writing an autistic character when you are not autistic - a masterpost
completely double spaced version on google docs here â this post is more blocky for the sake of peopleâs dashboards, but still long so people will be less likely to glaze over it. my apologies if that makes it hard to read
things to look for and avoid in an autistic character
âą symptoms only manifesting as ânonverbal and rockingâ
âą super smart / living calculator
âą super dumb / doesnât understand anything
âą all the symptoms you can come up with for them are âawkwardâ and âhas special interest(s)â (please do more research)
âą trains, technology, and/or math as special interests
âą acting like a child
âą getting treated like a baby
âą unreasonably cruel and uncaring about othersâ reactions to them being cruel
âą if theyâre comparable to sheldon from the big bang theory, start over
âą animal comparisons
âą a lack of feelings
âą please no stories about what itâs like to be autistic told by allistics
the right way to write an autistic person
âą lots of symptoms, including secondary ones not included on a general diagnosis requirement list (hereâs a list i rather like that was made by an autistic person â their blog is also a good resource)
âą having a good amount of general knowledge and actually talking about it (i cannot believe that i have to say this)
âą talking about things outside of special interests (againâŠ. come onâŠâŠâŠ.) (special interests are usually the default things our brains go to when theres no stimulation or we want to entertain ourselves â it isnât literally all we think or talk about ever. if a conversation has no connections to a special interest, reconsider having your autistic character bring it up in a context that is not an introduction.)
âą explicitly expressed to be capable of attraction and romantic feelings â if your character is an adult, add sexual feelings to this point
âą capable of general functioning, just with a disability that makes it more difficult â not a walking disability (âŠ.sigh)
âą a wide amount of feelings and emotional turmoil (but perhaps only being able to express it in limited ways)
âą weâre people
âą just people whose brains are wired differently
things to avoid in research for an autistic character
âą autism moms / autism blogs and websites not run by autistic people
âą any affiliation with autism $peaks means you should walk away and never look back
âą a scientist trying to create explanations for what autistic people do without actually asking / not mentioning asking autistic people
âą anything about a cure for autism
âą a person that âworked with autistic kidsâ phrased in the same way as âworked with animalsâ
âą talking about autistic people as if they are mysteries, are like animals, or are otherwise othered weirdos instead of people
things to look for in research for an autistic character
âą actual autistic people talking about their experiences and symptoms
âą just stick to that and youâre good but itâs hard to find sometimes ngl. just look for the above red flags
things i would personally like to see in an autistic character
âą less easy to swallow sadness and more destructive anger. i would love to see a canonically autistic character who was frustrated easily by small things and had trouble communicating why
âą not a story about being autistic, a story that happens to have a character or characters who are autistic â it isnât pointed out or questioned, theyâre right at home with the rest of the cast and not othered (a la symmetra from overwatch)
âą intensive sensory issues / small sounds making large reactions
âą clear communications about not liking x sensory thing (for example being touched)
âą poor motor skills / clumsiness and not being laughed at for it
âą walking funny (body bent downwards, walking very fast, walking slowly, big strides, shuffling, stiffness, etc) Â â no one treats it as if itâs funny or something totally strange
âą a big personality that has a presence so they canât be cast aside (but feel free to have quiet characters too) â if this was along with being nonverbal they would probably leap to being one of my favorite characters ever
âą a fear of asking for clarification on sarcasm or jokes because of past experiences and an arc about the character becoming more comfortable asking questions
>> if any fellow autistic people want to add something, feel free <<
allistics are encouraged to rb this
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