Sarah Nour's List of Autistic Characters

Submissions welcome!

[awesomeaspie2003]

Autism Headcanon. Specials interests are recycling, reusing items, protecting the environment, mechanics, engineering, carpentry, inventing things, art, creativity. He's quieter than his friends in the series and reserved. He's creative, inventive, gifted and acutely perceptive. He's intellectual and adorably nerdy. He's very passionate and hyper focused about his interest. Good at thinking outside of the box and problem solving. Passionate and dedicated to making the world a better place. Sensory issues, especially going in water. Uncomfortable and stressed about going in the water. Get anxious when he has to face his fear. Rational, logical, kind-hearted and willing to make his friends happy no matter what. Unwavering loyalty.

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Fred Jones Jr. from Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated. Has a keen mind for puzzles & mysteries. Special interest: traps. Will enthusiastically infodump. Keeps a scrapbook of old traps he's built & subscribes to magazines about traps. Clueless about Daphne's feelings for him. Struggles to identify & express his own feelings. Mishandles social situations. Isolates himself when upset. Comfort item: Mr. Trapples, his teddy bear.

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Fern Arable from Charlotte's Web. Fiercely compassionate, determined, nurturing, & willing to stand up for what she believes in. Bravely stops her father from killing a baby pig when she's only eight years old. Declares she doesn't see any difference between a baby pig & a human baby. Worries her parents with her intense love for animals.

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Friends, here's a topic I'd like to offer for debate. Those of you who are familiar with the book/movie Gone With the Wind: do you believe Scarlett O'Hara could be autistic?

Her character has always fascinated me. She's petulant, selfish, and willfully ignorant, yet also brave, strong, determined, and admirable. Her love of parties could be a sign of sensory-seeking. She maintains her hyperfixation on Ashley Wilkes for over a decade, not realizing they're not right for each other. In fact, she completely lacks understanding of other people and their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.

Yet Scarlett also has a keen mind for numbers and business, and defies the cultural norms of the 1860s to become a successful businesswoman. She has no moral qualms about using convicts for dirt-cheap labor, as she's hyperfixated on her goal of earning as much money as possible. She also lacks a sense of danger, as she often travels to the lumber mills she owns by herself, a dangerous trip for a woman alone.

Then again, Scarlett was only sixteen when the Civil War started and her world was upended. It could be that she simply never had a chance to grow and mature. She values money and material possessions because they represent safety and security for her. This could be due to autism, or simply because she had to rebuild her life from the ground up.

What do you guys think?

[revenantscholar]

Vivien Leigh looks like a goddess in that film, and as a bi person, I cannot take my eyes off her. That much is true.

Scarlett O'Hara has a strong survival instinct, and much more potential than appears at first. That much is true, too.

But there is no way that Scarlett could be autistic. She is good with numbers because they make money, not because they interest her. She loves being surrounded by people, as long as they flatter her. She is an excellent liar. She doesn't care much for children or animals.

She has absolutely no sense of alienation from the world. She just wants more of it: more attention, more money, more luxury. Yes, she is childish in many ways, but she is also world-wise.

And, of course, she is a gigantic racist. Most people around her are. Rhett is a member of the KKK, ffs. That completely destroys my enjoyment of the book. Frankly, I'd hang both of them.

Scarlett is a selfish bully who does not care if the whole world burns. Can you get any more conventional and neurotypical than that?

Before I went to the US and became American, I read the book twice. I saw the movie several times. By chance, I even lived close to the Margaret Mitchell house.

But even though Vivien Leigh's beauty makes me salivate, I reflected upon how rotten and all-pervasive the racism is.

Now, I boycott everything that has to do with the film and the book.

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@revenantscholar Excellent points, all if them! Thank you for your contribution to this discussion 🙏

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Eugene Porter from The Walking Dead. Highly intelligent, yet socially awkward. Logical, rational, honest, & too blunt at times. Talks in a stiff, halting manner. Has a unique walk (doesn't swing his arms). Handy with electronics & ballistics. Often doesn't realize when some questions are rhetorical. Doesn't understand jokes & responds seriously to them. Shows signs of an anxiety disorder.

[autisticcharacterslist]

Friends, here's a topic I'd like to offer for debate. Those of you who are familiar with the book/movie Gone With the Wind: do you believe Scarlett O'Hara could be autistic?

Her character has always fascinated me. She's petulant, selfish, and willfully ignorant, yet also brave, strong, determined, and admirable. Her love of parties could be a sign of sensory-seeking. She maintains her hyperfixation on Ashley Wilkes for over a decade, not realizing they're not right for each other. In fact, she completely lacks understanding of other people and their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.

Yet Scarlett also has a keen mind for numbers and business, and defies the cultural norms of the 1860s to become a successful businesswoman. She has no moral qualms about using convicts for dirt-cheap labor, as she's hyperfixated on her goal of earning as much money as possible. She also lacks a sense of danger, as she often travels to the lumber mills she owns by herself, a dangerous trip for a woman alone.

Then again, Scarlett was only sixteen when the Civil War started and her world was upended. It could be that she simply never had a chance to grow and mature. She values money and material possessions because they represent safety and security for her. This could be due to autism, or simply because she had to rebuild her life from the ground up.

What do you guys think?

[autisticcharacterslist]

Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings. Special interest: languages. Has few friends, as he's quiet, bookish, & thought of as different/odd. Has a formal way of speaking. Seems serious but has an excellent sense of humor once you get to know him. Also has a strong sense of justice. Is a very genuine, candid person & terrible at lying. Extremely empathetic, sensitive, loyal, & can't always tell friend from foe. Shows signs of social anxiety & depression.

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Entrapta from She-Ra: Princess of Power. An optimistic, enthusastic, passionate, determined woman who struggles with social interactions. Perceived by others as overly excitable. Highly intelligent & skilled when it comes to science & technology. Knows she doesn't fit in with others, but doesn't let this get her down. Encourages others to embrace their imperfections, because she sees her own imperfections as strengths.

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Charlie Kelmeckis from The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Shy, bookish, observant, analytical, introspective, & hypersensitive. Deeply empathetic yet socially awkward. Often does & says the wrong things. Sensory-seeking, as he feels euphoric when riding in a truck with music blasting. Exceptionally intelligent & well-read, compared to his classmates. Unable to lie or put up pretenses.

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Julia from Sesame Street. A sweet girl with a strong memory who loves drawing & engaging in parallel play. Makes little to no eye contact & flaps her arms as a form of stimming. Engages in echolalia. Uses noise-cancelling headphones due to sound sensitivity. Needs questions to be repeated or rephrased so she understands. Struggles with doing multiple things at once. Introduced with the line "She does things just a little differently, in a Julia sort of way." A wonderful mascot for autism education, awareness, & acceptance.

[autisticcharacterslist]

Friends, I'd like to have a (mature, respectful) discussion/debate about this. Do you believe Hanna Schmitz from the book/movie The Reader could be autistic?

Her character has fascinated me ever since the movie came out. She's clearly intelligent in some ways, but has a limited range of thinking in other ways. She lives a solitary life and acts like she doesn't need anyone, but still craves human connection. She seduces a teenage boy because her options for said human connection are limited. She's stubborn and prideful, abrupt and taciturn when it comes to interaction, but at times shows a surprising range of sensitivity. She also shows signs of black-and-white/all-or-nothing thinking when speaking of her time as a Nazi camp guard.

Granted, neither the book nor the movie provide details on how Hanna grew up, how she became a Nazi, etc., so there's a chance her personality is a product of her upbringing, rather than neurodivergence. But I think she definitely displays some autistic traits.

What's your opinions?

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Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock Holmes books & short stories. Exceptionally intelligent, perceptive, & skilled in observation, deduction, & logical reasoning. Extensively knowlegable in forensic science, chemistry, & music. Hobbies include chemistry experiments. Described by his only friend, Dr. Watson, as distant, callous, unknowable, & inexplicable. Uses tobacco & cocaine as a form of sensory seeking.

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Elsa from Frozen. Private, anxious, self-conscious, secretive, repressed, stubbornly independent. Carries internalized fear of her own abilities, struggles with social interactions, protective of her loved ones & willing to take extreme measures to ensure their safety. Goes from wearing tight, restrictive clothing to wearing loose, billowy, more revealing gowns as she unmasks & becomes more comfortable in her own skin. Discovers the full range of her powers once she learns self-acceptance.

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David Kostyk from the Grishaverse. Special interest: metalworking. Quiet, calm, bookish, intellectual, & dutiful. Socially awkward, clueless about Genya's feelings for him, uses metal metaphors to describe his own feelings. By his own admission, doesn't understand jokes, sunsets, poetry, or half of what goes on around him. Keeps a list of things Genya likes so he knows how to make her happy.

Artwork on the left by @morgana0anagrom

[autisticcharacterslist]

L from Death Note. Special interest: detective work. Blunt, focused, highly logical, struggles to express & identify emotions, skilled at deduction. Has unusual postures & sitting positions. Favors sweet foods. Wears baggy clothes, possibly due to sensory issues. Displays stimming behaviors, like spinning his chair & tapping his toes.

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Beth Harmon from The Queen's Gambit. Special interest: chess, in which she's a child prodigy. Intelligent, exceptionally talented, introverted, & socially awkward. Rigid posture, flat affect. Doesn't show emotions in a neurotypical way. Experiences shutdown due to her mother's death. Often confused by the words & actions of others.

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Kirk Gleason from Gilmore Girls. Unapologetically eccentric with a complete lack of vanity. Monotone voice & flat affect. Socially awkward, misreads social situations. Well-intentioned & eager to please. Comes up with strange inventions & unique business ideas. Constantly changes careers as he tries to find his place in life.