Does Shelton from the Big Bang Theory have AS?

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Sorry to necro this topic, but I'm surprised I don't see more discussion of this show/character on here. And I'm equally surprised that anyone could watch the show and NOT consider Sheldon a classic aspie. AS is not something you can diagnose with a blood test or brain scan, it's just a collection of symptoms with an accepted label. If you took Sheldon to any psychiatrist/psychologist/doctor with qualifications regarding autism and had them question and speak to him, they wouldn't hesitate to diagnose him. In fact, they'd probably be astounded that no one had done it already.

There are plenty of reasons why the writers/creators would say he's not autistic. As others have said, they might be doing it for political reasons - don't want to associate the condition with anything negative or deal with any autism-related groups of people. They don't want him to be a poster child, just an amusing character. They don't want the focus of the show to be on autism. Or it could simply be that they thought they were just writing a typical extreme, intelligent nerd, not realizing that so many of these types of people are, in fact, on the autistic spectrum. I consider him to be a perfect example of AS, and I'm happy to see a character like that being on a highly popular show without needing to make a big deal about it, and without any stigma aside from "he's annoying." (My friends actually use him to help me with my own social issues - if I go too far or I start rambling on about something or correcting people too much, they say "You've gone Sheldon again!" and I shut up immediately.)

Let's do a quick overview here:
-practically non-existent social skills
-doesn't understand sarcasm
-doesn't understand body language
-needs precise logical explanations of social rules
-narrow, focused, obsessive interests
-speaks enthusiastically and long-windedly on a single topic without regard for whether his audience is interested
-is continually surprised that he acts inappropriately
-highly intelligent, but only understands things literally
-learns new skills in theory using the internet rather than through practice
-no interest in social interactions beyond the necessary, unless he's sharing his knowledge/obsessions

In fact, I'd consider him an autistic savant. He often even refers to himself as a superior genetic mutation - he knows he's absolutely different from others, but assumes that the others are simply inferior. I used to think that way too.

If he doesn't have AS, then what the hell is AS?

I absolutely agree. A lot of that list of symptoms you had supplied had especially applied to me when I was younger. These days, I'm kind of getting the social niceties down. As I've stated before on threads about Sheldon Cooper, I agree that the producers and writers of The Big Bang Theory want to avoid offending people with Asperger's; but I personally see Sheldon as a positive role model for us Aspies.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

But that's the thing I love. He clearly has AS but it's not a big deal. Autism in a film or TV series always has to be the focus of everything. In this case, it's just a side note. My dream is not to see an AUTISTIC character, but an interesting character who happens to fall on the autistic spectrum. It's just a part of life, and nothing more. It's about time.

It's like the first time there was an interracial kiss on TV (Star Trek, if I'm not mistaken). At first it was like OH MY GOD AN INTERRACIAL KISS! Then eventually it became just a kiss. Just like generally speaking, nowadays it's always AUTISM OH MY GOSH! But when these things finally stop becoming the focus of the series and start becoming just side notes of slight interest, things are really changing. It's a really good sign in my opinion.

well, he might not be *intended* to be aspie; but the way he's portrayed, he definitely is heavily aspie or HFA (i'm leaning towards the second, judging on specifics i picked up from friends).
also, many friends that start watching the BBT, or even just happen to see one episode i'm watching, instantly connect the link between me and sheldon, usually after only one scene...

I don't usually resurrect necro threads, and this kind of speculation is also usually totally against my nature, but my wife and I have been debating this question for about a week now, and last night we watched several episodes in a row, so I searched up and found this thread and decided to comment.

For once I'm actually convinced. Sheldon, the character, is definitely at the very least, on the Autistic spectrum. During the eight episodes we watched last night I saw not just several signs, but many.

He is, however, quite adept at reading social language, and extremely good at knowing when he's not getting things, and not afraid to say so and ask, unlike many of us. This, I think, comes from his extreme high functioning ability to adapt, that he (the character) has been working on for years. He's analyzed NT social conventions in detail, compartmentalized them, and reads, retrieves and interprets them as data, just like a computer program would. Aspie as all hell as far as I'm concerned.

What I'd really like to know is more about Jim Parker, the actor who plays Sheldon. I would love to know what kind of research he and the writers did to develop his character. If you've ever seen the episode in which he (Sheldon) is asked by Penny to lie to Leonard about her never having actually graduated from college, there are several scenes in which he "smiles" whenever he has to lie. It's freaking hilarious. I have to believe Parker is one of the best damned actors I've ever seen. If he's not Autistic himself, it almost scary how he's able to pull off acting like he is.

If the intention really IS that he's Autistic, I do find the role very exaggerated, and somewhat satirical, but definitely not in an offensive way. He's too damned, I don't know, annoying as hell, obnoxious, but somehow likable.

How the hell does Parker pull that off? I have no idea, but the show is the funniest in years to come down the pike, and I love it. It wouldn't be half as good without Sheldon. Still funny probably, but nowhere near as funny as it is with him.

I do think a lot of us might not identify with Sheldon, or think he's Aspie, because very few of us are THAT intelligent. As awkward and socially inept perhaps, but that level of intelligence is hard to identify with if you don't have an IQ off the scales as he supposedly does. I think he's an exaggerated, sardonic and satirical approximation of what a super-genius Aspie might be like.

Yeah. He's an Aspie.

Sheldon. Well, since we started watching Big Bang, in the wake of an autism conference where "everyone" was talking about it, we've grown fond of the boy. It's obviously taken a lot of effort on the part of everyone who knew him to get him to where he is (away from them).

Me, I have aspergers, and now I have a new metaphor for behaviours that aren't normal. I feel like Sheldon when I'm in that mode. My partner, whose tolerance for such behaviour isn't great, enjoys the show too. What neither of us can understand is, if Sheldon has Aspergers, how come his apartment is perpetually crowded with friends? Yes, I know, they're not his friends but still - it's fiction.

i watched a number of episodes, and then i lost interest in the show.

to me, the sheldon character is an exaggerated caricature of many idiosyncrasies combined into the one personality.

i understand that there are many characteristics that the sheldon character portrays that are asperger-oid, but there are also many that i do not identify with (but i do not go further to say they are not characteristics of asperger syndrome).

i identify with the sheldon character (i resist to say "he" or "him" or "his", because it is a fictitious character) in respect to his territoriality over his seat (although i would have had a separate chair in the same spot rather than sit on a couch), i identify with the fact that rituals must be performed in the same way at the correct times (eg: eating a particular cuisine on certain nights of the week whilst engaged in an activity that is also ritualistic (like having to watch a certain show while eating that particular cuisine on that particular night every week)).

i do not understand the sheldon character's need to knock always thrice on the blonde girls door and if she answers it before the third knock, the sheldon character will perform the third knock anyway (maybe it is 4 knocks (i can not remember)). that seems mildly ocd to me, although it could be a comically exaggerated portrayal of the sheldon character's inability to behave spontaneously (ie: stop knocking when the door is opened). who knows.

one of the 2 main things things that i do not identify with is the sheldon character's propensity to usurp the attention of all those around him so as to show what he (yes i know i used "he" but it is ridiculous to not use that word in this part of the sentence) has found out, or what the current state of his world is. i never do that. i will talk forever if someone asks me a question, and because they have learned that , i am rarely asked questions that are not requests for facts. and therefore i remain mostly silent (in real life that is).

the other main thing i do not identify with, is the sheldon character's tendency to indulge in fantasy (i know i pretend to be the robot, but i am not immersed in the idea).

the sheldon character's fascination with obviously fictitious things like the justice league of america (comic book stuff) seems completely ineffectual, and i have never been interested in the slightest in things of that nature.

it is interesting that when i watched some shows, i saw that there was a character called "amy fowler", and i was quite mesmerized by her performance because i thought she seemed rather authoritative in her rendition of being a neurobiologist, and when i found out her real name and read about her, i found that she actually does have a degree in neuroscience.

i knew she kind of understood every line she said (not due to "empathy", but due to my observation that she conveys her lines sharply, and there is no room for misinterpretation in how she says her lines).

i think the tv character that i most am like is "doc martin".
i wish the search function worked for me because i want to find a thread that asks "what tv characters do you think have AS", and i would post a classic example of what i dentify with... god i have to shut up now.

Well, I'm deliberating the wisdom of using Sheldon to explain myself and my son to my mother-in-law, who's a raving Big Bang Theory fan...

...and given the amount of myself I see in the character...

...I'd say, yeah.

Actually, probably all of them do. Sheldon's just somewhat less... adjusted... than the others.

I consider sheldon an aspie icon. I like to refer to him as Dr. Cooper in everyday parlance out of respect.