advice for writers: autistic ppl are not stupid. they'll wait until their parents listen to them and get out of their room before they have a meltdown. ik its specific but it annoyes the shit out of me Annoying edit: 1.1K HŌA..
NOT MY SISTER!!! "I ARGUE WITH THE TV WHERE EVERYBODY CAN HERE IT!" and " when the family in coco says no music, I will kill them, with a bloody knife." - more or less, MY sister.
@@jarmoliebrand2005 Same i've never had a meltdown, mental breakdowns, shutdown or anything similar. I do get overstimulated or overwhelmed but it's usually not to bad and when i get home i feel better
@@Acorn905 Recognising when you should take a break from all the stimuli thrown at you is a great strength to have. One of my friends has been diagnosed way before I was and he is super honest and open when he wants to take a break from stimuli. He does all that on his own terms.
And nowww im on my way to do that for my characters 😭 + other mental disability quizzes cuz i don't want to false diagnose my characters as autistic or has ADHD
They probably have but didn't know it because they were masking too well and they perceived them as neurotypical. Most NT people only have the perception of Autism as low-functioning and with more severe symptoms. There's a lot of bias towards thinking Autistic people won't be good looking either actually. There's a lot of correlation between people not believing someone has autism and how put-together someone's appearance is.
@Pufferfishpancake Honestly the best advice I have is just make a post asking if any autistic people would be willing to chat. Or take inspiration from autistic characters generally considered well written
@PufferfishpancakeAutistic people can help, maybe you can chat with one (like with the post the other person mentioned) and after making the character, present it in another post so people can review it. It doesn’t matter if it’s stereotypical or not, it’s the way you present it and go about it in the story
As someone with Autism, I think what I dislike about a lot of Autistic Characters is the fact they act more like Robots than actual people, or that the Writer is making an Autistic Character, rather than a character who happens to be Autistic. It's why the Savant trope is my least favourite, yes I know people like them in real life, but they more feel like Robots that spit out info, or do what the plot demands, or to be a one-dimensional joke rather than being a character. Which is an insult to Robot character because the ones I've are more funny, human, and relatable to me as an Autistic person than some of these actually Autistic characters. My favourite Autistic head cannon of mine is Clancee from Ninjago, he is sweet and endearing character. He is shown in the show and books to enjoy cleaning, however is quite shy and stammers a lot in conversation. However, it's shown in the books and show that he can be quite talkative about cleaning or discussing how his crew members ended up in the crew, indicating that's his special interest (He also gives objects names, which is so cute!). He also is shown to have some problems with Anxiety, but is still able to stand up for himself, which is extremely relatable to me and I wish I could stand up to myself more. Most importantly, HE IS NOT TREATED LIKE AN OBJECT, CHILD, PLOT DEVICE, OR BURDEN, he is treated like any normal person would and is in fact loved by his crew and the people around him, and that is the key in my opinion, treat your Neurodivergent character with respect and like you would a Neurotypical character, and don't write the character with Autism in mind or as their only character trait, write them as PEOPLE WHO GET TREATED LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE BY OTHERS IN THE STORY, sure there's things and struggles we face you can add and commentate on with the character, but you should write an a character who happens to be Autistic, not an Autistic character. Like you said, the best Autistic representation are character who weren't written with Autism in mind. Anyways, thank for reading the long comment!
This is so true, the part that really sums it up is "The writer is making an autistic character, rather than a character who happens to be autistic." When their autism becomes their entire personality and they don't even get treated as another individual person with their own traits it feels very fake and weird.
You need to make them a person with character of their own is the main thing, with arcs and relationships it’s why characters like Tech from Star Wars work as rep better than Music who has no arc of her own. They can be robotic, because some people are sort of robotic pending on what part of the spectrum they’re on, but they have to have a character. Tech is the “smart guy” trope but he has an arc, he has development, he has a character outside of that.
@@genericartist3553 yeh I had some ideas of who you were talking about, I was just ranting about Tech because I love tech. And adding that a character having an arc and stuff can sort of stop the robot thing from being as abysmal. I wish Shaun was better written, because I love him since he’s got some traits I relate to. I wish that they actually did it properly and made him a real character.
I agree that Shawn is problematic which is a shame because I really like Freddie Highmore. It bugs me that he sounds so robotic even when he is very happy.
Autistic gal here! Some notes: Whatever terms a neurodivergent prefers is subjective; just don't call somebody disabled "specially-abled" because they simply can't do things others can and pretending like they can is patronizing (my preference is "autistic" rather than "autistic person" or "person with autism" because I don't see autism as dehumanizing in the first place) Asperger's is outdated not only because the difference between it and "high-functioning" autism are indistinguishable, the scientist it's named after was a Nazi who killed disabled children (no hard feelings, I kept calling myself this too until I learned that) My favorite method of visualizing the spectrum is switches--it doesn't lock certain traits onto certain levels and, if it fits, they can be turned on and off, because some activate under specific circumstances like non-verbalness when overwhelmed NEVER RESTRAIN SOMEBODY HAVING A MELTDOWN. Imagine being lost in grief and suddenly getting tackled to the floor with all body parts immovable. We'd both assume we were being kidnapped, not comforted! _Ask_ if there's anything you can do, and if not or you can't communicate with them, give them space. You can write hilarious, non-offensive jokes about neurodivergents, it just has to be accurate and laughing with them rather than at them. Don't have the punchline be "they're annoying" but something along the lines of "they're doing something comedically ridiculous which is endearing" Entirely autistic people can hyperfocus too, along with people with both and only ADHD Neurodivergents are people, so it's okay to write some as bad as long as your story shows there's good ones, too "EVERY disabled person wants to be cured" is an ableist trope because it assumes all of their life is misery and depressing for those who can't get/don't want one, like they can never be the protagonist if they're not "fixed". If a character gets rid of their condition, have someone else who doesn't and have both be happy to illustrate groups are not monoliths Goodluck!
Personally, as someone who was diagnosed with Asperger’s in 2009, I still like to call myself an Aspie. I don’t want the history of a word to affect the perception of it, especially since it’s not a slur. Also, seeing “specially abled” makes me think of a funny clip from The Boondocks.
@@reverbthevocal421 but the history is literally what defines that word. the diagnoses only excists because that nazi doctor wanted to find out which autistic people were "usefull" in society and which ones should die. Aspergers literally means "yea this one is allowed to live I guess" and that is what makes the word so icky to me. I would never use it myself again
@@pencileva_art I'm okay with Asperger's becoming a part of autism as a whole, but it's because it's easier to comprehend, not because it was named after someone terrible. It's like saying that the cowboy from Overwatch shouldn't be named Jesse McCree because that's the name of one of the toxic Blizzard employees. We absolutely should be aware of history, but we also shouldn't let it control us. Always forgive, but never forget.
@@reverbthevocal421 I am sorry, but forgiving a child killing nazi doctor or a "toxic employee" (he was worse than toxic lmao)?! Hell nah. It also isn't easier to understand. Right now you can get diagnosed with a level of support needs, which makes a lot more sense than those labels. Most autistic people did not fit any of those labels (like me) so there is a good reason why they now just call it autism and abolished those labels. Autism is a spectrum and that is okay. It does not need any more sublabels.
@@pencileva_art I was saying that just calling it autism instead of Asperger’s is easier to understand. And I know that guy was more than just toxic, I just couldn’t think of a better word at the time.
Some tips for allistic/neurotypical writers: - Not all autistics think, act, or feel alike - Autistic people aren't stupid - Not all autistic people are super geniuses either - Autistic people are not robots - The autism spectrum is nonlinear, it's more like a wheel - Nonverbal does not mean illiterate - Many autistic people can perform basic tasks like ordering coffee or making a phone call. It just takes them more time and effort than most allistic people - Most autistic people are not overgrown toddlers who need to be coddled - Autism is not a disease that people suffer. The "struggles" of being autistic often come from a lack of accommodation for autistic people in a world designed for allistics. And here's a bit of personal advice: For me, autism is what makes me who I am. However, my autism is not a joke, a running gag, or somebody else's burden.
I'm autistic but I need this 😭because It's difficult for me to difference between things I do that are just... being me, and common traits in autistic people, I don't want to make them all the same (because as you say, an autistic person can't speak for every autistic person)
Here's a tip for writing new characters: I made a short list about their story, personality, dreams, things they like and dislike. Also, I take reference from characters from series, comics, anime/manga or movies. Wiki fan pages can help you too. For example, my main character is a male 14yrs-old teen, I took as a reference: Nick Wild(Zootopia), Denki Kamirari (MHA),Eda (The owl house) and Leonardo (Rise of TMNT 2018) What they have in common? They have ENTP personality! So my 14yrs-old teen is a talkative boy, charming, sarcastic, but he is intelligent and cunning. Ta-da my boy is totally the opposite of me. I hope this can help you.
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s when I was a child but personally I wouldn’t use that term there’s two main reasons out there first the term Asperger’s comes from the man Hans Asperger who was a nazi that would torture and murder autistic children secondly even tho I’m better at looking more what’s considered normal doesn’t change the fact that I have really change the fact that I have some stuff that bothers and stresses me out I am normally able to ignore that feeling but normally I hold it in for so long that it blows up in my face as I feel kinda bad for awhile while ignoring how I feel and then have a massive meltdown because I seem more abled people expect more from me and get angry when I can’t do it cause I was able to do something similar awhile back the other reason why people stopped using Asperger’s as a term was also so that people would know that just because someone with autism does appear to be well adjusted and behaves regularly on the inside they might have some stuff they deal with their self as any problem they have goes ignored cause they should be able to do just fine since they appear to look normal
Plus autism is a spectrum and just because you can mask dose not mean you are any less autistic and calling it something different/ separating it just because your more “normal”passing is pointless,confusing and can Gate-keep people from resources they need because they appear “normal” if someones symptoms are not as severe does not mean that they don’t exist at all (not to be rude or insult/shame anyone one who still calls it Asperger I just think it’s harmful)
Hot Take: I actually kinda liked how they wrote Sheldon's autism in Young Sheldon. Yeah sure, it can go onto those usual "Haha Smarty Pants" jokes they made in TBBT, but there are moments in Young Sheldon where I actually somewhat related to Sheldon. I also kinda liked how mixed he's treated throughout the show rather than either dunking on him or glazing him like no tomorrow. Some people give him unconditional love like his Mom, while others like his older sister hates how spoiled he is compared to her. Then again Young Sheldon is better than TBBT in almost every single aspect, even if it's still not the funniest thing in the world.
I agree. I think young sheldon was written after taking the criticism of adult sheldon into account. Well, the genre difference probably helped too. Tbbt is a sitcom, it make sense if he is one dimensional with little nuance and growth to his character, while young sheldon is a drama with more characters with their own characteristics who interact differently to sheldon and vice versa. It make sense to humanise him, as unlikable as he was😂
As someone who hated Sheldon in TBBT (especially since Jim Parsons said that he portrayed Sheldon as though he was autistic), I enjoyed that Young Sheldon took the time and effort to humanize Sheldon instead of making him the butt of the joke.
Max from Mary and Max is literally one of the best portrayals of autism out there I hope you look into it if you haven’t already Also, we should NOT blame the actress who portrayed Music, She was just a minor at the time and she couldn’t just walk away and she even broke down crying, Thinking she was being offensive
@@naruhodontMary and max is a claymation movie about a girl named Mary becoming pen pals with max, I don't want to spoil anything so I'd recommend watching Steve reviews video on it^^
I remember letting out my knowledge about my special interest with a new friend who recently got into the same interest during my school lunch break. We were getting excited about a song and another person with autism in the room said we looked really cute and happy when we got excited and stimmed. That was single-handedly the best compliment I have ever gotten. Whenever I hide my stimming when I’m alone, I remember those words and remind myself that I have nothing to be ashamed of
I actually found ways to stim and make it look normal. Just try watching a bunch of normal people. Notice how many like jiggling with their keys even when they don't have autism. People like fidgetting. And you can do it with keychains and little things too. So it comes over as normal while your brain is just doing the immense happy satisfied it does when I stim. We're not that different from neurotypical people. They just got better defenses to weather the world while we've got a different model of filter for the world. We're not the same but neurotypicals do a lot of tiny things we do more obviously. So never feel ashamed or shy about it. And if someone bothers you about your habits. Just watch them and point out how they click their pen all the time, or how they like tapping their feet, or how they fiddle with their keys. All things that are self soothing behaviour. Felt like an epiphany when I figured that out. Made me feel a bit more like we're the same species ya know?
I have an autistic brother, I am myself going to get checked for autism aswell as my sister, yet this still helped me a lot, I’m not gonna make a popular movie or write a book that’ll become famous, I simply want an autistic character for my animations I do as a hobby
One shall wonder: by trans sister does thee mean that thy sibling was a man and is now a woman, or was thy sibling a woman and now a man? I plead thee to inform me!
I think the first Fantastic Beasts movie did a great job with Newts Autism. No eye contact, socialy awkward and not very talky. But in the suitcase he talks a lot, does a lot and looks very happy. The suitcase is his happy zone and it shows
This! And Luna Lovegood too! I don’t personally get why people say it’s bad autism representation. I personally found myself relating a lot to both characters, causing them to also be my favourite characters
@@vinyl_jj presumably people ignore them as good representation due to their creator's... interesting... views. Bad people can make good things- but 'death of the artist' seems to only apply when the artist is somebody that the person using the term likes.
@@jackpijjin4088 i bet if jk wasn’t problematic ppl wouldnt be putting the “bad representation” label on luna and newt. I personally really see myself in those two especially luna. its incredibly hard to find good representation of autism, even in 2024, so even if jk’s representation might not be PERFECT, its at least something. Also, i’m pretty sure luna and newt (or just luna) weren’t even written with intend of being autistic And i always say that the characters with the best autism representation weren’t written to be autistic - Entrapta from Shera is my biggest example lmao Anyways sorry, i’ll stop yapping, i get side tracked a lot X]
Aspergers was removed as a term because it led to the misconception that aspergers syndrome is different to autism when that isn't the case, it has always been a part of autism but the reason a lot of people hate it so much isn't because it's outdated it's because Asperger was a Nazi who hated autistic people so they resent his name being attached to it. I truly don't mind how you decide to call it but I figured you should know that info to make your own choice with everything considered
Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons is one of my favorite autistic characters. He's a parody of autistic person (all characters are parodies of some human group, that's the whole point of The Simpsons), but he doesn't have every single autistic trait and doesn't come out as offensive caricature. He's very child-minded, and also proves to be clever in some occasions. And his performance as George Washington in the schoolplay was stunning.
@@Paddylol Firstly, I am autistic. Secondly, every single character in The Simpsons is a parody of some human group, and yet they're not offensive ones. That's why I still don't understand the Apu controversy.
@@reverbthevocal421 Ralph is disabled, and autism is also a disability. In the episode "This Little Wiggy", Chief Wiggum tells Marge "how many special needs classes have wanted Ralph there" while they had a conversation about their children.
@@tultsi93 I wouldn’t go as far as calling autism a full on disability. A disorder, sure, but I don’t think I’d consider myself disabled for being autistic.
My mom has always said I’m like Sheldon, once she stated that I was like him for being so smart, i thanked her and blah blah blah… she laughed and said “That was sarcasm, silly. You are smart though.” I never understood that was that was sarcasm 😭
@@salthesalmonshark6849 I haven't watched it, then again, I never fully watch The Big Bang Theory. My ADHD makes it so hard to stick to a show before I hop to something else. xD
There were some really sweet hard hitting moments that got me with Sheldon. Thing is, even if the show never admits it, Sheldon is actually closer to lower functioning from the social aspect. He would have actually benefited massively from someone who understood him and helped him understand the world around him. Not round the clock care or anything, but some kind of guide or bridge to from him to others and vice versa. Being intelligent doesn't mean you always get everything. I loved when he said to Penny "Of course you'll pay me back when you can. You couldn't do so before you can, that's silly" or something to that effect. It really showed the freedom of social expectation and way of thinking that's so different for him than it is for others. And how that can be a benefit. Next was when he struggled to understand social cues and broke down from it. When the show made him understandable and not just a jerk are the times I appreciated it and that did get more frequent as time went on. But there are definitely times he's the butt of the joke. It drove me up a wall mostly to watch his friends just not understand that they have a person who thinks very differently. Sheldon needed to be called out on lots of his BS, but not in the usual way because he just plain didn't get it. Communication was not that shows strong suit and to be fair, most people suck at it.
1:00 Aspergers was merged together with Autism because they are a part of the same 'disorder' but due to them being split people with aspergers weren't given the support they needed. Aspergers was autism but focused on the social part rather than the intellectual part, in the end symptoms overlapped enough where it's seen as a part of the autism spectrum. Since what's classified as a 'disorder' changes over time (due to more research and data) aspergers was lumped into the 'Autism Spectrum Disorder' to help those who were unable to get the assistance they needed when they had that as their diagnosis. It was also a way to better communicate with schools and other facilities what kind of aid said person needs. At the end of the day it's perfectly fine to use aspergers as your own personal preference for what you call your disorder, but, it's good to know why things are being called 'different names' or what names are 'in and out' because the development of mental health studies is super important. :D
To simplify is, intellectual issues were assumed to be an inate part of autism for the most part, Aspergers essentially meant "autism with no associated learning difficulties". But through extra research we now know that autistic people are just likely to have pre-existing intellectual disorders, and some just don't also have an intellectual disability. And because functioning labels are wack, a lot of people who would be considered "aspies" wouldn't necessarily be "high functioning". A character like Woo Young-Woo from Extraordinary Attorney Woo comes to mind. She's a genius. However she is still very obviously identifiable as a disabled person, has a lot of social difficulties, she had very obvious issues with transitions, she has a very restrictive diet, she's not "low functioning" either but that's the beauty of realistic autistic presentations. She struggles a lot, but she would still be considered an Aspie.
I am not autistic, but I do have ADHD. I am currently writing a grimdark fantasy novel, and I feel like I accidentally wrote my main protagonist, a fallen princess who goes on a negative character arc from good to evil, as having symptoms of autism, but is in a bisexual love triangle
I plan on writing a book/novel about a girl who has autism (based on me a bit and I have autism myself too) traveling around the magical world to defend it from evil and protect her own world where she's from.
speaking as an autistic in the dragon ball community: I've heard plenty of "Goku is autistic" and while I definitely agree; I think I'm the only one who headcanons CELL of all people as autistic. the way his behavior changes between forms, reminds me a lot of masking. there's a lot of scenes where he's just quiet, and stands there waiting; and not just in is perfect form. speaking of which his obsession with becoming perfect, just reminds me of how a lot of us will just spend hours organizing something from top to bottom, until it's clean as a whistle sort of perfectionism, just with a weird bug body. in order to become perfect he had to absorb 17 and 18 as well, who made it as hard as possible to catch them. he has overlapping reasons with Goku as he's just as obsessed with fighting as well, even holding off his assigned duties for an extended period just to fight some guys. he's often hiding how he truly feels, and it's definitely not like most where its out of fear, or because he believes that's the way to live, almost making one wonder why. you really only see his true emotions a couple of times, one of which is the anger he feels towards Gohan. he talks with a lot of complex words in the dub, sometimes I find myself looking up what they mean. where the hell did he learn to build that arena? no way in hell Gero programmed it in him, so I like to imagine he taught himself some things. and this is just scrapping the surface, it's not just "Oh he's dumb and only smart when it comes to fighting" no this bug man has more traits than that. honestly the part about being a giant bug is just a funny coincidence, and since he's a "bio-android" meaning he's still flesh and bone, the "But he's a robot!" argument has no room here. so I can keep this headcanon and no one can stop me.
Goku never came across as autistic to me. If anything, he was a neurotypical member of his species who is so obsessed with fighting that the “lower class” doesn’t seem to have much regard for love and marriage. And of course he never had any form of behavior modification because he was always depended on to save the world. No one really taught him how to properly function in society and he gets every excuse under the sun for his actions because “he’s a hero.” He leaves his family for years at a time so that he can “become stronger” but is still considered a good friend and father by the cast because he’s nice…and the only reason he’s nice is because he had a head injury as a baby! Vegeta is a bit of a special case since he got to actually spend time with his father in his childhood until his death by Frieza. He often is accused of being an abusive father because he constantly trains Trunks but for Saiyans, training together is the equivalent of throwing a football in the backyard.
@Devin-s8g nah just an autistic girlie who saw the cell saga and went "that man is just like me." and went to town on an analysis of why I felt that way
@@NeedlessExposition I fail to see how Vegeta is relevant, since I didn't mention him at all. sorry brain does not compute why Vegeta was mentioned, I only mentioned how as an Autistic person, I also see Cell as Autistic
This is the video I never knew I needed but so glad I got, as of someone who is autistic and does not like a lot of the representation we have, it's so great to see other people raise awareness for this and educate others, 10 out of 10 video, I loved it ❤️❤❤
Marcy Wu feels like a self insert of myself because I literally had the same experience as her growing up. Like I went to a school with uniforms and it was just a trio of us with the leader being kinda mean (her parents were going through a nasty divorce too) and them not understanding but supporting my interests. I moved to a different school exactly when the friendship fell apart, I literally grew up with them and it hurt. But it also has been years since then and now it’s more of a sweet than painful memory, we move on ig.
I loved this video, you explained everything very well! The part about the best autistic characters not actually being intended to be autistic made me happy because I actually have an 'acidentally' autistic OC who I first started writing about when I was I think 13, then when I looked back at her first draft I realized how neurodivergent I'd unconsciously made her after I'd gotten my own diagnosis. Yes she was and still kind of is even now a borderline self-insert :>
Thank you for the video and im a writer who is making a character with autism, I needed this and I kinda gotten understood autism and not fully before clicking the video. Also, I have a brother and cousin with autism.
Honestly this video is rather refreshing to see. As an autistic person i rarely have special interests of at all nowdays due to me going back and fourth between interests. Also it comes more like hyper focus. Also I plan to make a comic where many characters are autistic and interact with each other. The first thing I do when making any character is to make a person first and then add the subject, or in this case, autism but not the textbook definition and not like a stickynote in mind. I just wing it. Also yes, the main characters are autistic and each is different.
So I’m a Triple A and I just want to give my opinion. Your video rocked, don’t worry, I just want to bring up The Good Doctor. I personally LOVED his ‘I am a surgeon’ meltdown specifically because I’ve had people not take me seriously because I’m Autistic. I’m a cook, I’ve been cooking since I was 15 and professionally cooking since I was 16 (currently 26). I get talked down to constantly, just like Shawn does. I’m way better at masking (thanks parents for forcing me to act how you wanted me to 🙄) so I actually appreciate Shawn’s explosion. He never gets taken seriously and constantly treated like a toddler through the show and his outbursts make perfect sense to me. I had a nuclear meltdown at my job yesterday because I was trying to explain why our ‘waste management set up’ for our table was stupid and wasted more food than the current system. The Good Doctor is definitely not my first choice to reference when making an Autistic character but the ‘exaggeration’ is right on the money most of the time, at least from my perspective but I definitely see where folks are coming from, Shen is definitely not the best representation. I might also be a little biased because shows about medicine, surgery, and such fall in my special interest in medicine that was sparked by a movie that has very little to actually do with medicine as a whole and more about hygiene, healthy eating, and exercise (Osmosis Jones if anyone wanted to know!). You’d think with all my medical knowledge I’d be going to medical school but you’d be wrong, my sister is. I just cook in the hospital she sometimes works at 😂
TBH I think Shaun gets too much hate. It's true that they could have done things better (not using Autism Speaks as reference, focusing less on how others view him etc...) but the show definitely isn't all bad. I dare even say that I think it's good! I feel that autism representation is too focused on high masking characters who can easily hold a job and go about their daily life with minimal assistance. Autistics like Shaun exist too and should also be seen on screen! People take the meltdown scenes out of context and that's why they seem so extreme - the "Expired, all expired" scene is a good example of this. Of course he has a big reaction, a greedy and unjustifiable corporate decision just resulted in the death of a baby that would have otherwise easily survived.
My partner calls it "high masking" rather than "high functioning" which I think is a really good way of explaining it. "High functioning" sounds pretty uncool when you think about it. Ablest and such. "High masking" on the other hand shows that even though they might present fairly neurotypical, that it's not their natural state and takes effort for them to put on. The thing that's rough about masking is that it can be pretty hard to turn it off once you've been doing it for so long.
Actually gonna steal that to describe myself. I am high masking. I do my best to fit in but it's so exhausting I had to stop. Not fully but at least lower the level. Because uh... caused my burn out, depression and part of my anxiety. The constant worry to fit in to not fail to be a perfect functional member of society. It's way too overwhelming.
The functioning labels are to differentiate between the level of needs, a high functioning autistic is the same as a low needs one, the term just varies from what each autistic person prefers to be called, but essentially you are low-needs, doesn’t mean “no needs”, but you don’t need as much as a high-needs autist
@@Jade.051 I don't know if those labels are right though. I am considered high functioning on my paperwork. But me and my partner who also is high functioning agree that I am hardly functional if someone else ain't there to help me out.
4:27 I was forced into masking somewhere from birth to like 8 into masking. By my mother who is in no way conceivably neurotypical. I hate her and how i can barely recognise myself anymore in the kid i was. How she forced me to be 'normal' when she so obviously has some of the same issues I do. Her hypocrisy disgusts me and how shes continuing doing the same behavior with my brother who has a higher level than me. When shes literally PAYING FOR MY THERAPY shes spending HUNDREDS on my issues that SHE CAUSED!
I enjoyed Reagan Ridley from Inside Job as an autism coded character. They only ever state it as a joke that Reagan denies when her mother claims it, but it was clearly something on the writers' mind when they wrote her character.
I don't feel bad for music, I feel bad for Maddie, the person who plays her. I don't have beef with the girl, just the person she's playing as, and the person who she "works" for. Poor Maddie, Sia needs to stop using her for her projects.
Its a very common mistake, but Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory is not autistic. He just has traits that are also seen in autism. The writers have said that he isnt, and they havent given him any other diagnosis. A diagnosis would just create limits for the character. One episode he might show autistic traits, the next it's OCD traits, and so on. His traits even contradict themselves multiple times throughout the show. He is just a neurodivergent character, and the showrunners change his personality depending on what best works to drive the episode's story forward. His traits include: OCD Narcissistic personality disorder Aphephobia Mysophobia Ornithophobia Hypochondriasis Inability to lie Stage fright Hemophobia Possible sadistic/psychopathic tendencies
holy shit, i just wanted to do research for an oc of mine but i ended up relating to a lot of the experiences discussed here, im hoping to get a therapist soon to properly get diagnosed, but in the meantime, it's very nice to see others going through similar stuggles
My mom forced me to watch through the entirety of Atypical, and it became much more bearable once they ran out of checkpoints and started giving Sam actual character traits. Better late than never I guess…
Something that I'd like to see more representation for is high-masking characters that still experience meltdowns or go nonverbal in stressful situations. This would make me feel seen Some people (like myself) can mask SO well...until they can't. I feel like that sort of representation in media would help educate neurotypicals about the fact that even if someone doesn't "look autistic", at the end of the day, they still are and will still show signs of that. It's not laziness or spoiled behavior or throwing a fit. It's just an unavoidable fact of autism
Same I mask generally pretty well. No one thinks I'm normal that's for sure, everyone usually thinks I'm at LEAST odd, and people who know a lot about autism tend to clock me immediately or fairly quick. But I wasn't diagnosed as a child, only actually got my referrals and things in March. But I have meltdowns all the time. I used to have shutdown basically every day after school growing up, but if I was outside of the house for more than an hour, especially on a weekend or during those before/after school hours where people and bustling, and the SLIGHTEST thing goes wrong before I can reset after going home I I will just cry. Sometimes also scream (especially lately). I thought I was depressed as a kid cause I would cry so much but I wasn't actually sad just overwhelmed and generally distressed.
As aspie i've been told some things such as -you don't look autistic: Because im masking it -you should flap you'r hands: im not a bird plus not all autistic people do this such as me i have diffrient things like bitting thumb when i get stressed -you sure good at math: no im not, autistic people have so much more hobby that they love such as me being into paleontology and biology And the worst that i heard -can't you heal it: no you can't it is not like tummor, it is neurologicall stuff and even if it will be healable in future i don't want to be cured because im unique and im teaching to live with it. And yet i still like to talk to people and sadly i feel bad for those who watched "music" and thought that all of us were like that. I wish ya good day/night 😊.
the good at math thing is so played out… just look at me. I’m currently retaking geometry (mainly due to lack of motivation but math was never my strongest subject)
I have 3 autistic OCs and I kinda wanna know what your opinion is (I wrote these from my POV as a High-Functioning Autist): The first one Henry, is perpetually in a “Meh” mood and unempathetic, he is a savant, but only with machines and the like, not with everything, he sucks at social interactions and doesn’t notice when he’s rude most of the time and can be and sometimes is very sarcastic. 2. Catherine is peppy energetic, airheaded and hyperfixated on Toby Fox games and the likes, she’s my attempt at the “Double A’s” type of Autism. Also I made her a furry. 3. Lina is my third and final autistic OC, she’s shy, quiet and a stutterer, she doesn't really have a special talent like Henry but or a hyperfixation like Catherine, but she’s a kind and caring person, but sometimes is seen as unempathetic because she almost never asks how people are doing or are they ok when they are hurt, she also has noise and touch sensitivities, which make her not want to go to concerts or ceramonies with her friends and despise hugs and the texture of steel wool.
My best advice (besides what's in the video because it's pretty great) is that an autistic person will could potentially be quiet or unconfident in situations which are strange/that they dislike, but will flip 180 degrees to being VERY confident and/or very sociable as soon as something comes up that they are intimately familiar with. There's also a bit of a common trait (again, this must vary from person to person) but it's been observed that many autistic people are much better at distancing themselves from the emotional baggage of a topic and analyzing things from a purely objective, or indeed are very good at putting themselves into another person's shoes and viewing their perspective very empathetically to understand how they can think a certain way. But they will analyze something with more detachment and therefore more objectivity than a neurotypical person might. They often will not get as worked up over something unless something specific triggers it. This also leads them to have a more strictly followed moral code in many cases which may not be the correct morality, but they will be very consistent in it, and above all they will view any hypocrisy or perceived unfairness very negatively in other people.
Greatly appreciate this advice! Very applicable to the science fantasy story I'm writing right now. I got about a third of the way into the novel before realizing I had, completely by accident, given one of the main characters some recurring traits that would definitely read as autistic. It just felt RIGHT for her to hyperfocus on studying magic and her religion, infodump, constantly fidget with her hands and toes, struggle with eye contact, and go mute in high stress situations. I've decided to make it canon that she's on the spectrum, but like you said, that's just adding a little spice to her character. She's a person first and foremost, with goals she must meet and misbeliefs she must conquer. Without the choices she makes, the plot falls apart. She is the mentor to my other characters, their guide in this world. Not a secret genius, but a master of the subjects that fall under her special interests. So far, all my beta readers have loved her.
It's great to have someone with autism in your life when writing someone with it to see their experiences, and how they would act in real life. However, one person, like said in the video, is not everyone. My gf for example, is autistic, and i have been around them since 7th grade, and i do know a thing or two, but not everything about what they go through. Research, of course, is also great too.
THATS WHY I KNOW YOUR VOICE! I also had a huge hyperfixation on Hetalia growing up and I watched your videos on it while studying for exams cause not a lot of people talked about it. Also one of the first times I headcanoned a character as autistic because I related a lot to Japan and his issues. Currently the show hyperfixation is Inanimate Insanity who I feel also has a great unintentional autistic character to the point the creators admitted he wasn’t designed with that in mind but it’s easy to see why many see him as such and several voice actors headcanon og it. That would be Fan who cameos in season 1 but makes his true debut in season 2 as a literal fanboy who is knowledgeable of everything about the show due to his love for it and takes pride in learning all there is to it like shrugging off being punched by Paintbrush because he was busy making note of a new “cliche” happening or acting like a narrator for the show to cope during “traumatic times” as seen in S3 ep 1 and S2 ep 17. He can often be seen either flailing his arms up and down or fiddling with his equipment when either really excited or nervous which could be seen as him stimming. He’s incredibly empathetic but has no filter and can either be seen as being too blunt or having to backtrack his words at times because they didn’t come off as how he intended them. This is also true in his actions as he can sometimes tunnel vision on stuff especially if they equal to his interests which can get him in trouble such as when he upset his friend by making a “spin the wheel” over what their companion was gonna vent about because he was “analyzing character interactions” or when he stole one of Cabby’s files because she had one about him which he also saw as outdated, upsetting her further since he didn’t understand how much her files meant to her. Basically he’s very clever but can’t read a room to save his life. Along with this his major arc in season 2 is that he’s afraid of things changing whether it be the show, his routine, or just himself. He doesn’t help often if the show initially because he’s just used to being a spectator instead of a player and later because he believes he doesn’t have because he feels everything runs on a pattern. He relies heavily on these patterns and when things don’t go the way he saw them going he is shown to get incredibly agitated. Though initially seen as humorous, episode 13 is when this all gets major focus and shows how it genuinely impacts him. While trying to solve the mysteries of the game, Suitcase nudges him to vent about himself instead which he reluctantly does. He admits it’s easier to talk about other things like his interests and finds it hard to talk about himself to the point of writing down what he wants to say in the notes app because he struggles to verbalize it. He projects his feelings into an alien egg he found, talking about how he doesn’t “want it to have to hatch” and that it be better for it to stay secure in a protective shell for it can “have its patterns.” And while it is something he still can have issues with he eventually learns he has to let some things go and be okay with changes. Judah from Bojack Horseman also great autistic representation but more people talk about him Aka again, hyperfixation on the objects currently lol
Rly cool video. Just a note, I think the DSM-5 refers to “autism levels” in terms of how much support a person needs to… be safe or happy idk. For example, one person might need support, and another might need substantial or very substantial support. I like using it cuz it’s just less terms to remember, it’s more intuitive, and i couldn’t come up with a third reason.
Yeah that's why they put the levels in the DSM-5. Me being type 2 or level 2 basically means I am functional in society but need support at home. And I am currently going through my application for the at home support so my mom doesn't have to do it all on her own anymore. It's just really handy for the administration.
as someone with autism, what i’ve always hated about popular autistics is that they are shown to be smart, stoic, and honestly; just a-holes. it has molded most peoples minds that that’s how most autists are (or like Music). i remember telling a boy in my class that i trusted, that i was actually autistic. he didn’t believe me because “i didn’t act autistic” because of how most autism representation is like Good Doctor, Big Bang Theory, and Music. not all autistics are like these characters (like you said, it’s a spectrum), and these characters are mostly a bad representation to begin with. it has kinda damaged peoples thoughts on autism people in my opinion, even if it isn’t that evident.
Thanks for the helpl I’ve watched a ton of videos on how to write autistic characters and I think this one was the most helpful! I’m not diagnosed with autism but I wanted to write my favorite fictional character, who I headcanon as autistic. I didn’t really understand why people loved Donatello from RotTMNT since, as far as I could tell, he seemed to be the uncaring-savant archetype (to be fair I only saw clips of the show and not the full thing), but now I get it a little better. I hope I can write my favorite character the best I can represent him!
I have an autistic older cousin and he wears noise canceling headphones and stims sometimes, but he’s smart, functions, and has a masters degree in college. He is an awesome person and I think he’s a good person. He’s just him, normal. He doesn’t all of a sudden burst out into breakdowns and he’s not stupid. He is just him.
I would highly recomend checking out a series called dungeon meshi for a great example of an (in my eyes) autistc character, laios, he was never written to be autistic, but he genuinly feels it and i saw alot of myself in him (i am autistic)
Thank you so much for making this video! I have an autistic OC in a book I want to write in the future (they're also the protagonist), and despite doing lots of research on autism and likely having it myself (I'm not diagnosed but have many autistic/neurodivergent symptoms), I always get scared to write it in an actual character because of the hate towards autism representation, even though I know I wouldn't write it nearly as bad as the misrepresentation. I saw your video on my recommended a few times and decided to watch it, and it really helped me on how to write an autistic character. I always knew how NOT to write one, but not how to actually write one, so thank you!
I'm sort of also planning to have one of my characters be autistic because my brother is autistic and if he ever wants to read it, I feel like he might be happy to have a character like him. But I also don't want to offend anyone. My novel is supposed to be sad, but also be about coping and side effects of abuse/bullying. So why should I try to add this, but might offend everyone when my book IS awareness. I'm just so scared I'm gonna offend someone.
I'm level 2 autistic and partially nonverbal (when i have metldowns sometimes i lose speech ability partially or fully and sometimes for a few hours afterwards) but I feel like I think just fine and I'm capable of writing and typing a lot better than I talk. I agree 100% with what you said about the portrayal of nonverbal characters. And honestly anyone on the 2 or 3 scale in general. We tend to be portrayed like we're a lobotomized monolith, when we're just people. Every single person has the same chance of being a genius or a dummy, whether you're neurodivergent or not lol.
My parents always suspected I might be autistic but they only really got a clue from when my aunts friend WHO IS A CERTIFIED NURSE looked at me in the yard then looked at my aunt and asked “Who’s the little autistic kid” SHE KNEW I WAS AUTISTIC BEFORE MY PARENTS WERE ABLE TO GET ME DIAGNOSED and that was in HIGH SCHOOL
Autism is one of my hyperfixations. I love creating stories, and I always like including one autistic character, so I do a lot of researches. I'll never publish my stories, but knowing everything is accurate makes me proud and comfortable.
Although I'm autistic, I prefer to write NTs characters. Weirdly enough, some of my first OCs (I wrote them when i was about 7, 8 or 9) had autistic traits or were autistic. I didn't know i was autistic at that age so they ended up that way because I though it was intersting to make them act as such. By practice I ended up to write what I wanted. Fact is, is true that there are no many autistic character around. But when you live with autism since your first day of life, you would like to explore something different. I enjoy writing characters that are different from me, with different ideals than me and different personalities.
Same here. I think that when I write, I kind of want a break from constantly contemplating autism. Though a lot of characters I write do have something in common with me, like I'm isolating one trait of myself and then examining it through this character to give them more authenticity.
I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate this video. I have had a character in my archives for years who I realized definitely and unintentionally has autistic traits. I kept her development the same from her original story idea and I am still partially worried about the genius trope but a lot of her character is still in drafts so there is still time to tweak it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"The best autistic characters were not planned to be autistic." Very true! During the years I've identified with for example Winnie the Pooh and Fluttershy, who definitley would both have been diagnosed with Autism if they were humans IRL, and I can also relate to some Disney princesses in their feelings of not fitting in etc. So I know exactly what you are talking about! Also, the directors of a Swedish movie called "There are no feelings in space" should really have put down the textbook and stopped trying to catch them all. So should the directors of "I am Sam". Less IS more! Watch "The Martian kid" (or was it "child"?) and you'll see exactly what to do!
About your "Do people use levels?" Question. In Australia, the levels are for what support the person needs. I have level 2 support, and someone I know was diagnosed with Asperges and is apparently level 2. They're more for schools, which also the high functioning label, I think. The level you have determines how much money the school will get from you being there. Also, I think the levels you're talking about are different to Australia. Since I'm level 2 support and have what you say are level 1 traits. (Not so fun fact: I have had an ed support school not want me at their school because I wasn't level 3. Which I'm pretty sure is a form of discrimination.)
For me, having Autism/Asperger's is a Blessing and a Curse. Yes, everything you listed at the end and a lot of my problems would be solved if I didn't have it, but I believe no neurotypical can ever be as happy as someone on the ASD being able to interact/talk about their Special Interest(s). I also do believe we do "think" differently, but it's more about looking at something at a different angle that most people don't tend to notice. Like, I still remember back in Middle School when I was doing those Social Groups or Individual Special Needs sessions or whatever, and I was told to find what two things from a list of three (or all three of them) were more similar. I would tell and explain why A and B were similar, and the Instructor would pause and say, "Huh, I never thought about that, but you're right" multiple times. That right there proves we have the potential to solve seemingly difficult problems, or how something would be difficult to most but is actually easy for us. So, I think it's more about how we interact with the "Real World" from our senses that we differ from neurotypicals. We interact, signals are sent to the brain, and we do process things, but we naturally look at it from a different angle than just differently altogether. (I am also on your side with Autism and Asperger's being different. Yes, many of their symptoms overlap, but they do not only have their own unique individual symptoms, but what parts of the brain that are affected are different. It's like a Venn Diagram; similar but not exact).
I don’t need a “how to write autistic characters” tutorial. I need a “how to write neurotypical characters” tutorial. I have autism and adhd and when I write characters I give them struggles and character traits that I have, and I end up accidentally making them autism coded or adhd coded, and it’s accurate because it’s based on my own, but trying to write neurotypical characters is nearly impossible for me-
That’s for sure! A lot of the points you made are incredibly relatable, being autistic myself. When I make my own characters, I don’t consider their disabilities, only their capabilities, flaws, and goals.
A big reason that Quinni in Heartbreak High is so well written is that the writers consulted with Chloe a lot on season 1 to make sure that what they were writing was an accurate representation. Chloe has said that Quinni is the 16 year old that she wished she could have been.
Unrelated: My favorite Autistic headcanon might as well be Twilight Sparkle from MLP. The fandom had theorized she is on the spectrum and that she has all the signs (Also heard that Lauren Faust- the show's creator, wanted to explicitaly show she was autistic but couldn't.) And this headcanon only made me love her more honestly (But I love her regardless because she is purple pony) Main comment: Still trying to get my autism diagnosis- But let's say for now I'm not autistic, and I'm trying to write a character of mine in a way that he has autistic traits, but doesn't look overly "quirky." I don't have a name for him yet so let's go with Sunrise. He is your typical sunshine boy, he is obssessed with astrology and comic books- Yet he also happens to be an extrovert who loves hanging out with his friends... And he can't stop talking, especially about astrology. He is sensitive to loud noises and doesn't like certain colors and textures, though he deals with it pretty well. He doesn't get the majority of his friend's joked and does some terrible ones as if trying to imitate them, but he laughs anyway. He may seem childish at first, since he whines (as a joke) at times, but he CAN get serious and acts mature whenever there is a problem- After all, he is an adult, and also a super-hero. Albeit- He is still a YOUNG one, so he sometimes gets himself looking and laughing at those women magazines along with the other boys, if you know what I mean- Just to get off with the steriotype of infantilizing autistic people. So yeah, just like any guy, he is not a 100% pure sunshine boy, but he is kind and caring- He just has his own MORAL flaws, like everyone else. If anyone wants to give me tips or point out anything wrong I would be greatful!
I always thought it was Rainbow who was autistic. Testing 1 2 3 demonstrated her unusual learning methods and difficulty in concentrating or staying still. It's still one of my favorite episodes because of that.
@@Double-R-Nothing I think Rainbow might be, too!!! Most of the main six might be neurodivergent, though Twilight is my personal favorite cause I had seen a lot of myself in her.
Autism doesn't need a cure, there are so many useful things I have learned from autism, without autism I wouldn't know anything, l would just be depressed and studying school stuff, l would have 0 creativity.
@@ItchyBurritoMiniAltThingy it's the people not the autism, autism only makes a person research something more if they really like it, it won't ruin anything, I make fics and AUs about things l really like, does that mean I'm ruining it? stop caring about other people's lives
One of my favorite villains who may be autistic is Grand Admiral Thrawn. In his Legends trilogy. If you pay attention you can tell how he processes the same information differently than Captain Pellaeon and how he combines this with his deductive reasoning skills to outmaneuver the heroes until they manage to undermine him in a way he did not expect.
Honestly you shouldn't feel like you don't belong in the autism community just because you don't face as much discrimination. You're welcome either way.
As someone who is on the Spectrum too also and High to be specific with the Attention Deficit thing you know the details and info on the matter were pretty much accurate, great video in general.
The reason asbergers is not used anymore is because it creates a divide where people with lower support needs are seen as better and having a different disorder when that is not the case. There is still language for the difference in experiences you are talking about, and that would be a person with high support needs or level three support needs although levels are still a bit controversial.
As a autistic boy who is currently working on a fighting and worldbuilding story, thanks. I really appreciate you for taking about us and about our struggles in our day to day life.😊😊
By the way, Asperger’s syndrome was removed as a name because it originated from a nazi psychologist, hans Asperger, who decided who was fit for the war and who wasn’t based on the autistic spectrum, and those that weren’t deemed fit for the front lines were killed due to their lack of usage in society. Technically you do have autism, you’re just on a ‘high functioning’ end of the spectrum! I say ‘high functioning’, because that’s also a rather derogatory term that originated from the same situation. As is the term low functioning. (I spent months researching this because it became my hyper fixation, so I tried condensing it as best as I can! Sorry if it’s long or doesn’t make sense 🩷🩷)
16:24 An important point. Don’t make any character just their autism. The same as that you don’t make a character’s entire personality being gay, or being black, or something. People are far more layered than that and deserve to be represented as such.
MARCY YES MARCY MARCY she’s SUCH GOOD REPRESENTATION!!!!!! I love the way their character is built with all the little hints at hyperfixations and AAAAH
Another good character with Autism is Steris from the Mistborn books. I have autism, but even I didn't realize that she was autistic at first, even though it was explicitly intentional. Eventually it becomes more and more obvious but Brandon Sanderson introduces her the same way he experienced a friend he has in real life with Autism. The Story is written from a neurotypical perspective, so she comes off at first as an abrasive and rude person to the main character Wax, but eventually he, like the author, realized that she wasn't being rude and abrasive, but rather that she was very uncomfortable interacting with him and he found a way of communicating with her that made her comfortable and very close to him (eventually they get married). But after she gets comfortable with him, she opens up and talks to him about far more things and feelings.
I've worked with many "low functioning" autistic adults and children in education. They certainly aren't stupid. Frustrating at times from my point of view because their hyper-fixations (Usually something repetitive and specific that distracts them from learning new stuff as quickly) overtake a lot of what they potentially could do for themselves moving forward, but they are no different from anyone else if you see them for who they are, people who interact with the world in their own way. You can bond with them just like any other person.
I have Asperger’s. And while I have been informed of who it’s named after, I still prefer to use the term because, like you said, I have slightly different behaviors and struggles compared to other high functioning autists. That and it’s hard to break habits of what you called yourself previously.
Me personally I wouldn’t use it because for one… it’s coined by a LITERAL NAZI WHO TORTURED AND KILLED AUTISTIC PEOPLE, but that’s just me. :/ Seriously tho, can we not give them the slightest ounce of credit? They are evil people, why are we so accepting of their ableist terms?
I was only diagnosed 3 years ago so am autistic because that is the current terminology. Seeing as each person is different it isn't unreasonable for you to have different struggles to the people around you. There is also that so much of the struggles that go along with being autistic are internal so unless you know the people you are comparing yourself to really really well you aren't going to really know how many of the same struggles you actually have.
@@amandamandamands oh, but do know that Asperger’s are slightly different from others (again only slightly), because I have friends that I can compare it to. My brother has ADHD and my aunt has Downsyndrome. That, I was also in a church class specializing in teaching autistic children when I was young. So some advice for the future just in case, please don’t assume things about other people’s lives based solely on RUclips comments. Hope that helps.
Once again, the true hero of writing a certain kind of character, is to interact with and get to know the people from the demographic you're trying to write. Anyway. ABED!! Love how he reps autistic folk who aren't particularly great at their special interest hobbies! I myself am rabid for making art, but wow I am ASS at it most of the time. Will I stop? Never! I love my bullshit creative projects with my everything!
My friend has a child with Asperger's and is nonverbal. She doesn't act like that character from Sia s film. She's hyper focused on bones and teeth. She can read and write, when focused on a bone she'll try to see what animal it belonged to. My friend saw that movie and he was mad and disappointed at how toned deaf sia is when it comes to autism.
And Sia is saying she's autistic to try and excuse what she did. As if people within the community aren't prone to spewing ableist rhetoric along with Nazi eugenics. They may seem harmless, but, it's harmful to the community at large. Language is ever evolving
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Sending this video to my friend who’s hyperfixation is autisum
There's no second U in autism
just wait until they find out about autiproduct, the cooler autisum.
@@buyingmilk Yes there is
@@SkyCrowaveNo, no there isn’t.
@@SkyCrowave no there isn't ☠️
advice for writers: autistic ppl are not stupid. they'll wait until their parents listen to them and get out of their room before they have a meltdown. ik its specific but it annoyes the shit out of me
Annoying edit: 1.1K HŌA..
*specific
NOT MY SISTER!!!
"I ARGUE WITH THE TV WHERE EVERYBODY CAN HERE IT!" and " when the family in coco says no music, I will kill them, with a bloody knife."
- more or less, MY sister.
I rarely have meltdowns. I have shutdowns. Basically the internalised version of meltdowns. I often have the tendency to internalise.
@@jarmoliebrand2005 Same i've never had a meltdown, mental breakdowns, shutdown or anything similar. I do get overstimulated or overwhelmed but it's usually not to bad and when i get home i feel better
@@Acorn905 Recognising when you should take a break from all the stimuli thrown at you is a great strength to have. One of my friends has been diagnosed way before I was and he is super honest and open when he wants to take a break from stimuli. He does all that on his own terms.
I did an Autism Quiz and I did it as my Character who is Autistic.
It actually helps with remembering what I should focus on and what not to do
That is actually really smart 👏 10/10
And nowww im on my way to do that for my characters 😭 + other mental disability quizzes cuz i don't want to false diagnose my characters as autistic or has ADHD
@@pantamewsyeah but plenty of people false diagnose themselves with those online quizzes
@@Odiesscool looks like im pursuing Psychology in collage 😭
I can just look at myself when it comes to making an autistic character of mine consistent. I modelled her after myself, which I don’t do that often.
How to do autism representation well:
Step 1: Don’t do what Music did
Step 2: There is no step 2, move along with your day
I never liked Sia and that shitstain of a movie just strengthened my dislike of her
I could just write a self insert and be done with it.
My main OC is literally me.
@@BabyNoob270 OMG same!
@@ComradeAri1989 Yes. Me too.
@@BabyNoob270 haha, yeah, me too.
@@lissyfeh4549 Yes. I agree.
I feel like a lot of writers miss a very important step in writing autistic characters: Actually interact with an autistic person at least once
They probably have but didn't know it because they were masking too well and they perceived them as neurotypical. Most NT people only have the perception of Autism as low-functioning and with more severe symptoms. There's a lot of bias towards thinking Autistic people won't be good looking either actually. There's a lot of correlation between people not believing someone has autism and how put-together someone's appearance is.
@Pufferfishpancake Honestly the best advice I have is just make a post asking if any autistic people would be willing to chat. Or take inspiration from autistic characters generally considered well written
@@danielbroome5690as someone with autism, i see myself as usually unremarkable from others, i may act up sometimes but rarely
Statisticaly it is nearly impossible :0
@PufferfishpancakeAutistic people can help, maybe you can chat with one (like with the post the other person mentioned) and after making the character, present it in another post so people can review it. It doesn’t matter if it’s stereotypical or not, it’s the way you present it and go about it in the story
As someone with Autism, I think what I dislike about a lot of Autistic Characters is the fact they act more like Robots than actual people, or that the Writer is making an Autistic Character, rather than a character who happens to be Autistic. It's why the Savant trope is my least favourite, yes I know people like them in real life, but they more feel like Robots that spit out info, or do what the plot demands, or to be a one-dimensional joke rather than being a character. Which is an insult to Robot character because the ones I've are more funny, human, and relatable to me as an Autistic person than some of these actually Autistic characters.
My favourite Autistic head cannon of mine is Clancee from Ninjago, he is sweet and endearing character. He is shown in the show and books to enjoy cleaning, however is quite shy and stammers a lot in conversation. However, it's shown in the books and show that he can be quite talkative about cleaning or discussing how his crew members ended up in the crew, indicating that's his special interest (He also gives objects names, which is so cute!). He also is shown to have some problems with Anxiety, but is still able to stand up for himself, which is extremely relatable to me and I wish I could stand up to myself more. Most importantly, HE IS NOT TREATED LIKE AN OBJECT, CHILD, PLOT DEVICE, OR BURDEN, he is treated like any normal person would and is in fact loved by his crew and the people around him, and that is the key in my opinion, treat your Neurodivergent character with respect and like you would a Neurotypical character, and don't write the character with Autism in mind or as their only character trait, write them as PEOPLE WHO GET TREATED LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE BY OTHERS IN THE STORY, sure there's things and struggles we face you can add and commentate on with the character, but you should write an a character who happens to be Autistic, not an Autistic character. Like you said, the best Autistic representation are character who weren't written with Autism in mind.
Anyways, thank for reading the long comment!
This is so true, the part that really sums it up is "The writer is making an autistic character, rather than a character who happens to be autistic." When their autism becomes their entire personality and they don't even get treated as another individual person with their own traits it feels very fake and weird.
You need to make them a person with character of their own is the main thing, with arcs and relationships it’s why characters like Tech from Star Wars work as rep better than Music who has no arc of her own. They can be robotic, because some people are sort of robotic pending on what part of the spectrum they’re on, but they have to have a character. Tech is the “smart guy” trope but he has an arc, he has development, he has a character outside of that.
@@Muffinschaos You're right, I was describing characters like Shaun from 'Good Doctor' with the whole Robot statement.
@@genericartist3553 yeh I had some ideas of who you were talking about, I was just ranting about Tech because I love tech. And adding that a character having an arc and stuff can sort of stop the robot thing from being as abysmal. I wish Shaun was better written, because I love him since he’s got some traits I relate to. I wish that they actually did it properly and made him a real character.
I agree that Shawn is problematic which is a shame because I really like Freddie Highmore. It bugs me that he sounds so robotic even when he is very happy.
As someone with autism and a TMNT hyperfixation, Rise! Donnie was a gift from GOD!
HELL YEAH
As someone with Attentive ADHD and a Lego Movie hyperfixation, Emmet was a gift from GOD'S SON (literally)
I was waiting for someone to bring him up! I live laugh love ROTTMNT 💜💙🧡❤️💚💛🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
YEAHHHH
YES! I was thinking that
Autistic gal here! Some notes:
Whatever terms a neurodivergent prefers is subjective; just don't call somebody disabled "specially-abled" because they simply can't do things others can and pretending like they can is patronizing (my preference is "autistic" rather than "autistic person" or "person with autism" because I don't see autism as dehumanizing in the first place)
Asperger's is outdated not only because the difference between it and "high-functioning" autism are indistinguishable, the scientist it's named after was a Nazi who killed disabled children (no hard feelings, I kept calling myself this too until I learned that)
My favorite method of visualizing the spectrum is switches--it doesn't lock certain traits onto certain levels and, if it fits, they can be turned on and off, because some activate under specific circumstances like non-verbalness when overwhelmed
NEVER RESTRAIN SOMEBODY HAVING A MELTDOWN. Imagine being lost in grief and suddenly getting tackled to the floor with all body parts immovable. We'd both assume we were being kidnapped, not comforted! _Ask_ if there's anything you can do, and if not or you can't communicate with them, give them space.
You can write hilarious, non-offensive jokes about neurodivergents, it just has to be accurate and laughing with them rather than at them. Don't have the punchline be "they're annoying" but something along the lines of "they're doing something comedically ridiculous which is endearing"
Entirely autistic people can hyperfocus too, along with people with both and only ADHD
Neurodivergents are people, so it's okay to write some as bad as long as your story shows there's good ones, too
"EVERY disabled person wants to be cured" is an ableist trope because it assumes all of their life is misery and depressing for those who can't get/don't want one, like they can never be the protagonist if they're not "fixed". If a character gets rid of their condition, have someone else who doesn't and have both be happy to illustrate groups are not monoliths
Goodluck!
Personally, as someone who was diagnosed with Asperger’s in 2009, I still like to call myself an Aspie. I don’t want the history of a word to affect the perception of it, especially since it’s not a slur.
Also, seeing “specially abled” makes me think of a funny clip from The Boondocks.
@@reverbthevocal421 but the history is literally what defines that word. the diagnoses only excists because that nazi doctor wanted to find out which autistic people were "usefull" in society and which ones should die. Aspergers literally means "yea this one is allowed to live I guess" and that is what makes the word so icky to me. I would never use it myself again
@@pencileva_art I'm okay with Asperger's becoming a part of autism as a whole, but it's because it's easier to comprehend, not because it was named after someone terrible. It's like saying that the cowboy from Overwatch shouldn't be named Jesse McCree because that's the name of one of the toxic Blizzard employees. We absolutely should be aware of history, but we also shouldn't let it control us. Always forgive, but never forget.
@@reverbthevocal421 I am sorry, but forgiving a child killing nazi doctor or a "toxic employee" (he was worse than toxic lmao)?! Hell nah. It also isn't easier to understand. Right now you can get diagnosed with a level of support needs, which makes a lot more sense than those labels. Most autistic people did not fit any of those labels (like me) so there is a good reason why they now just call it autism and abolished those labels. Autism is a spectrum and that is okay. It does not need any more sublabels.
@@pencileva_art I was saying that just calling it autism instead of Asperger’s is easier to understand. And I know that guy was more than just toxic, I just couldn’t think of a better word at the time.
Universal Writing Tip:
How To Write an X Character
*Don't focus on X*
So I have to write Z?
@@Altercounter_NowInactive Focus on CHARACTER
But X is a cool letter!
@@LJ-hk4tv So I have to write C??
@@Altercounter_NowInactive PRECISELY
Some tips for allistic/neurotypical writers:
- Not all autistics think, act, or feel alike
- Autistic people aren't stupid
- Not all autistic people are super geniuses either
- Autistic people are not robots
- The autism spectrum is nonlinear, it's more like a wheel
- Nonverbal does not mean illiterate
- Many autistic people can perform basic tasks like ordering coffee or making a phone call. It just takes them more time and effort than most allistic people
- Most autistic people are not overgrown toddlers who need to be coddled
- Autism is not a disease that people suffer. The "struggles" of being autistic often come from a lack of accommodation for autistic people in a world designed for allistics.
And here's a bit of personal advice:
For me, autism is what makes me who I am. However, my autism is not a joke, a running gag, or somebody else's burden.
"Reddit is your best friend when it comes to writing"
Unless it's women.
Hey let’s be fair, men can suffer too. Both male and female characters are in danger.
@@hiddenflare6169 Women suffer more
Lol
@@hiddenflare6169 yes, but u don’t suffer that much from sexism.
@@bejeweledaldc … Let’s not have this argument.
I'm autistic but I need this 😭because It's difficult for me to difference between things I do that are just... being me, and common traits in autistic people, I don't want to make them all the same (because as you say, an autistic person can't speak for every autistic person)
@phantochu3456 I actually have two autistic characters! I'm still working on them tho
Here's a tip for writing new characters: I made a short list about their story, personality, dreams, things they like and dislike. Also, I take reference from characters from series, comics, anime/manga or movies. Wiki fan pages can help you too.
For example, my main character is a male 14yrs-old teen, I took as a reference: Nick Wild(Zootopia), Denki Kamirari (MHA),Eda (The owl house) and Leonardo (Rise of TMNT 2018)
What they have in common? They have ENTP personality!
So my 14yrs-old teen is a talkative boy, charming, sarcastic, but he is intelligent and cunning.
Ta-da my boy is totally the opposite of me.
I hope this can help you.
@@wishedvera2029 thank you! This helps a lot :D /srs
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s when I was a child but personally I wouldn’t use that term there’s two main reasons out there first the term Asperger’s comes from the man Hans Asperger who was a nazi that would torture and murder autistic children secondly even tho I’m better at looking more what’s considered normal doesn’t change the fact that I have really change the fact that I have some stuff that bothers and stresses me out I am normally able to ignore that feeling but normally I hold it in for so long that it blows up in my face as I feel kinda bad for awhile while ignoring how I feel and then have a massive meltdown because I seem more abled people expect more from me and get angry when I can’t do it cause I was able to do something similar awhile back the other reason why people stopped using Asperger’s as a term was also so that people would know that just because someone with autism does appear to be well adjusted and behaves regularly on the inside they might have some stuff they deal with their self as any problem they have goes ignored cause they should be able to do just fine since they appear to look normal
And he also did gross separation politics by labeling whenever autistic person is "normal" or not based on symptons.
Yeah, we definitely need a new term for that 😭
No offense but is this supposed to be a huge paragraph or one extremely long sentence?
Plus autism is a spectrum and just because you can mask dose not mean you are any less autistic and calling it something different/ separating it just because your more “normal”passing is pointless,confusing and can Gate-keep people from resources they need because they appear “normal” if someones symptoms are not as severe does not mean that they don’t exist at all (not to be rude or insult/shame anyone one who still calls it Asperger I just think it’s harmful)
@@savannahroberts2827 This may be very wrong, but wasn't Asperger not considered autism and then did, hence why it has its own name ?
Hot Take: I actually kinda liked how they wrote Sheldon's autism in Young Sheldon. Yeah sure, it can go onto those usual "Haha Smarty Pants" jokes they made in TBBT, but there are moments in Young Sheldon where I actually somewhat related to Sheldon. I also kinda liked how mixed he's treated throughout the show rather than either dunking on him or glazing him like no tomorrow. Some people give him unconditional love like his Mom, while others like his older sister hates how spoiled he is compared to her.
Then again Young Sheldon is better than TBBT in almost every single aspect, even if it's still not the funniest thing in the world.
I've never seen anyone who LIKES Sheldon. Most people I've seen online think he should have been aborted, or think he deserves physical abuse.
my friend kinda reminds me of him- (idk if they're officially diagnosed but they live up to a lot of autistic stereotypes)
I agree. I think young sheldon was written after taking the criticism of adult sheldon into account. Well, the genre difference probably helped too. Tbbt is a sitcom, it make sense if he is one dimensional with little nuance and growth to his character, while young sheldon is a drama with more characters with their own characteristics who interact differently to sheldon and vice versa. It make sense to humanise him, as unlikable as he was😂
As someone who hated Sheldon in TBBT (especially since Jim Parsons said that he portrayed Sheldon as though he was autistic), I enjoyed that Young Sheldon took the time and effort to humanize Sheldon instead of making him the butt of the joke.
Max from Mary and Max is literally one of the best portrayals of autism out there
I hope you look into it if you haven’t already
Also, we should NOT blame the actress who portrayed Music,
She was just a minor at the time and she couldn’t just walk away and she even broke down crying, Thinking she was being offensive
Did you mean Max and Ruby? Or is Mary and Max another show?
@@naruhodontMary and max is a claymation movie about a girl named Mary becoming pen pals with max, I don't want to spoil anything so I'd recommend watching Steve reviews video on it^^
@@naruhodont Mary and Max is a stop motion movie from 2009
Thnx for mentioning it! It was really touching but not too overt as a film 😊
@@AM-ms5rt there’s one line in it that I think a lot of autistic people need to hear
I remember letting out my knowledge about my special interest with a new friend who recently got into the same interest during my school lunch break. We were getting excited about a song and another person with autism in the room said we looked really cute and happy when we got excited and stimmed.
That was single-handedly the best compliment I have ever gotten. Whenever I hide my stimming when I’m alone, I remember those words and remind myself that I have nothing to be ashamed of
I actually found ways to stim and make it look normal. Just try watching a bunch of normal people. Notice how many like jiggling with their keys even when they don't have autism. People like fidgetting. And you can do it with keychains and little things too. So it comes over as normal while your brain is just doing the immense happy satisfied it does when I stim.
We're not that different from neurotypical people. They just got better defenses to weather the world while we've got a different model of filter for the world. We're not the same but neurotypicals do a lot of tiny things we do more obviously. So never feel ashamed or shy about it. And if someone bothers you about your habits. Just watch them and point out how they click their pen all the time, or how they like tapping their feet, or how they fiddle with their keys. All things that are self soothing behaviour.
Felt like an epiphany when I figured that out. Made me feel a bit more like we're the same species ya know?
I have an autistic brother, I am myself going to get checked for autism aswell as my sister, yet this still helped me a lot, I’m not gonna make a popular movie or write a book that’ll become famous, I simply want an autistic character for my animations I do as a hobby
One shall wonder: by trans sister does thee mean that thy sibling was a man and is now a woman, or was thy sibling a woman and now a man?
I plead thee to inform me!
@@MATEITHEBOY she’s a transwoman, man who is now a woman, well in the process of becoming.
if the fact your sister is trans isn't relevant, don't mention it. you wouldn't say my black friend if their race wasn't relevant
@@MATEITHEBOY wat
@MATEITHEBOY I'm not sure but I think its when they identify as a woman when they are a biological man
I think the first Fantastic Beasts movie did a great job with Newts Autism.
No eye contact, socialy awkward and not very talky.
But in the suitcase he talks a lot, does a lot and looks very happy. The suitcase is his happy zone and it shows
This! And Luna Lovegood too! I don’t personally get why people say it’s bad autism representation. I personally found myself relating a lot to both characters, causing them to also be my favourite characters
@@vinyl_jj presumably people ignore them as good representation due to their creator's... interesting... views.
Bad people can make good things- but 'death of the artist' seems to only apply when the artist is somebody that the person using the term likes.
@@jackpijjin4088 i bet if jk wasn’t problematic ppl wouldnt be putting the “bad representation” label on luna and newt. I personally really see myself in those two especially luna. its incredibly hard to find good representation of autism, even in 2024, so even if jk’s representation might not be PERFECT, its at least something. Also, i’m pretty sure luna and newt (or just luna) weren’t even written with intend of being autistic
And i always say that the characters with the best autism representation weren’t written to be autistic - Entrapta from Shera is my biggest example lmao
Anyways sorry, i’ll stop yapping, i get side tracked a lot X]
He’s such a great representation
@@vinyl_jj You're right- I didn't even see either as autistic, just as quirky/eccentric individuals.
Aspergers was removed as a term because it led to the misconception that aspergers syndrome is different to autism when that isn't the case, it has always been a part of autism but the reason a lot of people hate it so much isn't because it's outdated it's because Asperger was a Nazi who hated autistic people so they resent his name being attached to it. I truly don't mind how you decide to call it but I figured you should know that info to make your own choice with everything considered
Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons is one of my favorite autistic characters. He's a parody of autistic person (all characters are parodies of some human group, that's the whole point of The Simpsons), but he doesn't have every single autistic trait and doesn't come out as offensive caricature. He's very child-minded, and also proves to be clever in some occasions. And his performance as George Washington in the schoolplay was stunning.
you know the bar is low when ralph wiggum is considered good rep
@@Paddylol Firstly, I am autistic. Secondly, every single character in The Simpsons is a parody of some human group, and yet they're not offensive ones. That's why I still don't understand the Apu controversy.
I thought Ralph was just simply ret[ir]ed.
@@reverbthevocal421 Ralph is disabled, and autism is also a disability. In the episode "This Little Wiggy", Chief Wiggum tells Marge "how many special needs classes have wanted Ralph there" while they had a conversation about their children.
@@tultsi93 I wouldn’t go as far as calling autism a full on disability. A disorder, sure, but I don’t think I’d consider myself disabled for being autistic.
I love Sheldon, I just hate how the show treats him, if that makes sense.
My mom has always said I’m like Sheldon, once she stated that I was like him for being so smart, i thanked her and blah blah blah… she laughed and said “That was sarcasm, silly. You are smart though.” I never understood that was that was sarcasm 😭
I think they do a better job in Young Sheldon.
@@salthesalmonshark6849 I haven't watched it, then again, I never fully watch The Big Bang Theory. My ADHD makes it so hard to stick to a show before I hop to something else. xD
There were some really sweet hard hitting moments that got me with Sheldon.
Thing is, even if the show never admits it, Sheldon is actually closer to lower functioning from the social aspect. He would have actually benefited massively from someone who understood him and helped him understand the world around him. Not round the clock care or anything, but some kind of guide or bridge to from him to others and vice versa.
Being intelligent doesn't mean you always get everything.
I loved when he said to Penny "Of course you'll pay me back when you can. You couldn't do so before you can, that's silly" or something to that effect. It really showed the freedom of social expectation and way of thinking that's so different for him than it is for others. And how that can be a benefit.
Next was when he struggled to understand social cues and broke down from it. When the show made him understandable and not just a jerk are the times I appreciated it and that did get more frequent as time went on. But there are definitely times he's the butt of the joke. It drove me up a wall mostly to watch his friends just not understand that they have a person who thinks very differently. Sheldon needed to be called out on lots of his BS, but not in the usual way because he just plain didn't get it. Communication was not that shows strong suit and to be fair, most people suck at it.
1:00 Aspergers was merged together with Autism because they are a part of the same 'disorder' but due to them being split people with aspergers weren't given the support they needed. Aspergers was autism but focused on the social part rather than the intellectual part, in the end symptoms overlapped enough where it's seen as a part of the autism spectrum. Since what's classified as a 'disorder' changes over time (due to more research and data) aspergers was lumped into the 'Autism Spectrum Disorder' to help those who were unable to get the assistance they needed when they had that as their diagnosis. It was also a way to better communicate with schools and other facilities what kind of aid said person needs. At the end of the day it's perfectly fine to use aspergers as your own personal preference for what you call your disorder, but, it's good to know why things are being called 'different names' or what names are 'in and out' because the development of mental health studies is super important. :D
To simplify is, intellectual issues were assumed to be an inate part of autism for the most part, Aspergers essentially meant "autism with no associated learning difficulties".
But through extra research we now know that autistic people are just likely to have pre-existing intellectual disorders, and some just don't also have an intellectual disability. And because functioning labels are wack, a lot of people who would be considered "aspies" wouldn't necessarily be "high functioning". A character like Woo Young-Woo from Extraordinary Attorney Woo comes to mind. She's a genius. However she is still very obviously identifiable as a disabled person, has a lot of social difficulties, she had very obvious issues with transitions, she has a very restrictive diet, she's not "low functioning" either but that's the beauty of realistic autistic presentations. She struggles a lot, but she would still be considered an Aspie.
Autistic writer here, I literally project my symptoms onto autistic characters (with variations)
You have a bfdi pfp so you don't need to say your autistic btw
I am not autistic, but I do have ADHD. I am currently writing a grimdark fantasy novel, and I feel like I accidentally wrote my main protagonist, a fallen princess who goes on a negative character arc from good to evil, as having symptoms of autism, but is in a bisexual love triangle
I plan on writing a book/novel about a girl who has autism (based on me a bit and I have autism myself too) traveling around the magical world to defend it from evil and protect her own world where she's from.
speaking as an autistic in the dragon ball community: I've heard plenty of "Goku is autistic" and while I definitely agree; I think I'm the only one who headcanons CELL of all people as autistic.
the way his behavior changes between forms, reminds me a lot of masking. there's a lot of scenes where he's just quiet, and stands there waiting; and not just in is perfect form. speaking of which his obsession with becoming perfect, just reminds me of how a lot of us will just spend hours organizing something from top to bottom, until it's clean as a whistle sort of perfectionism, just with a weird bug body. in order to become perfect he had to absorb 17 and 18 as well, who made it as hard as possible to catch them. he has overlapping reasons with Goku as he's just as obsessed with fighting as well, even holding off his assigned duties for an extended period just to fight some guys.
he's often hiding how he truly feels, and it's definitely not like most where its out of fear, or because he believes that's the way to live, almost making one wonder why. you really only see his true emotions a couple of times, one of which is the anger he feels towards Gohan. he talks with a lot of complex words in the dub, sometimes I find myself looking up what they mean. where the hell did he learn to build that arena? no way in hell Gero programmed it in him, so I like to imagine he taught himself some things. and this is just scrapping the surface, it's not just "Oh he's dumb and only smart when it comes to fighting" no this bug man has more traits than that.
honestly the part about being a giant bug is just a funny coincidence, and since he's a "bio-android" meaning he's still flesh and bone, the "But he's a robot!" argument has no room here. so I can keep this headcanon and no one can stop me.
I personally like the headcanon of Cell being a perfectionist.
@@reverbthevocal421 speaking from experience here, the two can go hand in hand
Goku never came across as autistic to me. If anything, he was a neurotypical member of his species who is so obsessed with fighting that the “lower class” doesn’t seem to have much regard for love and marriage. And of course he never had any form of behavior modification because he was always depended on to save the world. No one really taught him how to properly function in society and he gets every excuse under the sun for his actions because “he’s a hero.” He leaves his family for years at a time so that he can “become stronger” but is still considered a good friend and father by the cast because he’s nice…and the only reason he’s nice is because he had a head injury as a baby!
Vegeta is a bit of a special case since he got to actually spend time with his father in his childhood until his death by Frieza. He often is accused of being an abusive father because he constantly trains Trunks but for Saiyans, training together is the equivalent of throwing a football in the backyard.
@Devin-s8g nah just an autistic girlie who saw the cell saga and went "that man is just like me." and went to town on an analysis of why I felt that way
@@NeedlessExposition I fail to see how Vegeta is relevant, since I didn't mention him at all. sorry brain does not compute why Vegeta was mentioned, I only mentioned how as an Autistic person, I also see Cell as Autistic
This is the video I never knew I needed but so glad I got, as of someone who is autistic and does not like a lot of the representation we have, it's so great to see other people raise awareness for this and educate others, 10 out of 10 video, I loved it ❤️❤❤
Marcy Wu feels like a self insert of myself because I literally had the same experience as her growing up. Like I went to a school with uniforms and it was just a trio of us with the leader being kinda mean (her parents were going through a nasty divorce too) and them not understanding but supporting my interests. I moved to a different school exactly when the friendship fell apart, I literally grew up with them and it hurt. But it also has been years since then and now it’s more of a sweet than painful memory, we move on ig.
YES. Marcy Wu is basically me but less emo. She’s so relatable that it’s terrifying.
Marcy Wu it’s so me fr
I loved this video, you explained everything very well! The part about the best autistic characters not actually being intended to be autistic made me happy because I actually have an 'acidentally' autistic OC who I first started writing about when I was I think 13, then when I looked back at her first draft I realized how neurodivergent I'd unconsciously made her after I'd gotten my own diagnosis. Yes she was and still kind of is even now a borderline self-insert :>
Thank you for the video and im a writer who is making a character with autism, I needed this and I kinda gotten understood autism and not fully before clicking the video. Also, I have a brother and cousin with autism.
Honestly this video is rather refreshing to see. As an autistic person i rarely have special interests of at all nowdays due to me going back and fourth between interests. Also it comes more like hyper focus.
Also I plan to make a comic where many characters are autistic and interact with each other.
The first thing I do when making any character is to make a person first and then add the subject, or in this case, autism but not the textbook definition and not like a stickynote in mind. I just wing it.
Also yes, the main characters are autistic and each is different.
So I’m a Triple A and I just want to give my opinion. Your video rocked, don’t worry, I just want to bring up The Good Doctor. I personally LOVED his ‘I am a surgeon’ meltdown specifically because I’ve had people not take me seriously because I’m Autistic. I’m a cook, I’ve been cooking since I was 15 and professionally cooking since I was 16 (currently 26). I get talked down to constantly, just like Shawn does. I’m way better at masking (thanks parents for forcing me to act how you wanted me to 🙄) so I actually appreciate Shawn’s explosion. He never gets taken seriously and constantly treated like a toddler through the show and his outbursts make perfect sense to me. I had a nuclear meltdown at my job yesterday because I was trying to explain why our ‘waste management set up’ for our table was stupid and wasted more food than the current system. The Good Doctor is definitely not my first choice to reference when making an Autistic character but the ‘exaggeration’ is right on the money most of the time, at least from my perspective but I definitely see where folks are coming from, Shen is definitely not the best representation. I might also be a little biased because shows about medicine, surgery, and such fall in my special interest in medicine that was sparked by a movie that has very little to actually do with medicine as a whole and more about hygiene, healthy eating, and exercise (Osmosis Jones if anyone wanted to know!). You’d think with all my medical knowledge I’d be going to medical school but you’d be wrong, my sister is. I just cook in the hospital she sometimes works at 😂
TBH I think Shaun gets too much hate. It's true that they could have done things better (not using Autism Speaks as reference, focusing less on how others view him etc...) but the show definitely isn't all bad. I dare even say that I think it's good! I feel that autism representation is too focused on high masking characters who can easily hold a job and go about their daily life with minimal assistance. Autistics like Shaun exist too and should also be seen on screen! People take the meltdown scenes out of context and that's why they seem so extreme - the "Expired, all expired" scene is a good example of this. Of course he has a big reaction, a greedy and unjustifiable corporate decision just resulted in the death of a baby that would have otherwise easily survived.
Imagine making a character who is specifically neurotypical. Go through all the symptoms of nurodivergance and make sure they have none of them lol
Lmao I'm an nd (amateur) writer and that's kinda how it goes
That’d a weird ass character ngl😂
As an autism ADHD anxiety and depression haver, I have to do this occasionally or all my characters are neurodivergent coded-
tbh i really dont care about that and make most of them ND coded lmao
@@chaoscreatureok but what does your depression and anxiety have to do with this tho??
My partner calls it "high masking" rather than "high functioning" which I think is a really good way of explaining it.
"High functioning" sounds pretty uncool when you think about it. Ablest and such.
"High masking" on the other hand shows that even though they might present fairly neurotypical, that it's not their natural state and takes effort for them to put on.
The thing that's rough about masking is that it can be pretty hard to turn it off once you've been doing it for so long.
Actually gonna steal that to describe myself. I am high masking. I do my best to fit in but it's so exhausting I had to stop. Not fully but at least lower the level. Because uh... caused my burn out, depression and part of my anxiety. The constant worry to fit in to not fail to be a perfect functional member of society. It's way too overwhelming.
I like that!
The functioning labels are to differentiate between the level of needs, a high functioning autistic is the same as a low needs one, the term just varies from what each autistic person prefers to be called, but essentially you are low-needs, doesn’t mean “no needs”, but you don’t need as much as a high-needs autist
@@Jade.051 I don't know if those labels are right though. I am considered high functioning on my paperwork. But me and my partner who also is high functioning agree that I am hardly functional if someone else ain't there to help me out.
@@junrobin9335 Then maybe you were given the wrong label, it doesn’t mean the labels itself are wrong or bad
4:27 I was forced into masking somewhere from birth to like 8 into masking. By my mother who is in no way conceivably neurotypical. I hate her and how i can barely recognise myself anymore in the kid i was. How she forced me to be 'normal' when she so obviously has some of the same issues I do. Her hypocrisy disgusts me and how shes continuing doing the same behavior with my brother who has a higher level than me. When shes literally PAYING FOR MY THERAPY shes spending HUNDREDS on my issues that SHE CAUSED!
I enjoyed Reagan Ridley from Inside Job as an autism coded character. They only ever state it as a joke that Reagan denies when her mother claims it, but it was clearly something on the writers' mind when they wrote her character.
As someone with autism this is a W vid
I don't feel bad for music, I feel bad for Maddie, the person who plays her. I don't have beef with the girl, just the person she's playing as, and the person who she "works" for. Poor Maddie, Sia needs to stop using her for her projects.
Its a very common mistake, but Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory is not autistic. He just has traits that are also seen in autism.
The writers have said that he isnt, and they havent given him any other diagnosis. A diagnosis would just create limits for the character. One episode he might show autistic traits, the next it's OCD traits, and so on. His traits even contradict themselves multiple times throughout the show. He is just a neurodivergent character, and the showrunners change his personality depending on what best works to drive the episode's story forward.
His traits include:
OCD
Narcissistic personality disorder
Aphephobia
Mysophobia
Ornithophobia
Hypochondriasis
Inability to lie
Stage fright
Hemophobia
Possible sadistic/psychopathic tendencies
holy shit, i just wanted to do research for an oc of mine but i ended up relating to a lot of the experiences discussed here, im hoping to get a therapist soon to properly get diagnosed, but in the meantime, it's very nice to see others going through similar stuggles
My mom forced me to watch through the entirety of Atypical, and it became much more bearable once they ran out of checkpoints and started giving Sam actual character traits. Better late than never I guess…
Something that I'd like to see more representation for is high-masking characters that still experience meltdowns or go nonverbal in stressful situations. This would make me feel seen
Some people (like myself) can mask SO well...until they can't. I feel like that sort of representation in media would help educate neurotypicals about the fact that even if someone doesn't "look autistic", at the end of the day, they still are and will still show signs of that. It's not laziness or spoiled behavior or throwing a fit. It's just an unavoidable fact of autism
Same I mask generally pretty well. No one thinks I'm normal that's for sure, everyone usually thinks I'm at LEAST odd, and people who know a lot about autism tend to clock me immediately or fairly quick. But I wasn't diagnosed as a child, only actually got my referrals and things in March.
But I have meltdowns all the time. I used to have shutdown basically every day after school growing up, but if I was outside of the house for more than an hour, especially on a weekend or during those before/after school hours where people and bustling, and the SLIGHTEST thing goes wrong before I can reset after going home I I will just cry. Sometimes also scream (especially lately). I thought I was depressed as a kid cause I would cry so much but I wasn't actually sad just overwhelmed and generally distressed.
6:20 OOOOOHHH that's why people use the "Power level" expression!
As aspie i've been told some things such as
-you don't look autistic: Because im masking it
-you should flap you'r hands: im not a bird plus not all autistic people do this such as me i have diffrient things like bitting thumb when i get stressed
-you sure good at math: no im not, autistic people have so much more hobby that they love such as me being into paleontology and biology
And the worst that i heard
-can't you heal it: no you can't it is not like tummor, it is neurologicall stuff and even if it will be healable in future i don't want to be cured because im unique and im teaching to live with it.
And yet i still like to talk to people and sadly i feel bad for those who watched "music" and thought that all of us were like that. I wish ya good day/night 😊.
the good at math thing is so played out… just look at me. I’m currently retaking geometry (mainly due to lack of motivation but math was never my strongest subject)
I have 3 autistic OCs and I kinda wanna know what your opinion is (I wrote these from my POV as a High-Functioning Autist):
The first one Henry, is perpetually in a “Meh” mood and unempathetic, he is a savant, but only with machines and the like, not with everything, he sucks at social interactions and doesn’t notice when he’s rude most of the time and can be and sometimes is very sarcastic.
2. Catherine is peppy energetic, airheaded and hyperfixated on Toby Fox games and the likes, she’s my attempt at the “Double A’s” type of Autism. Also I made her a furry.
3. Lina is my third and final autistic OC, she’s shy, quiet and a stutterer, she doesn't really have a special talent like Henry but or a hyperfixation like Catherine, but she’s a kind and caring person, but sometimes is seen as unempathetic because she almost never asks how people are doing or are they ok when they are hurt, she also has noise and touch sensitivities, which make her not want to go to concerts or ceramonies with her friends and despise hugs and the texture of steel wool.
"Also I made her a furry"
Congrats, you have the most accurate autistic representation of them all :3
Lol
@@ultrasquid579 as an autistic person, this is 100% true.
I have also become one, so you’re right
@@ThatOneKnowItAll-hx3nx what species? :3
My best advice (besides what's in the video because it's pretty great) is that an autistic person will could potentially be quiet or unconfident in situations which are strange/that they dislike, but will flip 180 degrees to being VERY confident and/or very sociable as soon as something comes up that they are intimately familiar with.
There's also a bit of a common trait (again, this must vary from person to person) but it's been observed that many autistic people are much better at distancing themselves from the emotional baggage of a topic and analyzing things from a purely objective, or indeed are very good at putting themselves into another person's shoes and viewing their perspective very empathetically to understand how they can think a certain way. But they will analyze something with more detachment and therefore more objectivity than a neurotypical person might. They often will not get as worked up over something unless something specific triggers it. This also leads them to have a more strictly followed moral code in many cases which may not be the correct morality, but they will be very consistent in it, and above all they will view any hypocrisy or perceived unfairness very negatively in other people.
Greatly appreciate this advice! Very applicable to the science fantasy story I'm writing right now. I got about a third of the way into the novel before realizing I had, completely by accident, given one of the main characters some recurring traits that would definitely read as autistic. It just felt RIGHT for her to hyperfocus on studying magic and her religion, infodump, constantly fidget with her hands and toes, struggle with eye contact, and go mute in high stress situations. I've decided to make it canon that she's on the spectrum, but like you said, that's just adding a little spice to her character. She's a person first and foremost, with goals she must meet and misbeliefs she must conquer. Without the choices she makes, the plot falls apart. She is the mentor to my other characters, their guide in this world. Not a secret genius, but a master of the subjects that fall under her special interests. So far, all my beta readers have loved her.
It's great to have someone with autism in your life when writing someone with it to see their experiences, and how they would act in real life. However, one person, like said in the video, is not everyone. My gf for example, is autistic, and i have been around them since 7th grade, and i do know a thing or two, but not everything about what they go through. Research, of course, is also great too.
THATS WHY I KNOW YOUR VOICE! I also had a huge hyperfixation on Hetalia growing up and I watched your videos on it while studying for exams cause not a lot of people talked about it. Also one of the first times I headcanoned a character as autistic because I related a lot to Japan and his issues.
Currently the show hyperfixation is Inanimate Insanity who I feel also has a great unintentional autistic character to the point the creators admitted he wasn’t designed with that in mind but it’s easy to see why many see him as such and several voice actors headcanon og it. That would be Fan who cameos in season 1 but makes his true debut in season 2 as a literal fanboy who is knowledgeable of everything about the show due to his love for it and takes pride in learning all there is to it like shrugging off being punched by Paintbrush because he was busy making note of a new “cliche” happening or acting like a narrator for the show to cope during “traumatic times” as seen in S3 ep 1 and S2 ep 17. He can often be seen either flailing his arms up and down or fiddling with his equipment when either really excited or nervous which could be seen as him stimming. He’s incredibly empathetic but has no filter and can either be seen as being too blunt or having to backtrack his words at times because they didn’t come off as how he intended them. This is also true in his actions as he can sometimes tunnel vision on stuff especially if they equal to his interests which can get him in trouble such as when he upset his friend by making a “spin the wheel” over what their companion was gonna vent about because he was “analyzing character interactions” or when he stole one of Cabby’s files because she had one about him which he also saw as outdated, upsetting her further since he didn’t understand how much her files meant to her. Basically he’s very clever but can’t read a room to save his life. Along with this his major arc in season 2 is that he’s afraid of things changing whether it be the show, his routine, or just himself. He doesn’t help often if the show initially because he’s just used to being a spectator instead of a player and later because he believes he doesn’t have because he feels everything runs on a pattern. He relies heavily on these patterns and when things don’t go the way he saw them going he is shown to get incredibly agitated. Though initially seen as humorous, episode 13 is when this all gets major focus and shows how it genuinely impacts him. While trying to solve the mysteries of the game, Suitcase nudges him to vent about himself instead which he reluctantly does. He admits it’s easier to talk about other things like his interests and finds it hard to talk about himself to the point of writing down what he wants to say in the notes app because he struggles to verbalize it. He projects his feelings into an alien egg he found, talking about how he doesn’t “want it to have to hatch” and that it be better for it to stay secure in a protective shell for it can “have its patterns.” And while it is something he still can have issues with he eventually learns he has to let some things go and be okay with changes.
Judah from Bojack Horseman also great autistic representation but more people talk about him Aka again, hyperfixation on the objects currently lol
My favorite example of an accidental autistic character will always be Donnie from the 2018 tmnt series
Didn't the writers confirm he really was autistic?
@@bananatiergod they said he was on the spectrum so yeah!
Mine is your pfp-2012!leo
@@АцушиДворжак IT IS!!!!
Rly cool video.
Just a note, I think the DSM-5 refers to “autism levels” in terms of how much support a person needs to… be safe or happy idk. For example, one person might need support, and another might need substantial or very substantial support. I like using it cuz it’s just less terms to remember, it’s more intuitive, and i couldn’t come up with a third reason.
Yeah that's why they put the levels in the DSM-5. Me being type 2 or level 2 basically means I am functional in society but need support at home. And I am currently going through my application for the at home support so my mom doesn't have to do it all on her own anymore. It's just really handy for the administration.
as someone with autism, what i’ve always hated about popular autistics is that they are shown to be smart, stoic, and honestly; just a-holes. it has molded most peoples minds that that’s how most autists are (or like Music). i remember telling a boy in my class that i trusted, that i was actually autistic. he didn’t believe me because “i didn’t act autistic” because of how most autism representation is like Good Doctor, Big Bang Theory, and Music.
not all autistics are like these characters (like you said, it’s a spectrum), and these characters are mostly a bad representation to begin with. it has kinda damaged peoples thoughts on autism people in my opinion, even if it isn’t that evident.
As an autistic writer, this is not a video I was expecting to stumble upon, but I’m so happy I did.
Thanks for the helpl I’ve watched a ton of videos on how to write autistic characters and I think this one was the most helpful! I’m not diagnosed with autism but I wanted to write my favorite fictional character, who I headcanon as autistic. I didn’t really understand why people loved Donatello from RotTMNT since, as far as I could tell, he seemed to be the uncaring-savant archetype (to be fair I only saw clips of the show and not the full thing), but now I get it a little better. I hope I can write my favorite character the best I can represent him!
I have an autistic older cousin and he wears noise canceling headphones and stims sometimes, but he’s smart, functions, and has a masters degree in college. He is an awesome person and I think he’s a good person. He’s just him, normal. He doesn’t all of a sudden burst out into breakdowns and he’s not stupid. He is just him.
I would highly recomend checking out a series called dungeon meshi for a great example of an (in my eyes) autistc character, laios, he was never written to be autistic, but he genuinly feels it and i saw alot of myself in him (i am autistic)
he was written to be autistic like his sister
Thank you so much for making this video! I have an autistic OC in a book I want to write in the future (they're also the protagonist), and despite doing lots of research on autism and likely having it myself (I'm not diagnosed but have many autistic/neurodivergent symptoms), I always get scared to write it in an actual character because of the hate towards autism representation, even though I know I wouldn't write it nearly as bad as the misrepresentation. I saw your video on my recommended a few times and decided to watch it, and it really helped me on how to write an autistic character. I always knew how NOT to write one, but not how to actually write one, so thank you!
0:53 AMEN, Sister, AMEN! (i have Aspergers myself, Yeah I know the questionable name, but it's Just better to be different👍🏻).
My protagonist of my fantasy novel is autistic and it’s definitely fun fleshing out his character! I hope to publish my story one day!
Ooh, sounds cool, what's the story about
I look forward to seeing your story. I'm also making my own protagonist on the spectrum too.
I'm sort of also planning to have one of my characters be autistic because my brother is autistic and if he ever wants to read it, I feel like he might be happy to have a character like him. But I also don't want to offend anyone. My novel is supposed to be sad, but also be about coping and side effects of abuse/bullying. So why should I try to add this, but might offend everyone when my book IS awareness. I'm just so scared I'm gonna offend someone.
10:43 Omg, this is the perfect analogy, thank you 🙏 /gen
I'm level 2 autistic and partially nonverbal (when i have metldowns sometimes i lose speech ability partially or fully and sometimes for a few hours afterwards) but I feel like I think just fine and I'm capable of writing and typing a lot better than I talk. I agree 100% with what you said about the portrayal of nonverbal characters.
And honestly anyone on the 2 or 3 scale in general. We tend to be portrayed like we're a lobotomized monolith, when we're just people. Every single person has the same chance of being a genius or a dummy, whether you're neurodivergent or not lol.
My parents always suspected I might be autistic but they only really got a clue from when my aunts friend WHO IS A CERTIFIED NURSE looked at me in the yard then looked at my aunt and asked “Who’s the little autistic kid” SHE KNEW I WAS AUTISTIC BEFORE MY PARENTS WERE ABLE TO GET ME DIAGNOSED and that was in HIGH SCHOOL
Autism is one of my hyperfixations. I love creating stories, and I always like including one autistic character, so I do a lot of researches. I'll never publish my stories, but knowing everything is accurate makes me proud and comfortable.
Hi, I’m a semi-verbal autistic. I don’t eat everything I see and I can’t hear a bug 3 doors down. I love this video 😼
Do you fw Skibidi Toilet?
@ no not really
Although I'm autistic, I prefer to write NTs characters.
Weirdly enough, some of my first OCs (I wrote them when i was about 7, 8 or 9) had autistic traits or were autistic. I didn't know i was autistic at that age so they ended up that way because I though it was intersting to make them act as such. By practice I ended up to write what I wanted. Fact is, is true that there are no many autistic character around. But when you live with autism since your first day of life, you would like to explore something different. I enjoy writing characters that are different from me, with different ideals than me and different personalities.
Same here. I think that when I write, I kind of want a break from constantly contemplating autism. Though a lot of characters I write do have something in common with me, like I'm isolating one trait of myself and then examining it through this character to give them more authenticity.
not me reading the thumbnail “how to write autism” as literally writing the word autism 💀
LOL
The infantalization thing also seems to show up in the fact that they like to use young/ small actors for autistic roles.
Honestly, one of the best representations of autism i have seen in the media is Matthew from The Chosen.
I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate this video. I have had a character in my archives for years who I realized definitely and unintentionally has autistic traits. I kept her development the same from her original story idea and I am still partially worried about the genius trope but a lot of her character is still in drafts so there is still time to tweak it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
20:59 the thing with autism and adhd combo is so true for me
"The best autistic characters were not planned to be autistic." Very true! During the years I've identified with for example Winnie the Pooh and Fluttershy, who definitley would both have been diagnosed with Autism if they were humans IRL, and I can also relate to some Disney princesses in their feelings of not fitting in etc. So I know exactly what you are talking about!
Also, the directors of a Swedish movie called "There are no feelings in space" should really have put down the textbook and stopped trying to catch them all. So should the directors of "I am Sam". Less IS more! Watch "The Martian kid" (or was it "child"?) and you'll see exactly what to do!
About your "Do people use levels?" Question. In Australia, the levels are for what support the person needs. I have level 2 support, and someone I know was diagnosed with Asperges and is apparently level 2. They're more for schools, which also the high functioning label, I think. The level you have determines how much money the school will get from you being there.
Also, I think the levels you're talking about are different to Australia. Since I'm level 2 support and have what you say are level 1 traits.
(Not so fun fact: I have had an ed support school not want me at their school because I wasn't level 3. Which I'm pretty sure is a form of discrimination.)
For me, having Autism/Asperger's is a Blessing and a Curse. Yes, everything you listed at the end and a lot of my problems would be solved if I didn't have it, but I believe no neurotypical can ever be as happy as someone on the ASD being able to interact/talk about their Special Interest(s). I also do believe we do "think" differently, but it's more about looking at something at a different angle that most people don't tend to notice. Like, I still remember back in Middle School when I was doing those Social Groups or Individual Special Needs sessions or whatever, and I was told to find what two things from a list of three (or all three of them) were more similar. I would tell and explain why A and B were similar, and the Instructor would pause and say, "Huh, I never thought about that, but you're right" multiple times. That right there proves we have the potential to solve seemingly difficult problems, or how something would be difficult to most but is actually easy for us. So, I think it's more about how we interact with the "Real World" from our senses that we differ from neurotypicals. We interact, signals are sent to the brain, and we do process things, but we naturally look at it from a different angle than just differently altogether.
(I am also on your side with Autism and Asperger's being different. Yes, many of their symptoms overlap, but they do not only have their own unique individual symptoms, but what parts of the brain that are affected are different. It's like a Venn Diagram; similar but not exact).
I don’t need a “how to write autistic characters” tutorial. I need a “how to write neurotypical characters” tutorial. I have autism and adhd and when I write characters I give them struggles and character traits that I have, and I end up accidentally making them autism coded or adhd coded, and it’s accurate because it’s based on my own, but trying to write neurotypical characters is nearly impossible for me-
That’s for sure! A lot of the points you made are incredibly relatable, being autistic myself. When I make my own characters, I don’t consider their disabilities, only their capabilities, flaws, and goals.
Abed from Community is my favourite because he's written with such heart and emotion, and Troy never talks down to him, he just helps him out
0:30 MARCY MARCY MARCY AMPHIBIA MENTION MARCY WU OMG
I became like this too and I really didn't knew marcy was autistic
@@Cynthinimations i did when i was in my amphibia special interest era i did so much research on her
Yaya😁
21:56 i have an ungodly amount of information on butterflies locked in my brain from my childhood
A big reason that Quinni in Heartbreak High is so well written is that the writers consulted with Chloe a lot on season 1 to make sure that what they were writing was an accurate representation. Chloe has said that Quinni is the 16 year old that she wished she could have been.
This video will be very helpful for writing characters! Thank you!
Unrelated: My favorite Autistic headcanon might as well be Twilight Sparkle from MLP. The fandom had theorized she is on the spectrum and that she has all the signs (Also heard that Lauren Faust- the show's creator, wanted to explicitaly show she was autistic but couldn't.) And this headcanon only made me love her more honestly (But I love her regardless because she is purple pony)
Main comment:
Still trying to get my autism diagnosis- But let's say for now I'm not autistic, and I'm trying to write a character of mine in a way that he has autistic traits, but doesn't look overly "quirky."
I don't have a name for him yet so let's go with Sunrise. He is your typical sunshine boy, he is obssessed with astrology and comic books- Yet he also happens to be an extrovert who loves hanging out with his friends... And he can't stop talking, especially about astrology. He is sensitive to loud noises and doesn't like certain colors and textures, though he deals with it pretty well. He doesn't get the majority of his friend's joked and does some terrible ones as if trying to imitate them, but he laughs anyway.
He may seem childish at first, since he whines (as a joke) at times, but he CAN get serious and acts mature whenever there is a problem- After all, he is an adult, and also a super-hero.
Albeit- He is still a YOUNG one, so he sometimes gets himself looking and laughing at those women magazines along with the other boys, if you know what I mean- Just to get off with the steriotype of infantilizing autistic people. So yeah, just like any guy, he is not a 100% pure sunshine boy, but he is kind and caring- He just has his own MORAL flaws, like everyone else.
If anyone wants to give me tips or point out anything wrong I would be greatful!
Twilight is autistic, she was thought to be but was removed later, for fear of parents not understanding or something like that
@@lunamig1006
Ur right- It's a shame the show didn't let it explicit :(
I always thought it was Rainbow who was autistic. Testing 1 2 3 demonstrated her unusual learning methods and difficulty in concentrating or staying still. It's still one of my favorite episodes because of that.
@@Double-R-Nothing She has ADHD
@@Double-R-Nothing
I think Rainbow might be, too!!! Most of the main six might be neurodivergent, though Twilight is my personal favorite cause I had seen a lot of myself in her.
I am an level 1 autistic,artistic with SPD,BCD and artist and I love art and writing stories and self taught artist
Autism doesn't need a cure, there are so many useful things I have learned from autism, without autism I wouldn't know anything, l would just be depressed and studying school stuff, l would have 0 creativity.
Indeed, I can't see a life without it. But it definatly has it's caviots that do get frustrating at times.
@@elijahnajera5425 agreed
@@lunamig1006yeah and what u said about having no creativity without autism is so true cause conformism is trash!😆
Except when they RUIN fandoms
@@ItchyBurritoMiniAltThingy it's the people not the autism, autism only makes a person research something more if they really like it, it won't ruin anything, I make fics and AUs about things l really like, does that mean I'm ruining it? stop caring about other people's lives
One of my favorite villains who may be autistic is Grand Admiral Thrawn. In his Legends trilogy. If you pay attention you can tell how he processes the same information differently than Captain Pellaeon and how he combines this with his deductive reasoning skills to outmaneuver the heroes until they manage to undermine him in a way he did not expect.
Honestly you shouldn't feel like you don't belong in the autism community just because you don't face as much discrimination. You're welcome either way.
based, impostor syndrome defeated
even people who arent are welcomed from waht i seen
your explanation of the noise will really help me to talk about it as an apserger. thanks
Hearing someone say sub-tle instead of su-tle tickles my brain
As someone who is on the Spectrum too also and High to be specific with the Attention Deficit thing you know the details and info on the matter were pretty much accurate, great video in general.
The reason asbergers is not used anymore is because it creates a divide where people with lower support needs are seen as better and having a different disorder when that is not the case. There is still language for the difference in experiences you are talking about, and that would be a person with high support needs or level three support needs although levels are still a bit controversial.
As a autistic boy who is currently working on a fighting and worldbuilding story, thanks. I really appreciate you for taking about us and about our struggles in our day to day life.😊😊
"Music feels more like an object or a pet then a person."
For some reason, that's how I fear Sia sees young girls, Maddie Ziegler in particular.
By the way, Asperger’s syndrome was removed as a name because it originated from a nazi psychologist, hans Asperger, who decided who was fit for the war and who wasn’t based on the autistic spectrum, and those that weren’t deemed fit for the front lines were killed due to their lack of usage in society. Technically you do have autism, you’re just on a ‘high functioning’ end of the spectrum! I say ‘high functioning’, because that’s also a rather derogatory term that originated from the same situation. As is the term low functioning. (I spent months researching this because it became my hyper fixation, so I tried condensing it as best as I can! Sorry if it’s long or doesn’t make sense 🩷🩷)
Also there's no "end" of the spectrum. It's not a line, it's more like one of those radial pie charts or graphs with an X, Y and Z access.
16:24
An important point. Don’t make any character just their autism. The same as that you don’t make a character’s entire personality being gay, or being black, or something. People are far more layered than that and deserve to be represented as such.
MARCY YES MARCY MARCY she’s SUCH GOOD REPRESENTATION!!!!!! I love the way their character is built with all the little hints at hyperfixations and AAAAH
Another good character with Autism is Steris from the Mistborn books. I have autism, but even I didn't realize that she was autistic at first, even though it was explicitly intentional. Eventually it becomes more and more obvious but Brandon Sanderson introduces her the same way he experienced a friend he has in real life with Autism. The Story is written from a neurotypical perspective, so she comes off at first as an abrasive and rude person to the main character Wax, but eventually he, like the author, realized that she wasn't being rude and abrasive, but rather that she was very uncomfortable interacting with him and he found a way of communicating with her that made her comfortable and very close to him (eventually they get married). But after she gets comfortable with him, she opens up and talks to him about far more things and feelings.
I've worked with many "low functioning" autistic adults and children in education. They certainly aren't stupid. Frustrating at times from my point of view because their hyper-fixations (Usually something repetitive and specific that distracts them from learning new stuff as quickly) overtake a lot of what they potentially could do for themselves moving forward, but they are no different from anyone else if you see them for who they are, people who interact with the world in their own way. You can bond with them just like any other person.
I'm a jrpg fan. Futaba from persona 5 and shulk from xenoblade chronicles are great representation
The moment you described hyperfocus was the moment I remembered staying up for 43 hours straight working on a project.... oof
I have Asperger’s. And while I have been informed of who it’s named after, I still prefer to use the term because, like you said, I have slightly different behaviors and struggles compared to other high functioning autists.
That and it’s hard to break habits of what you called yourself previously.
aspie here as well, amse but i always throw back the guy who invented the word gender did hanouse things....to kids
Me personally I wouldn’t use it because for one… it’s coined by a LITERAL NAZI WHO TORTURED AND KILLED AUTISTIC PEOPLE, but that’s just me. :/ Seriously tho, can we not give them the slightest ounce of credit? They are evil people, why are we so accepting of their ableist terms?
I was only diagnosed 3 years ago so am autistic because that is the current terminology. Seeing as each person is different it isn't unreasonable for you to have different struggles to the people around you. There is also that so much of the struggles that go along with being autistic are internal so unless you know the people you are comparing yourself to really really well you aren't going to really know how many of the same struggles you actually have.
@@amandamandamands oh, but do know that Asperger’s are slightly different from others (again only slightly), because I have friends that I can compare it to.
My brother has ADHD and my aunt has Downsyndrome.
That, I was also in a church class specializing in teaching autistic children when I was young.
So some advice for the future just in case, please don’t assume things about other people’s lives based solely on RUclips comments.
Hope that helps.
Once again, the true hero of writing a certain kind of character, is to interact with and get to know the people from the demographic you're trying to write.
Anyway. ABED!! Love how he reps autistic folk who aren't particularly great at their special interest hobbies!
I myself am rabid for making art, but wow I am ASS at it most of the time. Will I stop? Never! I love my bullshit creative projects with my everything!
My friend has a child with Asperger's and is nonverbal. She doesn't act like that character from Sia s film. She's hyper focused on bones and teeth. She can read and write, when focused on a bone she'll try to see what animal it belonged to. My friend saw that movie and he was mad and disappointed at how toned deaf sia is when it comes to autism.
And Sia is saying she's autistic to try and excuse what she did. As if people within the community aren't prone to spewing ableist rhetoric along with Nazi eugenics. They may seem harmless, but, it's harmful to the community at large. Language is ever evolving
I haven't finished the video yet, but I just wanted to say that your "how to write videos" have been so helpful to me. 😊