Raph's autism coding in Tales of the tmnt
Made a post vaguely referencing this yesterday and so today I'm making a post going deeper into it
The thing that got me started on this was the s1 episode "Raph vs Water" (which unrelated note i like how similar it sounds to Man vs Sewer). Particularly the sequence at the start of the episode
When we first see Raph, he is walking down the sewers and he looks Angry. Not only that, but the thing I wanna note on his how he is grumbling/making rough noises but he doesnt speak. As he continues to walk around the Lair, he still doesnt speak, comunicating his anger in a non verbal way
You can see how he's trying to supress his anger and emotions. He doesnt lash out until Splinter prompts him, even though he has been bothered by Pigeo Pete, Donnie and Wingnut, he has stepped into a bucket of water, have sewer water fallen on him, Genghis threw a soda bottle at him (which spilled all over his face), he tripped and fell down into sewer water and then tripped over Again with Ray File. All thourought this sequence you see Raph's frustration bubbling but he keeps trying to push past it in, again, a non-speaking way
Also let me note, a lot of these frustrations he has are sensory. Its a sensory hell. Not only is it a change in pace and routine, the sewers are flooding and theres More People around
When Raph does lash out, its in response to Splinter. His anger is quite justified, but i'd like to note theres something else to Raph's voice. To me, it sounds like he's having a meltdown. He's been trapped here for 3 days at this point, thats a lot of bottling up stuff, but the Way he's lashing out is whats interesting to me. His voice, he sounds like he's breaking down. This is all affecting Raph much more than its affecting everyone else around him and its very noticeable
Look at his face when Splinter tells him to do his meditations (chopping wood). He is not angry- he is distressed.
"I cant even hear myself think!"
Just look at him bro. Not only look at Him, but look at the others around him. Look at how They are reacting to the sewer being flooded vs Raph's reactions
Raph is severely distressed. His main emotion isnt anger; anger is a response to this
Raph is severely overstimulated, moreso than the people around him. He's having these sensory issues that the others do not understand
His expression of this also feels autistic to me. Its not only the cause (sensory issues, overwhelmed, overstimulation, the change in routine and stuff) but also the response. The way he's lashing out does feel like a meltdown to me. He's trying So Hard to regulate himself but nothings working. I'd argue that the "meditation" (chopping wood) is a stim and he's tried that but it hasnt worked
Like you can really see how this anger is not voluntary. He doesnt Want to feel like this. This isn't normal anger, the anger is a response to something deeper and the main thing is that Raph himself doesnt understand it
What is Raph's First Reaction when he fully snaps? He hits himself. And I dont know if you know anything about autistic meltdowns and how they're often manifested, but this Exact type of thing is very common. The way he lashes out, the way he starts slamming his fists into his head
Now, whats another autistic thing... something about when someones very overwhelmed they go into verbal shutdown... Raph's not non-verbal, but for this entire sequence we've seen how he's comunicated mostly with grunts and noises and particularly now he's struggling with words
Yea this entire scene is deeply autistic to me. When i first watched it i was like "oh he's just like me fr... he's so autism coded" because like. Every single way he's expresing his anger and frustration- he's not even angry as the main emotion. Lashing out is how he externalizes the turmoil he has inside him
ANyways lets go to Raph's arc in s2
"i have nobody else to fight, so this is like some kind of never-ending nightmare" "no one will wressle me!"
While not Necesarely the point, the fact that Raph feels socially isolated in the one place thats meant to have people like him... Raph being unable to connect with his peers and being left only with his brothers... idk average autistic experience to me ngl
Also consider fighting as Raphs special interest. Because it very much is
"its not fair! The one thing i'm good at and no one wants me to do it!?"
Yea that sounds like fighting is Raph's special interest. Which you may miss because it isnt like the more stereotyped "autistic nerd" interests (like Donnie's anime and mangas and tech) but it still counts. Fighting and sports very much are special interests for some people, they just happen to also be glossed over a lot for not being stereotypical
speaking of special interests lets go to the next episode
Look at him. Look at those eyes when he sees the amount of weapons there are. Thats an autism creature right there (silly)
Hun: I only fight to protect the other dragons
Raph: well if you get in the ring you can protect yourself from me!
look at how excited his is bro. This is the moment he's been waiting for. He's so hyped and excited
once he's finally in the ring, Raph starts jumping around in excitement he cannot hold back. He is happy stimming, he's regulating, its an autistic trait too
Even when he's getting beat, he's excited and happy and having fun. You can see right here that Raph doesnt like fighting because he's angry all the time; he's angry all the time and fighting Helps Him Regulate. Fighting if Raph's way of regulating and stimming
Think about it, particularly compared to the s1 episode. Raph was distressed an angry and how does he regulate? Pain (hitting himself) and fighting (against leo). Pain is a big regulation tool, it really can help to regulate and calm down for some people, as contradictory as that may be. And Fighting is also an excellent way to get rid of excess energy and restlessness and built up frustrations and emotions you have no other outlets for. Its a good way to release what he's been bottling up. The way in which Tales aproaches Raph's anger and his love for fighting is very autistic coded
Look at him, after he's done fighting. He's CALM. Why? Because he finally released all the things he's been bottling up for god knows how long in a healthy way
Because he has an outlet, he doesnt lash out at Mikey when he ruins Raph's white pants
"Therapy works, guys" AND IT REALLY DOES
The fighting is therapeutic for Raph. I know this is meant to be an autistic analysis and this is getting slightly off topic but I cannot stress enough how this is good and healthy for Raph. Sure he's hurt but its an outlet, its therapeutic, look at how happy and calm and regulated he is. Raph's never been like this before. He's finally got a way to regulate himself and its working I hate that the show turned it on its head and said this was Not Good, Actually when its literally what Raph was missing
Thats most of what I wanna say in regards to Raph's arc because if I keep thinking about it I'm gonna derail. Lets go back to the autism and this scene from Donnie's arc
Mikey: no menu! There's only 2 options here: you either get pizza, or you dont
Leo: What? How does that work?
Mikey: Its whatever they feel like making that day, it changes all the time
Raph: wh- hold up! What if it doesnt have the toppings i want??
Raph: what if it has the toppings I Dont Want on it?
Leo: You can just... take them off.
Raph: the flavour seeps into the cheese. Y--- You cant mess around with that!
Look at Raph. Look at how distressed he looks. Thats pure autism sensory issues right there. Taking the toppings off?? Insane suggestion Leo. The flavour does get into the cheese. You Know it had "ingredient i dont like" there so its Contaminated. Its Evil Pizza. Cannot consume. Thats so autistic out of Raph I have had this conversation with my family several times
This post is long enough as is but these were my main points
the way raph behaves at the start of raph vs water is very autistic meltdown coded
fighting is not only his special interest but his way of regulating
he has sensory issues and food aversiona
And i love him so much for it. More people needa get on the autistic Raph train; just because he's not "stereotypically" autistic doesnt mean he aint got those traits. In fact I'd argue he's got more traits than Donnie, who is often seen as the autistic turtle (in most iterations at least)
