Our Faves Are Autistic

Just a couple of nerds sharing our autistic headcanons with the world, and putting them in one nice organized place

[ourfavesareautistic]

Dr. House is autistic

Character: Dr. Gregory House

Canon: House, MD

Actor: Hugh Laurie

Why We Think They’re Autistic: House is a medical drama starring British actor Hugh Laurie as the title character, Dr. Gregory House. Over the course of the show's eight seasons it became clear to me that the main character is autistic. Dr. House is a brilliant physician, but has a very troubled personal life. His role is as the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the hospital where he works.  Throughout the course of the show, House usually has a small team of diagnosticians who work for him to try to diagnose patients with unusual or uncommon conditions. His processes for finding a diagnosis illustrate some of his symptoms of autism. He is frequently shown sitting in his office or a hallway or other location bouncing a ball against a wall while he contemplates the symptoms and what could be causing them. This is clearly a form of stimming, and helps him concentrate. He also uses unconventional means to gather information about patients, because one of his mottos is “everybody lies,” so he doesn’t trust the patient to be honest about their life and what could be causing the symptoms. He frequently sends his team to get into a patient’s home or otherwise do ethically questionable privacy violations to find out the truth about a patient. Since this accomplishes the goal in as straightforward a manner as possible, House sees no problem with this, even when his team questions the ethics and legality of his actions. In the way he communicates with his team, his superiors, and even his patients, he does not observe many social conventions, I believe because he simply does not see the point. He is very blunt and direct, and is definitely not known for his bedside manner. This does not mean he lacks empathy or compassion, he just doesn’t show it in the conventional ways. House believes that correctly diagnosing and treating a patient is the ultimate form of compassion, not speaking to them kindly or believing their lies so they feel better. House also does not have many close friends or much of a social life, outside of his one close friend, Dr. Wilson, who frequently tries to get House to be kinder or act more like other people. 

Why It Matters: House shows an autistic man who is very successful, yet also struggles with his personal life. This is very common for many autistic people of all genders and ages. Autistic people can struggle to make or keep friends and have difficulty with social conventions. 

Challenging Tropes: Honestly not much to say here. House is a straight, white, cis man, the stereotype of autism. 

Bonus: There are many parallels to the character of Sherlock Holmes, who I also believe to be autistic, both in the original canon and in most adaptations. Both use similar techniques to solve cases, both played a musical instrument, both use drugs. Dr. House and Sherlock Holmes both had one close friend, a doctor, with similar last names (Watson/Wilson). Both characters' home address was 221B. The series finale, titled “Everybody Dies,” parallels the Sherlock Holmes story “The Final Problem.”

[ourfavesareautistic]

Five is Autistic

Character: Five / Emily Kolburn

Canon: Dark Matter (tv show)

Actor: Jodelle Ferland

Why We Think They're Autistic: The initial premise of Dark Matter is that a group of six people wake up from stasis on a spaceship with no memories. They name themselves after the order they woke up, hence Five. There are six of them plus an Android aboard the ship, and they set out to uncover their identities and pasts. By the end of the first episode, it’s revealed that they are a band of mercenaries, save for Five who was a stowaway.

Five pinged my radar as autistic within the first episode. Immediately upon being faced with the general confusion, she makes her way to a common room and finds a tech tablet and begins fiddling with it, or stimming. She fixes it using muscle memory and forgotten instincts without being aware she’s doing so. In fact, while doing so, she is having a conversation with Six that reads as infodumping, telling him facts in a calm and detached manner without reading his reaction to the conversation. She continues to be the techie throughout the show, often being relied on to find parts for the ship and maintain repairs, pointing to a special interest in engineering or mechanics. She also frequently takes things too literally or corrects other crew members when they use simple but incorrect vocabulary, such as calling the Android a “robot”. She also demonstrates one of my favorite autistic traits, which I like to call “robots are better than people.” She gets along more naturally with the ship’s Android than its other occupants, in part because the Android communicates plainly and does not use metaphor and does not require reading body language, facial expressions, and tone in order to communicate “properly”.

Why It Matters: Five often serves as an unofficial mascot of the ship. She can be the moral compass, the enthusiasm, and often the glue that binds the crew together. She is eventually revealed to have been a runaway youth, and it’s a refreshing change to see an autistic character with a vast depth of knowledge who is also allowed street smarts.

Challenging Tropes: Again, Five is a great example of some of the ways autism can present in girls. She’s also confident and vibrant, with green hair and a love for brightly patterned clothes. Seeing an autistic character who looks and acts in ways similar to me was a delight to see while the show was airing.

Bonus: The show’s creator, Joseph Mallozzi, wrote a blog post commenting on the autistic fan response to Android. (Of course, it’s common for many android/robot characters to read as autistic. And while finding connection in that is wonderful, I always hope to see more human characters filling these roles as well.)

[ourfavesareautistic]

Martin Crieff is Autistic

Character: Martin Crieff

Canon: Cabin Pressure (radio series)

Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch

Why we think they’re autistic: Cabin Pressure is a hilarious British radio comedy featuring four main characters and set almost entirely within an airplane. Martin Crieff is the rather young and inexperienced captain of the plane. Martin has always been obsessed with airplanes from the time he was a young child, and there is plenty of evidence that this is and always has been his special interest. In one episode he states that he’s wanted to be an airline captain since he was six, and when asked what he wanted to be before that, he says he wanted to be an aeroplane. In an early episode, he replies to a joke at his expense by the first officer Douglas by explaining how while Douglas was reading other things, Martin was busy “rereading Principles of Climatology for Pilots and underlining bits in red.” Later in the series we discover that Martin has a second job as a delivery man, because the way he got to be Captain over the much better qualified First Officer was by agreeing not to take a salary. His one and only goal and real joy in life is airplanes - flying them, reading about them, visiting museums about them. Martin frequently takes this very literally and believes in following rules to the letter. In the episode titled “Fitton,” the crew are going through different procedures and as part of his written procedure for an emergency he includes, “Captain dons cap,” which inspires jokes from the others he doesn’t understand. It becomes clear as the series goes on that Martin doesn’t have a lot of friends outside of the rest of the crew of the airplane, and it appears to have always been this way. Autistic people frequently find it hard to make or keep friends, or just simply don’t feel a need to have friends, preferring to be alone. He is also very awkward much of the time when interacting with anyone outside of the other three main characters. In one episode the crew is preparing to fly a very famous actress as their only passenger, and Martin is clearly quite nervous to meet her and rehearses exactly how he should address her when he meets her. This exchange from “Newcastle” perfectly shows Martin’s awkwardness in social situations and new people, and his total and complete obsession with airplanes and being a pilot:

Martin: So... Linda... you're a pilot.

Linda: Yes?

Martin: Yes, obviously, sorry. That wasn't a question, that - that was just a preliminary statement before the actual question I was gonna ask... which is... How long have you been a pilot?

Linda: Twelve years.

Martin: Twelve years, right, twelve years, well... that is not a long time or a short time... And... do you like it?

Linda: What?!

Martin: Being a pilot?

Linda: Yes, I do. Do you?

Martin: Yes, I do. I like it. Like you. I mean I like it like you do, not I like it like I like you, I don't like you. I mean I don't not like you, I just... I don - I don't like you as much as I like being a pilot.

Linda: Don't you?

Martin: Well, not yet. I - I mean I'm sure, if I got to know you, I'd like you more than being - well, probably not more than, because I LOVE being a pilot and I don't suppose I'd love you... well I suppose I might. No - I mean... I'm just gonna go and have a wander down the cabin now.

Why It Matters: All autistic representation matters. Martin Crieff shows an example of someone with a lifelong special interest who worked hard to achieve his goal related to that interest. It shows someone who is ultimately successful at what they do, and is eventually able to form relationships with others when he is ready and chooses to.

Challenging Tropes: Not much to say on this one. Martin is the stereotypical media autistic - white, male, cisgender with a relatively stereotypical special interest.

Bonus: John Finnemore, the writer and creator of Cabin Pressure, who also played the character of Arthur, has been asked about whether Martin Crieff is autistic, and his response was that he didn’t deliberately write him that way but believes he is on the spectrum.

“That's an interesting point. Yes, I think he may well be on the spectrum somewhere, though as Miss Pear suggests, probably nearer the Asperger Syndrome end than full-on autism. But I did not set out to create a character with the condition, so let's say it's present, but undiagnosed. (It has only just occurred to me that AS sometimes impairs motor skills and co-ordination, so it's possible that the very thing that gave him such a drive to become a pilot was also what stood in his way...)”

Also, Benedict Cumberbatch has played several other characters (Sherlock, Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking) who are or were likely autistic, and there is some speculation that Cumberbatch himself might be undiagnosed autistic.

(source)

[ourfavesareautistic]

Luna Lovegood is Autistic

Character: Luna Lovegood

Canon: Harry Potter book and film series

Actor: Evanna Lynch

Why We Think They're Autistic: When she’s introduced in the fifth book, Luna gets an entire chapter named after her. Were it not for the chapter title, the first we’d get of her is Ginny calling her “Loony Lovegood,” a nickname that sticks with her even after she becomes part of Harry’s group of friends. Here is the passage that first describes her: “The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down.” She proceeds to point out the obvious and make a spectacle of herself in not responding properly to the conversation. This will always be true of Luna’s character, her odd manner and abnormal behavior. Over the course of the year, however, Harry discovers her intellect, her loyalty, and her resilience. She’s a year below Harry and has been bullied her entire time at Hogwarts, often having her belongings stolen along with being socially ostracized. Her belief in magical creatures the rest of the wizarding community dismisses certainly contributes to this, but she remains steadfast in her beliefs. She has particular habits and odd dress that connect to her interest in magical creatures but also point to routines and sensory habits that are often true of autistic people. I interpret her depth of knowledge and passion for magical creatures as a special interest. Her difficulties socializing can often lead to more time to observe and reflect, allowing her to show keen insight when she is listened to.

Why It Matters: Luna Lovegood has meant a great deal to me and to many other fans of the series over the years. Despite the bullying, Luna never changes or hides who she is, showing an acceptance of herself that can be hard to find within yourself, growing up autistic. She was a weirdo, but confident in it, and that created a character to aspire to be like. She also showed that you can be bullied and ostracized but if you remain true to who you are, you will find people who accept you and value you without ever asking you to change.

Challenging Tropes: As a female character, Luna shows what autism can look like in women and girls. She also has interests that go against autistic stereotypes: so often, special interests are in engineering related fields (trains, cars, space technology), but Luna’s primary interest lies in magical creatures, a field that ties her to nature and draws her to the forest. Luna also shows great empathy, challenging the common narrative that autistic people are cold and lack empathy.

Bonus: Evanna Lynch has spoken on receiving many letters from autistic fans speaking about how much Luna has meant to them, and was very open and supportive of this interpretation. "I always get a lot of letters from people with autism who relate to Luna a lot," Lynch said. "Obviously, I don't fully understand the condition, but, I understand this feeling of you just can't communicate with those around you and it gets misunderstood, and you just want people to see your heart, to see how you feel, but it's hard to communicate that."

"Luna comes along and she is that way to society [a perceived outsider], but she doesn't feel bad about it. She just completely accepts herself. I think it's similar for autistic people. Obviously, everyone's very different and every case of autism is different, but I think that they see that Luna is somebody who doesn't quite fit in."

"She's just a little bit off-center and more of a misfit, yet she manages to accept herself despite being ostracized for being 'weird.' That to me was so inspiring growing up. I feel that might be what fans with autism are connecting with as well."

(source)

[ourfavesareautistic]

Rose Nylund is Autistic

Character: Rose Nylund

Canon: The Golden Girls

Played by: the incomparable Betty White

The Golden Girls is one of the best comedies ever produced. The show, about four older women, all either widowed or divorced, who are roommates, premiered in 1985 and was very progressive for its time. Although the show began its run nearly 40 years ago, the writing and the humor hold up very well. The clothing, on the other hand, reflects the questionable fashion of the 1980s. The series explored themes that are still relevant today, with wit, humor, and heart, topics such as gay marriage, safer sex, emotional abuse in a relationship, getting tested for AIDS, many of which were controversial for the time. The series showed women over the age of 50 navigating relationships, sex, friends and family.

I watched the series as a child when it first aired, with my parents. I came back to the show in my early 20s, when I had a standing “date” with one of my roommates, a 20 year old gay man, to watch reruns. In the years since I’ve regularly watched the show when it was on, or actively sought it out when I needed some cheering up. My favorite character may have varied at times through the years, but the one I always related to most has been consistent: Rose Nylund. Several years ago watching the show I realized why. Rose Nylund is autistic.

I do not believe the creators or writers of the show deliberately wrote Rose as autistic. I believe they wrote what they saw as a simple-minded small town woman lacking in worldly experience or knowledge. Yet in the way she was written, Rose Nylund is, in my mind, autistic.

The criteria for a diagnosis of autism tends to focus on childhood development and behaviors, and we know very little, if anything, about Rose’s early life. The signs and symptoms of autism in adult women are frequently different than the stereotypes, for various reasons, including adult women having learned to “pass” as neurotypical. One of the best known facets of autism is literal thinking and difficulty “reading between the lines”, and Rose shows examples of this all the time. I turned on the episode that happened to be airing to try to get some specific examples for this post, and the episode that was on is titled “Sister of the Bride”. In this episode Blanche finds out her brother is gay, and he and his partner arrive at the Girls home. When Clayton comes into the house, he then invites his partner Doug inside, and Blanche jokes about him being the cab driver. Clayton then explains that Doug is his “special friend”, and Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia immediately understand the two are gay lovers. Rose does not get the implication, and instead comments on how they became so close on the drive from the airport, continuing with the cab driver gag. Later, after Clayton tells Blanche that he plans to get married, Rose tells him that’s impossible because brothers can’t marry sisters, making clear she still doesn’t understand that Clayton and Doug are a couple. When the rest of the Girls are talking about why Blanche is upset, Rose says, “Just to bring me up to speed, it’s the brother marrying a gay cop thing?”

Obviously these are all played for laughs, and they are funny, but the humor comes from the fact that Rose is frequently clueless, because she doesn’t have the intrinsic understanding of language and social interaction that neurotypicals and other non-autistic people do. One of the hallmarks of her character is her experiences in her hometown of St. Olaf, and the stories she tells. At significant moments in the lives of the Girls, often when they are sitting around the kitchen table for some of that problem-solving cheesecake, Rose will go off telling a story from St. Olaf. The rest of the roommates clearly don’t want to hear yet another St. Olaf story, but Rose never picks up on this fact and tells the story, quite frequently completely unrelated to what’s happening, despite the reactions from the other Girls. I searched for Rose Nylund quotes and found this exchange, perfectly summing it up:

Rose: This reminds me of something that happened back in St. Olaf.

Dorothy: Oh, Rose, stop! Rose, why is it that every time one of us makes an observation, the first thing we hear from you is "Back in St. Olaf?" I mean, did it ever occur to you that maybe we're tired of hearing "Back in St. Olaf," "Back in St. Olaf," "Back in St. Olaf!"

Rose: Gee, no, I... I'm sorry.

Dorothy: Oh... that's okay.

Rose: [pauses for a moment to rethink her approach] Back in that town whose name you're tired of hearing...

Dorothy: ROSE!

This is the perfect example of Rose both not realizing people are sick of her St. Olaf stories, and also taking things literally - continuing on with her story but just leaving out the name, which is what she understands Dorothy was sick of hearing.

I have no idea if Betty White or the show’s writers or creators ever commented on whether Rose is autistic, but a quick Google search makes it clear I’m not the only autistic person to see her this way. She is constantly missing social cues, missing the joke, not understanding that she is the butt of the joke, and taking things very literally. These are all very common aspects of autism. For a woman born in the 1930s, as she would have been in the canon, she very likely would not have gotten a diagnosis, but just been seen as a little quirky, and would have learned through mimicking others’ behaviors how to “pass” as neurotypical in most situations.

Rose Nylund being autistic is important representation to me, a middle-aged autistic woman, because I frequently display many of the same traits as her: I have had to learn idioms and common phrases because I don’t understand them intuitively (an example - I still picture literal butterflies in a stomach when someone uses the phrase), I have had to teach myself not to take things literally and to understand subtext, I frequently don’t get the joke or unintentionally make myself into a punchline by saying something inappropriate or out of context. The media stereotype of an autistic person is a straight white male, usually relatively young, and so to see an older woman who is so clearly autistic reflects my reality, and goes against the common trope of autism. The Golden Girls was such a groundbreaking, timely and timeless television series, and autistic Rose Nylund just makes it that much more important.

RIP Betty White, and thank you for being a friend.