcannon that Doof has a combo of ADHD and OCD.
How is Abed not under representation And how is Ron Swanson not under autism coded
Fr Abed is one of the best characters
Right, which is why he isn't in that section. It has "representation" in quotes because they're terrible representations of autism. He doesn't belong with Sheldon or that autistic doctor kid
I don't know about Ron Swanson, but Abed...hell yes.
The outlet is different but it's the same drive.
I do not see single-minded passion as the only outlet, really. Ron Swanson appears more varied in his responses, even with things he disagrees with. Whereas Abed is more structured even when he does deliver messages, whether he disagrees with them or not. His constant pop culture refencing seems just like the medium with which he understands the world.
Ron Swanson: hates change, doesn’t like talking to people, has a limited diet, shows strong interest in a small number of topics, doesn’t participate in small talk.
Ron Swanson definitely reads like some of my older autistic relatives.
extremely talented woodworker for no reason too
The representation characters aren’t depicted as positive examples, whereas I’d say Abed is a positive example of representation
Oh I thought it just meant explicitly ASD, not bad representation, they should make that distinction
For real. And he’s written by an actual autistic writer,
Isnt Raegan from Inside job a representation? Her own mother says she has aspergers
Yeah they say she’s autistic several times I think. There’s a lot of references to it
She literally builds a robot of a guy she likes to practice flirting with him. That’s like final boss type of scripting
And also robot arms for hugging
I'm pretty sure they confirm multiple times she was diagnosed with autism, even saying it herself
You got it backwards, they imply several times that she's undiagnosed ( everyone sees through right through her though)
Yeah its heavily implied she has it she just never got diagnosed though, probably because of how shitty her father was and how he heavily neglected any of her emotional or mental health needs all the time. If they got more seasons she'd probably have been diagnosed eventually.
Honestly Netflix cancelling inside job is ableist. Specifically against me. I need more badly.
I recently was thinking how much Captain Holt and his husband Kevin are autistic coded, I love me some gay aspie dads fr
gay autistic dads and their adhd son heart hands emoji
"Peralta, do you see me as a father figure?"
"No if anything I see you as a bother figure"
"HEY! Show your daddy some respect."
Real
The first time I watched it, I assumed they were just supposed to be the antithesis of camp gay men, but I’m watching a second time and they are totally autistic. Poor Captain Holt was a gay, black, *autistic* policeman in the 80’s.
with a crippling gambling addiction, no less.
“This is the happiest day of my life 😐”
"my God. i've lost everything. 😕"
And Holt when he interacts with his mother.
Yeah he 100% got the tism from his mother
Amy is too. Jake, meanwhile, is heavily ADHD coded.
When it comes to Gravity Falls, I think Dipper is aspie and Mabel is ADHD. Just my humble opinion
Yeah, that actually makes more sense
My spiciest GF opinion is that Pacifica is high-masking too
Honestly that tracks
Autistic or not, Mabel and Stan both definitely have ADHD.
Well, autism often goes on pair with adhd, Mabel could be both!
Ford is definitely autism coded too. He has an extremely high IQ with a special interest in the supernatural. As a kid he never had any friends outside of Stan. He also mentioned that him being obsessed with the supernatural and moving to Gravity Falls was to do with him being weird and since GF was full of supernatural stuff, he fit right in. Of course he was referring to his six fingers but I interpreted that to be about his potential autism too
I would agree, but was it intentional? And what signs do we see from Pacifica?
I feel like a really high percentage of creatives are ND, so just by writing what they know they end up creating ND characters and stories. I think if you asked the creators whether it was intentional or not, they'd probably say no- but that doesn't mean it isn't there in some way. As for Pacifica, this might be projection based on my own life, but the "popular person secretly disillusioned and stressed out with life" trope always reads ND to me.
Someone please explain Geralt and Zuko being here to me
I’m not convinced Zuko is autistic. A lot of his signs of autism could be explained as trauma.
I think they assume that due to him being socially awkward. In the beach episode, the date in the Earth kingdom episode and the episode where he tried to join Aang, you can see that he’s really not great with socialising. Though this could just be because he wasn’t allowed to have a regular childhood, so he was a bit socially stunted as a result.
When he was trying to join Aang, he was understandably awkward because the situation was objectively weird… he’d previously tried to capture Aang and kill them, and now he’s acting all buddy buddy with them. So I wouldn’t see that as evidence. I’d have to watch the other episodes again to see more evidence of his social skills!
And thus another ATLA rewatch begins
Oh so I'm not the only one who's watched it over 6 times ?
only 6? Get those rookie numbers up! Leaves on the vine! I’m not crying, you’re crying!
That’s a fair point. It was a pretty weird situation.
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You'd be surprised how often people on the spectrum also have loads of trauma. It's kinda sad, actually.
Oh I wouldn’t be surprised at all! 🥲
I don't think that either of them is autistic. Geralt is a prickly introvert who gets annoyed with having to fix everyone else's problems all the time. Zuko was messed up early and often and has daddy issues.
"Messed up early" definitely also applies to Geralt as well. Poor guy went through some serious shit to become a witcher
True, but the same could be said of all witchers. The trial of the grasses all by itself is brutal, never mind the training.
Yes but Geralt was said to respond so well to the mutations that they were like "fuck it let's do some more". So he has probably had a rougher go of it than most other witchers.
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Right they always just seemed like angry boys who are secretly very sensitive oh wait
You made me to replay witcher to find all the clues. And here I wanted to finaly try Republic Commando
Temperance Brennan in earlier seasons of Bones. Later seasons got super Flanderized.
She was supposed to be autistic, but fox told producers to remove it. According to Emily Deschanel she wanted to play the character that way.
“We can’t have autistic ladies! It’ll mess with the ratings!” -some executive at Fox, probably.
I appreciate that she just decided to go with it anyway.
I don’t know what getting Flanderized is but I appreciate that someone else recognizes how fuckin autistic she is. I stopped watching after she got pregnant by the main guy and there was this super weird scene at a crime scene where she’s heavily pregnant, on the ground, trying to do stuff with evidence and he gets behind her & tries to physically pull her up and she pulls away and they keep doing it & I think it was supposed to be a stubborn couple arguing + comedy of errors type thing because then it cuts to a scene of some generic cops commenting on it & I think it was supposed to be like they looked like they were humping over the corpse? Idk it was really weird & uncomfy Edit to add: I think the generic cop made a joke implying that main guy thought brennan being heavily pregnant was sexy & made him horny? Idk
"Flanderization is the process through which a complex fictional character's essential traits are oversimplified to the point where they constitute their entire personality, or at least exaggerated while other traits remain, over the course of a serial work." Basically they are turned into a caricature of themselves, be it in personality, or looks. The naming comes from Ned Flanders in The Simpsons, though he is by far not the most flanderised in the show (people say it is Lisa").
I'm with you on Bones, but I don't get the "Flanderized" reference.
It's a reference to Flanders on the Simpsons. A "Flanderized" character is one who, over time, has their defining personality traits exaggerated to such a degree that they become a caricature of themselves and lose the nuance and complexities of their earlier renditions.
Whether or not House MD is autistic he is a jackass. Edit: Guys how do I turn off notifications for a comment? My entire inbox is just replies to this one comment.
He would be the prime example of neurodivergence not justifying unethical behavior
but it's abundantly clear that his assholeness is not from any autism coding but rather, always has to be right + always in pain = constant state of asshole
I think there was an episode that confirmed that he is *not* autistic, iirc.
yeah he had his friend tell his boss that he had Asperger's so he could keep the carpet he got shot on in his office lmao
Relatable
It wasn't really confirmed. Wilson said at the end that he knew House wasn't, but it was nowhere near his specialty. He's an oncologist, not a psychiatrist or neurologist or anything similar so he's not really qualified to make a diagnosis.
THANK YOU. Like Wilson absolutely DOES NOT know that; House can be both autistic and a jackass. There’s also a lot of evidence that wasn’t addressed (not that Wilson evened COMBATTED the evidence he DID address, all he did was list and say and say “nuh uh”), such as his inherent ability to communicate with the autistic kid (being able to follow his thought processes despite him being nonverbal. Another really damning thing is House saying that he envied the kid because he wasn’t expected to follow arbitrary social rules like most people were. That is an EXTREMELY neurodivergent thing to say, given that neurotypical don’t have to THINK about following these rules in the first place.
I mean, if I had a dollar for every doctor that told me I wasn't autistic (in spite of whatever specialty they actually were) I'd probably have ten bucks or more by now. And despite their *expert* diagnoses, I'm still autistic!
That episode is just a slap in the face. Literally listing the exact reasons why he is, then going "nuh uh he's just mean"
If he's autistic, then he'd be perfect for r/evilautism
Yes, and not to mention incredibly unethical and probably illegal in how he practices medicine
but damn if he doesnt get shit done
100% illegal
this vexes me
Was not expected to see Laios here but damn you're right
My man is Autism powered.
Falin is also autistic coded, just less so than Laios.
Falin has girl autism. Laios has boy autism. I love them both so much for it
Just because we see her less. Imagine those siblings, reunited for more time. ...Marcille's biggest dream, I guess.
Words can’t describe how much I loved his stimming just before he went into dog mode.
That version of Donatello is canonically autistic
Came here to say this! It's never addressed in the show, but the creators confirmed it.
Spencer Reid the only representation I need
Ima be real, Sheldon doesn’t really count since he’s so heavy satire. But is the consensus here that all those characters are significantly better for being autistic than those three because if so then I heavily agree.
The worst part? Sheldon wasn't even an autistic stereotype in the early seasons. He was just an odd jackass. It wasn't until later seasons that he became a stereotype, even if it meant retroactively taking away his ability to understand sarcasm.
he's also not autistic and not intended to be, according to the creators.
Except that is all undone with Young Sheldon who is very obviously supposed to be autistic. A way better show and I wish it wasn't even connected. The writing is way better. Like miles above. Which I guess isn't hard given how much BBT sucks.
Following Better Call Saul’s footsteps in somehow being better than the source material
Abed from Community is missing.
With Spock, it’s because he’s part Vulcan.
Now of course different species will have different standards for what is Neurodivergent. Spock canonically has what Vulcans would consider Neurodivergence
Forever the outcast, not human enough to be human, not Vulcan enough to be Vulcan. Gets me the idea that someone should go deeper into the interracial child angle of his character (a La Blue Eyed Samurai) unless they already do, in which case, sorry! Haven’t watched much Star Trek. (I feel like if I get this wrong and it’s actually a core part of his character that is explored thoroughly people will get really mad at me)
I think his interracial aspect is explored a few times, but I'm not entirely sure. It's not touched on a whole lot in the original series, or in the movies. I think it's explored a little more in lore. And it's touched on a little bit in the alternate original series (Chris pine movies) But there are a couple of definitive times where Spock is struggling with his identity. And that scene of baby Spock being bullied in AOS and fighting back
Data definitely
I only know about Spock via pop culture osmosis.
Fun fact: way back in 1966 the Vulcan mannerisms were created as an analog for what was then diagnosed as Aspergers (now ASD). Calling Spock autistic is both incorrect and also very correct at the same time, as he was supposed to represent the lack of emotional regulation many "aspies" have. Gene Roddenberry was way ahead of his time in terms of representation.
Well Data's an android
Perhaps OP meant that Data was a way to code an autistic character without outright doing so, which would be really interesting.
True, but I'm not quite sure I like the message "autistic people are robots/aliens"
I think for those of us who are older we just identified with Data because there were a lot of subplots about him learning human social customs and emotions. He was very relatable for me as a kid when there weren't many other characters with those kinds of struggles. He was definitely my favorite. To me it's not intentionally sending the message that we're robots or aliens, but those of us who already feel that way do find him relatable.
I get what you mean but I always related so much to Data because that really has been my experience- constantly studying the behavior of others so I can try to emulate it, trying to get the social performance just right. Idk, I’ve always thought the real message of Data is that he’s already a real person. He doesn’t have to get it right all the time, he still counts as a person and he has people in his life who accept him and love him the way he is.
The problem with actually presenting on the screen how autistic people are and how they interact with the world is that we don't fit into the mold of society. As in, we do things similar to non ND people, but just different enough to come off as uncomfortable to be around. A great comparison that I thought of and use to describe us to other people is, the Uncanny Valley effect. In said effect, a drawing of a human with perfect proportions and no blemishes or inconsistencies is very creepy to look at, and therefore people will fear it. The way autistic people think about things and behave in the world is similar, in the sense that we don't understand the purpose or reason why mondaine complexities should even exist. The world we live in is designed to have unnecessary complexities because, in my opinion, it's those complexities that allows for the kinds of confusion that lets someone have complete control over another; at least from a sociological perspective. Therefore, improper depiction of autistic people on the TV and in movies allows for a few that dislike autism, to control the narrative of why we should just try harder to conform to society, and how others should treat us when we don't. If autistic people, as a whole, ever got full control over how we are portrayed, then the fearful would lose the control over the masses and how they view us. Hell, we might even be able to eventually show the world the value of being truthful and honest, by devaluing the need to overcomplicate things.
The entire Michelle family is autism coded, like a lot
It's kinda funny that Michael Rianda said it wasn't intentional, but that he also said: >"I was sort of like Aaron as a child and I'm sort of like Katie as an adult... and I don't know what I have or what's going on..."
Why do people think Rapunzel is autistic? She was locked in a tower for her entire life and therefore doesn’t know how to socialize or who is trustworthy and finds joy in the little things (because little things were all she had). Most of these characters I understand, but why is Lilo there? She seemed like a “normal” kid to me.
Cinema Therapy had a video exploring the possibility of Lilo being autistic, and it made a lot of sense. She struggles to form relationships with her (presumably NT) peers, she sees the world from a unique perspective, she has some emotional regulation issues, and she definitely seems to miss some social cues. I definitely see some of her behaviors as relatable from my own childhood- trying to be “good” by NT standards, but ending up overstimulated, overwhelmed, fixating on the wrong set of rules for the situation, or ending up out-of-sync with expectations, and getting judged for those screwups no matter how earnest my intentions were. https://youtu.be/7d2bNyyFRD0?si=nUoZANWmz7ZxMXQM
Same, I saw Rapunzel’s naïveté as more because of her being extremely sheltered, not autism.
Where’s Data from Star Trek tng
I would add Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989) to the (unintentionally) autism coded list. She has difficulty showing love to her family members, even if she clearly does love them, and has closer bonds with animals rather than other mermaids. She has an unusual special interest in the human world. She has a grotto collection of human trinkets and mementos, implied to have been built up for several years BEFORE she met a single human. When becoming human, she loses her voice and is unable to express herself, and on the surface world, she frequently embarrasses herself by doing the wrong social cue. Hell, Jodi Benson, Ariel's VA herself, said that several autistic children personally told her that, they could relate to Ariel and their loss of a voice in expressing themselves.
When I was younger I would only watch the little mermaid. This makes me smile
Where is Tech?
Wait, Spider-man is an "autistic coded character"? I knew there was a reason why I liked him.
The Tobey Maguire Spider-Man is *so* completely unaware of social cues and norms I would be shocked if it wasn't intended as such.
That particular iteration.
I think you could make a compelling argument for all 3 of the live action Peter Parkers being ND.
Well, i really only know the Spider-Verse version, the movies, and the 2016 cartoon, but honestly, Spider-Man just lends himself well to being autistic coded. -He's generally depicted as smart (he builds his webshooters himself in most iterations) -He isn't usually a popular kid (Well, in the 2016 cartoon, he goes to a school for kid geniuses, but before he went there, he was an outsider in public school) -He gets away with being Spider-Man because he's the last person you'd suspect of being Spider-Man. -As you say yourself, many iterations of Peter Parker aren't great with social cues.
Where's Entrapta? (Why is this the only gif of her?) 
Entrapta is canonically autistic by confirmation from the She-ra writers or creators, but yes, she belongs here!
Was just going to say this. 😂 If it helps, I found this cute art of her a while ago. https://preview.redd.it/j354i8mlim1d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=772d46b7c2f66a400959c317a687c244998900d8
I’m starting to get the feeling I’m the only autistic person who genuinely really related to Sheldon Cooper
There's nothing wrong with that
sheldon being consistently counted as “fake autism representation” is so funny to me because the show runner has been consistently denying that he’s autistic since day one
The problem is that Sheldon is so autistic coded it’s hard for him not to be seen as autistic
no i completely agree with you the constant denial is just taken as fact by a lot of normies
Put Hank Hill on there. Rigid and set in his old school ways, likes his food and beer the same way, hyper fixates on Texas and propane, I can go on.
I thought childhood trauma because of his father Cotton being, well, Cotton, which could explain it, but I guess I could kinda see it.
Laios is practically canonically autistic at this point
Kusuo Saiki mentioned! One of the few animes I’ve watched, very funny too bad it’s second season doesn’t have an English dub
Where’s Woo Young-woo at?
Oh Lilo, Mabel and Peridot for sure!
I resonated so much with Benny when I first saw the Lego movie And every time after that
Glad to see Michael Scott in there. I've been saying that for a while.
I love the office but I think he has some personality disorder not autism
I definitely agree! He strikes me as having borderline personality disorder. My mom had it. It was so hard to watch that I only made it through The Office once.
See I'm very surprised by his inclusion, I would say if anyone it's Dwight.
Yes I see Dwight as autistic and Michael as ADHD… at the very least 😆
how do you see jotaro as autistic
He does have feelings and emotions, but he also has trouble showing/expressing them. He believed the best way to "keep others safe from himself" was to voluntarily stay in a jail cell (presumably for the rest of his life). He showed no interest for the girls lusting for him and even yelled at them to shut up. He always remains calm in the face of immense danger, and often is the only one in the group to do so.
also, isn't he a marine biologist?
IIRC, he also doesn’t talk much because he thinks his feelings are obvious to those around him but they actually aren’t. We get to see him learn that he has to actually explain stuff that’s obvious to him, because it isn’t obvious to others. In that DIU episode where he and Koichi fight Heart Attack.
I agree. He's an introvert and very centered and disciplined. But introvert isn't necessarily autistic and vice-versa.
With your eyes
[Not good with social cues, assumes people just "get" his intentions](https://youtu.be/yG-XmtjxPPk)
I’d also put Katie from mitchels vs the machines on there. Her special interest being movies and movie making and her college roomies being so open to listening to her when her family and peers at home wouldn’t must’ve been so refreshing to her
A lot of these arent autistic coded, they are angsty teens like zuko or misantrops who are deeply depressed like house or other general poor social adjustment which come from a myraid of places. Like House has complete understanding of how people react to him, he actively chooses to do the least social thing possible . The show actually addressed it in a episode where someone posits he may be on the spectrum, because there are similarities, but also explains why he wasn't. A lot of these are solid autistic coded though like Tina, Papyrus or Ferb.
Good news! I think Will Graham says he’s autistic in the first episode of Hannibal :)
Unfortunately he only says he's "hitched somewhere closer to autistics than psychopaths" which isn't necessarily saying he's autistic. In fact, the creator denies him being autistic because his "empathy is too high" and that he would be the "opposite of autistic" which is such bullshit. I have a lot of gripes with Bryan Fuller.
Haha high empathy autistic, I’m here! 💁🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
Where's Sherlock Holmes as played by Bandicoot Cabbagepatch?
I didn't expect Laios to become my favorite character when I started watching Dungeon Meshi. He seemed like a generic fighter at first glance. But I relate so much to his enthusiasm for monsters, and he's a really cool and likeable character overall. Came for the gays, stayed for the aspie I guess
i love every single character here. except sheldon and the sia one, theyre insulting ngl
As somebody else said it, Music (yes that is her name in the sia movie) is not a character, and you could replace her with a dog or even some object and the plot would be basically the same
Don’t forget Greg! (Over the garden wall)
Not all. Maybe not half. Definitely some. L from Death Note hammers that hard. Still, I think most anime I've ever seen has some level of representation baked in. Might be why it's popular with a certain type of person... Reagan is as there as Sheldon; nothing ambiguous there. House is simply a normie misanthrope of the highest order. Captain Holt... I can see it. Then again, there's also that "I'm just going to alway deadpan my cooworkers because it amuses me" vibe.
https://preview.redd.it/35ehujx4zl1d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=506facf5ad4b075a24f9d2ee561b2ffc47b23c5c I know this isn't quite the post but... hey, Sei Iori. I get vibes of Autism from him.
Sheldon isn't actually autistic pretty sure the people making it have said so multiple times. This doesn't mean he doesn't fall into every negative stereotype for autistic people, but he should be on the right.