Temperance Brennan and Zack Addy (Bones) As Aspies

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This thread will contain spoiler information about the final episode of the last season of the television program, Bones. If you do not want this episode spoiled, read no further. Thank you.

On a different forum that I post on, we were discussing the season finale of the television program Bones. I had made an observation about the behaviours of the title character, Temperance Brennan, and her assistant, Zack Addy, to which somebody asked if I viewed them as having Asperger's syndrome. I was surprised to see that not everybody was making that assumption--in fact, I was so convinced of this that I had thought the writers had intended to portray them that way.

It's difficult to explain to people who have never watched the program their behaviours, so this discussion is probably mainly for those who have watched the program.

Do you believe that the writers of the television program were trying to portray Temperance and Zack as having Asperger's syndrome or simply as socially isolated "egghead" types? If you believe that they are meant to be seen as having Asperger's/HFA, do you think that the writers did a good job portraying it sensitively?

I am a diagnosed Aspie and have frequently heard--both from people who know my diagnosis and those who don't--about how much I am like the Bones character. My mum calls me "Temperance" as a nickname. I do think that the writers have done a good job portraying these two characters in a sensitive manner as Aspies, and I like the characters a lot.

There was a situation in the last episode of this season where Zack was revealed to be the apprentice of a cannibalistic serial killer, which is how the discussion got started about the two characters being Aspies. Bones has very limited social skills. At the beginning of the series it seemed like she was incapable of forming friendships--people, like Angela, liked her, but she didn't seem to understand how to reciprocate. Over the past two seasons, she has come out of her shell more. She's still inept, but she definitely knows how to form relationships now, and she always seemed inherently capable of it. Zack, on the other hand, has no earthly idea. Again, people (especially Hodgins, I've noted), liked him, but he really has no idea how to return any sort of human emotion.

Because of this--his lack of social barriers--he is extremely easily manipulated. I think that he understood that what he was doing was wrong--he makes that damn clear, actually--but I don't think he expected any social repercussions because he has no real concept of social interaction and the repercussions of doing something as he did. Too, because of the social thing, I don't know that he entirely understands betrayal.

It was unexpected because Zack was such a sweetheart, but then on some level it was not as surprising as it could have been because of the way he doesn't understand the ins and outs of sociality. I think that while my own personal alignment goes the way of Bones (she could never kill anybody because she values human life too much), it is entirely possible for them to be on the different ends of the moral spectrum (Zack killed people but didn't understand the emotional repercussions, and Bones would never take or harm another human because she understands too well the moral repercussions) and it is possible for both of them to still be Aspies.

Any thoughts?

tempy is based on a real person

do you know anything about Kathy Reichs ?

I'd never seen the show before last night's episode. I happened to have the TV on that channel and left it there while I futzed around on the computer because I was going to watch House afterward. The first thing I thought of when I saw the Zack character and the way he related to the others was that he had Asperger's, and I wondered if that was a deliberate decision by the writers and/or the actor. I also wondered about Temperance, but she clearly related better to the other characters. Though if, as you say, she started out as more socially inept, then I could definitely see it in her too.

i think it is deliberate.

Other people have made mention of the eye contact elsewhere, so I wanted to address that. I make eye contact. I have to force myself, but I do make eye contact with people. I mean, it's not consistent, and if someone talks to me while I'm doing something I continue with what I'm doing, but I do make eye contact and I make a conscious effort to do so, so I don't think that should be a deciding factor in saying that they are or are not.

My motor skills are fine now--I can't cut a straight line or draw without getting marker on my hands, but my handwriting is fine (after ten years of practise!) and I can type/grasp small objects/do other things that require fine motor skills. It took time and effort, but I can now do those things.

I'm not sure about posture, but I do know that my posture is awful and I lack the capability to stand up straight. I wasn't aware that it was common in aspies.

That being said it's not only the social ineptness that led me to my conclusion, but also the seeming perseverance. I know that it's her job, but Bones doesn't like to deviate from the task at hand under any circumstances, and she refuses to believe what cannot be proved, both of which are common to Aspies.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/ellen_gray/20070131_Ellen_Gray___Boreanaz_says__Bones__is_not_procedural.html

Breanne - I wasn't using any of those things as sole deciders, but rather part of a larger whole. I too can make eye contact - I hate it, and I do noticeably worse with it, but I can. My motor skills are definitely not good, but outside of a few areas, you'd have to know what to look for. My posture is bad except when I'm aggravated; then, for whatever reason, I tend to sit/stand straighter. I have heard other aspies talk about such, so I suppose it's common enough.

She does stick to her job, but this is not a trait exclusive to the spectrum. I would actually disagree with the can't be proved thing; I watched at least one episode where she was positive of something before it was possible to prove it. She's stubborn about it, yes, but I know some very stubborn people who are not on the spectrum.

I based my conclusion that she's not on multiple things. Naturally, one doesn't need to have these qualities to be on the spectrum, but it's very suspicious without at least a few. I'll list them out; undoubtedly, I'll forget some (it's late), so I'll update it later if needed.
-Makes eye contact seemingly without a problem
-Displays empathy
-Gives off "correct" body language (naturally, I can't identify such, but I had my mother interpret, as she knows it very well)
-Shows no personal space problems
-Shows no motor coordination problems
-Shows no sensory problems
-Shows no problems being around many people
-Does not have meltdowns or even appear overloaded
-Shows no problems with identifying when it's her turn to speak and when to stop
-Shows no problems relating to others when encouraged to
-Does not take things literally
-Does not seem to have problems interacting in groups
-Shows no overwhelming interest (she is interested in her work, but not to the point that someone on the spectrum would typically be)
-Does not stim
-Gets along well with others
-Does not offend people very often

Obviously, Sora's article shows that she's supposed to have it, so I have to change my original conclusion, which was that she didn't. My new conclusion is that she's supposed to, but it's very poorly done.

Adding to Heather's list:

I remember that she didn't have any peculiarities of language either; her voice [and face] showed emotion to the situation. A lack of emotional inflection plus a mask-like appearance are two common things amongst those with Asperger's [and Autism]. It's not needed, but it's common.

I also noted no problems with social reciprocity [that Heather mentioned]; I base such on when I was watching her talk to the dude from Angel. This lack of social reciprocity is the hallmark of all ASDs, whether they have friends or not (one's ability to form friendships isn't completely based on one's ability to reciprocate socially and emotionally in manner that is common to most people).

Rainsong,

You noted that you've only watched the show a few times. I think you might then have missed some details. From your list:

-Makes eye contact seemingly without a problem
I have never really noticed whether Brennan can do eye contact or not--but she always has a kind of distinctive stare.

-Displays empathy
Yet that is what everyone's always harping on her for *not* doing. My understanding is that Aspies don't know how to *display* empathy, but they feel it deeply. Brennan feels things deeply, but she dosn't know how to empathize in a "normal" way--she usually shows her feelings by some logical reaction (e.g., her sorrow for victims is shown in trying to solve crimes). At the climax of the season finale, when she touched her head against Zack's, was an extremely out of character gesture.

-Gives off "correct" body language (naturally, I can't identify such, but I had my mother interpret, as she knows it very well)
That may be a question of the actress, as opposed to the writer's.

-Shows no personal space problems
Hmmm. I'll have to think about that one.

-Shows no motor coordination problems or sensory problems
Good points.

-Does not have meltdowns or even appear overloaded
True

-Shows no problems with identifying when it's her turn to speak and when to stop
Depends upon who she's with. Usually, that's a recurring thing when they're interviewing people: Bones starts rattling about something inappropriate, and Booth tells her to shut up.

-Shows no problems relating to others when encouraged to
Again, the whole premise of the show is that she *does* have problems relating to others. She connects with her colleagues on a professional level. She can relax with Booth and Angie and a few others, but is mostly just cold and professional.

-Does not take things literally
Again, she very often takes things literally. One of the show's catch phrases is "I don't know what that means," when someone uses a metaphor or pop culture reference.

-Does not seem to have problems interacting in groups
Brennan hardly ever interacts in groups.

-Shows no overwhelming interest (she is interested in her work, but not to the point that someone on the spectrum would typically be)
??? She has an all-encompassing interest in forensic anthropology such that she's one of the world's leading experts. She knows almost everything there is to know about the subject. She shows interest in almost nothing else, even excluding other social sciences (her antipathy towards psychology, for example). Bones has few known hobbies other than anthropology, and she approaches every situation in life anthropologically.

-Does not stim
Need to think about this one.

-Gets along well with others
Not really. The only person she *remotely* gets along with is Booth, and yet the Bureau finds it necessary to have them in relationship therapy, because, to everyone else, they *don't* get along. Angie likes her, and is always trying to get her to do stuff. Mosly, BOoth is a loner. One of the reasons for the show's premise is that she'd rather be alone (or with one or two people) in the field than even collaborating in the lab.

-Does not offend people very often
Brennan offends people all the time. See above on conversation cues. For example, in one of the early episodes, Angie takes her to a nightclub, where most of the people are African-Americans. She "enjoys herself" by launching into an anthropological/sociological and somewhat philosophical analysis of hip hop culture, referring to it as "tribal." Some woman overhears, and takes offense. Brennan responds by delving even further into her analysis, rather than shutting up. The woman gets angrier. Another woman, who understands what Brennan's trying to say, comes to her defense, and a fight ensues.

In almost every episode, Brennan offends *somebody* by talking scientifically when it's not appropriate or by looking at an emotional situation hyper-rationally.