Is Amelia Bedelia portrayed as autistic?

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jc6chan
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16 Feb 2010, 5:34 pm

She takes things literally and always misinterprets what people say.



PunkyKat
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16 Feb 2010, 5:36 pm

I always felt she had AS but was never diagnosed. Haven't read those books in years.


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petitesouris
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16 Feb 2010, 5:51 pm

lol yes. my first grade english teacher told me that i reminded her of amelia bedelia. as you can see i was really well liked by my teachers.



Ebonwinter
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16 Feb 2010, 5:55 pm

I've been thinking about that too



PlatedDrake
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16 Feb 2010, 6:09 pm

Its amazing how some children's book characters are made to be completely humorous depictions of people, yet are fairly accurate in depicting those in a certain neural category. The AB character i always thought of as an interesting read (though i never made any connection between the character and myself) . . . course AS wasnt in mainstream knowledge until 2k or so, and that character has been around for well over/about 30 years. Then again, the author probably knew someone like this in RL . . . an aspie without knowing it.



OuterBoroughGirl
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16 Feb 2010, 6:41 pm

I loved those books as a child! I've reread a few of those stories as an adult. As a child, I just thought the books were hilarious, and didn't realy analyze them. When I reread some of the stories as an adult, As did cross my mind. I wonder if Peggy Parish did model the character after someone she knew. If she did, that person was most likely on the spectrum. I should research the author, and see what I find.
ETA: I just did a google search, and came up with some interesting things. Peggy Parish, the original author of the series, died in 1988, at which point, her nephew Herman took ove the writing of the books. Apparently, he dedicated the first Amelia Bedelia book he wrote to, "Peggy Parish, the real Amelia." He also said in an interview, "My aunt, Peggy Parish, would often take things literally—not continually, as Amelia Bedelia does, but enough times that one could understand how she could have come up with and sustained the character quite naturally."
I'm thinking that Peggy Parish may have been on the spectrum herself, or at least on the Broader Autism Phenotype. This is fascinating -- I want to read more about her now.


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Maddino87
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16 Feb 2010, 7:44 pm

I used to read these books when I was in elementary school. I was about to post about how I sometimes process info like Bedelia



poopylungstuffing
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16 Feb 2010, 7:49 pm

I have always sorta thought so,,,,,I have brought her up before in the past too..



Delirium
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16 Feb 2010, 8:43 pm

No, I think she's a teaching tool to help kids learn about figures of speech.


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Llixgrjb
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16 Feb 2010, 9:43 pm

Delirium wrote:
No, I think she's a teaching tool to help kids learn about figures of speech.


Yes, just like Martha the talking dog on the PBS show "Martha Speaks." I wonder where she lies on the spectrum?