I’m sure a few people are already twitching at this topic and wondering if I’ve gone mad with the topic. This is a very delicate subject for some, but it’s been on my mind for a while. More so now that school has started up for the little guy and homework kicked off yesterday. I’m forgetting the exact label he has for his program. It boils down to high functioning autism or high end, which I’ve seen mentioned. Honestly, I’m more focused on helping him develop tools to get work done and making sure he gets to enjoy being a little kid. That’s enough about us though.
As usual, you can answer in the comments or in your own blog post with a link to this one. Keep in mind that this relates predominantly to the ‘perception’ of autism when it is used in fiction. Although I’m sure many people will have different thoughts on the topic and that will influence the answers. Here we go.
- Would you write a story where one of the characters is autistic?
- How would you go about researching and presenting it if you did? If you said no, then how would you react to a character shown to have autism?
- Do you think you would have to put a spotlight on it or have it be there without narrator/characters pointing it out? Basically, do you think a story can have an autistic character that people will recognize as autistic without it being blatantly mentioned?
Some odd questions, but it’s a hard topic to tackle. So you can even break ‘the rules’ that are etched in erasable marker and simply give your opinion on the topic. Now back to work for me and we’ll see how far I get. I sense this post will either get a great discussion going or turn into a mess.
Legends of Windemere 
The character would not put me off at all. I might not tackle it myself, because of all the research required. I’d be afraid to get it wrong, but also be limited when my character needs to do something to further the story. I’m struggling with something similar in my novel right now, but it’s not autism.
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That fear of getting it wrong is what has me holding back. Not so much the limiting thing, but I guess it depends on where on the spectrum the character shows up. For some, it could just be finding different solutions to plot events that make sense for them even if someone without autism would do something else. It really does require careful research to get it right and not come off as either offensive or wrong.
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I applaud you for doing it. We can never make everyone happy, and individuals will still act differently even if they have the same issues. I had worries about Patty Hall’s leg braces, but eventually forged ahead.
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I have a blind warrior in a later story, which took a lot of research. Mostly I tried moving around the house with my eyes closed. I’d try it in unfamiliar places too. Still not 100% I can pull it off. Hate to say disabilities are hard to write when you don’t have them, but that seems to be the case.
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Quick, watch some old episodes of Kung Fu. One of Kane’s masters was blind, and they pulled it off. I like the idea as a personal writing challenge. Armor clanks, leather creaks, people weren’t hygenic, etc. to replace vision.
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I think I only watched the ‘Return’ ones from the 80’s or 90’s. Fun show. Wonder if the old episodes are on YouTube since I can’t find them at the library.
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While I don’t do Netfliks and such, they might be with them or Hulu.
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1 yes.
2 ask my close relative who has an advanced teaching degree in children with autism. Knowing this person will probably direct me to some good literature and websites on the subject.
3. that is difficult. It depends on the author’s voice. Personally I’d not blatantly state it. Perhaps gently. It is a better idea to show rather than tell, so I’d approach it that way.
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The last question is definitely hard. I keep thinking of a movie called Mercury Rising where it felt like it constantly brought attention to one of the character’s autism. Probably a weird example since that was a key part of the story. At the time, I had no understanding of autism and I’d probably see it differently now. Makes me realize how an audience’s prior knowledge works for or against including things like this.
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You need to give your readers more credit. Also try and put yourself in the characters shoes and rather approach it from their experience or someone close to the character who experiences this persons struggle , if that makes sense. Additionally if you know someone with in depth knowledge on the subject to betta read- that would help, I’d think.
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I think part of the issue is that I’ve run into a lot of people who see autism as the ‘out of control, no verbal communication, almost child-like mentality’ stereotype that TV and movies commonly use. So that’s what many readers look for. Not all, but a good amount.
Getting someone with in-depth knowledge to beta reader specifically for that would definitely be a help.
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I think breaking stigma’s about certain topics, even when you are writing fiction is an excellent idea. 🙂
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It’s funny. As I’m responding to comments, I wonder about one of my other books characters. I played him in a game where every character had one negative stat and I went with wisdom. So he saw the world differently, metaphors were an issue, and he stubbornly clung to even the most ridiculous explanations of what happened because they made sense to him. Still, he was able to cast magic (though he screams his spells and has no understanding of the actual art) and became highly effective. I’m starting to wonder if I inadvertently put this character on the spectrum.
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1. Would you write a story where one of the characters is autistic?
Only if I had a story I could tell sensitively without the character coming off as a gimmick, an agenda, or just horribly, horribly wrong.
2. How would you go about researching and presenting it if you did? If you said no, then how would you react to a character shown to have autism?
My dad taught high school students with autism (he majored in counseling/special education) while my sister-in-law was a school therapist for autistic elementary school-aged kids. A friend of mine also teaches autistic kids. She has an autistic son whom I used to baby-sit. A grad advisor and another friend each has an autistic son. Another friend has a daughter with Asperger’s. So I have loads of people to talk to who are plugged into support groups.
3. Do you think you would have to put a spotlight on it or have it be there without narrator/characters pointing it out? Basically, do you think a story can have an autistic character that people will recognize as autistic without it being blatantly mentioned?
I look at this question the same as the question about ethnicity. I cringe every time someone clumsily calls out a character’s ethicity, especially if that person is the only ethnic person in the book. So I would cringe if someone plunked a character in a story and shouted out, “He/she’s autistic!” Because you’re not seeing that person. You’re seeing a diagnosis. The old saying, “show don’t tell,” is a good one to model in this situation.
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1. Good point on the gimmicky thing. I’ve see it used like that a lot and it comes off as uncomfortable at times.
2. Sounds like you have a lot of resources. I know someone with Aspergers and there are parents of my son’s classmates that we’re getting to know. Still not sure I’d tackle it though.
3. Guessing ‘show, don’t tell’ will turn up a lot here. I’ll play Devil’s Advocate here. It is a bad idea to define a character by a single trait such as ethnicity or autism. Yet, you can also run the risk of people not realizing the situation and misinterpreting the character’s actions. Kind of like how some people react to autistic individuals in the real world. Seriously, a lot of people have asked if something is wrong with my son and blush when I mention he has autism. Possibly having it mentioned in passing at a proper moment would clear that issue?
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I think yes, you can mention it at the proper time. But the first instance the character steps on the scene, I would totally cringe if someone else says, “Meet my autistic brother” or something equally lame sounding unless that announcement provided insight into the character of the person who uttered the statement.
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That would be awkward. Probably as awkward as it is in real life when somebody does that. I agree that a scene like that says more about the speaking character.
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I like these questions you ask.
1. I have two answers for this one, being as the majority of what I’m working on is for the Project you know a bit about.
1A. In Canon – Most time periods and cultures would probably kill them, citing it as long term detrimental to the species if the individual reproduced. This is true for a lot of illnesses/disorders/syndromes/disabilities. I know that’s going to bother people, but not all fictional worlds share the ‘help everyone’ mentality.
1B. Out Canon – Maybe I would. I might choose a different thing all together that doesn’t receive the same amount of attention, though.
2. I’m going with the answer in 1B. Autism is too well known for me to touch in a story. I’d feel I’d be jumping on a bandwagon with this particular disorder. Same for ADHD, for which I was misdiagnosed in the early 90’s.
3. If I were to, it would be more fact of life and wouldn’t revolve around the disorder itself, but rather living with it or it might even characterized with a subtle, very undefined life of its own within the character themselves, like a presence within their body or mind that is not quite a second character there but therein an essence of character communicating through what the disorder does in its various forms and severities. However, Autism is not something I’m very familiar with in how it actually functions. Typical the rarer the disorder/disease, the more I know of it.
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1. I’ve always wondered why it seems to never show up in fantasy. Though I’d be curious to see how autism would work with a spellcaster. Maybe I’ll figure something out one day. What do you mean by other thing?
2. But doesn’t the fact that it is getting more exposure and we’re realizing how many conditions fall under it mean that it is more common than we realized? There’s avoiding a bandwagon, but also one has to factor in that such things do exist. Especially if you go for a story that takes place in the real world. Guess neither of us have that problem though.
3. I’m still learning myself. A lot of it appears to be the way one perceives, reacts, and filters the world around them. Using my son as an example, he gets hyper-focused on one thing and you risk his anger if you try to break him from that. At least at his age, tantrums and frustration are common. Again, I’m going only by observing my son who is only 6 and pretty high functioning.
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1. I think most people would put autism into sci-fi although it can easily exist in a fantasy world. By other thing, I mean something else, covered in #2.
2. I say bandwagon due to how people behaved in the 90’s with ADHD. The instant a kid showed any kind of behavior confused with a sign of ADHD, it was kind of BAM medication. In recent years, it’s been Autism more than ADHD.
Or, for a better example, the entire Gluten thing. The first time I heard of it was in 2008, and the first person I heard it from suffered from Celiacs, which required them to avoid gluten as much as possible. These days, though, people think it’s an actual diet (a very expensive one) when gluten doesn’t really have any negative effects or positive effects on the human system unless a person actually suffers from a condition like Celiacs. I saw this all the time when working restaurant, all these people wanting gluten-free stuff, and every time it was ‘oh, it’s the healthy choice!’. While the availability of gluten-free food has benefited people who actually must avoid it, the one or two I’ve met were also very unhappy about the diet fad at the same time, because it was a bandwagon.
3. The closest thing I have right now in writing is more towards PTSD, but whenever I look at disease and disorders for a basis regarding a fictional equivalent, I always look at the real world and how those things behave in various species (and usually make them much worse).
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1. Weird how it turns up in sci-fi. Usually as the savant type.
2. I do agree about the diagnosis going too far at times. I’ve met one or two parents who search out doctors who will label their kids as such because they think it will give them a pass. At the same time, I do think there is more understanding of autism and that’s allowing more people to be legitimately diagnosed. Just need to get the whole thing into balance. It could also be that the spectrum has become too inclusive.
2A. Yeah . . . Gluten Free . . . I’m gonna step away from that one for personal reasons.
3. Great way to do it. I tried PTSD for a bit, but I couldn’t really go through with it. Felt like I couldn’t get a real feel for what it was and didn’t want to make a mistake.
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On PTSD, was not my intention–actually isn’t. But the character seems to have developed similar symptoms, which are in line with some of the things she’s experienced. I don’t specify at any time she has a condition like that for certain, but it is clear there has been some trauma along with a phobia in regards to weaponized fire.
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Interesting. Almost like a natural progression, which must make it flow a lot better with the story and character.
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The way I handle character is putting them into a situation, like a person you have just met somewhere, and by staying with them through the story you learn things about them that make them who they are, rather than just how they deal with the current situation. The things that cause her PTSD-like symptoms and phobia are the sort the majority of people today never encounter, but easily could if they were to travel to the wrong place.
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Do you do any character preparation before writing?
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1A. I know what you mean and agree. Actually I agree with everything you said. But I thought the same thing–people would either be hidden away or killed.
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Or maybe institutionalized.
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I am only going to respond to 1A here – Several authors, scientists, and artists of earlier time periods are now believed to have been on the spectrum, either with mid-to-high functioning autism or Aspergers. Some people believed now to be low-to-mid level functioners were revered as Oracles in some ancient societies.
A few famous people you may have heard of that you probably didn’t know are believed to have suffered from Autism are: Charles Darwin, Michelangelo, Nicola Tesla, Socrates, Emily Dickenson, Sir Isaac Newton, Pablo Picasso, (and my two personal favorites) Lewis Carroll and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
It is my belief that before “Autism” became a label we could slap on the ‘weirdies’ so ‘normies’ could feel better, people who were living with this difference in brain functionality were revered as amazing and ingenious. However, as the different scares the huddled masses and technology allowed for the spread of more than just news and sitcoms, the focus became more negative. Yes, there are some who are non-functioning. However, that lowest level is typically coupled with other physical and mental issues. Some, like Sir Isaac Newton and Thomas Jefferson, they can continue to live fairly normal lives albeit in mostly seclusion and without wanting to shake hands or speak much (social anxiety is a large issue).
It is also my belief that since autism is a fairly ‘new’ diagnosis the use of the term or the ticks in fantasy just has been really ventured into as of yet. Not that there aren’t ‘autistic’ characters, because I totally believe that there are, but that they are not labeled as such. The subtleties of the autistic soul can slip by us as being odd, off, or eccentric when it is, in fact, the difference in brain wiring/functioning rather than a mere eccentricity.
Phew…imagine if I had chosen to respond to it all! 😉
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Of those names, Michelangelo, Carroll, and Newton were also thought to have been left handed, which I also am. There’s a lot of debate and research may vary, but like autism handedness is also thought to be connected with neurodevelopment. Some studies suggest autism, ADHD, and dyslexia are more prevalent in left-handed people, and the behavioral patterns of Michelangelo. I note him in particular on this list, being as Raphael, who lived around the same time is also on this list, and Leonardo. Their behaviors also align with left-handedness.
Lefthanded people tend to have well developed intuition, increased visual-spatial skill, the ability for transformational and adaptive lateral thinking, higher empathy – however, they also tend to have tempers and may be more solitary than other people, don’t react well to rigid social structures, frequently rebelling against them, and have a higher probability of having disorders. Weirdies and Normies also apply here. Some people may just be left handed, while others may be left handed and autistic–both have connection to neurology.
As far as labels are concerned, there’s also OCD which overlaps with Autism and possibly handedness and may be very hard to distinguish from each other.
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This is very true, although most autistic people I’ve known and worked with are right handed. My mother is ambidextrous and has several issues that are considered part of ‘handedness’. However, I have had people tell me that part of the issues with being left handed are still that people look at them differently. (which is ridiculous!) I even had a doctor tell me to stop my daughter from using her left hand so much. Ummm…nope. She did get a new doctor though.
I have OCD (heavier on the O which is horrific, by the way. Obsessive thoughts and repetitions). Einstein, also thought to be left handed, was diagnosed as autistic as well. He was known to have a temper…but I am right handed, have anxiety, dislike meeting new people, and have a horrid temper. All of that has been attributed to my red hair and heritage (I’m Native American and Irish…so there is credence to that I suppose).
I can’t wait to see where the research goes on this really, it has been far too long and I am so so happy that the research is finally advancing again.
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I’ve only been asked about left handedness once.
It was in school, and another student asked if I had that ‘Backwards writing disease’. I was like…”Whut?” as I had never heard this before.
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Oh wow!
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My youngest son has Asperger’s. He is thirty years old next month, lives with his dad and grandparents and cares for his blind grandfather and his grandmother who has had a stroke. His dad was just recently disabled. He is making a terrific caregiver. I ran across a book called “Mockingbird” and had to read it. The insights on how the narrator (the girl with autism/ Asperger’s) perceived the world and her community were quite profound. I was glad I read it.
I had labeled the main character in The Conduit as bipolar, and was advised by an editor to delete her diagnosis as it has negative connotations. She sees a therapist. She has relationship issues and interpersonal issues. But the tag “bipolar” doesn’t necessarily need to be mentioned to write the story.
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Your youngest son sounds like an awesome person. 🙂
It’s interesting how certain diagnosis are seen as having negative connotations. I mean, they’re real things that real people have. Kind of disappointed that one has to avoid using the term.
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I have one answer to all 3 questions: Sherlock Holmes. Especially how he’s depicted in the TV series, Sherlock (UK). Less so in Elementary (US), where his addiction is the main focus.
And let us not forget Sheldon Cooper, of course (The Big Bang Theory)!
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I’ve wondered about BBC Sherlock. He was more sociopathic to me than anything else. Though him and the US one do seem to have the ultra-focus and obsession that I’ve read is part of autism. The addiction of the second could even be seen as a way of ‘handling’ his autism. As for Sheldon, I’m on the fence about him because his issues get played up for laughs. He’s almost a caricature of autism at times.
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Interesting. I see Sheldon as a great example of a show teaching people to overcome the fear accompanying autism. Yes, it’s for laughs, but there’s also a gentle touch there.
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I think I just don’t like how the character evolved in that regard. He seemed to have a better handle on it in the beginning. At least to some extent. Later seasons ended up having him be almost villainous in that a big part of the episode was the other characters getting around his ‘quirks’ or a disaster happening because of them. Just seemed like it happened too often to me, which felt a little cartoon-y at times.
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Hmm, yes, I see what you mean.
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What I love is that they are never officially labeled (I’ve yet to get a chance to watch Sherlock or Elementary…I’m really looking forward to them though!). In fact, they often use the line “I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested” for Sheldon, but in all the seasons so far he has not been labeled with autism. He is, however, a near perfect example of one trying to live in the ‘real’ world and navigate the intricacies of human interactions.
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True. I was reading how that was done on purpose, to avoid labels (and, presumably, lawsuits 😀 )
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My problem would be having to do the research so I could show autistic behavior. I have no reason not to have a character with any number of conditions that could be selected but just haven’t done it yet. John Cannon is slightly obsessive compulsive, but I didn’t dwell too much on the condition. He just found it a pain sometimes.
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Good point. People seem to forget that there are different levels of a condition. A character doesn’t always have to be all or nothing. It could be a slight issue that causes minor problems like easy frustration or an inability to get their point across.
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Yup.
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Hi!
1. The main protagonist of my Subnormal series has Asperger’s, which is on the autistic spectrum. His nephew, who appears in book 2, has severe autism.
2. I did research my lead character. His nephew is based on my own son, who is also severely autistic.
3. A lot of people will recognise Asperger’s. But autism, maybe not. In fact, in my experience, a lot of people confuse the symptoms of the 2 conditions. Though they share common ground, there is a lot of difference between the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Thanks for reading, very interesting read!
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1. I’ve really got to look more into Asperger’s. Only because I know someone with it and they didn’t explain it well. It sounded very much like ADHD to me, but I know it’s different.
2. My son isn’t severely autistic, but I am considering his actions when I think about making a character with autism. I don’t think I have the experience and knowledge to go beyond what he has.
3. I’ll admit that I’m still learning and know very little about the severe end of the spectrum. The whole thing feels like something one would need to experience or interact with instead of simply reading about it.
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One of my characters in a short story I wrote is autistic, and he was amazing to write. Sometimes when the characters ‘show up’ I never know what to expect! I didn’t talk about his autism, or label him, but his behaviour might have been an indicator to some people, others might have thought him unique and interesting. If another character showed up for a novel, I’d totally go with it. It would depend on what kind of story and the message as to whether I would highlight any autistic tendencies. As for research, etc. I’ve worked in schools, colleges and other settings enough to have access to the information I’d need. Then there’s my sister who has worked in specialist education most of her life. I think I’ve taken the questions out of order but, lastly, it’s all about the characters for me, so I’d embrace any character as long as they are reflected well.
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You hit on an interesting point. An author should try to avoid the blatant discussion and label unless it makes sense of the story. For the others, I guess it should be left open to the audience to figure out.
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Agreed 😀
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This is something that is difficult for me to do. I have a grandson who is on the Autism Spectrum. My middle-grade series, Davey & Derek Junior Detectives, is based on and dedicated to my two grandsons, one of which has autism. I could not say in the book that he was different but centered on his positive attributes. He is very aware of the fact that he is different but is not in control of his actions but is trying. We have been fortunate that he is verbal and extremely bright and that our school system is excellent for special needs children. God bless all families who must deal with this daily.
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Great to hear that the school system is great for him. My son is lucky to be in a good system too. Seen some pretty bad ones in my time, which attempted to mainstream autistic kids quickly. The goal was to get them out of the barely funded special ed program. Pretty frustrating.
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Would you write a story where one of the characters is autistic? of course!!
I am currently working book 4 in my series and one of my main secondary characters is autistic, though I haven’t labeled him. I may go back and have someone make a comment about his awkwardness and overprotection of his computer station on this ship (something like, “Oh don’t mind Joshua. He’s not trying to be rude, his condition sometimes makes him forget how to act.” Condition?” “Oh sure, he’s a little autistic. OOoo, hamburgers for lunch today! Must be because ya’ll showed up, we don’t usually get these on a Tuesday.” …simple, a little offhand, but still a quick statement. (*Side note* this character is actually based off of my nephew, who refused my request to change his name in the book. He was afraid he wouldn’t know himself if I changed the name like I wanted to. One of the side effects of his particular autism…every case is a bit different though.)
How would you go about researching and presenting it if you did? If you said no, then how would you react to a character shown to have autism? I’ve already spent the past decade or so researching medical journals, educational journals, and books on the subject. I have also worked with several students across the spectrum, from Aspergers and high functioning all the way down to low functioning who could not speak and also had MS (but loved the old VHS tapes of those kid sing shows from the early 90s. Sweetest smile in the world!). Both of my parents have also worked with varying levels of autism. Like I said above, I also have a nephew with autism. I have a cousin with hardcore Aspergers and another with just ‘a touch’ (that one I still don’t understand by the way…a ‘touch’ of Aspergers. Either you have it…or you don’t doc!). So I feel comfortable writing out the character with my own knowledge and research already, though I would speak to parents and siblings of autistic people or, if they’re willing and able to, I would talk to the autistic person myself.
I had the most fascinating talk with a student the other day in fact. He sees everything he reads in pictures so he was doodling menga style comics all over his worksheets and none of his teachers could figure out why or how to make it stop. They yelled, they punished, they counted…they did everything in the little packet teachers are handed that is supposed to tell you how to ‘react’ to the autistic student. He shut down every time. The suggestion to draw the artwork in a notebook, one for each class, and use it along with notes to study got his worksheet done by the end of class…something the para said has not happened this year at all. So it is definitely the little ticks and tricks that will really give away the autistic character, more so than anything else. When you’ve got those to put in, you’ll have a more believable interaction.
Do you think you would have to put a spotlight on it or have it be there without narrator/characters pointing it out? Basically, do you think a story can have an autistic character that people will recognize as autistic without it being blatantly mentioned?
Definitely! In fact, if you don’t mention it then future generations can much livelier debates on the subject!
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1. For some reason I’ve been finding it weird to call it a condition. I guess because I’ve been saying that it’s just how my son is and that makes it nothing more than natural. At least to me, condition implies something is ‘wrong’. Personal preference there.
2. My guess would be a touch means that they have some aspects, but full Aspergers. Definitely strange though.
3. Think I lost question 3 here. Comment seems to cut off on my screen for some reason.
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I honestly don’t ever use the term ‘condition’ either unless in an I.E.P meeting or something similar. Honestly, i don’t feel that most autistic people are ‘special needs’ (i know, I’m in the minority here but whatever…they don’t tend to feel as though they are hindered into a ‘special’ need so why should I?).
Question 3 was that I definitely believe it to be possible!
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I think a lot of autistic people can work perfectly well without the ‘special needs’ label. Though one reason I think it’s important in school is that it helps the teacher work with the kid. You know things have to be done in a slightly different way. The class separation can help a bit for younger kids too. I say that only because of what I saw when I was a substitute teacher. Classes where severely autistic students were mainstreamed all had the same issue. The kids who didn’t want to be there or liked causing trouble would set off the autistic classmates to create a disruption. I had to write a few reports that explained the kid that was removed had been set off on purpose by another because I didn’t think it was fair for them to be blamed.
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I totally agree! Severely autistic students definitely need the separation. As a teacher, a sub, a volunteer, a blah blah blah I’ve seen that way too many times. I’ve always agreed with making sure they know who ACTUALLY started it!
I also have had several autistic students completely mainstreamed with or without a Para. They have the option to go work in the Para room, to ask to work outside the classroom in specified arenas, etc but are, for the most part, a completely normal cog in the classroom wheel. I think it depends on the school and teacher as to how well that works. I have extensive experience working with many levels of autism before I got my first classroom so when I got a couple of autistic students, it was almost second nature to me. Some of the older teachers who had not taken the courses I did (ok, some of the younger ones too…I took non-required courses because Autism interested me to such an extent!) had more difficulties with them. Like I mentioned earlier, there is an autistic student I sub for who is in 6th grade and no one (NOT ONE TEACHER OR PARA OR PARENT) has ever recognized that he takes notes in pictures because that’s how he sees things. I think it takes someone who has a simple moment of clarity…not that I’m a student whisperer or anything (far from it!) I made and will make plenty of mistakes, like every other human, but one person noticing one thing that has always been ignored or counted off for, and helping them get pointed in the right direction with it might make a huge difference in their ability to handle classes, classmates, and/or jobs.
I’m sorry…I knew I was passionate about the subject but I didn’t realize I would go on on and on like this…I suppose I should have known by now huh 😉
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After I wrote One Night in Bridgeport, my idea for a second novel was to place the protagonist from Bridgeport in another crisis a few years later. He’s married now and has a child — an autistic son. While on a camping trip, he goes for a walk with his son and loses him in the forest. The story was going to be about the search for the kid and also include some chapters that were told from the child’s perspective while he was lost. I didn’t get very far, but it’s a story I would love to go back to at some point. But it’s a challenge, particularly the idea of writing chapters from the child’s perspective.
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Those would definitely be tough chapters to write. Were you doing research for it?
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Having personal experience with autism gives me a bit of an edge when talking about the subject with those who are unfamiliar with the effect it has on a family.
1. Would I write a story where one of the characters is autistic? I probably would. Not only would the experience provide a soundboard to what autism is, but also what the impact is on other’s lives.
2. I wouldn’t have to research the topic since it hits close to home. It would, however, be a challenge to present the life in a way that others could relate. In that respect, the character would have to show the same vulnerabilities everyone else experiences when experiencing something for the very first time.
3. I wouldn’t make it obvious that the character has this condition. I would allow the audience to discover it on their own. Something like this is very easy to do. For instance, everyone is tying their shoes but someone would have to help the character to tie their own shoes. Simple things is the best way to show there is something different about a character.
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1. It is interesting how the impact on others’ lives doesn’t come up that often in such stories. Unless it’s how people get frustrated and angry with the one character that is nice.
2. Making it relatable is a big challenge that I haven’t figured out yet. Many readers would still feel like an outsider looking in. The only avenue I could think of is where you hit on how other people have trouble understanding the logic and mentality of someone with autism. We all have those moments where we have trouble getting our point across, so that could work.
3. So a difficulty with tasks that others are doing with ease. Certainly would reveal something without making it the big focus.
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