Writing an Autistic Character from an NT Perspective?

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Minder
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10 Feb 2018, 4:56 pm

Hello!

I'm curious: what are your thoughts on a neurotypical writer trying to write from the perspective of someone who is on the spectrum? Do you think this can be done well if sufficient research is conducted? Is it something best avoided?

I ask because I have completed a novel. I envisioned the protagonist as being neurotypical (albeit odd), but several readers (including some who say they are on the spectrum) have asked me if I intended him to have Asperger's. Apparently he comes off that way to some people.

As such, do you think it would be worth the attempt for me to explicitly state that the protagonist is on the spectrum? I'm cautious about this, since I know it's a sensitive issue for many people.



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10 Feb 2018, 8:44 pm

I think with sufficient research followed up with observation of people who have autism would result in an NT person writing an effective autistic character. I don't think that, just because somebody is NT, it'd be impossible for them to write an autistic character. It would just involve a lot of research and thought.



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10 Feb 2018, 9:02 pm

I do think it's possible for a NT author to write a realistic autistic character. They just have to do research that involves consulting the writings of actual autistic people, rather than relying on lists of symptoms or stereotypical ideas of autism. The website Disability in Kidlit has some good articles on that.

And if you do decide to make the character autistic, I think it would be a good idea to state that they are on the spectrum. Representation is most effective when it's explicit. Whether you want to use the word "autism" or not varies based on the time and place that the novel is set in, of course.



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10 Feb 2018, 10:46 pm

I'm not sure it's really necessary to define your character as being on the spectrum. Unless it's crucial to the story or a particular understanding of him. Leaving the question open allows for some intrigue & makes the character more personal. The reader may feel closer to the character since they're more free to interpret him as they see him.

If you do explicitly define him as AS, by all means try to get a first-person perspective as well as doing the book research.



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11 Feb 2018, 10:43 am

I’m not against NTs writing about autistic characters as long as they don’t write clichés and turn the characters into list of symptoms devoid of any non-ASD trait. This usually happen when the character’s autism is the focus of the story (like in many movies). However, your case is different: you have tried to create an odd character and it just turned out to be autistic without your planning it. In my opinion, that’s great. Autistic people don’t read lists of symptoms and say “I’m going to rock back and forth, cover my ears every time I hear a loud sound and avoid eye contact when I talk to people, because that’s what people with ASD do”. Our autistic behaviors are just what comes naturally to us. And apparently, it has come naturally to your character too. This means he will have a higher chance of looking real than many other autistic characters. Besides, as all autistic people are different, your character doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) be just like an existing autistic person or character. He just has to be his own self, with his own autistic traits.

As for the question of whether explicitly mentioning the diagnosis, that depends on what you wish to get from that. If you don’t mention it, people who are very familiar with high functioning autism will be your only readers who will know he is on the spectrum, and everybody else will just think he’s weird. It may be what comes more naturally to the story. But if you want to say he is autistic for the sake of media representation and autism awareness, you can still do it. You will have to find a way to make it seem relevant (maybe as a part of his background and childhood, or when showing an autistic behavior at the beginning, or maybe you can save it for later, as a secret disclosed to another character after they become very close. Whatever works with your story.)

One last thing: it’s great to do research, but some sources are better than others. For instance, medical sites aren’t a good place to get information to write real autistic characters. Remember: your character should be a person, and not a list of symptoms. So, I think the best place to research will probably be blogs of autistic people, forums like this one and the experiences of your readers or any people you know who are on the spectrum.

Good luck with your writing!


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Professionally diagnosed with PDD NOS as a child, but only told by my parents at the age of 21.

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Aspie quiz: 123/200 aspie; 75/200 NT
RAADS: 135


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11 Feb 2018, 11:10 am

TheAP wrote:
And if you do decide to make the character autistic, I think it would be a good idea to state that they are on the spectrum. Representation is most effective when it's explicit. Whether you want to use the word "autism" or not varies based on the time and place that the novel is set in, of course.


^^

This.

I am watching the final 4th season of the bridge - the Swedish version and the lead character Saga is meant to be on the spectrum. The final season puts her up against some very challenging personal and emotional dilemmas and it is heartbreaking in particular as the other protagonists do not seem to do anything to acknowledge that she is on the spectrum and provide any accommodation for her in light of this. I think this is a weakness. It makes it come across as unrealistic. The other protagonists come across as clueless in a country (Sweden) where you can literally bring a letter stating you have a neurological difference such as autism or ADHD in order to skip waiting in line at theme parks and stuff like that. It is inconsistent to portray the neurotypicals in the program as clueless as one assumes there is significant training and awareness about neurodiveristy in fields like the police. But maybe not.


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Minder
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12 Feb 2018, 1:42 am

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Sofisol612 wrote:
I’m not against NTs writing about autistic characters as long as they don’t write clichés and turn the characters into list of symptoms devoid of any non-ASD trait. This usually happen when the character’s autism is the focus of the story (like in many movies). However, your case is different: you have tried to create an odd character and it just turned out to be autistic without your planning it. In my opinion, that’s great. Autistic people don’t read lists of symptoms and say “I’m going to rock back and forth, cover my ears every time I hear a loud sound and avoid eye contact when I talk to people, because that’s what people with ASD do”. Our autistic behaviors are just what comes naturally to us. And apparently, it has come naturally to your character too. This means he will have a higher chance of looking real than many other autistic characters. Besides, as all autistic people are different, your character doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) be just like an existing autistic person or character. He just has to be his own self, with his own autistic traits.

As for the question of whether explicitly mentioning the diagnosis, that depends on what you wish to get from that. If you don’t mention it, people who are very familiar with high functioning autism will be your only readers who will know he is on the spectrum, and everybody else will just think he’s weird. It may be what comes more naturally to the story. But if you want to say he is autistic for the sake of media representation and autism awareness, you can still do it. You will have to find a way to make it seem relevant (maybe as a part of his background and childhood, or when showing an autistic behavior at the beginning, or maybe you can save it for later, as a secret disclosed to another character after they become very close. Whatever works with your story.)

One last thing: it’s great to do research, but some sources are better than others. For instance, medical sites aren’t a good place to get information to write real autistic characters. Remember: your character should be a person, and not a list of symptoms. So, I think the best place to research will probably be blogs of autistic people, forums like this one and the experiences of your readers or any people you know who are on the spectrum.

Good luck with your writing!


If autistic, the protagonist would probably still be fairly close to NT. I did envision him as NT, but poorly socialized and extremely anxious (OCD). He is quite analytical, somewhat rigid, and formal (PM me if you want me to go into more detail). Though he can be quite logical, he also gets hung up on particular obsessions and issues, and occasionally starts talking about his interests more than others would like.

He's pretty divisive. Some readers find him cold and lacking empathy, but others identify with him strongly. He's not without empathy, but he tends to be focused on what he thinks needs to be done. He's certainly not a very warm person.

I haven't decided, but I will keep it under consideration for the time being. Mostly, I am concerned that it will come off as a false representation if I make this official, especially as I am NT and thus have no experiential knowledge of autism.



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12 Feb 2018, 2:02 am

Perhaps leave it as ambiguous.



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12 Feb 2018, 1:01 pm

In order to create a credible autistic character, one has to realize that this character might be complex individual, and not some caricature. This person will not "act autistic" all the time; they will act like a "person." They will not have an "autistic" reaction to everything; there will be some reactions which will be eminently "neurotypical."

I find "Sheldon Cooper" to be an example of a caricaturized "Aspergian" character----for comedic effect, it should be emphasized.

In other words, to put it simply, somebody more "human" than Sheldon.

Also: autism comes in many shapes and sizes. They can be liberal, conservative, or not care a whit about politics.



Sofisol612
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13 Feb 2018, 2:59 pm

Minder wrote:
Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Sofisol612 wrote:
I’m not against NTs writing about autistic characters as long as they don’t write clichés and turn the characters into list of symptoms devoid of any non-ASD trait. This usually happen when the character’s autism is the focus of the story (like in many movies). However, your case is different: you have tried to create an odd character and it just turned out to be autistic without your planning it. In my opinion, that’s great. Autistic people don’t read lists of symptoms and say “I’m going to rock back and forth, cover my ears every time I hear a loud sound and avoid eye contact when I talk to people, because that’s what people with ASD do”. Our autistic behaviors are just what comes naturally to us. And apparently, it has come naturally to your character too. This means he will have a higher chance of looking real than many other autistic characters. Besides, as all autistic people are different, your character doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) be just like an existing autistic person or character. He just has to be his own self, with his own autistic traits.

As for the question of whether explicitly mentioning the diagnosis, that depends on what you wish to get from that. If you don’t mention it, people who are very familiar with high functioning autism will be your only readers who will know he is on the spectrum, and everybody else will just think he’s weird. It may be what comes more naturally to the story. But if you want to say he is autistic for the sake of media representation and autism awareness, you can still do it. You will have to find a way to make it seem relevant (maybe as a part of his background and childhood, or when showing an autistic behavior at the beginning, or maybe you can save it for later, as a secret disclosed to another character after they become very close. Whatever works with your story.)

One last thing: it’s great to do research, but some sources are better than others. For instance, medical sites aren’t a good place to get information to write real autistic characters. Remember: your character should be a person, and not a list of symptoms. So, I think the best place to research will probably be blogs of autistic people, forums like this one and the experiences of your readers or any people you know who are on the spectrum.

Good luck with your writing!


If autistic, the protagonist would probably still be fairly close to NT. I did envision him as NT, but poorly socialized and extremely anxious (OCD). He is quite analytical, somewhat rigid, and formal (PM me if you want me to go into more detail). Though he can be quite logical, he also gets hung up on particular obsessions and issues, and occasionally starts talking about his interests more than others would like.

He's pretty divisive. Some readers find him cold and lacking empathy, but others identify with him strongly. He's not without empathy, but he tends to be focused on what he thinks needs to be done. He's certainly not a very warm person.

I haven't decided, but I will keep it under consideration for the time being. Mostly, I am concerned that it will come off as a false representation if I make this official, especially as I am NT and thus have no experiential knowledge of autism.


Well, if you'd like to find more information before making your decision, I'd suggest that you research the blog "ScriptAutistic", which is precisely about writing autistic characters. I particularly recommend the masterpost series "Calling Characters Autistic", which covers the topics of whether you should state that your character is autistic, how to state that your character is autistic if you choose to specify it, and how to hint at autism if you have chosen not to mention it. Depending on your novel and your character, you might also find other posts useful, such as the ones on eye contact, sensory differences and autism and romance. The writers on this blog can't speak for all autistic individuals, of course, but they are autistic themselves, so I consider it a good place for research.


_________________
Professionally diagnosed with PDD NOS as a child, but only told by my parents at the age of 21.

Autism Quotient: 30
Aspie quiz: 123/200 aspie; 75/200 NT
RAADS: 135


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13 Feb 2018, 3:36 pm

Minder wrote:
Hello!

I'm curious: what are your thoughts on a neurotypical writer trying to write from the perspective of someone who is on the spectrum? Do you think this can be done well if sufficient research is conducted? Is it something best avoided?

I ask because I have completed a novel. I envisioned the protagonist as being neurotypical (albeit odd), but several readers (including some who say they are on the spectrum) have asked me if I intended him to have Asperger's. Apparently he comes off that way to some people.

As such, do you think it would be worth the attempt for me to explicitly state that the protagonist is on the spectrum? I'm cautious about this, since I know it's a sensitive issue for many people.



I don't have a problem with authors writing from a character who is on the spectrum. Authors will usually spend time with autistic people and do their research and go on forums to learn their thinking and perspective to make their character more accurate. When I read House Rules, lot of the stuff I read in there from Jacob's perspective was the same stuff I have read online especially when he said Asperger's had become a diagnoses for brats. I think if you are a well known author, you can post on your own Twitter or Facebook page about looking for people on the spectrum to talk to to help you with your upcoming book about a character on the spectrum and boom, you get all these volunteers on the spectrum. If not, you would have to seek them out yourself.

If you didn't intend for the character to be on the spectrum, IMO don't say they are on it and if any readers feel that your character is, that is their own opinion. This has happened for decades before the spectrum was known. Now people are speculating certain characters are on it even if it might not have been the writer's intention.


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13 Feb 2018, 7:19 pm

Sofisol612 wrote:
Minder wrote:
Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Sofisol612 wrote:
I’m not against NTs writing about autistic characters as long as they don’t write clichés and turn the characters into list of symptoms devoid of any non-ASD trait. This usually happen when the character’s autism is the focus of the story (like in many movies). However, your case is different: you have tried to create an odd character and it just turned out to be autistic without your planning it. In my opinion, that’s great. Autistic people don’t read lists of symptoms and say “I’m going to rock back and forth, cover my ears every time I hear a loud sound and avoid eye contact when I talk to people, because that’s what people with ASD do”. Our autistic behaviors are just what comes naturally to us. And apparently, it has come naturally to your character too. This means he will have a higher chance of looking real than many other autistic characters. Besides, as all autistic people are different, your character doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) be just like an existing autistic person or character. He just has to be his own self, with his own autistic traits.

As for the question of whether explicitly mentioning the diagnosis, that depends on what you wish to get from that. If you don’t mention it, people who are very familiar with high functioning autism will be your only readers who will know he is on the spectrum, and everybody else will just think he’s weird. It may be what comes more naturally to the story. But if you want to say he is autistic for the sake of media representation and autism awareness, you can still do it. You will have to find a way to make it seem relevant (maybe as a part of his background and childhood, or when showing an autistic behavior at the beginning, or maybe you can save it for later, as a secret disclosed to another character after they become very close. Whatever works with your story.)

One last thing: it’s great to do research, but some sources are better than others. For instance, medical sites aren’t a good place to get information to write real autistic characters. Remember: your character should be a person, and not a list of symptoms. So, I think the best place to research will probably be blogs of autistic people, forums like this one and the experiences of your readers or any people you know who are on the spectrum.

Good luck with your writing!


If autistic, the protagonist would probably still be fairly close to NT. I did envision him as NT, but poorly socialized and extremely anxious (OCD). He is quite analytical, somewhat rigid, and formal (PM me if you want me to go into more detail). Though he can be quite logical, he also gets hung up on particular obsessions and issues, and occasionally starts talking about his interests more than others would like.

He's pretty divisive. Some readers find him cold and lacking empathy, but others identify with him strongly. He's not without empathy, but he tends to be focused on what he thinks needs to be done. He's certainly not a very warm person.

I haven't decided, but I will keep it under consideration for the time being. Mostly, I am concerned that it will come off as a false representation if I make this official, especially as I am NT and thus have no experiential knowledge of autism.


Well, if you'd like to find more information before making your decision, I'd suggest that you research the blog "ScriptAutistic", which is precisely about writing autistic characters. I particularly recommend the masterpost series "Calling Characters Autistic", which covers the topics of whether you should state that your character is autistic, how to state that your character is autistic if you choose to specify it, and how to hint at autism if you have chosen not to mention it. Depending on your novel and your character, you might also find other posts useful, such as the ones on eye contact, sensory differences and autism and romance. The writers on this blog can't speak for all autistic individuals, of course, but they are autistic themselves, so I consider it a good place for research.


Gosh!

Who would have thought that there is already a whole website devoted to the very questions the OP asks! Lol! Had no idea that there were enough writers interested in writing about autistics to support such a website.

+++
What Krafty said about not making characters into characatures. Plus not every aspie/autistic has every single diagnostic trait that ASD are supposed to have. Only a minority have every trait. So you don't have have the guy display every single thing in the laundry list on cue, or display it ever.



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14 Feb 2018, 1:10 am

Funny enough, I can tell when an author has read WebMD stuff on autism and just a listed of symptoms from books or webpages whatsoever because the character is either so stereotyped or very stupid and oblivious like we would be too stupid. For example, I once was reading a book and the protagonist in it had undiagnosed dyslexia but she befriends some other kids and one of them clearly had AS. Never mentioned but it was pretty obvious to me he was on the spectrum but he didn't know he was picked on at school and bullied even though he would be pushed around literally and get stuff taken from him and I thought that was over the top. Yeah we may have troubles read cues but I don't think we would be so oblivious we wouldn't know someone is being mean when they take our stuff or our money or psychically hurt us. :? This kid just thought they were playing and thought they were just rough with him and they were his friends.


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Minder
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14 Feb 2018, 2:17 pm

Sofisol612 wrote:

Well, if you'd like to find more information before making your decision, I'd suggest that you research the blog "ScriptAutistic", which is precisely about writing autistic characters. I particularly recommend the masterpost series "Calling Characters Autistic", which covers the topics of whether you should state that your character is autistic, how to state that your character is autistic if you choose to specify it, and how to hint at autism if you have chosen not to mention it. Depending on your novel and your character, you might also find other posts useful, such as the ones on eye contact, sensory differences and autism and romance. The writers on this blog can't speak for all autistic individuals, of course, but they are autistic themselves, so I consider it a good place for research.


Thanks! That's a helpful resource.



Sofisol612
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15 Feb 2018, 5:16 pm

Minder wrote:
Sofisol612 wrote:

Well, if you'd like to find more information before making your decision, I'd suggest that you research the blog "ScriptAutistic", which is precisely about writing autistic characters. I particularly recommend the masterpost series "Calling Characters Autistic", which covers the topics of whether you should state that your character is autistic, how to state that your character is autistic if you choose to specify it, and how to hint at autism if you have chosen not to mention it. Depending on your novel and your character, you might also find other posts useful, such as the ones on eye contact, sensory differences and autism and romance. The writers on this blog can't speak for all autistic individuals, of course, but they are autistic themselves, so I consider it a good place for research.


Thanks! That's a helpful resource.


You’re welcome!


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Professionally diagnosed with PDD NOS as a child, but only told by my parents at the age of 21.

Autism Quotient: 30
Aspie quiz: 123/200 aspie; 75/200 NT
RAADS: 135