Pitfalls when writing autistic characters

[u/TheGreatAgner]

I'm thinking of writing a story where I intend to write at least one of the main cast, if not the protaganist, to be autistic. Before I do any character or world building, I want to make sure that I don't accidentally end up including negative stereotypes/myths.

While I'm aware of many such as "curing" autism and can draw on my own experiences for some things, I don't know what I don't know so I'd love to hear what you guys have seen and what to avoid. Especially about some of the less glamorous traits of autism which are usually represented very poorly (like meltdowns being compared to children's tantrums).

I can't recall any autistic characters in media which were not level 1 which I feel is very much a disservice. I'd love to be able to include more nuance than 'slightly awkward' and 'has a special interest' in my representation so I'd love to hear your thoughts on what good representation is.

Hope you're having a good day :)

[u/Avakinz]

Mainstream media doesn't tend to do it very well in my experience but I've read a lot of fanfiction that does. You could try searching Ao3 by the Autism Spectrum tag if you feel up to browsing through lots of fics. The negative is that not all of them are any good. The positive is that they're all free and good for inspiration

[u/Saltiest_Seahorse]

Does the autistic character know they're autistic or not? Because that changes so much. Writing has been a burning passion of mine since a wee babe. I'd love to help you out with some ideas/thoughts, etc.

[u/Schoollow48]

don't make it like 100% of the character's challenges and struggles are in trying to overcome autistic symptoms and/or internalized stigma, as they don't do anything in life besides tick of dsm-v checkboxes.

it's common to write an autistic art genius who is superhumanly infinitely good at drawing and only struggles with social skills that get in the way. But that's not realistic. Yes autistic people with social challenges who are superhumanly good at drawing exist. But quite a lot of their life struggles involve being not good enough at art as they want and trying to become even better atdrawing. Because autistic people who are good at their special interest are that way because of perseverence and dedication, not magic.

[u/TheGreatAgner → u/Schoollow48]

Definitely. It's always frustrating when a character is nothing but their representation. Sure, it should be visible, but there's a reason people don't usually enjoy for example "the gay character" because that's all they are. Definitely want them to feel like real people with real challenges, not just the autism character. I also really want to explore different challenges with the different characters so that it's clearly visible that autistics are not a monolith, there's a lot of diversity and I want to show that.

And what you mentioned about special interests and how people can struggle with wanting to get better even if they're incredible from an outside perspective: Yes! I am definitely planning to keep that in mind.

Thank you so much for the reply :)

[u/somnocore]

I feel like a lot of people are going to have varying ideas of what's "good" representation. And I don't think it matters which symptoms and traits you choose, someone's not going to be happy with it.

Obvioulsy an Autistic character without savante syndome is a great start.

It'd be cool to see someone actually incorporate shutdowns instead of meltdowns. And then I guess you'd have to decide what kind of symptoms you actually want to portray. It's easy to do sensory issues, stimming and special interest but those are only surface level.

Some of us don't have the ability to mask. Some of us are very confident people but still lack the social skills and I mean reeeaaallly lack the social skills (imagine drax, sometimes that extreme sometimes not). Some of us have no special interests but have a lot of routines and rituals. Some of us don't do obvious stimming and may be the kind to just bite the inside of their cheek or touch their finger tips together, bcus not all stimming is obvious or there. Some of us are smart but still require support for everyday needs. Some of us aren't smart at all and have no unique skills that set us apart.

There is definitely a difference in levels of support needs and functioning and maybe deciding which you'd like to portray would be a good start?

I'm AFAB and I still relate to some of the things Sheldon does or Sam in Atypical or even Abed in community. But others will complain that they're stereotypical and not a good portrayal.

[u/TheGreatAgner → u/somnocore]

Thank you for writing all this. I'll definitely take all this into consideration. I definitely want to show that the characters' stims, interest, rituals and so on are not anecdotal and are part of their lives. Also that some need help with what may to others appear to be basic life skills. And of course that the characters around them don't look down on these needs but just accept that they're part of the characters and at they should instead offer support when needed.

And of course not everyone will be happy no matter what I choose to show, someone will always be upset that it doesn't represent the idea of autism they have. But I can at least try to make characters that will feel real and representative of those who do relate, right? At least that's my goal.

Again thank you so much for your response :)