Neurotypicals please stop
Why are neurotypicals so focused on trying to work out which character is autistic/ neurodivergent in every TV show and movie?
Stop annoying us
As an autistic/ neurodivergent person it is starting to annoy me a lot. Neurotypicals seem to know everything about a neurodivergent person when they really don’t. We have to sit in our corner and fight them off. Not every show/movie will have a neurodivergent character in it.
Sheldon Lee Cooper
I can accept Sheldon Cooper as they have said that his character has been based off an autistic person they know but have not officially announced Sheldon himself is autistic. They hint about his mother not getting him tested (assessed) and that he does portray autistic people in a good light at times like being sociable, but wanting routine and liking things in a certain way, also remember not all autistic people are like him.
Abed
In the show Community it has been hinted that Abed is autistic, but this was said briefly by another character in the show, but again this has not been officially announced, but the creator of Community Dan Harmon is a well known autistic writer, creator and producer. Dan is also the creator of Rick and Morty. There is a high case that the character Rick is autistic as well.
Requirements
I don’t see the fascination about having autistic people in every show/movie. Yes we are human and have different “quirks” but we don’t have to be everywhere. It is not a requirement that at least one autistic character or one ADHD character has to be in the show at all times.
Spot the autistic person
It’s like neurotypical people have a game called “spot the autistic person” when watching anything and then when neurodivergent/autistic people speak up and say no that character is not autistic/ neurodivergent they just don’t listen and think they know better.
Stop looking
As an autistic/neurodivergent person I don’t go looking for a character that is similar to me or that i am 100% sure that a character is autistic/neurodivergent. I get more excited to find out if an actor/actress is autistic, dyslexic, ADHD, etc as it’s nice to know that they have the abilities to remember lines or know what’s happening next.
My views
Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to see autistic/ neurodivergent characters (as long as they are written by autistic/neurodivergent writers or portrayed the right way), but we do worry about stereotyping autistic/neurodivergent characters as we are not all the same. We don’t all have one tone voices or want to be alone all the time. Many autistic people can speak and we are not all non-speaking, also assuming a character doesn’t like hugs or being touched that they must be autistic. This is not always the case and that many autistic people love receiving hugs.
We are just human
We need to embrace and celebrate neurodivergence and not have to worry about how we are portrayed in tv shows and movies. Please listen to real neurodivergent people and stop hunting for neurodivergent characters. We just want to fit in and stop feeling like we are aliens on our own planet.
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