Brenda Brodhagen yeah I never really understood it to be honest 😂 I can recall events and memories pretty well but ask me to remember a bunch of terms for a test, haha no thank you
I just say trivia and making people uncomfortable, then say a very disturbing true fact and stand there awkwardly 😂. Sometimes it can be fun playing to stereotypical expectations
Carey Roberts haha brilliant. I usually try and come up with really outlandish responses for stupid questions like that. Livens the conversation up a bit 😂
I’d love to see your take on ADHD in media. So often the portrayals are only hyperactive or “SQUIRREL!” type characters. ADHD can manifest in a lot of other ways. But when a person with ADHD doesn’t act like the stereotype, others may assume they’re faking it (and then proceed to ask if they’ll share their prescription because surely they don’t need it to function day to day, or they can simply pop back to the pharmacy for a refill).
Yeah, it also would be indeed nice to show some people more on ADD side, constantly forgetting everything, not able to focus but not because of hyperactiveness, just because they can't etc.
Yes! That would be amazing. I have ADHD and while I'm so glad it isn't one of those mental challenges that some people have that are portrayed as "psycho killers" (such as the stereotype around schizophrenia) I do not want to be seen as just some energetic kid that is the punchline to every joke
@@magpiem0th YES! That's soo annoying. Like no. Even if you're on hyperactive side more, it doesn't mean you're always energetic, you can even seem out of energy often, but still having some moves that others do not notice. People make it seem like it's always the /healthy/ and /visible/ energetism, also... Which isn't true.
Got an ad while watching from ASOS about how “whatever makeup tutorial your watching isn’t as important as this sale”... no I’m educating my self on disabilities. Your sale can get out lol.
WhiteVII en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability (I’m aware that this is a Wikipedia link, but it still makes a good quick explanation on the social model of disability)
WhiteVII I wasn’t specifically calling autism a disability but referring to Jessica’s videos about them in general. Like I said, I am learning. I’m sorry if I offended you.
@WhiteVII as someone who has autism, it is absolutely a disability. Some of it stems from society, yes, but much of it, at least in my experience, really doesn't.
Revisiting this after finding out about Sia’s new movie called “Music”. Disappointing to see how poorly she’s reacting to criticisms on her blatant use of tropes.
I have had these same thoughts and noticed the same.....I have also noticed that although we are the ones who are labeled as having "mind blindness"...we at least still give a crap about it....a vast majority of the general population is so self-centered they refuse to care/think about what others think/feel....to me that's true blindness...we're just mind nearsighted or mind farsighted, since there's still some effort there from our "eyes" at least. Lol. Sorry. Terrible analogy.
@@SoManyRandomRamblings It's actually very insightful. Little wordy, yes. But it's genuine and it's yours. There's some history backing your sentiment up too. ❤️ ~ "It's the blind leading the blind." - The Upanishads, 800-200 B.C. ~ "In the land of the blind, the One-Eyed man is king" - Desiderius Erasmus's Adagia (1500) Look into it, do some reading, and you could construct a beautiful argument. I think what these two quotes can ultimately teach us, is that this isn't a new occurrence. Humans have long since been this way.
@@SoManyRandomRamblings perfectly valid. Like Annie, I'm an excellent masker, and, having studied neurotypical interaction extensively, I've come to believe that all those social interactions we don't understand are codes and sort of... stock vignettes; like archetypal themes, but on a more mundane level. They learn them and play them, but they don't ever go underneath them; for the autist, it's ALL underneath.... We don't have that layer of social armor, and, while we see it on other people, we very often see through it.... Either that, or we see it and take it for their real essence, which is definitely a handicap. I think the degree to which we are fooled reflects the degree to which they are consciously hiding their motives. So, basically, neurotypical behavior at its most deceptive IS self-interested; it's in aid of protecting their soft emotional underbelly with ritual behavior....
I love the idea of Ariel being autistic, I've never heard that perspective but it makes SO much sense. I've also heard a lot of theories on Lilo from Lilo & Stitch being on the spectrum and I've never been able to watch it the same since. It explains a lot about why her behaviors in addition to the trauma she's gone through.
I am not diagnosed with anything related to the spectrum even though I feel like I belong on it, but I definitely related to Ariel as a child and if her characteristics could indeed be viewed as autistic traits but also accepted as normal things, I feel like this could be a big reason why I never felt "different" until later in school. My favorite movie characters always had some similarities to her: being fascinated by how things worked, knowing a lot (or trying to know) about a specific topic, having one or two close friends but being a bit awkward otherwise. To the person who made this observation, I am extremely thankful. I have no idea the best way to go about getting a diagnosis (due to living in the US right now -_- but also I have several other physical issues I am working on treatment for), but this made me feel a bit more... Self aware, less irritated with my own perceived short comings, etc. Not that being different is anything bad, but I'm sure many of us still worry obsessively over being viewed as "annoying" or some other negative word.
I would just like to add the character Entrapta from the renewed She-Ra series, who has been written as and mostly by an autistic person. I've heard a lot of people say she is an accurate representation of someone on the spectrum and though other characters are sometimes annoyed at her, her traits are never portrayed as bad and she is overall just a lovely person. Also the entire show is just filled to the brink with good representation for all kinds of groups (especially poc and lgbt+ people) and I really recommend watching it
I love how Entrapta is written because they clearly show that even though she has a hard time with socialization and she has interests she fixates on, she is one of the most understanding and empathetic characters on the show; that's part of the reason why she doesn't give up on her friends and is able to connect with characters others see as unreachable, like Emily or Hordak. It just flies in the face of the stereotypical "no emotions" thing that so many autistic characters are written with, and I love her and the show so much for it.
This this this this this, I love She-Ra but Entrapta resonated with me so strongly (I've never been tested or put on the spectrum but I'm severely ADHD and have thought about looking into formal diagnosis more than once) I watched that show for the first time just for her - her character in itself is brilliant and she's written beautifully to me, especially her relationship with Hordak (who is also disabled) and Scorpia (who is never really mentioned to be but I interpret her as extremely ND as well). My one issue with She-Ra is how she is treated outside of that, like Catra is obviously a villain with ulterior motives, she uses everybody, I took no issue with that storyline, but the way the other princesses treated her really upset me. I felt like her arc came so close to having meaningful closure in season five but it got pushed to the wayside with all the prime stuff going on. The ableism was never addressed (and they even put all the pressure on HER to do all the apologizing) and it still bugs me idk. Entrapta herself is great though
Entrapta was the first character I truly felt represented me ever. I am autistic, and ADHD/Dyslexic and I never really felt like media representation spoke 100% to me until I watched She-ra. I was definitely more emotionally involved in her arcs than almost all of the other characters.
@@Kvedvulf SAME, it felt so good to not JUST see her struggles but also her triumphs and happiness too, she was critically important to both the horde AND the rebellion, they seriously never would have won without her and she played a huge role. Fans are randomly split on her pairing with Hordak but personally I love them, and the moment they had in season three where they both unpack their like, internalized ableism and found mutual understanding and respect, I legit cried
“Self diagnosing is often needed and valid for people in a variety of different marginalized communities who don’t have access to expensive healthcare or suffer from gate-keeping” 👏🏻 thank you for saying this!!! I wish I’d known this years ago! And I hope more people here it from here on out 💛
I agree, it has benefits on the process of identifying your own struggles and traits and to know that you are not the only one and get rid of that inner shame... in the beginning. However, it can be dangerous if that doesn’t lead to a professional diagnosis later, or if it leads someone to self medicate without consulting someone else knowledgeable on the topic. There can be something else happening
self diagnosis is often needed? im sorry but this is not true, you can't diagnose yourself if you aren't a doctor, sure you can think maybe i have this but making a diagnosis? without fundamental studies? and how will you know how to do the treatment?sounds silly to me. I'm sorry, i know many people don't have accessibility and is injustice , but for me, making self diagnosis is irresponsable because you don't have the experience nor the knowledge. Sorry if this sound awful but i think thi is a bad idea is my opinion so don't take it seriously
Mugiwarafan I respect your opinion, and I’m glad that you never encountered a disease that has no treatment. if you’re interested a really good resource is the documentary UNREST on Netflix
@@mugiwarafan2687 You can't diagnose yourself like to self medicate or something, but you can suspect something is wrong and then go to the doctor. It would be perfect if schools or jobs helped reporting things, but we know that doesn't happen often.
@@mugiwarafan2687 While I agree that you can't officially diagnose yourself with anything, I do think that a sort of "self-diagnosis" has a place. Like I once attempted to get tested for autism and was shot down by my doctor...because I can talk. And make eye contact. There aren't exactly a whole bunch of doctors in my area, so I kinda just gave up and tell people I'm probably autistic. It helps me explain to others why I struggle with certain things and find coping mechanisms that help me.
things I love about Abed include but are not limited to: he’s not shown as apathetic or a jerk, he has a lot of emotions and cares deeply for his friends, the way he shows it is just different than the way most people would show it. He’s never depicted as a burden, he’s a part of the group like all the others. He has no interest in being normal and likes himself the way he is. He’s interested in romantic and sexual pursuits, which is something I feel like I barely see, especially with the whole manchild trope. He’s a multidimensional character with fears and wants and a sense of humor just like everyone else, who is not inferior to anyone else. He’s valued by his friends, and whenever characters try to baby him, the joke is on them for assuming he needs it. Abed was the reason I went to talk to a doctor about autism, actually, because his character clicked for me in a way no other character had. I never considered that I could be autistic, since all the portrayals I had seen until then showed autistic people as completely heartless. Representation matters. I’ll have to check out the other shows in the good category. This was a great video, and you’ve earned yourself another subscriber!
i remember watching the show as it aired and relating so much to Abed in a way i hadn't related to many other fictional characters before. in addition to the characteristics you've mentioned, i also loved that he would always view the world through the perspective of what he saw in movies and tv. this is something that i do myself, one of the strongest reasons i related to him, and it shows a framework for communicating with him. there are definitely times where the other characters realize they need to translate what they're trying to say to Abed through the pop culture filter to get the message across to him. it's not just something that makes him weird or different, his friends actually embrace and use Abed's methods of communicating. sure, sometimes they get annoyed by it but it felt to me like how you can get annoyed by anything your friends do lol part of the whole concept of the show is that each of the main characters is a bit weird in their own ways, they all have parts of their personality that hold them back in certain situations and cause them to clash with others from time to time. in the end, they all accept each other... well maybe with the exception of Pierce but that's a different topic :P
As an autistic woman, I totally agree. Another aspect I love is how he uses pop culture, tropes and such to understand the world around him. One of my special interests is media (like movies, anime, tv shows, etc) and analysis about those subjects, so I tend to do the same thing as well. Abed doing that was very relatable.
Agreed! I've just finished season 1 of Community, and in episode (3?) of season 1, we're clearly shown that although he may lack obvious empathy, he is willing to sit in a room for 27 hours and miss out on a special interest activity just because a friend asked him to.
As a general rule, I've found that headcanons about minoritized identities are almost always better than canon characters explicitly written to be those minoritized identities, with the only real exception being characters written by minorities and for minorities. I've found some really good portrayals of autism in fanfiction. Many fics don't actually explicitly say in the text that the character is autistic because their diagnosis isn't in any way the focus of the story, but rather leaves that information in the tags and just writes the character as a character who just happens to have autism.
Same with the fanfic thing. I even read a The Untamed fanfic where the lwriter didn't even say the character had ADHD but was written so clearly ADHD that either the writer intended him to be, or is ADHD themselves and doesn't realise , which was amazing but also a little weird not knowing if it was deliberate
I think it's because a lot of intentional portrayals of autism by non-autistic writers seem to go off a checklist of behaviors, and more often than not those symptom lists are written from an allistic point of view. Whereas good writers think of characterization in terms of the character's internal experiences and motivations, which allows for both more realistic and more compassionate writing. There's a lot of characters out there who could easily be diagnosed with something even though the author never intended to write a disorder, because what do you know, thinking about how your character thinks makes for a more realistically written person.
That seems to be the case and I find it really frustrating haha. I think Legosi from Beastars is literally the perfect representation of both the struggles and strengths I have, but it’s non-cannon. Still if I had to point to one character as a representation of my different way of thinking and experiencing the world I would point there.
This! It was never intended but Aziraphale from good omens is absolutely autistic in my eyes and its a shame it's not canon but a lot of fan creations portray him that way and i think its really sweet. It's taught me alot about myself.
I hope I can do this well, because in a book I'm working on, every major character has some sort of generally poorly represented or under-represented neurodivergency, and while I have experience with about half of them myself, I'm always a little worried I'm going to fuck something up in the ones I don't have experience with, like bipolar, shizoaffective, PTSD, dyslexia, tourettes, BPD, synesthesia, OCD, OCPD, etc. etc. etc. I just wish I knew people that have these things so I can check in with them to get an idea of what it's like. Some of the ones I'm including that I'm more confident in being able to portray properly are autism, anxiety, depression, cPTSD, dyspraxia, traumagenic plurality, and endogenic plurality, mostly because I have actual experience with them.
Thank you for the opportunity to be in this video Jessica. This is an amazing piece of work, so many people are going to learn from this. I am proud to be a part of it:D Regarding dyspraxia (I see this mentioned in comments), I got diagnosed age two and a half with autism. But at aged 15, an Ed psych assessment said that my primary diagnosis should be dyspraxia. So to pick up on the point below there are so many crossovers between these two conditions. For me, I have huge problems with processing (0.01 mental processing speed), so even trying to record for this video, it took a long time as I can't retain words in my mind that I want to say out loud. I've always bee very proud of my autism actually, it's made life different but in a good way:D All the best, MiffedLuke/MiffedCrew
That sucks not being able to retain words long enough to order and say them. I've had that problems only under certain circumstances (I'm autistic but don't normally have that problem) and it was very frustrating.
@@jessicaoutofthecloset Writing you this way because it's quite important, the "Theory of Mind" hypothesis actually describes how autistic people are supposedly unable to understand that other people have their own feelings, opinions,viewpoints and such, not "just" that they may have difficulty with Neurotypical expressions, something that's both extremely ableist and extremely inaccurate. It mostly resulted from using ableist presumption as extreme as...well, most people "studying" autism, taking a very tiny handful of children, most of who had difficulties understanding speech, and doing the Sally-Ann test. Two dolls are in a room, both have boxes in front of them, one (Sally) has a marble which she puts in the box before leaving the room, the other (Ann) then takes the marble and puts it in her box. The question is, where will Sally first look for the marble (or EXPECT the marble to be, depending on the phrasing, which already brings up problems). Now, this both fails to account for not really understanding the instructions, not being able to answer well or, something that has at least anecdotal evidence, thinking outside of the scope the researchers want or expect children to think it (ie: Considerign that Sally may have been testing Ann to see if she'd do such a thing, that she may have asked Ann to take the marble which, as no other communication was shown, may be a okay assumption...). psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-75285-001.html
The trope that we are unfeeling is awful. When there was a little boy who was murdered in my town, I was depressed, and cried for weeks. That Grey's Anatomy take was a really bad one.
Yeah, if anything, my feelings of empathy can be overwhelming. If I make somebody feel bad, even in a minor way, that haunts me for a very long time. It's hard to handle all the suffering and death in the news. 9/11 absolutely broke me.
Yes, that trope is so harmful and never made sense to me. I'm autistic, but extremely empathetic. I grew up around a lot of animals and my family had cows. I came across a video of a slaughter house when I was 9 and immediately refused to eat meat ever again. I just could not imagine the suffering the poor creatures in that video felt and could not bear to be apart of it. My grandfather still is in the cattle business today and we're from very rural WV, hunting and fishing is almost a religion here. My family thought it was a phase, even tried to cook non-vegetarian food for a couple days, but I have been vegetarian for 14 years now and vegan for 3. A few years back a woman my mom knew lost her young daughter. The little girl walked outside while her mom thought she was taking a nap, fell in the pool, and drowned. I still cry about it to this day if I think about it. I cannot begin to imagine how it felt to be in that woman's shoes in the moment she found her daughter like that. I feel most of the autistic people I know, including myself, tend to be empathic, almost to a traumatising degree in some cases. My guess is that maybe it's a result of spending my entire life mentally putting myself in others shoes so I could try to better understand their emotions, figures of speech, sarcasm ect.
Exactly I despise that trope. If anything I'd say I'm hypersensitive and struggle with overwhelming feelings. The idea I've upset or hurt someone will haunt me for ages and creates alot of anxiety I have to deal with on every interaction I have
A character I personally headcanon as autistic is Newt Scamander from the Fantastic Beast movies. He has an extremely strong interest in animals, and holds a preference for their company over other humans, bluntness in conversation, high empathy with difficulty expressing emotions to others, shyness, mannerisms/behaviour which is generally considered weird, etc. I’ve always highly related to him, and have been curious if any other autistic people related to him too, definitely made me seen far more then most other depictions. :)
also! A new character that probably wasn't even out at the time of making this video is Harlan from season 2 of The Umbrella Academy. He shows many traits such as, being non-verbal, special interests, and is shown having a meltdown during one episode. I'd also like to mention that, although important to the plot, he is not a main character, which is a refreshing change actually. It is never explicitly stated that he has autism, however, this is logical as this part of the show is set in the 1960's so it's unlikely his parents or doctors are even aware of the condition. Though Ellen Page's character, Vanya, at one point, in reference to going to the future, "He'll be okay, they have a name for people like him there." which I think is enough explanation, it would seem out of place otherwise. I highly recommend the show as it also tackles the effects of childhood neglect, toxic relationships, among other things! Edit: It's basically confirmed he is autistic, just never stated
After 10 minutes of watching Harlan i felt i could understand what he was doing and why. It was really nice to see a "human" representation of autism, stimming and all.
i'm not autistic but i connected with harlan almost immediately due to having depression and anxiety (i get the meltdowns and heightened anxiety and such) it was nice to have a neurodivergent character that wasn't labeled as crazy or weird
i just wrote a comment about this but i think it's so important to have autistic (or autistic-coded) characters shown throughout history! people think autism is a brand-new thing that never existed prior to the last few decades, which can fuel some harmful rhetoric. it's important to show that that's not the case!
I don’t like Big Bang Theory. It made me insecure in how i come across to others i don’t want to be hated or laught at for not getting the social cues. not to mention i find the show to be pretty sexist and racist.
Conversely, I enjoyed the show and Sheldon's character. He portrayed symptoms that are shared with other disorders and allowed me to laugh at some of my own issues as well as remind me on occasion of issues I need to work on a bit.
"That was sarcasm." - I'm autistic and this put a huge smile on my face. Gosh, I'd love for people to turn to me and say "that was sarcasm" more often in real life! My spouse does, thankfully!
Though everyone is different, when people are like "oh austic people are really smart." And then you have me who feels invalid because I'm not the brightest crayon.
My mom literally thought i wasn't autistic for my whole life because I "was only different and incapable of connection because I was smarter than the other kids." Nevermind all the fucking other signs lol. Recently diagnosed officially and damn it feels good.
Empathy isn’t just a single thing. It’s a combination. There’s cognitive empathy - knowing how to interpret people’s words or expressions, knowing what they are thinking and how they will react socially. Then there’s affective empathy - feeling along with the people you care about, being happy when they’re happy or sad when they’re sad, and hating the idea of them suffering. Many autistic people have good affective empathy, but struggle with cognitive empathy. My autistic husband, for instance, cares more deeply about other people’s well-being than most neurotypical people I know, but has trouble getting into other people’s headspaces and understanding what they are thinking or feeling and why. It’s actually kind of the opposite of the cold and uncaring stereotype.
That's a really interesting point. I've just been diagnosed with ASD, aged 16, and I flew under the radar so much because I'm a good student and show affective empathy. In honesty, I didn't even know there were different types of empathy. And because the empathy confusion is the main reason I was never picked up, I think it's important I educate myself more on it. Thanks for explaining it a little!
Oh, my. This... This struck me, ngl. I've known I belong to the ASD community for a year now, and I was so confused. My therapist said I was empathic, my sister, classmates and other peers think I'm "heartless", because I just can't understand. I console them, I try to help, but I just can't understand why they feel like that... And, this makes so much sense. Woah. I had seriously been doubting myself from even being a good person, but this is making me reconsider. Woah. Thank you!!!!
I have trouble with cognitive empathy. I’m told that I’m very empathetic/sympathetic and warm as the sun but I sometimes have trouble interpreting others emotions. I will often ask someone exactly how they are feeling. I’m very maternal in that way.
That's it! I always get so frustrated when people tell me that people with autism don't feel empathy, because I feel lots of empathy! I just don't know how to deal with it appropriately. I can sense people's emotions just fine, I just have a harder time understanding where it comes from and how to respond.
Thank you so much for having me, Jessie!! Love this conversation and love that more people are learning about the diversity within the autism spectrum! ♾❤🙌
Tip for my other ASD people out there: when those weird neurotypicals are trying to stare into your eyeballs like creeps (I mean seriously whyyy; my eyes aren't ears, I don't need them to listen to you) stare at their nose!
I have ADD. Absolutely hate looking in people's eyes when talking... I tend to look at foreheads cos other facial features just have too much going on so I get tend to get distracted looking anywhere else on someone's face.
@@sarahportelli93 Understandable. Sometimes I can't do the nose trick just because I can still see they're eyes in my peripheral which is enough to be uncomfortable.
@@hollyblyth6285 Eyebrows for me are just a bit too close to eyes because people will sometimes just stand up a bit straighter, but do what makes you feel comfortable :)
For anyone wanting to learn more about expression of autism in women/gender diverse people, I really recommend watching Hannah Gadsby's 'Nanette' and 'Douglas', they are also wildly successful stand up comedies, and awfully life changing, so you would be doing yourself a disservice to not watch them!
Watching Umbrella Academy season 2, I was so scared that Harlan was going to be "cured" after his connection with Vanya, and then I would have to hate it.
Me too! I was watching with my mom, and when Vanya saved him from her powers, I said something like "if he starts talking now I'm going to riot." And my mom didn't get it at all but it meant a lot that they didn't go there.
On an unrelated note, it seems like the writers or whoever gave Elliot Page an awesome place to explore transitioning without actually coming out yet. Super interesting to me now that he has come out.
@@tanner1548 the creator of the show (and the comics it was based on), Gerard Way, has been a gnc icon for decades. Not surprised if they had something to do with it.
As an autistic lass myself, a character I see a lot of positively portrayed autistic traits in is Paddington Bear (or at least the live-action incarnation of the character). In the two films he: • routinely has difficulty picking up on sarcasm and social cues • speaks in a very matter of fact way which can occasionally come across as rudeness • very quickly forms bonds to people who show him respect and kindness • feels very deeply and is hyper-empathetic towards others • eats the same food every day (marmalade sandwiches) • has a special interest in the city of London • has an extremely strict sense of right and wrong Of course all of these could be down to the fact that he was raised in an overall danger-free environment outside of human society, but I can relate to a lot in how he is portrayed and it makes me happy to think he may have some form of autism (or a bear equivalent of autism)
Just thought I'd throw this small correction out there. "Ace" generally means "asexual" which is different than "aromantic". You can be ace while still having romantic feelings for people. Love your videos, I've learned so much from you!
I'm so grateful other people are commenting on that, I'm not gonna lie as great as it's been to see ace mentioned in other videos (like what not to say to LGBT+ people), that comment kinda hurt, and it's a stereotype that really needs to die off. (I'm ace, but not aro).
Also aspec people still... have feelings? Rejection of someone you have feelings about (and both asexuality and aromanticism are spectrums) still hurts no matter what your orientation is.
as a not autistic person, i also almost cried the first time i saw loop. it was really sweet and i’m happy that there’s good representation for you like that!!
@@rachelcookie321 Eyo everyone stims at least a little, loads of different things can be stims (skin picking, humming, fidgeting with objects, doodling, leg bouncing, biting lips/cheeks, drumming fingers, tapping foot, stroking a soft toy, biting nails, sucking thumb, chewing objects, chewing gum, playing songs/movies/etc in one's head), almost anything tbh that basically everyone does, it's usually that autistic people are more likely to stim more and have a wider variety of stims that might seem more different, but this isn't always the case so that's fair, it's just more likely rather than for definite. But ye just a note that everyone stims, usually a lot more than they know, including non-autistic people, we often don't realise that we're stimming when we are.
Seeing characters like Sherlock Holmes and Baby (Baby Driver) behave like me and learning that those behaviors I share with them are what make them autistic coded is what first prompted me to look into getting a diagnosis (which feels absolutely impossible for me as an adult!!!), so this video was super interesting to me!!
A character that I grew up with is Lilo from the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch, as far as I know no one invloved has said shes supposed to be autistic, but having two siblings on the autism spectrum and recognizing autism traits in myself, I see myself and my siblings in her everytime I think of the movie.
Lilo is not autistic, she's a normal actual 6-year-old. She stands out bcs she's one of the very very few kid characters who actually acts like a real kid, tantrums and all
@@pink_alligator I don't think she's a typical child. She's a traumatized child dealing with life in the remains of a tragedy. I mean that's not unusual, because bad things happen a lot.
as someone with autism and dyslexia, i literally refuse to watch anything that sells itself as having a 'autistic character'. they're usually young white boys on the really extreme end of the spectrum with some sort of nearly magical savantism, and the movie or show is always about how 'amazing' their family is for 'being able to deal with him'. they are treated more like cute pets than actual characters, and their savantism is there to 'make up' for them being autistic
Exactly. The "white boys with trains" stereotype is how I refer to it. I was shocked to find out in this video that Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory is actually obsessed with trains. That seems EXTREMELY lazy of the writers.
Sherlock in Elementary is my favourite autistic representation ! (I'm autistic) He have autistic traits that are absolutely useless to the script, they're just part of the character. Like he have a special interest on bees so he has hives. And that's it. He's happy around them, he goes there to calm down and think. But they're never a plot to the scenario. I like it. And it's very very good about autistic-allistic relationship. Holmes and Watson definitely function differently and have different and sometimes uncompatible needs. But they really like each other and try to work around that in ways that evolve during the whole shows. They know they need to sometime stand their ground for their need but also make effort to accommodate their friend needs and try to find a common ground. It is very important and well done for me. As an addict I also really love how this theme is talk about (wich in BBC is equaly awful as the treatment of autism...)
Elementary was one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes adaptations. I feel most make him out to be a completely emotionless asshole but he's nothing like that in the book. Elementary does a great job of bringing him to life fairly accurately and making him modern. I should start watching it again (I abandoned it when Watson left him to live with Mycroft because I was super pissed hahaha)
the Doyle novels were a HUGE special interest of mine growing up and honestly Elementary is probably the most authentic adaptation of Holmes as a character after Jeremy Brett and Clive Merrison. Elementary is so wonderful.
But yes I love how Sherlock is protrayed as having emotions but a hard time expressing them appropriately and having empathy but having a hard time letting space for other people's needs, rathe than having no emotion nor empathy. It feels very real to me.
@@HParadoxa oh really? I remember her moving out on a season finale and I just gave up hahaha. I'm guessing it gets solved fast then. I will try to catch up with it!
i was diagnosed at 19 and it literally changed my entire way of viewing myself. I used to hate myself for how "weird" i was and how i was so different, but it turns out i'm not just a weirdo ! it really helped my self esteem c: i was scared at first because the representation i had seen had caused me to have a stigma in my brain about myself, I didn't want to believe i was "autistic" because i had only seen it in a somewhat negative light. The more (good) representation there is would probably make people like me, who were diagnosed later in life, to have a more positive outlook on their identity and not see themselves as someone with something wrong with them :c Representation is so so soooo important!!
I agree having an explination is a relief. Learning about autism has let me be less hard on myself, like.yes not everyone finds that sound incredably distressing but I do & could concentrate on this book better if I use headphones, so don't needlessly suffer & use the headphones. Although personally I still think I'm weird, but not in a bad way, I just realized there are a lot more weird people like me out there! Autistic & disabled social media has really helped me feel less alone.
I was diagnosed at 18 and when I went to speak to my therapist about being autistic I remember getting so angry and telling her something along the lines of "wild how everyone in elementary school knew that I was different in some way and made it my problem but took professionals 18 years to figure out". I also teach sped now in my life and I see myself in so much of these kids that it's crazy that they just passed over me (but what can I say, I'm a bisexual mexican who grew up in poverty in the bible belt... So doctors were more concerned that I liked girls over anything else 🤷)
I'm Autistic, and I find it incredibly telling that I loved Everything's Gonna Be Okay, and asked my mom to watch it and she didn't like it, but very much liked Atypical and wants me to watch that. And, I tried, and it's not a good portrayal.
I've seen Everything's Going To Be Okay, and I felt like someone made a TV show with me in mind. The way they showed Autism was really wonderful, but I don't think it was a good show. It jumped around too much and each episode lacked focus. Like it bugged me that prom would be a full episode in any other series instead of part of a montage. it felt like someone took a bunch of great little moments and glued them into an episode. Atypical had a better understanding of how to structure an episode, but I was unable to watch past the first episode because the portrayal was so harmful. I heard that later on the main character does some super damaging things to the people in his life. It reminds me of those Autism speaks commercials.
tbh the thing that stuck out to me is that when sam started going to the group therapy sessions, I immediately resonated with those characters more. i *think* they were actually played by autistic actors, but im not sure. i just felt such a stark contrast between the way i felt about them and the way i felt about sam.
@@barriss9475 They did hire autistic actors to play the other characters of the group (well can't say for all but I know they did). I also know they eventually hired an autistic writer (why wasn't it the case before like whaat?) and the artist doing sam's drawing painting and drawing is autistic too. S1 is a big low for atypical. So many lows. It's a little better after that, but I get people's issues. Initially despite the big nuh-huhs, I was glad for sam because for once it wasn't a savant person you know. Anyway at the end of the day I relate more to casey than sam.
Everything's Gonna Be Okay is THE BEST. Probably some people don't like it because of how gay it is. Oh, it's so good! And Matilda being (presumible) bi, that's so incredibly representative!
I haven't watched everything is gonna be okay. And honestly. I watched atypical. And it was an okay show. Well structured and all. Plus I am a sucker for REALLY BAD shows too. And not like super heavy stuff. I just want to turn off. I knew he was like autistic. But like a caricature. The only I reason I watched it and finished it is because car crash show. Also. Stopping series is incredibly difficult for me if I watched like the first 2.
I really appreciate Jessica pointing out that self disgnosis of autism can be valid! Trans people often lose control of their transition if medically diagnosed, and experience heavy gatekeeping to their transition. Therefore self diagnosis for trans folk can be incredibly necessary in order to access transition resources such as hormone therapy!
I’m ok with self diagnosis if they say “I think I have autism” and not “I have autism” because while some people do have it and aren’t diagnosed yet some people don’t actually have it.
@@nilsdula7693 because they can end up misrepresenting what autism is which can be harmful. I struggled a lot as a kid due to people misunderstanding what autism is and treating me unfairly because of it.
It actually kind annoys me that media will say or show a character having symptoms or traits of autism but claim that they aren't autistic. It perpetuates stigma toward autism by seeming as if it would be negative for the character to actually just be autistic. Also, thank you for directly addressing the myth that vaccines cause autism. It might seem like a minor thing to some but I think it's actually incredibly important in today's world. I'm autistic myself but have been told that I'm very empathetic, especially toward animals. As has been mentioned by others it can get to a point where it's too much to handle and I similarly shut down or feel the need to leave the situation that I'm in. I also struggle with consistent loud noises. They'll either irritate me or seem to amplify in intensity. The latter is especially true when near or in a larger gathering of people. At times it'll seem like I'm in the middle of something like a rock concert. I can similarly be overwhelmed by other senses as you've described though I don't think I've really ever been overstimulated visually. Due to nerve damage from injury, and possibly along with autism as well, I cannot rub my hands on anything but one of my cats for a lengthy amount of time without it feeling like I'm running my hand over sandpaper. Because of this I can't do things like massage or rub over my fiancee for very long and it's extremely frustrating because of this. As for interests I definitely have a narrow range of interests and that has definitely hindered me when trying to associate with other people. That said, with the topics that I am interested in I dive in head first and seek to learn as much as I can about them. This can also lead me to rambling on way too much about them at times. Also, I was not diagnosed with autism until well into my adulthood, having been diagnosed relatively recently. Some have said that having been diagnosed wouldn't have made much difference but I can't help feeling that it would have. That maybe I wouldn't have been so frustrated feeling like something was wrong with me for not being able to make friends, and other issues that left me feeling isolated and that there was something wrong with me. In terms of perspective, I generally look at the world through rationality and logic, it's hard for me to understand a lot of emotion-based actions of others. That's not to say my emotions never dictate any of my actions however. It's actually because of my emotionally-based actions and decisions that I'm often left feeling like my emotional drive is only a hindrance. On the other hand, certain things like math and machining seem to come easy to me. I enjoy problem solving, world building, and most things that involve these things. I'm almost obsessive with attention to detail which can serve me very well in some situations while being a complete hindrance in others. I find it hard to handle sudden, unplanned changes in routines and most plans. I haven't watched a lot of the shows or movies that are mentioned here and I haven't yet watched enough about Archer, I have watched enough of Big Bang Theory to know the character Sheldon Cooper. I really dislike the way that autism is depicted through him for many reasons that have already been stated in other comments here as well as in the video. Additionally, I've come across many people who've said that they hated Sheldon and that he's a terrible character, which only serves to discourage me from revealing that I'm autistic to others. Because of this I've found it incredulous to have heard that he was an excellent representation of autism. I honestly didn't intend to write a novel of a comment but I guess I just wanted to give my perspective on the issue. Overall I feel this's a great video, well made, educational, and fairly nuanced.
Also this refusal to name a condition/disability hinders people getting a diagnosis because both ignorant laypeople & medical professionals will think those traits are in the sphere of neurotypical. For example they may say "oh you don't have enough symptoms to be autistic" or "oh your just unique, like *insert obviously autistic fictional character who the writers refuse to identify*" Also I liked your long novel comment & particularly relate to being lead by logic. I often miss & do not understand how people are so lead by emotion, even if it massivly negatively affects them. I make nearly all decisions based on pros, cons & facts. With only a few exceptions of emotion letting me be more flexible with those I love.
@@NotAnotherKuromi Thanks for the additional input in support. It was only after I went to submit it that I realized how long it was. I didn't expect anyone to really actually read it, but thanks for doing so. I completely agree with the refusal to name a condition/disability leading to the hindering of others getting diagnosed, an excellent point that I missed. That often missing and not understanding how people are has definitely made social anxiety so much harder to manage. I'm really fortunate to have my fiancee to go to about these things. At times I can't imagine what I'd do without her being there.
I really hate the fact that characters like Sheldon are what even professionals try to use as a basis, exactly for that reason. Sheldon only ever represents the worst traits, all exaggerated. For people ignorant to autism in reality, that is a horrible impression. So of course when someone finds out about so and so being autistic, and all they have to base their impression on is someone like Sheldon or the description of severely low-functioning autistic children... they're going to be needlessly guarded and may even avoid the person. It really gets to me, because I know several wonderful people who are on the spectrum that don't deserve that stigma.
Side note: I've completed work training online on customer service in health where a character with only negative autistic traits in the case scenarios looked exactly like the girl from Glee portrayed as faking her autism diagnosis. All the autistic coded characters in that training program were portrayed as nasty, selfish, remorseless and cruel. So that was a...horrible experience, to say the least. Plenty of autistic people like myself need to work on our time management skills. That doesn't mean we're all self centred, cruel monsters.
Also, "customer service" for health care ? Even if the system is completely flawed like in the U.S., isn't it still supposed to be a public service with users ?
As someone who’s autistic myself, I’ve found that the characters I see myself most in are never those who are explicitly stated as such. The biggest example for me is Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen, because I feel like his character aligns very strongly with the mental health conditions that are often caused by autism. Almost every single autistic person I know in real life has social anxiety to some degree because from a young age we’ve all seen that something was “different” about us but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Our autistic traits only served to ostracize us from our peers, and so we became hypercritical of ourselves trying to “fix” ourselves, which led to social anxiety. Evan’s anxiety, specialized interests, general social awkwardness, and (quite frankly) bizarre solutions to his social problems resonate heavily with me. Though JK Rowling is fairly problematic as a person, her portrayals of Hermione Granger and Newt Scamander are also incredible representations of autistic characters. Newt especially was the first character I truly saw myself in. Even the small details like his mumbled/slurred speech and aversion of eye contact really hit home. He clearly doesn’t fit the social conventions of the society around him, even though he tries so hard to do so. The way he feels more at home with his creatures than around other people is also something I appreciated.
I love Dear Evan Hansen, I can also understand what you’re trying to say but when you say “mental illness caused by autism” I fear many people won’t get it. I think perhaps explaining that it isn’t autism itself that causes mental illness but rather having to be an autistic person in a traumatic neurotypical world does.
I wish we could see more just, fun autistic characters/scenes. I, as well as a lot of my pals, are on the spectrum. We aren't eternal party poopers. We don't need to 'learn how to have fun'.
I'm 19 and I was only recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I have ADHD as well, and some of my symptoms overlap. But yeah! This video is really informative!
@@rachelcookie321 high functioning autism doesn’t exist. functioning terms cause autistics to be separated into “being able to work for a capitalist government, and being accepted socially” (high functioning”) or “non verbal, not accepted socially, and not able to work in a capitalist society.” (low functioning.) autistics prefer to use high and low SUPPORT needs to demonstrate the support they need depending on their symptoms on the spectrum.
@@keyaunna.I'm darkly amused how "capitalistic government" is cited as the standard, despite how Asperger's is named after the guy in a non-capitalistic government (a form of socialism, even explicitly in the name, but there are those that don't recognize things as they really were and are, for various reasons) and he identified the set of (presumed) characteristics that'd make a percentage be considered useful, while sending a large number to their deaths. When push comes to who've and budgets of resources are at stake, as well as maintaining control, autistics are considered expendable by enough people that they are. To add to your point and clarify about functioning labels, heck, even support levels, under enough stress, I'd wager every autistic will need higher support, and present as lower-functioning: I've observed that in myself in practice: it's how I unexpectedly got diagnosed as I recognized I was in a weird bind during prolonged severe medical issues combined with extended unemployment during a severe downturn of employment options in my field and experience to date. Our level of functioning and support needs isn't 100% stable over a period of time, and can vary wildly.
It’s been years since this video was released but it has helped me come to terms with my autistic child. I was devastated at the diagnosis but hearing for the first time someone say “this isn’t a tragedy” has fixed something in my brain. My child is sweet and kind and wonderful - they are not tragic.
I absolutely love abed nadir so much, it's never explicitly said hes autistic though because dan harmon didn't want him to become a representation of ALL autistic people, and didnt want NT people to see him and assume that any one of his traits apply to ALL autistic people. :)
*Rain Man* (6:22) 6:23 Rain Man (Rain Man) 6:41 Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump) 6:53 Detective Goren (Law & Order Criminal Intent) *The Idiot Savant* (7:09) 7:41 Leon (The Professional or Leon) 7:52 Shaun Murphy (The Good Doctor) 7:58 Paisley (A.N.T Farm) *A Man-Child* (8:17) *A Creep* (8:21) *A Tragedy* (8:42) 8:48 JJ (Skins) *Cured* (9:01) 9:05 Molly (Molly) 9:19 (Change of Habit) 9:42 (Eureka) 11:45 Sam (Atypical) *Good Representation* (12:49) 12:50 Matilda (Everything's Gonna be Okay) 13:31 Sterling Archer (Archer) 14:19 Billy (2017 Power Rangers) 14:42 Julia (Sesame Street) 15:29 Fozzie Bear (Muppets) 15:40 Renee (Loop) 16:19 Abed (Community) *Bad Representation* (17:15) 17:34 Rain Man (Rain Man) 18:26 Sugar (Glee) 20:08 Christina (Grey's Anatomy) *Ambiguous Disorder* (21:28) 21:36 Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) 26:09 Erin’s article on Queerly Autistic: queerlyautistic.com/2017/11/20/my-autistic-headcanons-and-why-i-prefer-them-to-most-actually-autistic-characters/ 26:57 Sherlock Holmes *Every type of Sherlock Holmes* (28:37) 28:43 Dr Brennan (Bones) 29:01 Elementary’s version of Sherlock 29:21 2009 Sherlock Holmes film and its 2011 sequel: A Game of Shadows *Magically Autistic* (29:58) 30:27 Gary and Anna (Alphas) 30:50 Annie Wheaton (Stephen King miniseries: Rose Red) 31:21 Eli (Eli Stone) 31:39 Bella (Twilight) 32:48 (The Predator) *Actually Autistic* (33:02) 34:58 Matilda (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay) 35:58 Ariel (The Little Mermaid) I hope this was helpful xx 💗
As an autistic person, I find it very interesting how often the best autistic representations in Hollywood are by characters that don't have autism in their character descriptions. I've personally never connected with characters specifically described as 'autistic', and don't tend to be drawn to media with that as a hook.
@@RandomSkyeRoses problem is that unintentional representation is often based on real, undiagnosed people the writer knows, while intentional representation is usually based on the writer reading the list of diagnostic criteria in the DSM.
Oh this one might enrage me XD. I hate all the "Super powered autism" crap..... I've never felt seen. Edit nope jessica is so calming to listen to that instead of being angry and then feel the need to cry im now in desperate need of a hug and cry time
Like, the only times it comes close to being a "superpower" is when people look at you shocked when you explain to them why their dog's agitated, because of the whine some new piece of tech they got is exceedingly painful in your ears, but they can't hear it.
@@sunyavadin oh yeah I can hear when cars are broken and I told a musician once that his amp was giving out Didn't listen to me and it broke a month later even though getting it fixed before the break would of saved him tons 🙃🙃🙃
Whoa, that short comment was a wild ride! I got my diagnosis when I was 21, I can't imagine what it'd be like at 40. Saw someone else in the comments who got it at 64! I really wish there wasn't such a focus on kids with autism in media. I want to hear more stories like yours.
this is literally such a fantastic video and really well-researched and respectful - thank you for blessing the world with it lol (i have seen this so many times)
Thank you Jessica I love this so much. I once had a psychologist tell me that he wouldn't diagnose me has autistic even though he said I'm definitely on the spectrum because it doesn't seem to impact my life.🙄🙄🙄 according to him. even though it definitely does. I've personally seen how these tropes can affect people and I haven't really seen any good representation for low Spectrum people like me. and I often get that because I'm low Spectrum it must not affect my life at all. I believe it's because this is what media tells us. So people get offended when I'm too blunt or I close my ears because of a loud noise or the lights aren't right or have a panic attack at apparently nothing to have a panic attack over. PS I'm also dyslexic so if there's a lot of words wrong with this I'm sorry it's my voice to text. Which I lovingly hate.
It's just great how people only recognize male autistic traits as the norm or real so they won't diagnose women... I also recently found out that women have different symptoms for a heart attack than the whole "Pain in the left arm" thing because the research on heart attack symptoms was conducted on men instead of women. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and it probably cost a good amount of money to get tested in the first place.
@@blossomnessstudios4446 yes it did I've been tested five times. And each time I seem to come back with more and more diagnosis. The field has changed so much just from when I was little. Like I used to have psychologist tell me that my handwriting was bad because I'm dyslexic. come to find out it's because I have fine and gross motor skill deficiency not that I was just lazy or because I was dyslexic. Every time that I go in and come out with a new diagnosis most of the time it's just because the previous psychologist wanted to fit all my symptoms into a neat little box because to some it seems crazy that I could possibly have so many. PS I've had so much testing because one schools in America suck and refused to give me testing so my mom got me tested and then gave the results back to them and then they tested me again just to make sure if the results were right even though they had previously refused. And the other reasoning is because some of my symptoms didn't seem to match up with previous diagnosis. The last one I believe was because I started having seizures and so they did a full evaluation to see what was causing it.
God I feel that. I got diagnosed with aspergers in year 9 and then two years later they were like "well.... you have friends now so don't need that anymore" and to this day I'm like ????? wtf does that mean.
Oh yeah, I know that, even though I am male. I have had two autism tests at different psychologists, the first psychologist said "You don't have autism, You're just maladjusted", and the second "Yeah, I give you the diagnosis, because you want it" 🙄
As an individual who is on the "high end" of the autism spectrum which is considered to be Asperger's, but removed a decade ago by the American Psychological Association due to revealations of Hans Asperger's crimes of the use of sterilization through gaseous chemicals and the like during the last years of the Nazi regime where he was never persecuted for war crimes by the Allied Powers after the end of the Second World War, this is the best representation of our true identity anywhere else whereas our wants and needs are largely ignored and are we are treated with disrespected because of how we see the world differently in a fifth-dimensional lens. While most of us autistics have made contributions in the arts, sciences, and humanities where we have changed the dynamic of the human race and while we have used our voices to defend our existence from those who try to harm us in order to prepare our extermination by the anti-autistic and anti-vaccine propagandists who want to prevent the truth from being exposed, we will countinue to exist for the next 10,000 years where our ancestors who were the Neanderthals provided the way to develop our resources that can be used for future generations. And since they used this tactic well where our history is imprinted by every civilization that has benefitted our presence, the hope for a better world without the ableist violence and agenda is just beginning. From Mozart and Einstein to Strass, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison and numerous others, I am proud to be part of a community that seeks true freedom from the false neurotypical mentality of us being called "defectives" and I am proud to be part of a group that does not conform to the standards of what society tells us and how we need to conform to those who feel that obedience is the name of the game. That being said, I am proud to be autistic and anyone who does not see that should go fuck themselves, for I waste no time with freeloaders who use their problems to create tension for themselves in order to seek attention for their personal interests. Autistic and neurodivergent power all the way!
I was diagnosed with autism when I was three. I broke down crying a lot as a kid, hated wearing jeans and other clothes because they felt uncomfortable to me, and was often considered the quiet kid or one of the smart ones. I hate when places are excessively crowded and I tend to not be able think at all when it gets too loud. I can't focus on anything besides the noise. As a kid I was often excessively blunt often speaking without thinking about the consequences of my words. My mom would tell me to stop if I was unintentionally rude. Then later on she would explain to me why it was rude. It was through this method that I learned some more tact by the time I reached my preteen years. But then I was just excessively quiet a lot. Also, I still took things too literally and didn't get things such as new figurative language easily. Also sarcasm, I didn't get the concept of it until I was 11-12 years old after my mother once more explained it to me. One the flip side, I liked to say medical facts a lot and took in the information whenever I could from library books whenever I could. I'm still incredibly passionate about the medical field, I've just learned at this point that I shouldn't talk about it with people too much, most people my age aren't as interested. Also if I do, I end up taking over the conversation rambling about that sort of thing. In reality, I often do have a lot to say when I'm passionate about a subject in general to be honest. It's just even more so in medicine since I've been learning about it for most of my life now. So I guess I fit the science loving stereotype of autism. Heck I play the flute and am in accelerated classes.
I am a late diagnosed autistic woman & I adore Sheldon from TBBT!! I recognise so many of my own traits within his character & my closest friends do laugh at these traits, but they also accept them & allow me to "be me" in a way that means I'm more comfortable in their company than in my parents company who have told me since I was a child that I need to "get over it"
A couple years ago I suspected I might be neurodiverse, so I went to see a psychiatrist, and she said, "You can't be autistic or have ADHD because you have good grades." A year later I found another psychiatrist, and I was diagnosed with BOTH autism and ADHD.
I've heard the "theory of mind" point debated because it might actually just be a matter of autistic people's minds working differently. Allistic people also have difficulty understanding how autistic people think after all. It could just as well be explained by there being a lot more allistic people in the world so their model of thinking and behaving is more prevalent.
Could you clarify a few things in your comment for me. First of all could you clarify how autistic people don't know how other artistic people feel? I hope I'm writing this comment right that's what I'm getting from it though. Also I don't think I understand what you mean by your last statement? It would be much appreciated if you could clear these things up PS I'm also dyslexic so if some of that didn't make sense blame my voice to text
@@thebigvee137 I think you've misread the original comment! They said that allistic (non-autistic) people have trouble understanding autistic people's minds, not just autistic people having trouble understanding non-autistic people. Therefore, the "theory of mind" which is about people's ability to recognise and understand other people, something autistic people are believed to struggle with, might actually be about non-autistic people creating a theory that modelled their own minds and understanding of the world. So it may be an operating difference rather than autistic people being lacking in this way. -- I think that's what you meant at least! Correct me if wrong :)
yep, among most autistic activist communities i'm in, we consider the idea that autistics don't have a theory of mind to be utterly garbage. it is NOT a common autistic trait at all.
@@roisinrowan1341 Yeah! Like the one example I saw of it was basically the following problem: Teacher and student playing with object, child placed object in their drawer, then goes out to play. Whilst out of the classroom, teacher moved the object from the child's drawer and puts it on a shelf behind their desk. When the child comes back into the room, where should they look for the object? The correct answer is meant to be in the drawer, because if you put yourself in the child's place, they know they put it in the drawer, so that's where they would look. And the autistic answer is often "on the teacher's shelf" because they know where the teacher put it. That answer gets labelled as a lack of theory of mind. But from my perspective the problem is with the question. They always use "should" and don't ask "where would you think the child *would* look on their own". So the autistic person, knowing they are privy to some extra knowledge the child is not, would tell the child that they *should* look on the shelf because its not in the drawer any more, but if asked where the child would think to look on their own would answer "in their drawer". From what I've seen of other autistic people, not just myself, we know very well that we don't know exactly what anyone else is thinking so don't make presumptions. But if we know something that could help someone out we tend to want to help them. Like there is a severe autistic person I know (he prefers that term because he is severely disabled by both his autism and many other disabilities which in turn make his experience of being autistic severe) who is non-verbal and he does struggle with certain things, like not understanding why a relative has to leave home to go to college because they seemed happy at home so why leave that, but on the other hand, is very aware that everyone has differences and will tell off others when they make broad assumptions about a whole group of people. And say that how he experiences xyz is only how he experiences it and that he doesn't claim to speak for others with xyz thing. That's a concept that many neurotypical people just fail to understand at all. So who really has a problem with theory of mind?
Atypical helped me with recognizing autism in myself, gave me a bunch of quality of life tips and ultimately the courage to look into the subject deeper and get a diagnosis myself. So I don't like people piling on it, I really like the first two seasons.
For me as an autistic person, I found the coping skills he was learning in Atypical to be helpful. And seeing him struggle with things I've struggled with was helpful to me. Also omg, noise cancelling headphones are amazing. Just sooooooo good.
I have autism and a bunch of other disability/medical conditions thanks to my service dog i can go out and participate in regular daily activities which without her i would not have left the house originally
As someone with Autism and ADHD I found this very interesting. Yes I have both and yes my brain is scattered all over the place 24/7... for the longest time I only really believed I had ADHD and refused to accept the Autism diagnosis. I am slowly working on coming to terms and also finding out more about it... As a teen I went to a behavior therapy type group, but hated it because I felt like I was being treated like a 10 year old.... I felt ashamed that I had to go and felt like the things I was learning I should already know... for the most part I knew them I just didn't/don't always put them into practice all the time. If anyone has any suggestions on TH-camrs or websites that would be great!
I have no suggestions, sadly, but as a fellow double diagnosis I just wanted to reach out and say that I really recognise what you're saying. I was diagnosed in my late teens and for the longest time, my ADHD was what made me struggle the most, because it was so much more frustrating to deal with. I often see the two things as different parts of my brain, where the ADHD is the active and 'all over the place' part of my brain and the autism is the part that keeps everything in line and keeps structure in my life (which is really helpful for both ADHD and autism, so yay...). Of course, there are a lot of overlaps between the two, which makes everything even more 'fun' to deal with, but I generally feel that the two create a balance in my brain that I don't often hear described from others with just a single (ADHD or autism) diagnosis.
I'd never stopped to think about the fact that Sheldon relies on others for everyday basic needs. My son is on the spectrum, I am on the spectrum, and I work directly with adults who rely on me to make sure things like groceries being bought, bills being paid, doctors appointments are being made and kept, and that they have transportation to be able to do the things they need to do and WANT to do; I'm kind of horrified that a character was written this way for laughs when in real life the lack of this level of support that's needed would be debilitating and dangerous if not met. I don't think Sheldon was written particularly badly per se but, assuming for a moment that he would be clinically diagnosed as Autistic (for lack of ambiguity), his world is written very bleakly. Honestly, if you removed the laugh track you'd just be watching a show about a man with autism who is being treated pretty crappy by his friends and family.
Once a summer camp counselor told me rates of autism had increased over the past 50 years because whoever creates autistic people (god? Aliens? It was unclear) thought...we would need them...to fly...spaceships.
Ah yes what was it I heard that called "Lavender Children" I think... You know if it makes people accept it better then whatever they have to tell themselves.
I wanted atypical. I absolutely loved it as an autistic person. There's one sean when Sam got over stimulated and rocked the same way I do. They also cast a bunch of peope who have autism!
Watching Atypical I thought his sister was suppose to be autistic as well but overlooked because of sams obvious trades and because she masked so much more successful. Anyone else?
Autistic and Artistic rhymes for a reason. My son is autistic and I love how you change the terms around. I actually used emojis to teach my son about feelings. He is the most beautiful and sensitive person I know. He hates loud noises and large crowds. But he has to tell me that he loves me about every 5 min. Now that we wear masks it is very hard for my son to read a situation and know how he is supposed to respond in many situations. It was very difficult to accept as a parent that my son is autistic because of what we have seen on TV and movies. His Father still has no idea what it really means. I told him that it means that our son doesn't think like us and he is a unique person who loves his family and isn't like any other person in the world. I think it is amazing to see the world through his eyes and I can't wait to see how he rules the world as an adult.
I got so happy to hear u bring up Bella in Twilight!!! Been my comfort movie series since my teens and I am now a late diagnosed autistic adhd-er and I THOUGHT ABOUT BELLA BEING AUTISTIC SM when I researched autism before my evaluation 😂❤
RIP Julia in Sesame Street. A$'s corruption taints everything unfortunately. Also, that background music track had me bugging through the entire video X__X
@@claara1083 she's now sponsored by Autism $peaks and they have their claws in her representation/stories. It's a move many autistics loathe as we view Autism Speaks as a hate group.
Another trope I'd like to see in autistics in fiction are about special interests. often the fictional autistic character has only one special interest and it's often trains, tech or math. in reality autistics can have many special interests at the same time and they can be anything: a certain animal, a period in history, some creative hobby, a TV-show, a movie etc. Literally anything. and some autistics don't have special interests because of stress, tiredness, depression, years of hiding their Autism etc. and that's valid too. Special interests shouldn't be mocked. they ease our anxiety and stress and give us joy in the world, that doesn't understand us.
I heard that getting a diagnosis as an adult is hard, because some doctors just have wrong images of adults with autism, party because of the movies. I want to get a formal diagnosis soon because I don't feel like my parents would understand otherwise but I want to search a doctor who already knows some adult autists, and I also need to get a Incapacity insurance because I probably won't get one after getting a diagnosis.
I work in the disability sector, and one of the required yearly seminars is "Autism Awareness". The lecturer cringes when she sees me walk in, because I keep correcting the outdated information in the powerpoint.
As far as Theory of Mind goes, it isn't that it is underdeveloped or absent, it goes both ways. The issues we as autistic people face towards "TOM" don't exist when interacting with other autistics, while the issues do exist towards allistics it allistics also face the same "TOM" difficulty towards us; in short, you might classify us as having a different "TOM" but an underdeveloped or lack of one would be incorrect
So in an analogy, it'd be like having allistic people's brains be a computer that runs on one kind of code and it's a different kind for autistic people?
getting hugged to recover from sensory overload sounds so wrong to me. you'd have to be a very special person to me for that to work on me. if it isn't someone who I'm completely comfortable with, someone who I'm intimate with, and someone who can draw my full attention, it's only going to make things worse. trying to put the thought of that happening into words just results in almost incoherent panicking. i'd feel even more overwhelmed, and trapped. I'm not claustrophobic, I'm not agoraphobic, but if I'm being "trapped" in a limited area by people restraining me or blocking my only way out i will feel like I'm both. my only thoughts i can form just thinking about it are different forms of "i have to get out of here".
Most will disagree but I love "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and love Dicaprio's performance. As someone with an Autistic brother, I found the film very relatable. I am also fine with Low functioning Autistic people being portrayed by actors without autism because (if I was making a film) I would not want to put someone with the same kind of triggers as Leo's character in a loud stressful filmmaking environment.
If you are a neurotypical, I would suggest you avoid functioning labels and YES an autistic person can play an autistic character who needs more or less support than they do!
I came to comments looking for that. My nephew is autistic. The first movie I ever saw that seemed genuine was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I love my nephew so much but the struggles his brother faces mixed with the guilt from feeling overwhelmed and the pure love for Leo's character really hit home for my family.
@@gamehero6816 also i agree that there are plenty of people with autism that can play the roles, i just can't be angry when it feels so accurate. And personally Loop is my favorite especially since it covers the relationship with technology that my nephew has, it makes me cry every time I see it.
the worst troupe is the curing one i think, i’ve been diagnosed with life-long mental disabilities at 12 and didn’t grasp it cant actually be cured until i was like 15/16 lol. i think it’s pretty important to talk about it makes it way less scary
@@spoonietimelordy And they can do that, but as far as I know, Jessica is neither aromantic nor asexual and therefore that is not her decision. Also if you do that, you can do that about YOURSELF, not others.
I think she meant aromantic by that, just using shorthand. Maybe she just didn't know or didn't think to use the shorthand aro? I think it was just a mis-speak.
I'm autistic and my family says they understand, but they act like I should be like everyone else, just because I'm "high functioning". I can't just make myself be like everyone else because that isn't how autism works. If I'm overly stimulated or put in a very uncomfortable situation, I do have meltdowns. So when they say I'm overreacting and I literally can't stop crying, can barely breathe, or need to leave, I can't stand it. And it's probably because of how everything has been taught to them. If they would just do some research... I want to talk to them about it, but I don't really know how to go about it. I'm also constantly told to make eye contact and I have always had a problem with it. It's a struggle for sure, but only because people don't understand... But on a fun and positive note, my special interests are: storytelling, video games (mostly Minecraft), and creation (like crafting stuff out of "nothing")
Some Autistic Characters that aren't Autistic but I beileve are good are: Willy Wonka and Charlie (Johnny Deep, 2005), Aziraphale, and Peridot (yes she is an alien but still I like how I can relate to her)
Yesss all loveable characters too! And they all go through big challenges in life and succeed to reach bigger and better things and they all have FEELINGS :)
@@bells433 exactly I hate when media shows Autistic people with no feelings, there was a book on Wattpad And she had no feelings And I was like umm excuse me no that's not how it works
@@junibloom3384 I'm guessing the OP meant the angel Aziraphale, one of the two main characters of the book/tv show Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, about a friendship between the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale as they work together to try to stop the apocalypse. If you haven't seen/read it, I highly recommend it as it's really funny. I've never really thought about him being on the spectrum, but it makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.
I was reminded so hard of my year nine health oral: "using condoms is just like brushing your teeth..." My teacher started laughing and I had no idea why! Strange analogies are my favourite :)
Also I think I'm fusilli lunghi. On account of loving the concept of it in a recipe about making The Twits wormy spaghetti in the Roald Dahl Revolting Recipes book which I spent hours upon hours re-reading as a kid.
I am autistic and I've noticed that so many people don't seem to get this. I've heard things like: "But my autistic cousin doesn't struggle with that so why do you?" or something similar, so many times. I constantly have to tell people that autism is a spectrum and everyone experiences it differently. Also since I've been diagnosed all my friends have been trying to compare themselves to me and say things like: "Oh yeah I struggle with that too, I must be autistic then" and all I can say is that if they think so they should get that tested. It really annoys me for some reason that when I talk about my struggles people can only talk about how they struggle with that too. Like, no you're not struggling with the same thing, something similar perhaps but everyone is unique so stop comparing please.
Idk if you meant it as this, but that's not an autistic thing. I almost have panic attacks when I see people arguing and used to cry when I saw my sister cry/my parents yell at my sister and I'm completely normal.
@@keiraschneider4769 hi! I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but using "normal" to refer to not-autistic people can be harmful. "neurotypical" is generally considered the politically correct term to use, although it also has its flaws as being autistic, having anxiety, etc., don't make you not "normal", if that makes any sense. That being said, I think tendencies like this are probably more common for autistic people than people in general, but other factors such as anxiety could also certainly contribute to why you experience this. Disclaimer: I'm not autistic, but I have general and social anxiety and possibly mild PTSD
I was in college before it was even mentioned I could be on the spectrum. My doctor said I was “spoiled” and my parents needed to stop sheltering me and start “punishing” my tantrums. Yeah those were meltdowns from over stimulation.
I use to work in a facility with senior autistic clients so it’s nice to see more “ high functioning “ characters but most of the people I cared for were non verbal and deaf and sometimes blind to boot , there are many different ways it can effect a person. In grade school I had classes with autistic classmates I wasn’t ever told what was “ wrong “ with me so I never really improved in school just told me I had a learning disability but not what it was or how to combat it and my social anxiety stopped me from asking for help,Later my foster mom told me I might be on the spectrum but I never got an official diagnosis. Even after seeing doctors they chalked most of my issues up to PTSD from my traumatic childhood saying I was just so abused as a child I couldn’t function emotionally or mentally as a teen now adult.
When I was a little kid my parents used to punish me when I had meltdowns which just made it worse. Once I was diagnosed they realised that wasn’t the right approach and starting supporting me more and it really helped.
When I was being evaluated for autism, the doctor took of some "autism points" (idk what they're called) because I was too self aware. I had told her, "I am very obsessed with pirates right now, but chances are I will have a different obsession in a year or so." (11 year old me was right about that, btw.) Low self-awareness isn't part of the criteria for autism, it's just a stereotype. Mind blindness is very different from low self awareness.
@@tvaholicsquidney ??? you have no idea what you’re talking about and how much autism affects people in ways you don’t see. I also have been seeking a diagnosis but rejected due to stereotypes and a male based criteria. (Despite the fact that every doctor or social worker who has worked with me for long enough comes to the conclusion of autism). It’s actually quite difficult to reach a diagnosis for a lot of us. Just because you don’t see the way their autism affects them does not mean it isn’t there. I suggest you look into what masking is and please educate yourself before speaking further on the subject.
@@tvaholicsquidney You are deeply misinformed about autism and it’s diagnostic process, please educate yourself. I’ve seen a few comments from you on this video in particular and all of them are spreading misinformation.
"Fun fact": I seeked diagnosis by an autism expert who works in a very respected hospital in my country (Germany). The first thing that bothered me and stressed me out was that I had to wait for over an hour despite having an appointment and people there knew I wouldn't see the doctor for a while... yet no one bother to tell me that... Additonally I had to travel from a different city there and would need to catch my train back home in less than three hours. Massively stressful... By the time I finally got to see the doctor I expected him to apologise for not having the appointment on time - because that's what every doctor so far did in the past in my experience. He didn't. He didn't say why the appointment didn't happen in time. In fact I noticed that he had been there all the time, chatting with people about random things, etc. and didn't do his damn job. That's a big no in my book... So naturally I was upset about not getting seen on time when he clearly did have the time for that and he didn't even bother to tell me a white lie. I was literally standing in front him fidgeting and stimming and rocking and being SO painfully obviously autistic and after not even five sentences from me and no questions about anything relating to me seeking an autism diagnosis - he looked at me straight and said that he can test me for autism but that he doesn't see the point and that I'm "VERY likely not autistic" in a very condescending way... I was just shocked... I was literally showing stereotypical autistic behaviour and stressed out of my mind and he said THAT. His medicial bias couldn't have shown any stronger apparently... And that was someone who actually worked on a study about autism where they took blood samples of people and wanted to look for differences between autistic and neurotypical people... (That alone sounded very dumb and illogical to me tbh.) So after that I needed an entire week to recover from that experience and the stress of it all. Luckily I was already on the waiting list of a hospital in my city who also diagnose autism in adults. The whole time I was there I felt actually heard and they kept asking when they weren't sure if they understood something correctly. When I got my diagnosis from them it was SUCH a relief and I was told totally stunned by the doctor that he didn't understood how I wasn't diagnosed already because it's SO obvious that I'm autistic... I was too overwhelmed to actually tell him the multiple reasons as to why (half of my family seems to be on the spectrum without knowing it and are very heavily in denial about a bunch of things) and I'm still not sure if he actually wanted an answer to that or not (probably not but I would have given him one anyway). I was lucky that I got my diagnosis only a couple of weeks before going on holiday to Disneyland Resort Paris because that way I could get him to write a small statement about having autism and thus getting accomodated in the two theme parks (which is mainly being able to skip lines and being able to return at a certain time for a character meeting - it was so much less stressful than the other times I've been there before getting my diagnosis and made a huge difference for me) - which was something he didn't know. I'm actually really glad that he learned that from me because he's responsible for diagnosing children and can tell families about it now and maybe that way some people actually will go there and have it less stressful as well... I can't wait to go back once everything is back to "normal" and my son is a bit older. Now that I have an official disability card the cost is gonna be less because my boyfriend won't have to pay for his stay basically since he's gonna be the one who helps me around and stuff - and that's a perk Disneyland Paris hides really well on their websites and they have a fool proof way of going about it so it doesn't get abused. (You have to book via phone, get an email with the normal price for everything, then you send them a copy of the disability card via email and then you get an email with the reduced price back.) I just really LOVE Disney (I think that's pretty clear.) and going to Disneyland Paris is way better for me than going on to a health resort (I've been dragged to one once and after that I would have needed four weeks of something like that but this time without the dozens of people. It stressed me out so much.). The last time I went there I was so stressed out that I felt like I might need two years of therapy and at least half a year with no human contact to destress. Once I was there for an hour the entire stress that had piled up in the last few years was pretty much gone... If I would be able to speak French I would have applied to work there ages ago but I really don't get the hang of it, so I have to save up for a few years in order to afford going to my number one happy place that destresses me... but it's worth it for me... 😶 (Sorry for the massiv rant!! 😅)
@@tvaholicsquidney my experience was nothing like this and neither are the experiences of plenty of people (especially woman and young girls) it's not even like this with other disorders misdiagnose and lack of diagnose can be dangerous, i was put of medication that's known to make my disorder worse for y e a r s and while it was making me literally lose my mind i was constantly told it was my fault by professionals also, what are the negatives to people who have autism actually being diagnosed? do you think you're suddenly going to have to pay millions in taxes or something because of it??? (i personally don't have autism but the combined symptoms of my other disorders are similar to autism in many ways)
I find it really interesting that the "hollywood autistic person" is often the cis straight white man, when in reality people with autism, such as myself and my friends, often have a much more wide and flexible relationship with gender and sexuality. the running theory that the lack of social "awareness" or understanding stops us from limiting ourselves to the binary boxes, its really interesting
Also, "hollywood autistics" are almost always portrayed as asexual, and while some autistics are asexual, the vast majority are not, and autistic people have the same range of sexualities as NT people. Although, apparently, autistic people are twice as likely to be LBGT as NT people, but that may be because more NT people are closeted.
I am not an autistic person [though it has been proposed many times, I am nuerodivergent] is it perhaps because, not just autistic people, but neurodiverse people as a whole, have to explore themselves much more? Perhaps such is why we apparently tend to be in the LGBT+ community? It is hard for me to try and translate these thoughts into words, because I'm not exactly sure where this idea I just had came from anymore, but I am curious of your thoughts.
that's a pretty convincing theory, given my experience. i'm autistic and bi! I'm AFAB, but I've also experimented with gender through my life! at first I thought the reason i felt weird about my gender was because I'm a trans guy, so I tried that out, didn't fit. so I thought maybe i was genderfluid? but nope, didn't fit either. but when I sat down and decided I was just a "regular girl" that didn't feel right either. then I understood that I just, *don't understand* what the big deal about gender is. a group of online friends I hung out with thought I was a guy for months, and I didn't even notice. (lol) i go by all pronouns now. in everyday conversation I use any gendered terms to refer to myself, not on purpose, it's just the way I talk. I've never understood why gender was this sacred cow to cis people, where this goes with this, that goes with that, stereotypes are inflexible FACT, and you would NEVER want to end up doing or wearing something that made you look like the opposite gender. Nowadays, I understand that people's identities simply mean a lot to them, but society sorta blew the whole deal out of proportion. But I still can't relate to the solid idea of gender, I still don't even call myself non-binary because even THAT doesn't feel right. I don't feel on OR out of a binary. at all times I'm comfortable with being a woman, and I'm also comfortable with being a man, and just a person too. the closest label I've ever really identified with was Gender Non Conforming. I just don't think I'll be able to care about gender as much as it seems everyone else does. I'm just a dude living their life, y'know? tl;dr? lol relatable
But can we please talk about how Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Alan Turing purposefully played him as a cold, savant like character (probably most akin to Sheldon). When the real Alan Turing has been described by everyone who knew him as immediately warm and kind.
It didn't even make sense within the film version. CumberTuring: hello I have no social skills and am rude to everybody because I don't know any better CumberTuring: btw I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and persuaded him to give us an unlimited budget and ponies for everybody, no biggie
Also the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch has said in interviews that he doesn’t like it when people say that Alan Turing and Sherlock are autistic because it gives autistic people ‘false hope’ that they can achieve things
Even Sheldon shows warm moments yes throughout the show they make him cold and negates any warm character development and it sucks They also made Penny more of a bitch vs how open and warm she was with the guys not being the ‘mean girl’ troupe Yet in later seasons she more and more mean
As someone with autism, I can say I don't mind portrayals of people with autism that aren't like me. I do however have a problem with the same type of portrayal being used over and over and over again. It makes it so everyone sees only 1 type of autism and assumes that everyone on the spectrum is like that.
one thing i really like about abed is that every time other characters try to “help” him, it always turns out horribly because the other characters are wrong about what he “needs” (and usually they’re wrong about him needing help in the first place). it’s a nice take on the savior complex people have towards autistic people
@@TheMewtata if i remember the episode correctly, i think at the end of the day annie admitted that abed didn't need to change, but he hose to keep her addition of empathy??? also she helped him overcome his insecurities bc they are things everyone goes through more than proving she was right to change him (i havent seen the episode in a while) but overall the other characters don't try and change him, there are only a few episodes kinda like that
As an autistic person who was also a ‘gifted kid’ I thought for most of my life that I needed to use my talents to become a great scientist to be worth something and make up for my faults. Only now in my mid twenties do I realize that’s false and I’m struggling with my self-worth, and the the ‘savant’ type representation isn’t helping.
Same my dude... The low self esteem actually kept me from enjoying and therefore doing the things I am supposedly gifted in (art and science). Because every time I did something that was great, everyone expected it and there was no praise. Everytime I completely bombed something, people were in shock, how could this be, you're better than this, etc. So I started to feel like I couldn't get anything right. At the same time I felt immense pressure to not "let it go to waste". But I started to draw again last year, and I started studying a science at university. After years of being lost and career hopping. I'm doing it for me and myself only. I won't talk about my grades or show my drawings to anyone. My point is: do what makes you happy and f**k expectations from others!
I went through the same thing. I remember doing my talented and gifted class homework in my special Ed class. If you come out as trans too you might be younger me
I can relate :/ but the thing is, my anxiety and depression have gotten in the way of my “gifts” in ways that other people can’t see, so now I try to be kind to myself and consider myself and accept that I’m disabled, not intellectually or physically, but emotionally, due to the loneliness that accompanies my Asperger’s diagnosis. Thinking like this has helped me stop wondering “so which is it, am I a genius or am I useless??” Because it’s neither. Overall, I’m more like just another average person, with some good and some bad :)
I love that Abed's special interest is tropes and so he is actually aware of the tropes he himself might inhabit. There's even a scene where he openly mocks and deconstructs the savant trope. And he gets to DEVELOP. He doesn't stay static, but his autism is still always present. He develops new interests, strengthens some of his social skills, gains independence, and a whole bunch of other things while keeping the same traits, quirks and difficulties. He doesn't get and can't be cured, and more to the point he doesn't want to be. But that doesn't stop him from being able to have the life and relationships he wants in his own way and in his own time. He's not a burden, nor is he seen as one. His first character-centric episode actually delves into his feelings about being a strain on his parents as he deliberately burdens his friends to recreate his view of his family life, only for everyone, including him, to realise that being intentionally burdonsome to elicit a reaction is not an accurate reflection of reality. Occasionally hurtful things are said about or to him, and you see him internalise it, reject it or confront it, but you always see his view of it, and it's never any more or less weighty than things that are said about and to other characters. And when he's a dick it's because he's being a dick, not because of his autism, and he gets called out on it and takes accountability for it. He's not considered too innocent to know better or unable to not be a dick because of his disorder. Sometimes he's inappropriate and his friends let him know without placing blame, but sometimes he is just a dick, like all humans are. He's also realistically smart in his fields of interest without being over the top natural genius. It's acquired knowledge not innate, and sometimes he even gets stuff wrong about his special interest and has to wrestle with the unpleasantness of his knowledge being challenged. (I could also talk about some ADHD traits scattered between Annie and Britta but I'll refrain)
In Cooperative Calligraphy when it’s revealed that Abed was tracking Annie, Britta and Shirley’s cycles, it was funny but seemed strangely thoughtful. He really did his best to try to make them have an easier time without making them too uncomfortable.
abed was the first autistic coded tv character i saw myself in and didn’t feel remotely insulted by. plus, i have special interests in TV and other entertainment media so his comparisons just match mine. i wish i’d seen community earlier than i did
@@sidoniegabrielle269 same!! I relate to him not just as an autistic person but as an arab (he is half palestinian and im lebanese.) I also appreciate that they also made him multilingual as opposed to speaking just english cuz "learning difficulties"
A couple of weeks ago I was describing some sensory problems in childhood, like having a panic attack because of ceiling fans or the car going too fast. She said, "that almost sounds like autism....but your social skills are so good!" I replied, "you're seeing 32 years of hard practice interacting with people..."
It took 10 years for my son to be able to handle being around helium balloons without freaking out - but only inside. He also isn't fond of a lot of wind if he's out of doors. After kindergarten it became an issue, before that his ODC was the only real sign of autism. He works tirelessly to assimilate into society and I'm proud of him, but I wish he could understand I love him just the way he is. he tries so hard not to be autistic - he doesn't wanna be. And that kills me, I wish he could be self-aware, you give me hope one day he will accept that neurotypical is not the only way to be! Much love
I can totally relate. I'm sixty and got a diagnosis five years ago. I'd been treated for depression and social phobia all my life as well as other issues and of all my therapists not one considered it until I brought up the subject. Which I only thought of because my sister got diagnosed....in her forties. Both of us have high verbal ability and Mensa level iq (not bragging here, it's just true) so it was never considered.
I haven’t been able to brush my teeth is almost 18 and a half years of my life. I can’t stand it. My grandma used to brush my teeth for me because that was the ONLY way I’d be able to stand it for long enough. If that isn’t an autism sign, I don’t know what is
You know what we need more of? Autistic characters who are artists! Seriously I'm an autistic artist, and I know quite a few people like myself. Not all autistic people's special interest(s) revolve around STEM topics. I'm an animator, cinematographer, writer, and I also draw a lot. I also am really interested in fantasy, rodents and bugs. Ironically, I'm good at math (got A's) but I don't like doing it as I find it boring! TL/DR, interests of autistic people vary just as much as the interests of neurotypical ones, and we don't all like math!
I didn't love everything about this representation, but Chance in The Promises She Keeps (a book) is an artist. His character leans a bit into the 'magical autistic person' trope, but the author kind of magicifies all of her characters and makes all of them feel alien and strange, regardless of neurotype. He draws trees and his art focuses on negative space and only putting down light/white.
I'm an autistic woman, and we almost never see representation for us. Any representation in the media about us is usually socially awkward men, who are often ridiculed and used as the butt of jokes. It's really cringey, tbh.
I haven't really finished watching it but I'm pretty sure Bron (Swedish & Danish criminal series I guess) has quite okay autistic woman character as the main character
![OCD Tropes on Screen ft. @HeyRowanEllis and @CharlieVlogs [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VeC1dbeLXOw/mqdefault.jpg)
![You're Not Useless [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_2H7upHDIM4/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve been asked “what’s your superpower then?” When I’ve told people I have autism, my go to is usually “oh I can fly” in the most deadpan voice
Love it! We have a lot of people that say things like that about my son all the time. Like he a really good memory but they think it because of autism
Brenda Brodhagen yeah I never really understood it to be honest 😂 I can recall events and memories pretty well but ask me to remember a bunch of terms for a test, haha no thank you
I just say trivia and making people uncomfortable, then say a very disturbing true fact and stand there awkwardly 😂. Sometimes it can be fun playing to stereotypical expectations
Carey Roberts haha brilliant. I usually try and come up with really outlandish responses for stupid questions like that. Livens the conversation up a bit 😂
@@doodars9357 exactly! My son can remember things that happened when he was 4 but never tests well except for spelling
I’d love to see your take on ADHD in media. So often the portrayals are only hyperactive or “SQUIRREL!” type characters. ADHD can manifest in a lot of other ways. But when a person with ADHD doesn’t act like the stereotype, others may assume they’re faking it (and then proceed to ask if they’ll share their prescription because surely they don’t need it to function day to day, or they can simply pop back to the pharmacy for a refill).
Yeah, it also would be indeed nice to show some people more on ADD side, constantly forgetting everything, not able to focus but not because of hyperactiveness, just because they can't etc.
This would be especially interesting since some of her struggles with memory and processing really hit close to home to me with ADHD.
Yes, please do this video! Much like Autism, it's got a rocky diagnosis/representation history with girls.
Yes! That would be amazing. I have ADHD and while I'm so glad it isn't one of those mental challenges that some people have that are portrayed as "psycho killers" (such as the stereotype around schizophrenia) I do not want to be seen as just some energetic kid that is the punchline to every joke
@@magpiem0th YES! That's soo annoying. Like no. Even if you're on hyperactive side more, it doesn't mean you're always energetic, you can even seem out of energy often, but still having some moves that others do not notice. People make it seem like it's always the /healthy/ and /visible/ energetism, also... Which isn't true.
Got an ad while watching from ASOS about how “whatever makeup tutorial your watching isn’t as important as this sale”... no I’m educating my self on disabilities. Your sale can get out lol.
Grace Raimo
Lol I hate that ad
I'm never buying anything from asos because they're annoying as hell
WhiteVII en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability (I’m aware that this is a Wikipedia link, but it still makes a good quick explanation on the social model of disability)
WhiteVII I wasn’t specifically calling autism a disability but referring to Jessica’s videos about them in general. Like I said, I am learning. I’m sorry if I offended you.
@WhiteVII as someone who has autism, it is absolutely a disability. Some of it stems from society, yes, but much of it, at least in my experience, really doesn't.
Revisiting this after finding out about Sia’s new movie called “Music”. Disappointing to see how poorly she’s reacting to criticisms on her blatant use of tropes.
once i asked my therapist: how do neurotypicals understand each other? and he bluntly answered: they don't.
Under. Rated. Statement.
I have had these same thoughts and noticed the same.....I have also noticed that although we are the ones who are labeled as having "mind blindness"...we at least still give a crap about it....a vast majority of the general population is so self-centered they refuse to care/think about what others think/feel....to me that's true blindness...we're just mind nearsighted or mind farsighted, since there's still some effort there from our "eyes" at least. Lol. Sorry. Terrible analogy.
@@SoManyRandomRamblings It's actually very insightful. Little wordy, yes. But it's genuine and it's yours. There's some history backing your sentiment up too. ❤️
~ "It's the blind leading the blind." - The Upanishads, 800-200 B.C.
~ "In the land of the blind, the One-Eyed man is king" - Desiderius Erasmus's Adagia (1500)
Look into it, do some reading, and you could construct a beautiful argument. I think what these two quotes can ultimately teach us, is that this isn't a new occurrence. Humans have long since been this way.
@@SoManyRandomRamblings perfectly valid. Like Annie, I'm an excellent masker, and, having studied neurotypical interaction extensively, I've come to believe that all those social interactions we don't understand are codes and sort of... stock vignettes; like archetypal themes, but on a more mundane level. They learn them and play them, but they don't ever go underneath them; for the autist, it's ALL underneath.... We don't have that layer of social armor, and, while we see it on other people, we very often see through it.... Either that, or we see it and take it for their real essence, which is definitely a handicap. I think the degree to which we are fooled reflects the degree to which they are consciously hiding their motives.
So, basically, neurotypical behavior at its most deceptive IS self-interested; it's in aid of protecting their soft emotional underbelly with ritual behavior....
I'm not in any way suggesting that's true of all NTs.
Dear Hollywood, us autistic people are not a problem for everyone else, stop telling everyone we are. Thx- Sincerely, someone on the spectrum
Seconded. It also bugs me when they basically have autistic people speak in those almost robotic voices.
@@idunnobutyay2520 Exactly, especially when some of us are some of the most sarcastic humans on earth
Other people are a problem to us though lol
Can I stand behind this as a neurotypical sibling of a brother on the spectrum?
@@amedeacatpaw5987 Yes
I was diagnosed in college and as a black woman with autoimmune disabilities. I feel your respect for the asd is amazing. Thank you.
@@TylaGrant I love your vids! Black autistics unite! xd
I love the idea of Ariel being autistic, I've never heard that perspective but it makes SO much sense. I've also heard a lot of theories on Lilo from Lilo & Stitch being on the spectrum and I've never been able to watch it the same since. It explains a lot about why her behaviors in addition to the trauma she's gone through.
at least when it comes to Ariels collecting tendencies.. i relate waaaay too much lol
Disney characters that are autistic imo: Lilo (omg so much), Vanellope, Ariel, Randall from Monsters inc, Russel from UP and honestly...many others
Lilo is precious and I hated when she got bullied! I definitely head canon lilo as autistic 💖
I am not diagnosed with anything related to the spectrum even though I feel like I belong on it, but I definitely related to Ariel as a child and if her characteristics could indeed be viewed as autistic traits but also accepted as normal things, I feel like this could be a big reason why I never felt "different" until later in school. My favorite movie characters always had some similarities to her: being fascinated by how things worked, knowing a lot (or trying to know) about a specific topic, having one or two close friends but being a bit awkward otherwise. To the person who made this observation, I am extremely thankful. I have no idea the best way to go about getting a diagnosis (due to living in the US right now -_- but also I have several other physical issues I am working on treatment for), but this made me feel a bit more... Self aware, less irritated with my own perceived short comings, etc. Not that being different is anything bad, but I'm sure many of us still worry obsessively over being viewed as "annoying" or some other negative word.
Jiirah This was worded very nicely! I love talking with other autistic people over the internet seeing as I don’t know any in real life😄💖
I would just like to add the character Entrapta from the renewed She-Ra series, who has been written as and mostly by an autistic person. I've heard a lot of people say she is an accurate representation of someone on the spectrum and though other characters are sometimes annoyed at her, her traits are never portrayed as bad and she is overall just a lovely person. Also the entire show is just filled to the brink with good representation for all kinds of groups (especially poc and lgbt+ people) and I really recommend watching it
I love how Entrapta is written because they clearly show that even though she has a hard time with socialization and she has interests she fixates on, she is one of the most understanding and empathetic characters on the show; that's part of the reason why she doesn't give up on her friends and is able to connect with characters others see as unreachable, like Emily or Hordak. It just flies in the face of the stereotypical "no emotions" thing that so many autistic characters are written with, and I love her and the show so much for it.
YES!
This this this this this, I love She-Ra but Entrapta resonated with me so strongly (I've never been tested or put on the spectrum but I'm severely ADHD and have thought about looking into formal diagnosis more than once) I watched that show for the first time just for her - her character in itself is brilliant and she's written beautifully to me, especially her relationship with Hordak (who is also disabled) and Scorpia (who is never really mentioned to be but I interpret her as extremely ND as well). My one issue with She-Ra is how she is treated outside of that, like Catra is obviously a villain with ulterior motives, she uses everybody, I took no issue with that storyline, but the way the other princesses treated her really upset me. I felt like her arc came so close to having meaningful closure in season five but it got pushed to the wayside with all the prime stuff going on. The ableism was never addressed (and they even put all the pressure on HER to do all the apologizing) and it still bugs me idk. Entrapta herself is great though
Entrapta was the first character I truly felt represented me ever. I am autistic, and ADHD/Dyslexic and I never really felt like media representation spoke 100% to me until I watched She-ra. I was definitely more emotionally involved in her arcs than almost all of the other characters.
@@Kvedvulf SAME, it felt so good to not JUST see her struggles but also her triumphs and happiness too, she was critically important to both the horde AND the rebellion, they seriously never would have won without her and she played a huge role. Fans are randomly split on her pairing with Hordak but personally I love them, and the moment they had in season three where they both unpack their like, internalized ableism and found mutual understanding and respect, I legit cried
“Self diagnosing is often needed and valid for people in a variety of different marginalized communities who don’t have access to expensive healthcare or suffer from gate-keeping” 👏🏻
thank you for saying this!!! I wish I’d known this years ago! And I hope more people here it from here on out 💛
I agree, it has benefits on the process of identifying your own struggles and traits and to know that you are not the only one and get rid of that inner shame... in the beginning. However, it can be dangerous if that doesn’t lead to a professional diagnosis later, or if it leads someone to self medicate without consulting someone else knowledgeable on the topic. There can be something else happening
self diagnosis is often needed? im sorry but this is not true, you can't diagnose yourself if you aren't a doctor, sure you can think maybe i have this but making a diagnosis? without fundamental studies? and how will you know how to do the treatment?sounds silly to me. I'm sorry, i know many people don't have accessibility and is injustice , but for me, making self diagnosis is irresponsable because you don't have the experience nor the knowledge. Sorry if this sound awful but i think thi is a bad idea
is my opinion so don't take it seriously
Mugiwarafan I respect your opinion, and I’m glad that you never encountered a disease that has no treatment. if you’re interested a really good resource is the documentary UNREST on Netflix
@@mugiwarafan2687 You can't diagnose yourself like to self medicate or something, but you can suspect something is wrong and then go to the doctor.
It would be perfect if schools or jobs helped reporting things, but we know that doesn't happen often.
@@mugiwarafan2687 While I agree that you can't officially diagnose yourself with anything, I do think that a sort of "self-diagnosis" has a place.
Like I once attempted to get tested for autism and was shot down by my doctor...because I can talk. And make eye contact. There aren't exactly a whole bunch of doctors in my area, so I kinda just gave up and tell people I'm probably autistic. It helps me explain to others why I struggle with certain things and find coping mechanisms that help me.
things I love about Abed include but are not limited to: he’s not shown as apathetic or a jerk, he has a lot of emotions and cares deeply for his friends, the way he shows it is just different than the way most people would show it. He’s never depicted as a burden, he’s a part of the group like all the others. He has no interest in being normal and likes himself the way he is. He’s interested in romantic and sexual pursuits, which is something I feel like I barely see, especially with the whole manchild trope. He’s a multidimensional character with fears and wants and a sense of humor just like everyone else, who is not inferior to anyone else. He’s valued by his friends, and whenever characters try to baby him, the joke is on them for assuming he needs it.
Abed was the reason I went to talk to a doctor about autism, actually, because his character clicked for me in a way no other character had. I never considered that I could be autistic, since all the portrayals I had seen until then showed autistic people as completely heartless. Representation matters. I’ll have to check out the other shows in the good category. This was a great video, and you’ve earned yourself another subscriber!
i remember watching the show as it aired and relating so much to Abed in a way i hadn't related to many other fictional characters before. in addition to the characteristics you've mentioned, i also loved that he would always view the world through the perspective of what he saw in movies and tv. this is something that i do myself, one of the strongest reasons i related to him, and it shows a framework for communicating with him. there are definitely times where the other characters realize they need to translate what they're trying to say to Abed through the pop culture filter to get the message across to him. it's not just something that makes him weird or different, his friends actually embrace and use Abed's methods of communicating.
sure, sometimes they get annoyed by it but it felt to me like how you can get annoyed by anything your friends do lol part of the whole concept of the show is that each of the main characters is a bit weird in their own ways, they all have parts of their personality that hold them back in certain situations and cause them to clash with others from time to time. in the end, they all accept each other... well maybe with the exception of Pierce but that's a different topic :P
I definitely agree with this analysis, and I'm so glad his character clicked for you!
As an autistic woman, I totally agree. Another aspect I love is how he uses pop culture, tropes and such to understand the world around him. One of my special interests is media (like movies, anime, tv shows, etc) and analysis about those subjects, so I tend to do the same thing as well. Abed doing that was very relatable.
Agreed! I've just finished season 1 of Community, and in episode (3?) of season 1, we're clearly shown that although he may lack obvious empathy, he is willing to sit in a room for 27 hours and miss out on a special interest activity just because a friend asked him to.
Troy and Abed in the Morning 🌅
As a general rule, I've found that headcanons about minoritized identities are almost always better than canon characters explicitly written to be those minoritized identities, with the only real exception being characters written by minorities and for minorities. I've found some really good portrayals of autism in fanfiction. Many fics don't actually explicitly say in the text that the character is autistic because their diagnosis isn't in any way the focus of the story, but rather leaves that information in the tags and just writes the character as a character who just happens to have autism.
Same with the fanfic thing. I even read a The Untamed fanfic where the lwriter didn't even say the character had ADHD but was written so clearly ADHD that either the writer intended him to be, or is ADHD themselves and doesn't realise , which was amazing but also a little weird not knowing if it was deliberate
I think it's because a lot of intentional portrayals of autism by non-autistic writers seem to go off a checklist of behaviors, and more often than not those symptom lists are written from an allistic point of view. Whereas good writers think of characterization in terms of the character's internal experiences and motivations, which allows for both more realistic and more compassionate writing. There's a lot of characters out there who could easily be diagnosed with something even though the author never intended to write a disorder, because what do you know, thinking about how your character thinks makes for a more realistically written person.
That seems to be the case and I find it really frustrating haha. I think Legosi from Beastars is literally the perfect representation of both the struggles and strengths I have, but it’s non-cannon. Still if I had to point to one character as a representation of my different way of thinking and experiencing the world I would point there.
This! It was never intended but Aziraphale from good omens is absolutely autistic in my eyes and its a shame it's not canon but a lot of fan creations portray him that way and i think its really sweet. It's taught me alot about myself.
I hope I can do this well, because in a book I'm working on, every major character has some sort of generally poorly represented or under-represented neurodivergency, and while I have experience with about half of them myself, I'm always a little worried I'm going to fuck something up in the ones I don't have experience with, like bipolar, shizoaffective, PTSD, dyslexia, tourettes, BPD, synesthesia, OCD, OCPD, etc. etc. etc. I just wish I knew people that have these things so I can check in with them to get an idea of what it's like. Some of the ones I'm including that I'm more confident in being able to portray properly are autism, anxiety, depression, cPTSD, dyspraxia, traumagenic plurality, and endogenic plurality, mostly because I have actual experience with them.
Thank you for the opportunity to be in this video Jessica. This is an amazing piece of work, so many people are going to learn from this. I am proud to be a part of it:D Regarding dyspraxia (I see this mentioned in comments), I got diagnosed age two and a half with autism. But at aged 15, an Ed psych assessment said that my primary diagnosis should be dyspraxia. So to pick up on the point below there are so many crossovers between these two conditions. For me, I have huge problems with processing (0.01 mental processing speed), so even trying to record for this video, it took a long time as I can't retain words in my mind that I want to say out loud. I've always bee very proud of my autism actually, it's made life different but in a good way:D
All the best, MiffedLuke/MiffedCrew
Thank you so much for being part of the video Luke! ❤️
That sucks not being able to retain words long enough to order and say them. I've had that problems only under certain circumstances (I'm autistic but don't normally have that problem) and it was very frustrating.
@@jessicaoutofthecloset
Writing you this way because it's quite important, the "Theory of Mind" hypothesis actually describes how autistic people are supposedly unable to understand that other people have their own feelings, opinions,viewpoints and such, not "just" that they may have difficulty with Neurotypical expressions, something that's both extremely ableist and extremely inaccurate.
It mostly resulted from using ableist presumption as extreme as...well, most people "studying" autism, taking a very tiny handful of children, most of who had difficulties understanding speech, and doing the Sally-Ann test.
Two dolls are in a room, both have boxes in front of them, one (Sally) has a marble which she puts in the box before leaving the room, the other (Ann) then takes the marble and puts it in her box.
The question is, where will Sally first look for the marble (or EXPECT the marble to be, depending on the phrasing, which already brings up problems).
Now, this both fails to account for not really understanding the instructions, not being able to answer well or, something that has at least anecdotal evidence, thinking outside of the scope the researchers want or expect children to think it (ie: Considerign that Sally may have been testing Ann to see if she'd do such a thing, that she may have asked Ann to take the marble which, as no other communication was shown, may be a okay assumption...).
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-75285-001.html
The trope that we are unfeeling is awful. When there was a little boy who was murdered in my town, I was depressed, and cried for weeks. That Grey's Anatomy take was a really bad one.
I’m sorry, that’s awful. :(
Yeah, if anything, my feelings of empathy can be overwhelming. If I make somebody feel bad, even in a minor way, that haunts me for a very long time. It's hard to handle all the suffering and death in the news. 9/11 absolutely broke me.
Yes, that trope is so harmful and never made sense to me. I'm autistic, but extremely empathetic. I grew up around a lot of animals and my family had cows. I came across a video of a slaughter house when I was 9 and immediately refused to eat meat ever again. I just could not imagine the suffering the poor creatures in that video felt and could not bear to be apart of it.
My grandfather still is in the cattle business today and we're from very rural WV, hunting and fishing is almost a religion here. My family thought it was a phase, even tried to cook non-vegetarian food for a couple days, but I have been vegetarian for 14 years now and vegan for 3.
A few years back a woman my mom knew lost her young daughter. The little girl walked outside while her mom thought she was taking a nap, fell in the pool, and drowned. I still cry about it to this day if I think about it. I cannot begin to imagine how it felt to be in that woman's shoes in the moment she found her daughter like that.
I feel most of the autistic people I know, including myself, tend to be empathic, almost to a traumatising degree in some cases. My guess is that maybe it's a result of spending my entire life mentally putting myself in others shoes so I could try to better understand their emotions, figures of speech, sarcasm ect.
Exactly I despise that trope. If anything I'd say I'm hypersensitive and struggle with overwhelming feelings. The idea I've upset or hurt someone will haunt me for ages and creates alot of anxiety I have to deal with on every interaction I have
@Levi Tooker. Same here.
A character I personally headcanon as autistic is Newt Scamander from the Fantastic Beast movies. He has an extremely strong interest in animals, and holds a preference for their company over other humans, bluntness in conversation, high empathy with difficulty expressing emotions to others, shyness, mannerisms/behaviour which is generally considered weird, etc. I’ve always highly related to him, and have been curious if any other autistic people related to him too, definitely made me seen far more then most other depictions. :)
also! A new character that probably wasn't even out at the time of making this video is Harlan from season 2 of The Umbrella Academy. He shows many traits such as, being non-verbal, special interests, and is shown having a meltdown during one episode. I'd also like to mention that, although important to the plot, he is not a main character, which is a refreshing change actually. It is never explicitly stated that he has autism, however, this is logical as this part of the show is set in the 1960's so it's unlikely his parents or doctors are even aware of the condition. Though Ellen Page's character, Vanya, at one point, in reference to going to the future, "He'll be okay, they have a name for people like him there." which I think is enough explanation, it would seem out of place otherwise. I highly recommend the show as it also tackles the effects of childhood neglect, toxic relationships, among other things!
Edit: It's basically confirmed he is autistic, just never stated
also, I've just learned that one of the actors, Tom Hopper (who plays Luther) has an autistic son!
After 10 minutes of watching Harlan i felt i could understand what he was doing and why. It was really nice to see a "human" representation of autism, stimming and all.
i'm not autistic but i connected with harlan almost immediately due to having depression and anxiety (i get the meltdowns and heightened anxiety and such)
it was nice to have a neurodivergent character that wasn't labeled as crazy or weird
i just wrote a comment about this but i think it's so important to have autistic (or autistic-coded) characters shown throughout history! people think autism is a brand-new thing that never existed prior to the last few decades, which can fuel some harmful rhetoric. it's important to show that that's not the case!
Yes!!! I love love love TUA and as an autistic kid I loved Harlan him and Sissy remind me of my mom and I :D
I don’t like Big Bang Theory. It made me insecure in how i come across to others i don’t want to be hated or laught at for not getting the social cues. not to mention i find the show to be pretty sexist and racist.
It’s also just a garbage show.
Conversely, I enjoyed the show and Sheldon's character. He portrayed symptoms that are shared with other disorders and allowed me to laugh at some of my own issues as well as remind me on occasion of issues I need to work on a bit.
And it only makes jokes about nerd culture, not jokes that nerds would actually make. So overall, it's badly representing EVERYTHING
The Big Bang Theory is SO sexist. So much so that when they tried to solve their Smurfette problem it actually made the whole thing worse 🤦🏻♀️
@@franboos And? I'm a nerd, but I can laugh at myself. What, it's okay to laugh at everything else but not at affects you?
"That was sarcasm." - I'm autistic and this put a huge smile on my face. Gosh, I'd love for people to turn to me and say "that was sarcasm" more often in real life! My spouse does, thankfully!
Though everyone is different, when people are like "oh austic people are really smart." And then you have me who feels invalid because I'm not the brightest crayon.
I'm pretty much the smrt autistic person. Yes I'm actually autistic.
My mom literally thought i wasn't autistic for my whole life because I "was only different and incapable of connection because I was smarter than the other kids." Nevermind all the fucking other signs lol. Recently diagnosed officially and damn it feels good.
With me it was the opposite: I've heard there's no way I can be autistic because I'm smart, and autistic people usually have learning impairments
@@smig2801 Yeah, my mom says, "i thought you were different from the other kids because you were so much smarter." Nope I was autistic.
Pssssst I have a secret to tell you...
You are 100% valid
Empathy isn’t just a single thing. It’s a combination. There’s cognitive empathy - knowing how to interpret people’s words or expressions, knowing what they are thinking and how they will react socially. Then there’s affective empathy - feeling along with the people you care about, being happy when they’re happy or sad when they’re sad, and hating the idea of them suffering.
Many autistic people have good affective empathy, but struggle with cognitive empathy. My autistic husband, for instance, cares more deeply about other people’s well-being than most neurotypical people I know, but has trouble getting into other people’s headspaces and understanding what they are thinking or feeling and why. It’s actually kind of the opposite of the cold and uncaring stereotype.
That's a really interesting point. I've just been diagnosed with ASD, aged 16, and I flew under the radar so much because I'm a good student and show affective empathy. In honesty, I didn't even know there were different types of empathy. And because the empathy confusion is the main reason I was never picked up, I think it's important I educate myself more on it. Thanks for explaining it a little!
Oh, my. This... This struck me, ngl. I've known I belong to the ASD community for a year now, and I was so confused. My therapist said I was empathic, my sister, classmates and other peers think I'm "heartless", because I just can't understand. I console them, I try to help, but I just can't understand why they feel like that... And, this makes so much sense. Woah. I had seriously been doubting myself from even being a good person, but this is making me reconsider. Woah. Thank you!!!!
I’m really glad this is helpful!
I have trouble with cognitive empathy. I’m told that I’m very empathetic/sympathetic and warm as the sun but I sometimes have trouble interpreting others emotions. I will often ask someone exactly how they are feeling. I’m very maternal in that way.
That's it! I always get so frustrated when people tell me that people with autism don't feel empathy, because I feel lots of empathy! I just don't know how to deal with it appropriately. I can sense people's emotions just fine, I just have a harder time understanding where it comes from and how to respond.
Thank you so much for having me, Jessie!! Love this conversation and love that more people are learning about the diversity within the autism spectrum! ♾❤🙌
Thank YOU my dear! ❤️
Tip for my other ASD people out there: when those weird neurotypicals are trying to stare into your eyeballs like creeps (I mean seriously whyyy; my eyes aren't ears, I don't need them to listen to you) stare at their nose!
I have ADD. Absolutely hate looking in people's eyes when talking... I tend to look at foreheads cos other facial features just have too much going on so I get tend to get distracted looking anywhere else on someone's face.
@@sarahportelli93 Understandable. Sometimes I can't do the nose trick just because I can still see they're eyes in my peripheral which is enough to be uncomfortable.
Eyebrows, eyebrows are great to look at :p
@@hollyblyth6285 Eyebrows for me are just a bit too close to eyes because people will sometimes just stand up a bit straighter, but do what makes you feel comfortable :)
Thank you so much! I’m not officially on the spectrum but I have so much discomfort looking people in the eyes!
For anyone wanting to learn more about expression of autism in women/gender diverse people, I really recommend watching Hannah Gadsby's 'Nanette' and 'Douglas', they are also wildly successful stand up comedies, and awfully life changing, so you would be doing yourself a disservice to not watch them!
Warning: keep tissues on hand🤧 Nanette made me sob
Nanette just made me feel. And I’d known Gadsby before from her panel appearances. But ya, so many feels.
Watching Umbrella Academy season 2, I was so scared that Harlan was going to be "cured" after his connection with Vanya, and then I would have to hate it.
Me too! I was watching with my mom, and when Vanya saved him from her powers, I said something like "if he starts talking now I'm going to riot." And my mom didn't get it at all but it meant a lot that they didn't go there.
On an unrelated note, it seems like the writers or whoever gave Elliot Page an awesome place to explore transitioning without actually coming out yet. Super interesting to me now that he has come out.
@@tanner1548 the creator of the show (and the comics it was based on), Gerard Way, has been a gnc icon for decades. Not surprised if they had something to do with it.
@@tatltails3923 TIL about Gerard Way and the term GNC :D :D :D And I couldn't be more pleased! Thanks for that!
I was worried about that too! I mean, how things went wasn't great, but I'm so glad they didn't "cure" him. That would've been dumb.
As an autistic lass myself, a character I see a lot of positively portrayed autistic traits in is Paddington Bear (or at least the live-action incarnation of the character). In the two films he:
• routinely has difficulty picking up on sarcasm and social cues
• speaks in a very matter of fact way which can occasionally come across as rudeness
• very quickly forms bonds to people who show him respect and kindness
• feels very deeply and is hyper-empathetic towards others
• eats the same food every day (marmalade sandwiches)
• has a special interest in the city of London
• has an extremely strict sense of right and wrong
Of course all of these could be down to the fact that he was raised in an overall danger-free environment outside of human society, but I can relate to a lot in how he is portrayed and it makes me happy to think he may have some form of autism (or a bear equivalent of autism)
love this!
Ahhh, interesting! And I was a fan of the Paddington Bear books growing up, so this perspective is good to know!
I love that! As an ADHDer myself, I relate a lot to Pooh Bear for similar reasons. He’s just a nice dude who is sometimes a little bit dumb.
@@rancidprince3133 dumb is not a great word :s (jessica here has a video about that) how about you go with clueless instead???
Oh my God! I have loved Paddington as long as I can remember and you have just blown my mind.
Just thought I'd throw this small correction out there. "Ace" generally means "asexual" which is different than "aromantic". You can be ace while still having romantic feelings for people.
Love your videos, I've learned so much from you!
I'm so grateful other people are commenting on that, I'm not gonna lie as great as it's been to see ace mentioned in other videos (like what not to say to LGBT+ people), that comment kinda hurt, and it's a stereotype that really needs to die off. (I'm ace, but not aro).
Also aspec people still... have feelings? Rejection of someone you have feelings about (and both asexuality and aromanticism are spectrums) still hurts no matter what your orientation is.
Tazzie1312 THIS! I’m ace & arospec & i definitely still understand & relate to the experiences she’s describing
@@Tazzie1312 Well put! I definitely didn't mean to imply otherwise!
I’m ace and aro, ty for this! ♡
as an autistic person, i almost cried the first time i saw loop!! i had never seen a character stim the way i do before!!!
as a not autistic person, i also almost cried the first time i saw loop. it was really sweet and i’m happy that there’s good representation for you like that!!
Nice profile pic
I have autism but I don’t think I stim lol
@@rachelcookie321 Eyo everyone stims at least a little, loads of different things can be stims (skin picking, humming, fidgeting with objects, doodling, leg bouncing, biting lips/cheeks, drumming fingers, tapping foot, stroking a soft toy, biting nails, sucking thumb, chewing objects, chewing gum, playing songs/movies/etc in one's head), almost anything tbh that basically everyone does, it's usually that autistic people are more likely to stim more and have a wider variety of stims that might seem more different, but this isn't always the case so that's fair, it's just more likely rather than for definite. But ye just a note that everyone stims, usually a lot more than they know, including non-autistic people, we often don't realise that we're stimming when we are.
Seeing characters like Sherlock Holmes and Baby (Baby Driver) behave like me and learning that those behaviors I share with them are what make them autistic coded is what first prompted me to look into getting a diagnosis (which feels absolutely impossible for me as an adult!!!), so this video was super interesting to me!!
A character that I grew up with is Lilo from the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch, as far as I know no one invloved has said shes supposed to be autistic, but having two siblings on the autism spectrum and recognizing autism traits in myself, I see myself and my siblings in her everytime I think of the movie.
Lilo is not autistic, she's a normal actual 6-year-old. She stands out bcs she's one of the very very few kid characters who actually acts like a real kid, tantrums and all
@@pink_alligator I don't think she's a typical child. She's a traumatized child dealing with life in the remains of a tragedy. I mean that's not unusual, because bad things happen a lot.
@@pink_alligator Why would it bother you if Lilo was autistic?
@@pink_alligator yo why do you care?
Pink Alligator Define ‘normal’
My special interest is the lgbtq+ community and lgbtq+ flags and i hate how people think that it's math or you're not autistic, it's really harmful
I'm autistic and I'm horrible at math and technology
@@ShainaCilimberg same
@Altoid Bazingá that's really cool! i know a guy who's special interest is phone brands!
@@ShainaCilimberg Me too. I'm obsessed with history and fan fiction, and quite good at handmade crafts, but I never got above a B in math or science.
I get that. My special interest is taxidermy and animal welfare studies.
as someone with autism and dyslexia, i literally refuse to watch anything that sells itself as having a 'autistic character'. they're usually young white boys on the really extreme end of the spectrum with some sort of nearly magical savantism, and the movie or show is always about how 'amazing' their family is for 'being able to deal with him'. they are treated more like cute pets than actual characters, and their savantism is there to 'make up' for them being autistic
I have the same problem. Especially since they're mostly stereotypes.
Exactly. The "white boys with trains" stereotype is how I refer to it. I was shocked to find out in this video that Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory is actually obsessed with trains. That seems EXTREMELY lazy of the writers.
Sherlock in Elementary is my favourite autistic representation ! (I'm autistic)
He have autistic traits that are absolutely useless to the script, they're just part of the character. Like he have a special interest on bees so he has hives. And that's it. He's happy around them, he goes there to calm down and think. But they're never a plot to the scenario. I like it. And it's very very good about autistic-allistic relationship. Holmes and Watson definitely function differently and have different and sometimes uncompatible needs. But they really like each other and try to work around that in ways that evolve during the whole shows. They know they need to sometime stand their ground for their need but also make effort to accommodate their friend needs and try to find a common ground. It is very important and well done for me.
As an addict I also really love how this theme is talk about (wich in BBC is equaly awful as the treatment of autism...)
Elementary was one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes adaptations. I feel most make him out to be a completely emotionless asshole but he's nothing like that in the book. Elementary does a great job of bringing him to life fairly accurately and making him modern. I should start watching it again (I abandoned it when Watson left him to live with Mycroft because I was super pissed hahaha)
the Doyle novels were a HUGE special interest of mine growing up and honestly Elementary is probably the most authentic adaptation of Holmes as a character after Jeremy Brett and Clive Merrison. Elementary is so wonderful.
(maybe spoiler for maite)
She actually never does that so you can keep on watching in peace haha
But yes I love how Sherlock is protrayed as having emotions but a hard time expressing them appropriately and having empathy but having a hard time letting space for other people's needs, rathe than having no emotion nor empathy. It feels very real to me.
@@HParadoxa oh really? I remember her moving out on a season finale and I just gave up hahaha. I'm guessing it gets solved fast then. I will try to catch up with it!
i was diagnosed at 19 and it literally changed my entire way of viewing myself. I used to hate myself for how "weird" i was and how i was so different, but it turns out i'm not just a weirdo ! it really helped my self esteem c: i was scared at first because the representation i had seen had caused me to have a stigma in my brain about myself, I didn't want to believe i was "autistic" because i had only seen it in a somewhat negative light. The more (good) representation there is would probably make people like me, who were diagnosed later in life, to have a more positive outlook on their identity and not see themselves as someone with something wrong with them :c Representation is so so soooo important!!
I agree having an explination is a relief. Learning about autism has let me be less hard on myself, like.yes not everyone finds that sound incredably distressing but I do & could concentrate on this book better if I use headphones, so don't needlessly suffer & use the headphones.
Although personally I still think I'm weird, but not in a bad way, I just realized there are a lot more weird people like me out there! Autistic & disabled social media has really helped me feel less alone.
I was diagnosed at 18 and when I went to speak to my therapist about being autistic I remember getting so angry and telling her something along the lines of "wild how everyone in elementary school knew that I was different in some way and made it my problem but took professionals 18 years to figure out". I also teach sped now in my life and I see myself in so much of these kids that it's crazy that they just passed over me (but what can I say, I'm a bisexual mexican who grew up in poverty in the bible belt... So doctors were more concerned that I liked girls over anything else 🤷)
I got diagnosed at 19 a couple days ago :)
I'm Autistic, and I find it incredibly telling that I loved Everything's Gonna Be Okay, and asked my mom to watch it and she didn't like it, but very much liked Atypical and wants me to watch that. And, I tried, and it's not a good portrayal.
I've seen Everything's Going To Be Okay, and I felt like someone made a TV show with me in mind. The way they showed Autism was really wonderful, but I don't think it was a good show. It jumped around too much and each episode lacked focus. Like it bugged me that prom would be a full episode in any other series instead of part of a montage. it felt like someone took a bunch of great little moments and glued them into an episode. Atypical had a better understanding of how to structure an episode, but I was unable to watch past the first episode because the portrayal was so harmful. I heard that later on the main character does some super damaging things to the people in his life. It reminds me of those Autism speaks commercials.
tbh the thing that stuck out to me is that when sam started going to the group therapy sessions, I immediately resonated with those characters more. i *think* they were actually played by autistic actors, but im not sure. i just felt such a stark contrast between the way i felt about them and the way i felt about sam.
@@barriss9475 They did hire autistic actors to play the other characters of the group (well can't say for all but I know they did).
I also know they eventually hired an autistic writer (why wasn't it the case before like whaat?) and the artist doing sam's drawing painting and drawing is autistic too.
S1 is a big low for atypical. So many lows. It's a little better after that, but I get people's issues.
Initially despite the big nuh-huhs, I was glad for sam because for once it wasn't a savant person you know.
Anyway at the end of the day I relate more to casey than sam.
Everything's Gonna Be Okay is THE BEST. Probably some people don't like it because of how gay it is. Oh, it's so good! And Matilda being (presumible) bi, that's so incredibly representative!
I haven't watched everything is gonna be okay. And honestly. I watched atypical. And it was an okay show. Well structured and all.
Plus I am a sucker for REALLY BAD shows too. And not like super heavy stuff. I just want to turn off. I knew he was like autistic. But like a caricature. The only I reason I watched it and finished it is because car crash show. Also. Stopping series is incredibly difficult for me if I watched like the first 2.
I really appreciate Jessica pointing out that self disgnosis of autism can be valid! Trans people often lose control of their transition if medically diagnosed, and experience heavy gatekeeping to their transition. Therefore self diagnosis for trans folk can be incredibly necessary in order to access transition resources such as hormone therapy!
I’m ok with self diagnosis if they say “I think I have autism” and not “I have autism” because while some people do have it and aren’t diagnosed yet some people don’t actually have it.
@@rachelcookie321Why does it matter if they’re wrong?
@@nilsdula7693 because they can end up misrepresenting what autism is which can be harmful. I struggled a lot as a kid due to people misunderstanding what autism is and treating me unfairly because of it.
It actually kind annoys me that media will say or show a character having symptoms or traits of autism but claim that they aren't autistic. It perpetuates stigma toward autism by seeming as if it would be negative for the character to actually just be autistic. Also, thank you for directly addressing the myth that vaccines cause autism. It might seem like a minor thing to some but I think it's actually incredibly important in today's world.
I'm autistic myself but have been told that I'm very empathetic, especially toward animals. As has been mentioned by others it can get to a point where it's too much to handle and I similarly shut down or feel the need to leave the situation that I'm in. I also struggle with consistent loud noises. They'll either irritate me or seem to amplify in intensity. The latter is especially true when near or in a larger gathering of people. At times it'll seem like I'm in the middle of something like a rock concert. I can similarly be overwhelmed by other senses as you've described though I don't think I've really ever been overstimulated visually. Due to nerve damage from injury, and possibly along with autism as well, I cannot rub my hands on anything but one of my cats for a lengthy amount of time without it feeling like I'm running my hand over sandpaper. Because of this I can't do things like massage or rub over my fiancee for very long and it's extremely frustrating because of this. As for interests I definitely have a narrow range of interests and that has definitely hindered me when trying to associate with other people. That said, with the topics that I am interested in I dive in head first and seek to learn as much as I can about them. This can also lead me to rambling on way too much about them at times. Also, I was not diagnosed with autism until well into my adulthood, having been diagnosed relatively recently. Some have said that having been diagnosed wouldn't have made much difference but I can't help feeling that it would have. That maybe I wouldn't have been so frustrated feeling like something was wrong with me for not being able to make friends, and other issues that left me feeling isolated and that there was something wrong with me.
In terms of perspective, I generally look at the world through rationality and logic, it's hard for me to understand a lot of emotion-based actions of others. That's not to say my emotions never dictate any of my actions however. It's actually because of my emotionally-based actions and decisions that I'm often left feeling like my emotional drive is only a hindrance. On the other hand, certain things like math and machining seem to come easy to me. I enjoy problem solving, world building, and most things that involve these things. I'm almost obsessive with attention to detail which can serve me very well in some situations while being a complete hindrance in others. I find it hard to handle sudden, unplanned changes in routines and most plans.
I haven't watched a lot of the shows or movies that are mentioned here and I haven't yet watched enough about Archer, I have watched enough of Big Bang Theory to know the character Sheldon Cooper. I really dislike the way that autism is depicted through him for many reasons that have already been stated in other comments here as well as in the video. Additionally, I've come across many people who've said that they hated Sheldon and that he's a terrible character, which only serves to discourage me from revealing that I'm autistic to others. Because of this I've found it incredulous to have heard that he was an excellent representation of autism.
I honestly didn't intend to write a novel of a comment but I guess I just wanted to give my perspective on the issue. Overall I feel this's a great video, well made, educational, and fairly nuanced.
Also this refusal to name a condition/disability hinders people getting a diagnosis because both ignorant laypeople & medical professionals will think those traits are in the sphere of neurotypical. For example they may say "oh you don't have enough symptoms to be autistic" or "oh your just unique, like *insert obviously autistic fictional character who the writers refuse to identify*"
Also I liked your long novel comment & particularly relate to being lead by logic. I often miss & do not understand how people are so lead by emotion, even if it massivly negatively affects them. I make nearly all decisions based on pros, cons & facts. With only a few exceptions of emotion letting me be more flexible with those I love.
Cannot read it all (neurological damage effects reading) but what I could read was dead on.
@@ErynnSchwellinger Sorry, I got carried away lol.
@@NotAnotherKuromi Thanks for the additional input in support. It was only after I went to submit it that I realized how long it was. I didn't expect anyone to really actually read it, but thanks for doing so.
I completely agree with the refusal to name a condition/disability leading to the hindering of others getting diagnosed, an excellent point that I missed.
That often missing and not understanding how people are has definitely made social anxiety so much harder to manage. I'm really fortunate to have my fiancee to go to about these things. At times I can't imagine what I'd do without her being there.
I really hate the fact that characters like Sheldon are what even professionals try to use as a basis, exactly for that reason. Sheldon only ever represents the worst traits, all exaggerated. For people ignorant to autism in reality, that is a horrible impression. So of course when someone finds out about so and so being autistic, and all they have to base their impression on is someone like Sheldon or the description of severely low-functioning autistic children... they're going to be needlessly guarded and may even avoid the person. It really gets to me, because I know several wonderful people who are on the spectrum that don't deserve that stigma.
Side note: I've completed work training online on customer service in health where a character with only negative autistic traits in the case scenarios looked exactly like the girl from Glee portrayed as faking her autism diagnosis. All the autistic coded characters in that training program were portrayed as nasty, selfish, remorseless and cruel. So that was a...horrible experience, to say the least.
Plenty of autistic people like myself need to work on our time management skills. That doesn't mean we're all self centred, cruel monsters.
Also, "customer service" for health care ? Even if the system is completely flawed like in the U.S., isn't it still supposed to be a public service with users ?
As someone who’s autistic myself, I’ve found that the characters I see myself most in are never those who are explicitly stated as such.
The biggest example for me is Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen, because I feel like his character aligns very strongly with the mental health conditions that are often caused by autism. Almost every single autistic person I know in real life has social anxiety to some degree because from a young age we’ve all seen that something was “different” about us but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Our autistic traits only served to ostracize us from our peers, and so we became hypercritical of ourselves trying to “fix” ourselves, which led to social anxiety.
Evan’s anxiety, specialized interests, general social awkwardness, and (quite frankly) bizarre solutions to his social problems resonate heavily with me.
Though JK Rowling is fairly problematic as a person, her portrayals of Hermione Granger and Newt Scamander are also incredible representations of autistic characters. Newt especially was the first character I truly saw myself in. Even the small details like his mumbled/slurred speech and aversion of eye contact really hit home. He clearly doesn’t fit the social conventions of the society around him, even though he tries so hard to do so. The way he feels more at home with his creatures than around other people is also something I appreciated.
I love Dear Evan Hansen, I can also understand what you’re trying to say but when you say “mental illness caused by autism” I fear many people won’t get it. I think perhaps explaining that it isn’t autism itself that causes mental illness but rather having to be an autistic person in a traumatic neurotypical world does.
Altoid Bazingá Omg YES he was the first character I saw myself in to any degree! I was a huge Trekkie in middle school for that reason
I wish we could see more just, fun autistic characters/scenes. I, as well as a lot of my pals, are on the spectrum. We aren't eternal party poopers. We don't need to 'learn how to have fun'.
Exactly! We have fun in our own ways, and neurotypicals can’t do anything about it >:)
I'm 19 and I was only recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I have ADHD as well, and some of my symptoms overlap. But yeah! This video is really informative!
Same, but I'm 18, and I was diagnosed when I was a child. :)
Diagnosed with Aspergers? That’s not a diagnosis anymore. Do you mean high functioning autism? They stopped diagnosing aspergers in 2013.
@@rachelcookie321 high functioning autism doesn’t exist. functioning terms cause autistics to be separated into “being able to work for a capitalist government, and being accepted socially” (high functioning”) or “non verbal, not accepted socially, and not able to work in a capitalist society.” (low functioning.) autistics prefer to use high and low SUPPORT needs to demonstrate the support they need depending on their symptoms on the spectrum.
Do you live somewhere where that diagnosis is still used? I'm also 19 and autistic, just wondering.
@@keyaunna.I'm darkly amused how "capitalistic government" is cited as the standard, despite how Asperger's is named after the guy in a non-capitalistic government (a form of socialism, even explicitly in the name, but there are those that don't recognize things as they really were and are, for various reasons) and he identified the set of (presumed) characteristics that'd make a percentage be considered useful, while sending a large number to their deaths. When push comes to who've and budgets of resources are at stake, as well as maintaining control, autistics are considered expendable by enough people that they are.
To add to your point and clarify about functioning labels, heck, even support levels, under enough stress, I'd wager every autistic will need higher support, and present as lower-functioning: I've observed that in myself in practice: it's how I unexpectedly got diagnosed as I recognized I was in a weird bind during prolonged severe medical issues combined with extended unemployment during a severe downturn of employment options in my field and experience to date. Our level of functioning and support needs isn't 100% stable over a period of time, and can vary wildly.
I’m autistic and happyyyyyyyy to be included thank you Jessica!!!
It’s been years since this video was released but it has helped me come to terms with my autistic child. I was devastated at the diagnosis but hearing for the first time someone say “this isn’t a tragedy” has fixed something in my brain. My child is sweet and kind and wonderful - they are not tragic.
I absolutely love abed nadir so much, it's never explicitly said hes autistic though because dan harmon didn't want him to become a representation of ALL autistic people, and didnt want NT people to see him and assume that any one of his traits apply to ALL autistic people. :)
When you said "Speaking of magical rocks" I thought you were about to talk about Peridot from Steven Universe.
I love her so much.
*Rain Man* (6:22)
6:23 Rain Man (Rain Man)
6:41 Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
6:53 Detective Goren (Law & Order Criminal Intent)
*The Idiot Savant* (7:09)
7:41 Leon (The Professional or Leon)
7:52 Shaun Murphy (The Good Doctor)
7:58 Paisley (A.N.T Farm)
*A Man-Child* (8:17)
*A Creep* (8:21)
*A Tragedy* (8:42)
8:48 JJ (Skins)
*Cured* (9:01)
9:05 Molly (Molly)
9:19 (Change of Habit)
9:42 (Eureka)
11:45 Sam (Atypical)
*Good Representation* (12:49)
12:50 Matilda (Everything's Gonna be Okay)
13:31 Sterling Archer (Archer)
14:19 Billy (2017 Power Rangers)
14:42 Julia (Sesame Street)
15:29 Fozzie Bear (Muppets)
15:40 Renee (Loop)
16:19 Abed (Community)
*Bad Representation* (17:15)
17:34 Rain Man (Rain Man)
18:26 Sugar (Glee)
20:08 Christina (Grey's Anatomy)
*Ambiguous Disorder* (21:28)
21:36 Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)
26:09 Erin’s article on Queerly Autistic: queerlyautistic.com/2017/11/20/my-autistic-headcanons-and-why-i-prefer-them-to-most-actually-autistic-characters/
26:57 Sherlock Holmes
*Every type of Sherlock Holmes* (28:37)
28:43 Dr Brennan (Bones)
29:01 Elementary’s version of Sherlock
29:21 2009 Sherlock Holmes film and its 2011 sequel: A Game of Shadows
*Magically Autistic* (29:58)
30:27 Gary and Anna (Alphas)
30:50 Annie Wheaton (Stephen King miniseries: Rose Red)
31:21 Eli (Eli Stone)
31:39 Bella (Twilight)
32:48 (The Predator)
*Actually Autistic* (33:02)
34:58 Matilda (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay)
35:58 Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
I hope this was helpful xx
💗
Thank you!!
Matilda is actually the one with autism in Everything is Going to be Okay. She is also played by an autistic actress ✨
@@Jellybeansatdusk oops! Thank you 💕
@@alicebourne7681 no worries! She starts off talking about the main character first, so it was a wee bit confusing.
As an autistic person, I find it very interesting how often the best autistic representations in Hollywood are by characters that don't have autism in their character descriptions. I've personally never connected with characters specifically described as 'autistic', and don't tend to be drawn to media with that as a hook.
Specific media about autism tries too hard to represent autistic people
@@RandomSkyeRoses problem is that unintentional representation is often based on real, undiagnosed people the writer knows, while intentional representation is usually based on the writer reading the list of diagnostic criteria in the DSM.
Oh this one might enrage me XD.
I hate all the "Super powered autism" crap..... I've never felt seen.
Edit nope jessica is so calming to listen to that instead of being angry and then feel the need to cry im now in desperate need of a hug and cry time
Like, the only times it comes close to being a "superpower" is when people look at you shocked when you explain to them why their dog's agitated, because of the whine some new piece of tech they got is exceedingly painful in your ears, but they can't hear it.
@@sunyavadin oh yeah I can hear when cars are broken and I told a musician once that his amp was giving out
Didn't listen to me and it broke a month later even though getting it fixed before the break would of saved him tons 🙃🙃🙃
Would a virtual hug help?
Elementary Sherlock is a very very good autistic coded character actually! BBC Sherlock... isn’t
I watched Disney's Little Mermaid every friggin' week when I was 14. At 40, I got my diagnosis. Also became an animator in the meantime. :P
Whoa, that short comment was a wild ride! I got my diagnosis when I was 21, I can't imagine what it'd be like at 40. Saw someone else in the comments who got it at 64! I really wish there wasn't such a focus on kids with autism in media. I want to hear more stories like yours.
I watched the part in the lake 68 times when I was little (in one afternoon). Maybe I should take a test.
My favorite thing about Everything's Gonna Be Okay is that they don't just show one autistic character, there's multiple all with different traits!
this is literally such a fantastic video and really well-researched and respectful - thank you for blessing the world with it lol (i have seen this so many times)
Thank you Jessica I love this so much. I once had a psychologist tell me that he wouldn't diagnose me has autistic even though he said I'm definitely on the spectrum because it doesn't seem to impact my life.🙄🙄🙄 according to him. even though it definitely does. I've personally seen how these tropes can affect people and I haven't really seen any good representation for low Spectrum people like me. and I often get that because I'm low Spectrum it must not affect my life at all. I believe it's because this is what media tells us. So people get offended when I'm too blunt or I close my ears because of a loud noise or the lights aren't right or have a panic attack at apparently nothing to have a panic attack over.
PS I'm also dyslexic so if there's a lot of words wrong with this I'm sorry it's my voice to text. Which I lovingly hate.
It's just great how people only recognize male autistic traits as the norm or real so they won't diagnose women... I also recently found out that women have different symptoms for a heart attack than the whole "Pain in the left arm" thing because the research on heart attack symptoms was conducted on men instead of women. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and it probably cost a good amount of money to get tested in the first place.
@@blossomnessstudios4446 yes it did I've been tested five times. And each time I seem to come back with more and more diagnosis. The field has changed so much just from when I was little. Like I used to have psychologist tell me that my handwriting was bad because I'm dyslexic. come to find out it's because I have fine and gross motor skill deficiency not that I was just lazy or because I was dyslexic. Every time that I go in and come out with a new diagnosis most of the time it's just because the previous psychologist wanted to fit all my symptoms into a neat little box because to some it seems crazy that I could possibly have so many. PS I've had so much testing because one schools in America suck and refused to give me testing so my mom got me tested and then gave the results back to them and then they tested me again just to make sure if the results were right even though they had previously refused. And the other reasoning is because some of my symptoms didn't seem to match up with previous diagnosis. The last one I believe was because I started having seizures and so they did a full evaluation to see what was causing it.
God I feel that. I got diagnosed with aspergers in year 9 and then two years later they were like "well.... you have friends now so don't need that anymore" and to this day I'm like ????? wtf does that mean.
Oh yeah, I know that, even though I am male. I have had two autism tests at different psychologists, the first psychologist said "You don't have autism, You're just maladjusted", and the second "Yeah, I give you the diagnosis, because you want it" 🙄
As an individual who is on the "high end" of the autism spectrum which is considered to be Asperger's, but removed a decade ago by the American Psychological Association due to revealations of Hans Asperger's crimes of the use of sterilization through gaseous chemicals and the like during the last years of the Nazi regime where he was never persecuted for war crimes by the Allied Powers after the end of the Second World War, this is the best representation of our true identity anywhere else whereas our wants and needs are largely ignored and are we are treated with disrespected because of how we see the world differently in a fifth-dimensional lens.
While most of us autistics have made contributions in the arts, sciences, and humanities where we have changed the dynamic of the human race and while we have used our voices to defend our existence from those who try to harm us in order to prepare our extermination by the anti-autistic and anti-vaccine propagandists who want to prevent the truth from being exposed, we will countinue to exist for the next 10,000 years where our ancestors who were the Neanderthals provided the way to develop our resources that can be used for future generations. And since they used this tactic well where our history is imprinted by every civilization that has benefitted our presence, the hope for a better world without the ableist violence and agenda is just beginning.
From Mozart and Einstein to Strass, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison and numerous others, I am proud to be part of a community that seeks true freedom from the false neurotypical mentality of us being called "defectives" and I am proud to be part of a group that does not conform to the standards of what society tells us and how we need to conform to those who feel that obedience is the name of the game. That being said, I am proud to be autistic and anyone who does not see that should go fuck themselves, for I waste no time with freeloaders who use their problems to create tension for themselves in order to seek attention for their personal interests.
Autistic and neurodivergent power all the way!
I was diagnosed with autism when I was three.
I broke down crying a lot as a kid, hated wearing jeans and other clothes because they felt uncomfortable to me, and was often considered the quiet kid or one of the smart ones.
I hate when places are excessively crowded and I tend to not be able think at all when it gets too loud. I can't focus on anything besides the noise.
As a kid I was often excessively blunt often speaking without thinking about the consequences of my words. My mom would tell me to stop if I was unintentionally rude. Then later on she would explain to me why it was rude. It was through this method that I learned some more tact by the time I reached my preteen years.
But then I was just excessively quiet a lot. Also, I still took things too literally and didn't get things such as new figurative language easily. Also sarcasm, I didn't get the concept of it until I was 11-12 years old after my mother once more explained it to me.
One the flip side,
I liked to say medical facts a lot and took in the information whenever I could from library books whenever I could. I'm still incredibly passionate about the medical field, I've just learned at this point that I shouldn't talk about it with people too much, most people my age aren't as interested.
Also if I do, I end up taking over the conversation rambling about that sort of thing. In reality, I often do have a lot to say when I'm passionate about a subject in general to be honest. It's just even more so in medicine since I've been learning about it for most of my life now.
So I guess I fit the science loving stereotype of autism. Heck I play the flute and am in accelerated classes.
I want to become a doctor or paramedic, so I'm hoping to achieve that in the future.
I am a late diagnosed autistic woman & I adore Sheldon from TBBT!! I recognise so many of my own traits within his character & my closest friends do laugh at these traits, but they also accept them & allow me to "be me" in a way that means I'm more comfortable in their company than in my parents company who have told me since I was a child that I need to "get over it"
A couple years ago I suspected I might be neurodiverse, so I went to see a psychiatrist, and she said, "You can't be autistic or have ADHD because you have good grades." A year later I found another psychiatrist, and I was diagnosed with BOTH autism and ADHD.
i didn't know i needed this woman in my life until this was in my recommended. thank you jessica! subbed
I've heard the "theory of mind" point debated because it might actually just be a matter of autistic people's minds working differently. Allistic people also have difficulty understanding how autistic people think after all. It could just as well be explained by there being a lot more allistic people in the world so their model of thinking and behaving is more prevalent.
Could you clarify a few things in your comment for me. First of all could you clarify how autistic people don't know how other artistic people feel? I hope I'm writing this comment right that's what I'm getting from it though. Also I don't think I understand what you mean by your last statement?
It would be much appreciated if you could clear these things up PS I'm also dyslexic so if some of that didn't make sense blame my voice to text
@@thebigvee137 I think you've misread the original comment! They said that allistic (non-autistic) people have trouble understanding autistic people's minds, not just autistic people having trouble understanding non-autistic people. Therefore, the "theory of mind" which is about people's ability to recognise and understand other people, something autistic people are believed to struggle with, might actually be about non-autistic people creating a theory that modelled their own minds and understanding of the world. So it may be an operating difference rather than autistic people being lacking in this way. -- I think that's what you meant at least! Correct me if wrong :)
@@caitie226 Yes, that's exactly what I meant, thanks! And sorry about not defining my terms, River Rose
yep, among most autistic activist communities i'm in, we consider the idea that autistics don't have a theory of mind to be utterly garbage. it is NOT a common autistic trait at all.
@@roisinrowan1341 Yeah! Like the one example I saw of it was basically the following problem:
Teacher and student playing with object, child placed object in their drawer, then goes out to play. Whilst out of the classroom, teacher moved the object from the child's drawer and puts it on a shelf behind their desk. When the child comes back into the room, where should they look for the object?
The correct answer is meant to be in the drawer, because if you put yourself in the child's place, they know they put it in the drawer, so that's where they would look. And the autistic answer is often "on the teacher's shelf" because they know where the teacher put it.
That answer gets labelled as a lack of theory of mind. But from my perspective the problem is with the question. They always use "should" and don't ask "where would you think the child *would* look on their own". So the autistic person, knowing they are privy to some extra knowledge the child is not, would tell the child that they *should* look on the shelf because its not in the drawer any more, but if asked where the child would think to look on their own would answer "in their drawer".
From what I've seen of other autistic people, not just myself, we know very well that we don't know exactly what anyone else is thinking so don't make presumptions. But if we know something that could help someone out we tend to want to help them. Like there is a severe autistic person I know (he prefers that term because he is severely disabled by both his autism and many other disabilities which in turn make his experience of being autistic severe) who is non-verbal and he does struggle with certain things, like not understanding why a relative has to leave home to go to college because they seemed happy at home so why leave that, but on the other hand, is very aware that everyone has differences and will tell off others when they make broad assumptions about a whole group of people. And say that how he experiences xyz is only how he experiences it and that he doesn't claim to speak for others with xyz thing. That's a concept that many neurotypical people just fail to understand at all. So who really has a problem with theory of mind?
Atypical helped me with recognizing autism in myself, gave me a bunch of quality of life tips and ultimately the courage to look into the subject deeper and get a diagnosis myself. So I don't like people piling on it, I really like the first two seasons.
"But it's not vaccines" 🤣🤣🤣 I love her.
For me as an autistic person, I found the coping skills he was learning in Atypical to be helpful. And seeing him struggle with things I've struggled with was helpful to me. Also omg, noise cancelling headphones are amazing. Just sooooooo good.
I have autism and a bunch of other disability/medical conditions thanks to my service dog i can go out and participate in regular daily activities which without her i would not have left the house originally
As someone with Autism and ADHD I found this very interesting. Yes I have both and yes my brain is scattered all over the place 24/7... for the longest time I only really believed I had ADHD and refused to accept the Autism diagnosis. I am slowly working on coming to terms and also finding out more about it... As a teen I went to a behavior therapy type group, but hated it because I felt like I was being treated like a 10 year old.... I felt ashamed that I had to go and felt like the things I was learning I should already know... for the most part I knew them I just didn't/don't always put them into practice all the time. If anyone has any suggestions on TH-camrs or websites that would be great!
I have no suggestions, sadly, but as a fellow double diagnosis I just wanted to reach out and say that I really recognise what you're saying. I was diagnosed in my late teens and for the longest time, my ADHD was what made me struggle the most, because it was so much more frustrating to deal with. I often see the two things as different parts of my brain, where the ADHD is the active and 'all over the place' part of my brain and the autism is the part that keeps everything in line and keeps structure in my life (which is really helpful for both ADHD and autism, so yay...). Of course, there are a lot of overlaps between the two, which makes everything even more 'fun' to deal with, but I generally feel that the two create a balance in my brain that I don't often hear described from others with just a single (ADHD or autism) diagnosis.
I'd never stopped to think about the fact that Sheldon relies on others for everyday basic needs. My son is on the spectrum, I am on the spectrum, and I work directly with adults who rely on me to make sure things like groceries being bought, bills being paid, doctors appointments are being made and kept, and that they have transportation to be able to do the things they need to do and WANT to do; I'm kind of horrified that a character was written this way for laughs when in real life the lack of this level of support that's needed would be debilitating and dangerous if not met. I don't think Sheldon was written particularly badly per se but, assuming for a moment that he would be clinically diagnosed as Autistic (for lack of ambiguity), his world is written very bleakly. Honestly, if you removed the laugh track you'd just be watching a show about a man with autism who is being treated pretty crappy by his friends and family.
Once a summer camp counselor told me rates of autism had increased over the past 50 years because whoever creates autistic people (god? Aliens? It was unclear) thought...we would need them...to fly...spaceships.
oh my goddddd that's hilarious XD or maybe, just MAYBE, were getting BETTER at diagnosing ASD so it SEEMS like there's more people
Ah yes what was it I heard that called "Lavender Children" I think... You know if it makes people accept it better then whatever they have to tell themselves.
I wanted atypical. I absolutely loved it as an autistic person. There's one sean when Sam got over stimulated and rocked the same way I do. They also cast a bunch of peope who have autism!
Watching Atypical I thought his sister was suppose to be autistic as well but overlooked because of sams obvious trades and because she masked so much more successful. Anyone else?
Autistic and Artistic rhymes for a reason. My son is autistic and I love how you change the terms around. I actually used emojis to teach my son about feelings. He is the most beautiful and sensitive person I know. He hates loud noises and large crowds. But he has to tell me that he loves me about every 5 min. Now that we wear masks it is very hard for my son to read a situation and know how he is supposed to respond in many situations. It was very difficult to accept as a parent that my son is autistic because of what we have seen on TV and movies. His Father still has no idea what it really means. I told him that it means that our son doesn't think like us and he is a unique person who loves his family and isn't like any other person in the world. I think it is amazing to see the world through his eyes and I can't wait to see how he rules the world as an adult.
I got so happy to hear u bring up Bella in Twilight!!! Been my comfort movie series since my teens and I am now a late diagnosed autistic adhd-er and I THOUGHT ABOUT BELLA BEING AUTISTIC SM when I researched autism before my evaluation 😂❤
RIP Julia in Sesame Street. A$'s corruption taints everything unfortunately.
Also, that background music track had me bugging through the entire video X__X
Wait I'm confused, what happened with Julia?
@@claara1083 she's now sponsored by Autism $peaks and they have their claws in her representation/stories. It's a move many autistics loathe as we view Autism Speaks as a hate group.
@@ZeroAngel Damn, that sucks
@@ZeroAngel I'm Autistic and I have no issue with Autism Speaks. Don't speak for all of us.
@@ellenday2155 I didnt speak for you though.
I lost it (laughing) when the 1 second Big Bang Theory theme song came on omg, bless
Another trope I'd like to see in autistics in fiction are about special interests. often the fictional autistic character has only one special interest and it's often trains, tech or math. in reality autistics can have many special interests at the same time and they can be anything: a certain animal, a period in history, some creative hobby, a TV-show, a movie etc. Literally anything. and some autistics don't have special interests because of stress, tiredness, depression, years of hiding their Autism etc. and that's valid too. Special interests shouldn't be mocked. they ease our anxiety and stress and give us joy in the world, that doesn't understand us.
I heard that getting a diagnosis as an adult is hard, because some doctors just have wrong images of adults with autism, party because of the movies.
I want to get a formal diagnosis soon because I don't feel like my parents would understand otherwise but I want to search a doctor who already knows some adult autists, and I also need to get a Incapacity insurance because I probably won't get one after getting a diagnosis.
@Altoid Bazingá Yeah but I think this view is quite common. Even in media like movies autism means either being superdumb or supersmart.
I work in the disability sector, and one of the required yearly seminars is "Autism Awareness". The lecturer cringes when she sees me walk in, because I keep correcting the outdated information in the powerpoint.
As far as Theory of Mind goes, it isn't that it is underdeveloped or absent, it goes both ways. The issues we as autistic people face towards "TOM" don't exist when interacting with other autistics, while the issues do exist towards allistics it allistics also face the same "TOM" difficulty towards us; in short, you might classify us as having a different "TOM" but an underdeveloped or lack of one would be incorrect
So in an analogy, it'd be like having allistic people's brains be a computer that runs on one kind of code and it's a different kind for autistic people?
@@theviewer6889 in some sense, yes, that is a common analogy
@@theviewer6889 Autistics are a bit like being Linux in a Windows world, yes. ( to steal someone else's analogy )
getting hugged to recover from sensory overload sounds so wrong to me.
you'd have to be a very special person to me for that to work on me.
if it isn't someone who I'm completely comfortable with, someone who I'm intimate with, and someone who can draw my full attention, it's only going to make things worse.
trying to put the thought of that happening into words just results in almost incoherent panicking.
i'd feel even more overwhelmed, and trapped.
I'm not claustrophobic, I'm not agoraphobic, but if I'm being "trapped" in a limited area by people restraining me or blocking my only way out i will feel like I'm both.
my only thoughts i can form just thinking about it are different forms of "i have to get out of here".
Most will disagree but I love "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and love Dicaprio's performance. As someone with an Autistic brother, I found the film very relatable. I am also fine with Low functioning Autistic people being portrayed by actors without autism because (if I was making a film) I would not want to put someone with the same kind of triggers as Leo's character in a loud stressful filmmaking environment.
If you are a neurotypical, I would suggest you avoid functioning labels and YES an autistic person can play an autistic character who needs more or less support than they do!
I came to comments looking for that. My nephew is autistic. The first movie I ever saw that seemed genuine was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I love my nephew so much but the struggles his brother faces mixed with the guilt from feeling overwhelmed and the pure love for Leo's character really hit home for my family.
@@gamehero6816 also i agree that there are plenty of people with autism that can play the roles, i just can't be angry when it feels so accurate. And personally Loop is my favorite especially since it covers the relationship with technology that my nephew has, it makes me cry every time I see it.
THE HALF SECOND OF TBBT OPENING GOT ME SO HARD I CHOKED AKBQOBA
BRB CRYING
dead end paranormal park has good representation in norma the episode about a fear demon spoke to me
the worst troupe is the curing one i think, i’ve been diagnosed with life-long mental disabilities at 12 and didn’t grasp it cant actually be cured until i was like 15/16 lol. i think it’s pretty important to talk about it makes it way less scary
just a thought
newt scamander?
"Unless you're ace"
Many asexual people feel romantic feelings. Aromantic is not the same as asexual. Not so true asexual trope there :P
Some people don't use the split attraction model and use ace to describe describe their lake of sexual and romantic attraction.
@@spoonietimelordy And they can do that, but as far as I know, Jessica is neither aromantic nor asexual and therefore that is not her decision.
Also if you do that, you can do that about YOURSELF, not others.
I think she meant aromantic by that, just using shorthand. Maybe she just didn't know or didn't think to use the shorthand aro? I think it was just a mis-speak.
@@xotbirdox Ace is not a shorthand for aromantic.
If she didn't know, now she does.
@@xotbirdox Being ace, I thought the same thing at first and then I just assumed she meant "fancy" as in the physical aspect vs. romantic.
I wish Daria had been in this list. You can't tell me she doesn't have autism.
We stan cynical autistics!
I wouldn't change my autism because I wouldn't be able to be the musician I am today without it.
What do you play?
@@RandomSkyeRoses Piano, Drums, Sax, Clarinet, Flute, Harmonica and Voice.
Troy and Abed in the mooooooorning!
.... Nights!
I'm autistic and my family says they understand, but they act like I should be like everyone else, just because I'm "high functioning". I can't just make myself be like everyone else because that isn't how autism works. If I'm overly stimulated or put in a very uncomfortable situation, I do have meltdowns. So when they say I'm overreacting and I literally can't stop crying, can barely breathe, or need to leave, I can't stand it. And it's probably because of how everything has been taught to them. If they would just do some research... I want to talk to them about it, but I don't really know how to go about it. I'm also constantly told to make eye contact and I have always had a problem with it. It's a struggle for sure, but only because people don't understand...
But on a fun and positive note, my special interests are: storytelling, video games (mostly Minecraft), and creation (like crafting stuff out of "nothing")
Some Autistic Characters that aren't Autistic but I beileve are good are: Willy Wonka and Charlie (Johnny Deep, 2005), Aziraphale, and Peridot (yes she is an alien but still I like how I can relate to her)
Yes I agree with Wonka and Peridot!(I don’t know Aziraphale😅) but I’ve been talking about the other two being autistic for years!
Princess Entrapta from the She-ra reboot is a confirmed autistic character and i love how they portray her
Yesss all loveable characters too! And they all go through big challenges in life and succeed to reach bigger and better things and they all have FEELINGS :)
@@bells433 exactly I hate when media shows Autistic people with no feelings, there was a book on Wattpad And she had no feelings And I was like umm excuse me no that's not how it works
@@junibloom3384 I'm guessing the OP meant the angel Aziraphale, one of the two main characters of the book/tv show Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, about a friendship between the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale as they work together to try to stop the apocalypse. If you haven't seen/read it, I highly recommend it as it's really funny. I've never really thought about him being on the spectrum, but it makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.
"when you think of autism in the context of pasta" is not a sentence I thought I would be hearing this morning but I'm here for it
I was reminded so hard of my year nine health oral: "using condoms is just like brushing your teeth..." My teacher started laughing and I had no idea why! Strange analogies are my favourite :)
autistic and italian, this is my life
I think that makes me a dried tortellini
As an autistic person I approve this analogy because I too am crunchy if you try to eat me before cooking. :)
Also I think I'm fusilli lunghi. On account of loving the concept of it in a recipe about making The Twits wormy spaghetti in the Roald Dahl Revolting Recipes book which I spent hours upon hours re-reading as a kid.
If you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person. Every one is very different.
people have a lot of trouble understanding that conditions, disorders and disabilities are not personalities
Yes
I am autistic and I've noticed that so many people don't seem to get this. I've heard things like: "But my autistic cousin doesn't struggle with that so why do you?" or something similar, so many times. I constantly have to tell people that autism is a spectrum and everyone experiences it differently. Also since I've been diagnosed all my friends have been trying to compare themselves to me and say things like: "Oh yeah I struggle with that too, I must be autistic then" and all I can say is that if they think so they should get that tested. It really annoys me for some reason that when I talk about my struggles people can only talk about how they struggle with that too. Like, no you're not struggling with the same thing, something similar perhaps but everyone is unique so stop comparing please.
Amen! I have a brother with autism and some people think autism is one thing. I had someone ask me if my brother was a savant...........
jUsT liKe rEguLaR pEoPle?
I once started crying because my teacher was yelling at someone else
Yep, me too.
I always want to help them.
Same here. More than once.
Idk if you meant it as this, but that's not an autistic thing. I almost have panic attacks when I see people arguing and used to cry when I saw my sister cry/my parents yell at my sister and I'm completely normal.
@@keiraschneider4769 hi! I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but using "normal" to refer to not-autistic people can be harmful. "neurotypical" is generally considered the politically correct term to use, although it also has its flaws as being autistic, having anxiety, etc., don't make you not "normal", if that makes any sense. That being said, I think tendencies like this are probably more common for autistic people than people in general, but other factors such as anxiety could also certainly contribute to why you experience this.
Disclaimer: I'm not autistic, but I have general and social anxiety and possibly mild PTSD
I was in college before it was even mentioned I could be on the spectrum. My doctor said I was “spoiled” and my parents needed to stop sheltering me and start “punishing” my tantrums. Yeah those were meltdowns from over stimulation.
I use to work in a facility with senior autistic clients so it’s nice to see more “ high functioning “ characters but most of the people I cared for were non verbal and deaf and sometimes blind to boot , there are many different ways it can effect a person. In grade school I had classes with autistic classmates I wasn’t ever told what was “ wrong “ with me so I never really improved in school just told me I had a learning disability but not what it was or how to combat it and my social anxiety stopped me from asking for help,Later my foster mom told me I might be on the spectrum but I never got an official diagnosis. Even after seeing doctors they chalked most of my issues up to PTSD from my traumatic childhood saying I was just so abused as a child I couldn’t function emotionally or mentally as a teen now adult.
Same. Trauma
I’m sorry to hear about what happened.
Spoiler alert: the exact same thing happened to me, except, I was also accused of being manipulative.
When I was a little kid my parents used to punish me when I had meltdowns which just made it worse. Once I was diagnosed they realised that wasn’t the right approach and starting supporting me more and it really helped.
I’m sorry that happened to u hope ur ok now. I think doctors sometimes know someone’s autistic but they just can’t be bothered with paperwork
My little sister was told she "Can't be autistic because she has *friends*". I wish I was kidding! She was eventually diagnosed by someone else.
When I was being evaluated for autism, the doctor took of some "autism points" (idk what they're called) because I was too self aware. I had told her, "I am very obsessed with pirates right now, but chances are I will have a different obsession in a year or so." (11 year old me was right about that, btw.) Low self-awareness isn't part of the criteria for autism, it's just a stereotype. Mind blindness is very different from low self awareness.
@@tvaholicsquidney ??? you have no idea what you’re talking about and how much autism affects people in ways you don’t see. I also have been seeking a diagnosis but rejected due to stereotypes and a male based criteria. (Despite the fact that every doctor or social worker who has worked with me for long enough comes to the conclusion of autism). It’s actually quite difficult to reach a diagnosis for a lot of us. Just because you don’t see the way their autism affects them does not mean it isn’t there. I suggest you look into what masking is and please educate yourself before speaking further on the subject.
@@tvaholicsquidney You are deeply misinformed about autism and it’s diagnostic process, please educate yourself. I’ve seen a few comments from you on this video in particular and all of them are spreading misinformation.
"Fun fact": I seeked diagnosis by an autism expert who works in a very respected hospital in my country (Germany). The first thing that bothered me and stressed me out was that I had to wait for over an hour despite having an appointment and people there knew I wouldn't see the doctor for a while... yet no one bother to tell me that... Additonally I had to travel from a different city there and would need to catch my train back home in less than three hours. Massively stressful... By the time I finally got to see the doctor I expected him to apologise for not having the appointment on time - because that's what every doctor so far did in the past in my experience. He didn't. He didn't say why the appointment didn't happen in time. In fact I noticed that he had been there all the time, chatting with people about random things, etc. and didn't do his damn job. That's a big no in my book...
So naturally I was upset about not getting seen on time when he clearly did have the time for that and he didn't even bother to tell me a white lie. I was literally standing in front him fidgeting and stimming and rocking and being SO painfully obviously autistic and after not even five sentences from me and no questions about anything relating to me seeking an autism diagnosis - he looked at me straight and said that he can test me for autism but that he doesn't see the point and that I'm "VERY likely not autistic" in a very condescending way... I was just shocked... I was literally showing stereotypical autistic behaviour and stressed out of my mind and he said THAT. His medicial bias couldn't have shown any stronger apparently... And that was someone who actually worked on a study about autism where they took blood samples of people and wanted to look for differences between autistic and neurotypical people... (That alone sounded very dumb and illogical to me tbh.)
So after that I needed an entire week to recover from that experience and the stress of it all. Luckily I was already on the waiting list of a hospital in my city who also diagnose autism in adults. The whole time I was there I felt actually heard and they kept asking when they weren't sure if they understood something correctly. When I got my diagnosis from them it was SUCH a relief and I was told totally stunned by the doctor that he didn't understood how I wasn't diagnosed already because it's SO obvious that I'm autistic... I was too overwhelmed to actually tell him the multiple reasons as to why (half of my family seems to be on the spectrum without knowing it and are very heavily in denial about a bunch of things) and I'm still not sure if he actually wanted an answer to that or not (probably not but I would have given him one anyway).
I was lucky that I got my diagnosis only a couple of weeks before going on holiday to Disneyland Resort Paris because that way I could get him to write a small statement about having autism and thus getting accomodated in the two theme parks (which is mainly being able to skip lines and being able to return at a certain time for a character meeting - it was so much less stressful than the other times I've been there before getting my diagnosis and made a huge difference for me) - which was something he didn't know. I'm actually really glad that he learned that from me because he's responsible for diagnosing children and can tell families about it now and maybe that way some people actually will go there and have it less stressful as well...
I can't wait to go back once everything is back to "normal" and my son is a bit older. Now that I have an official disability card the cost is gonna be less because my boyfriend won't have to pay for his stay basically since he's gonna be the one who helps me around and stuff - and that's a perk Disneyland Paris hides really well on their websites and they have a fool proof way of going about it so it doesn't get abused. (You have to book via phone, get an email with the normal price for everything, then you send them a copy of the disability card via email and then you get an email with the reduced price back.)
I just really LOVE Disney (I think that's pretty clear.) and going to Disneyland Paris is way better for me than going on to a health resort (I've been dragged to one once and after that I would have needed four weeks of something like that but this time without the dozens of people. It stressed me out so much.). The last time I went there I was so stressed out that I felt like I might need two years of therapy and at least half a year with no human contact to destress. Once I was there for an hour the entire stress that had piled up in the last few years was pretty much gone... If I would be able to speak French I would have applied to work there ages ago but I really don't get the hang of it, so I have to save up for a few years in order to afford going to my number one happy place that destresses me... but it's worth it for me... 😶 (Sorry for the massiv rant!! 😅)
@@tvaholicsquidney my experience was nothing like this and neither are the experiences of plenty of people (especially woman and young girls)
it's not even like this with other disorders
misdiagnose and lack of diagnose can be dangerous, i was put of medication that's known to make my disorder worse for y e a r s and while it was making me literally lose my mind i was constantly told it was my fault by professionals
also, what are the negatives to people who have autism actually being diagnosed? do you think you're suddenly going to have to pay millions in taxes or something because of it???
(i personally don't have autism but the combined symptoms of my other disorders are similar to autism in many ways)
I find it really interesting that the "hollywood autistic person" is often the cis straight white man, when in reality people with autism, such as myself and my friends, often have a much more wide and flexible relationship with gender and sexuality. the running theory that the lack of social "awareness" or understanding stops us from limiting ourselves to the binary boxes, its really interesting
Also, "hollywood autistics" are almost always portrayed as asexual, and while some autistics are asexual, the vast majority are not, and autistic people have the same range of sexualities as NT people. Although, apparently, autistic people are twice as likely to be LBGT as NT people, but that may be because more NT people are closeted.
I am not an autistic person [though it has been proposed many times, I am nuerodivergent] is it perhaps because, not just autistic people, but neurodiverse people as a whole, have to explore themselves much more? Perhaps such is why we apparently tend to be in the LGBT+ community? It is hard for me to try and translate these thoughts into words, because I'm not exactly sure where this idea I just had came from anymore, but I am curious of your thoughts.
that's a pretty convincing theory, given my experience.
i'm autistic and bi! I'm AFAB, but I've also experimented with gender through my life! at first I thought the reason i felt weird about my gender was because I'm a trans guy, so I tried that out, didn't fit. so I thought maybe i was genderfluid? but nope, didn't fit either. but when I sat down and decided I was just a "regular girl" that didn't feel right either.
then I understood that I just, *don't understand* what the big deal about gender is.
a group of online friends I hung out with thought I was a guy for months, and I didn't even notice. (lol) i go by all pronouns now. in everyday conversation I use any gendered terms to refer to myself, not on purpose, it's just the way I talk.
I've never understood why gender was this sacred cow to cis people, where this goes with this, that goes with that, stereotypes are inflexible FACT, and you would NEVER want to end up doing or wearing something that made you look like the opposite gender.
Nowadays, I understand that people's identities simply mean a lot to them, but society sorta blew the whole deal out of proportion. But I still can't relate to the solid idea of gender, I still don't even call myself non-binary because even THAT doesn't feel right. I don't feel on OR out of a binary. at all times I'm comfortable with being a woman, and I'm also comfortable with being a man, and just a person too.
the closest label I've ever really identified with was Gender Non Conforming. I just don't think I'll be able to care about gender as much as it seems everyone else does. I'm just a dude living their life, y'know?
tl;dr?
lol relatable
I am agender, pansexual, and autistic. We are all unique and often experience gender in an abstract way.
exactly ! [black nb lesbian here !]
But can we please talk about how Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Alan Turing purposefully played him as a cold, savant like character (probably most akin to Sheldon). When the real Alan Turing has been described by everyone who knew him as immediately warm and kind.
Yes! I really was offended by his portrayal of Turing, and sad that people will likely remember the movie better than the real Turing
It didn't even make sense within the film version.
CumberTuring: hello I have no social skills and am rude to everybody because I don't know any better
CumberTuring: btw I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and persuaded him to give us an unlimited budget and ponies for everybody, no biggie
Also the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch has said in interviews that he doesn’t like it when people say that Alan Turing and Sherlock are autistic because it gives autistic people ‘false hope’ that they can achieve things
It's no big secret that Cucumberpatch is a bigot that thinks EXTREMELY poorly of autistic people.
Even Sheldon shows warm moments yes throughout the show they make him cold and negates any warm character development and it sucks
They also made Penny more of a bitch vs how open and warm she was with the guys not being the ‘mean girl’ troupe Yet in later seasons she more and more mean
As someone with autism, I can say I don't mind portrayals of people with autism that aren't like me. I do however have a problem with the same type of portrayal being used over and over and over again. It makes it so everyone sees only 1 type of autism and assumes that everyone on the spectrum is like that.
Yeah, like how you're supposed to make justice to the Autism SPECTRUM, if you only show ONE side of that spectrum over and over?
Well that’s kind of the point of this video.
One time I explained to someone that I was autistic and they literally said “oh like Sheldon?”
@@jennycatzzbokii3680 Bruh
@@jennycatzzbokii3680awful! As a kid I always got compared to him but we’re nothing alike in personality, I was just an autistic “boy”
one thing i really like about abed is that every time other characters try to “help” him, it always turns out horribly because the other characters are wrong about what he “needs” (and usually they’re wrong about him needing help in the first place). it’s a nice take on the savior complex people have towards autistic people
It also helps that the people trying to "fix" him have a multitude of mental health issues themselves.
"I've got self-esteem falling out of my butt"- Abed Nadir
What about the empathy simulation room episode in season... 3? I think?
@@TheMewtata if i remember the episode correctly, i think at the end of the day annie admitted that abed didn't need to change, but he hose to keep her addition of empathy??? also she helped him overcome his insecurities bc they are things everyone goes through more than proving she was right to change him (i havent seen the episode in a while) but overall the other characters don't try and change him, there are only a few episodes kinda like that
Yes! Thank you
As an autistic person who was also a ‘gifted kid’ I thought for most of my life that I needed to use my talents to become a great scientist to be worth something and make up for my faults. Only now in my mid twenties do I realize that’s false and I’m struggling with my self-worth, and the the ‘savant’ type representation isn’t helping.
Same my dude... The low self esteem actually kept me from enjoying and therefore doing the things I am supposedly gifted in (art and science). Because every time I did something that was great, everyone expected it and there was no praise. Everytime I completely bombed something, people were in shock, how could this be, you're better than this, etc. So I started to feel like I couldn't get anything right.
At the same time I felt immense pressure to not "let it go to waste".
But I started to draw again last year, and I started studying a science at university.
After years of being lost and career hopping.
I'm doing it for me and myself only.
I won't talk about my grades or show my drawings to anyone.
My point is: do what makes you happy and f**k expectations from others!
❤❤❤ :D this is a golden realisation! Thank you so much for sharing it 😍💜💙
I went through the same thing. I remember doing my talented and gifted class homework in my special Ed class. If you come out as trans too you might be younger me
You do you. Don't try and live up to something that is not you.
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
I can relate :/ but the thing is, my anxiety and depression have gotten in the way of my “gifts” in ways that other people can’t see, so now I try to be kind to myself and consider myself and accept that I’m disabled, not intellectually or physically, but emotionally, due to the loneliness that accompanies my Asperger’s diagnosis. Thinking like this has helped me stop wondering “so which is it, am I a genius or am I useless??” Because it’s neither. Overall, I’m more like just another average person, with some good and some bad :)
I love that Abed's special interest is tropes and so he is actually aware of the tropes he himself might inhabit. There's even a scene where he openly mocks and deconstructs the savant trope.
And he gets to DEVELOP. He doesn't stay static, but his autism is still always present. He develops new interests, strengthens some of his social skills, gains independence, and a whole bunch of other things while keeping the same traits, quirks and difficulties. He doesn't get and can't be cured, and more to the point he doesn't want to be. But that doesn't stop him from being able to have the life and relationships he wants in his own way and in his own time.
He's not a burden, nor is he seen as one. His first character-centric episode actually delves into his feelings about being a strain on his parents as he deliberately burdens his friends to recreate his view of his family life, only for everyone, including him, to realise that being intentionally burdonsome to elicit a reaction is not an accurate reflection of reality. Occasionally hurtful things are said about or to him, and you see him internalise it, reject it or confront it, but you always see his view of it, and it's never any more or less weighty than things that are said about and to other characters. And when he's a dick it's because he's being a dick, not because of his autism, and he gets called out on it and takes accountability for it. He's not considered too innocent to know better or unable to not be a dick because of his disorder. Sometimes he's inappropriate and his friends let him know without placing blame, but sometimes he is just a dick, like all humans are.
He's also realistically smart in his fields of interest without being over the top natural genius. It's acquired knowledge not innate, and sometimes he even gets stuff wrong about his special interest and has to wrestle with the unpleasantness of his knowledge being challenged.
(I could also talk about some ADHD traits scattered between Annie and Britta but I'll refrain)
I love love love Abed
In Cooperative Calligraphy when it’s revealed that Abed was tracking Annie, Britta and Shirley’s cycles, it was funny but seemed strangely thoughtful. He really did his best to try to make them have an easier time without making them too uncomfortable.
abed was the first autistic coded tv character i saw myself in and didn’t feel remotely insulted by. plus, i have special interests in TV and other entertainment media so his comparisons just match mine. i wish i’d seen community earlier than i did
@@sidoniegabrielle269 same!! I relate to him not just as an autistic person but as an arab (he is half palestinian and im lebanese.) I also appreciate that they also made him multilingual as opposed to speaking just english cuz "learning difficulties"
Thank you so much for this. I have autism and Community is actually my special interest. Abed is just such an interesting and compelling character :)
A couple of weeks ago I was describing some sensory problems in childhood, like having a panic attack because of ceiling fans or the car going too fast. She said, "that almost sounds like autism....but your social skills are so good!" I replied, "you're seeing 32 years of hard practice interacting with people..."
Exactly! We had to adapt to our environment before being finally diagnosed.
It took 10 years for my son to be able to handle being around helium balloons without freaking out - but only inside. He also isn't fond of a lot of wind if he's out of doors. After kindergarten it became an issue, before that his ODC was the only real sign of autism. He works tirelessly to assimilate into society and I'm proud of him, but I wish he could understand I love him just the way he is. he tries so hard not to be autistic - he doesn't wanna be. And that kills me, I wish he could be self-aware, you give me hope one day he will accept that neurotypical is not the only way to be! Much love
I can totally relate. I'm sixty and got a diagnosis five years ago. I'd been treated for depression and social phobia all my life as well as other issues and of all my therapists not one considered it until I brought up the subject. Which I only thought of because my sister got diagnosed....in her forties. Both of us have high verbal ability and Mensa level iq (not bragging here, it's just true) so it was never considered.
and masking causes depression, at least that happened to me and a lot of other autistic people I got to know in the last few years
I haven’t been able to brush my teeth is almost 18 and a half years of my life. I can’t stand it. My grandma used to brush my teeth for me because that was the ONLY way I’d be able to stand it for long enough. If that isn’t an autism sign, I don’t know what is
You know what we need more of? Autistic characters who are artists! Seriously I'm an autistic artist, and I know quite a few people like myself. Not all autistic people's special interest(s) revolve around STEM topics. I'm an animator, cinematographer, writer, and I also draw a lot. I also am really interested in fantasy, rodents and bugs. Ironically, I'm good at math (got A's) but I don't like doing it as I find it boring! TL/DR, interests of autistic people vary just as much as the interests of neurotypical ones, and we don't all like math!
I didn't love everything about this representation, but Chance in The Promises She Keeps (a book) is an artist. His character leans a bit into the 'magical autistic person' trope, but the author kind of magicifies all of her characters and makes all of them feel alien and strange, regardless of neurotype. He draws trees and his art focuses on negative space and only putting down light/white.
Musician here, I second this
I third this, as an artist and also a piano player
Quinnie from heartbreak high draws and stuff
Right 😊
I'm an autistic woman, and we almost never see representation for us. Any representation in the media about us is usually socially awkward men, who are often ridiculed and used as the butt of jokes. It's really cringey, tbh.
Yes exactly!
Yes this is so true.
Honestly so done with that trope, time to do some spring cleaning!
I haven't really finished watching it but I'm pretty sure Bron (Swedish & Danish criminal series I guess) has quite okay autistic woman character as the main character
YES! Our representation sucks!