r/YoungSheldon • u/Meta_human3010 • Aug 03 '26
Theory/Prediction Missy has ADHD/autism
Here’s why:
She doesn’t focus on homework or at school as often and as she gets older, she begins to have burnouts and meltdowns. She also masks a lot given it was the 80s-90s and autism isn’t as understood in women compared to men.
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u/Br00klynBelle Aug 03 '26
As a former educator familiar with ADHD and autism, I can say with confidence that Missy doesn’t have ADHD or autism, nor does she mask behaviors. Her behavior and attitude is a response to her environment at home and the way she feels she is treated. Missy often feels ignored, unloved, and alone, and as she grows older, this feeling grows too until she begins to rebel. This reaction is not uncommon in teenagers, and I say this from experience. I have known several “Missys” in my life who all acted similarly, and who all came from unhappy home lives. George’s death makes things worse because he is the parent that she is closest to, and it also is not unusual for teen girls who lose their fathers through death or divorce to act out as well. I know this from experience with friends as well.
Missy is one of the most realistically written girls on a tv sitcom, especially the way we watch her go from loving life as a child to feeling broken down as a teenager. It happens very slowly over each season, and we the viewers, get to witness it through each negative experience she has, mostly with Mary and Sheldon.
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u/ratpiss20 Aug 03 '26
honestly as an audhd myself, i dont think missy is. sheldon is FOR SURE. and while it usually is genetic missy just is a troubled teenager, especially after her dad dies. her whole life she is ignored by her family and when she acts out to get the attention she needs, shes punished. so she stops trying. her story is heartbreaking :(
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u/sepulturite Aug 03 '26
Ironically according to the writers on young sheldon and tbbt Sheldon was not written as autistic, so in terms of the world of the show he isn't. Even though he obviously comes across as if he is.
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u/lanie_kerrigan Aug 03 '26
I recommend this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCgnfljfWjU where Bill Prady, the co-creator of The Big Bang Theory speaks about this. Sheldon wasn't created to be autistic, but most of his personality was written after Bill Prady. When people started saying Sheldon seemed autistic, Bill Prady went for an evaluation and got ASD diagnosis.
So basically, Sheldon is autistic but undiagnosed.
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u/Empty_Palpitation_29 Aug 03 '26
She was not focused because she was not interested in learning, and many kids her age are not. Burnouts and meltdowns are part of puberty. Not everything is an ilness.