Discover Top Posts Tagged with #autistic brainy

Brainy and Lena: working on their emotions together and trying to not put them in little compartmentalised boxes

Me: That's some autistic people right here

#autistic lena luthor #autistic brainy #supergirl

Lena: I call it a proto-trap. :))

Brainy: Like Ghostbusters!!

Lena: no <3.

and i just think that was very neurodivergent of them.

#supergirl #autistic lena #autistic brainy

Brainy Smurf has autism

(originally posted as a blog post on the Smurfs Fanon Wiki, now reposted onto my Tumblr.)

A. PERSISTENT DEFICITS IN SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION ACROSS CONTEXTS, NOT ACCOUNTED FOR BY GENERAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, AND MANIFEST BY 3 OF 3 SYMPTOMS

A1. Deficits in social‐emotional reciprocity; ranging from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back and forth conversation through reduced sharing of interests, emotions, and affect and response to total lack of initiation of social interaction.

Abnormal Social Approach

One of the examples offered for "abnormal social approach" is "use of others as tools." As we can see in King Smurf (the 1980s version), The Answer Smurf, and many other episodes, as well as the comic book The Smurfs And The Book That Knows Everything, this is something that Brainy does often.

Failure of normal back and forth conversation

One of the examples offered for "failure of normal back and forth conversation" is "one sided conversations/monologues/tangential speech." I do not need to explain how this fits Brainy Smurf. "One sided monologues" is one of Brainy's defining traits.

Poor social imitation

This one is a bit more speculative, as I cannot offer any specific times that this has happened, except for perhaps the ending of One Good Smurf Deserves Another. The example for "poor social imitation" is "failure to engage in simple social games," which I feel is something Brainy does.

A2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction; ranging from poorly integrated‐ verbal and nonverbal communication, through abnormalities in eye contact and body‐language, or deficits in understanding and use of nonverbal communication, to total lack of facial expression or gestures.

Abnormalities in use and understanding of affect (note: responsive social smile should be considered under A1, while affect that is inappropriate for the context should be considered under A3)

One of the examples offered for "abnormalities in use and understanding of affect" is "inability to recognize or interpret other's nonverbal expressions." Brainy regularly cannot tell that other Smurfs are mad at him, only realizing when they yell at him or throw him out of the village. He does not understand that them frowning and glaring at him means that they don't like what he's saying. Also, as a child in the episode Papa's Family Album, he couldn’t tell that the smurfball game they were playing was just for fun despite him clearly being the only smurf taking things seriously.

A3. Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level (beyond those with caregivers); ranging from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts through difficulties in sharing imaginative play and in making friends to an apparent absence of interest in people.

Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level

The example offered for "deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level" is "lack of “theory of mind”; inability to take another person’s perspective." Brainy is very egotistical, and has difficulty understanding other people's points of view.

Difficulties adjusting behavior to suit social contexts

One of the examples offered for "difficulties adjusting behavior to suit social contexts" is "does not notice another person’s lack of interest in an activity." Other examples include "lack of response to contextual cues (e.g. social cues from others indicating a change in behavior is implicitly requested)," "does not notice another’s distress or disinterest," "does not recognize when not welcome in a play or conversational setting," and "limited recognition of social emotions (does not notice when he is being teased; does not notice how his behavior impacts others emotionally)." These all apply to Brainy, as he constantly gives his advice and lectures and doesn't notice that other people don't like them unless those people tell him directly.

Difficulties in making friends

One of the examples offered for "difficulties in making friends" is "unaware of being teased or ridiculed by others." I cannot remember the exact moment, but I think there was at least one time in canon where a Smurf made fun of Brainy and he thought they were complimenting him.

Another example offered for "difficulties in making friends" is "has an interest in friendship but lacks understanding of the conventions of social interaction (e.g extremely directive or rigid; overly passive)." This fits Brainy's relationship with Clumsy perfectly. Brainy is incredibly directive and rigid and bossy, and Clumsy is overly passive. Also, in The Smurfiest Of Friends, when Brainy tried to make other friends, he was also overly bossy.

B. RESTRICTED, REPETITIVE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR, INTERESTS, OR ACTIVITIES AS MANIFESTED BY AT LEAST 2 OF 4 SYMPTOMS:

B1. Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements, or use of objects; (such as simple motor stereotypies, echolalia, repetitive use of objects, or idiosyncratic phrases).

Stereotyped or repetitive speech

One of the examples offered for "stereotyped or repetitive speech" is "pedantic or unusually formal language (child speaks like an adult or “little professor”)." While Brainy is an adult now, in the episode Papa's Family Album when he was shown as a child, he spoke very formally. Smurfling-aged Brainy’s first line is "Pardon me, Brainy Smurfling, for pointing out that nowhere in The Rules Of Smurfball By Brainy Smurfling does it say anything about a player tripping himself and being awarded a free kick." The other smurflings speak in simpler language, and notably never say {Name} Smurfling- while Papa Smurf is addressed by his full name, other smurflings are just addressed by the adjective in their name. Brainy refers to himself as "Brainy Smurfling" during the entire flashback, but others just call him "Brainy." Also, the phrase "Pardon me for pointing out" seems excessively formal for a child.

Another example offered for "stereotyped or repetitive speech" is "use of “rote” language." Looking up what rote language is, we can see that it is the memorization and constant repetition of a specific phrase. We see Brainy do this whenever he quotes Papa Smurf. In fact, I would say the phrase "As Papa Smurf always says..." counts as rote language.

There is no specific example offered in the PDF I found for this, but in both cartoons, Brainy Smurf has very unique and odd speech quirks involving repetitive speech. In the 1980s cartoon, Brainy Smurf has a habit of saying Smurfs' names exactly three times; and in the 2020s cartoon, he usually ends his sentences with "...right?"

Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements

One of the examples offered for "stereotyped or repetitive motor movements" is "repetitive hand movements (e.g., clapping, finger flicking, flapping, twisting)." In Smurfs: The Lost Village, Brainy Smurf is constantly adjusting his glasses even when he doesn't need to.

B2. Excessive adherence to routines, ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior, or excessive resistance to change; (such as motoric rituals, insistence on same route or food, repetitive questioning or extreme distress at small changes).

Do I really need to say it?

Adherence to routine

One of the examples offered for "adherence to routine" is "insistence on rigidly following specific routines." We can see this whenever Brainy lectures others on the "right" way to do things.

Another example offered for "adherence to routine" is "unusual routines." In one episode (possibly Good Neighbor Smurf, although I am not sure- I just remember the scene vividly), Brainy tells Farmer that he should plant his crops in alphabetical order.

There is no specific example offered in the PDF for this, but in the episode Tick Tock Smurfs, Brainy Smurf gets incredibly excited over the idea of the whole village having a fixed schedule and routine.

Rigid thinking

One of the examples offered for "rigid thinking" is "inability to understand humor." In the Smurfs' Village app, there is an entire quest centered around Brainy's inability to understand humor, in which Jokey sets up a joke that is very obviously a joke ("What kind of bushes do you plant to get electricity?") and instead of realizing it's a joke, Brainy takes it seriously and attempts to do scientific experimentation to figure out the correct answer.

Another one of the examples offered for "rigid thinking" is "excessively rigid, inflexible, or rule‐bound in behavior or thought." I do not need to explain how this fits Brainy Smurf. "Being excessively rule-bound in behavior and thought" is one of Brainy's defining traits. In Papa's Family Album, in the flashback showing him as a child, Brainy sounds distressed as he says "how can we play smurfball by rules we don't have?!"

B3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus; (such as strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).

One of the examples offered for B3 is "being overly perfectionistic." Brainy Smurf regularly criticizes Smurfs if they get things even slightly wrong.

Another example offered for B3 is "attachment to unusual inanimate object (e.g., piece of string or rubber band)." In Smurfs: The Lost Village, he is very attached to one particular book and has a meltdown when it gets ruined. In the 2020s cartoon, he is very attached to his smurfway, obsessively taking care of it and cleaning it, and growling at Blossom and even trying to bite her when she wants to take it.

B4. Hyper‐or hypo‐reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment; (such as apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, fascination with lights or spinning objects).

One of the examples offered for B4 is "high tolerance for pain." Brainy regularly gets hit over the head with objects/thrown out of the village (depending on the adaption) and never seems to react in pain.

Another one of the examples offered for B4 is "in all domains of sensory stimuli (sound, smell, taste, vestibular, visual), consider: odd responses to sensory input (e.g. becoming extremely distressed by the atypical sound), atypical and/or persistent focus on sensory input." Brainy Smurf is very sensitive to sounds, and becomes very distressed by loud or discordant sounds. In the episode Good Neighbor Smurfs, he can’t sleep due to the sound of bubbling nearby, despite how quiet it is, and in the episode Love Those Smurfs, he states how happy he is with the "quiet solitude" of the Reflecting Pool. In the comic The Giant Smurfs (which is the English name for the Pilulit comic), Brainy has to leave the village to read because all the sounds in the village are overstimulating him. He states in the Smurf Village app that "I require absolute silence, or I simply cannot ponder the philosophies of Smurfkind!" His dislike of the Smurflings' music could also fall under this example, as he is the only Smurf who dislikes it.

C. Symptoms must be present in early childhood (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities)

Most Smurfs who display symptoms of autism (read: Clumsy and Smurfblossom) cannot have this applied to them, because we don't see much of them as children. Luckily, Brainy has an entire incredibly long flashback with its own plot centered around him as a child, and he displays many of these symptoms.

D. Symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning.

Brainy Smurf's symptoms limit his ability to act as a part of the village and make friends. Most of the other Smurfs do not like him.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, Brainy Smurf can reliably be diagnosed as autistic in official canon Smurfs media using the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for autism.

#txt #smurfs #the smurfs #brainy smurf #autistic brainy #keep in mind i wrote this essay BEFORE i downloaded a pdf of the entire dsm-v #and after looking at the full thing on autism in the dsm-v im somehow more convinced