I don't know why I had this epiphany, but why aren't there more fanfics about autistic people, well, being autistic?
Far be it from me to say that there is one right way to be autistic, of course not, autism is a spectrum! But most of the fanfiction I read that features an autistic character almost never includes descriptions of their habits, their quirks, their stimmings, or even their echolalia and selective eating.
No one is obligated to do it either, but I believe that some people, like me, would be very happy to see habits that are considered strange or even fussy being described in a character, showing that there is nothing wrong or invalid in how you act or how you live.
Like, I'm an autistic person who doesn't know how to stay still, my stims are large, which usually makes some people look at me strangely. I'm sure there are other people with large stims who would also feel represented by seeing their habits read and depicted in a lighthearted or realistic way.
I hope I'm not talking nonsense, I just wish I could see more autistic traits in the characters I read.
