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redrobin62
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08 Jun 2016, 2:06 pm

Even if all these fictional characters (Spencer Reid, Spock, Sheldon Cooper, etc) were not autistic, and even if all these historical figures (Mozart, DaVinci, Einstein, Tesla, etc) were not autistic, I wouldn't care. I see enough of me in those people that I can relate to. They are my heroes. My father was not my hero, nor my mother, nor my siblings, nor my uncles, aunts and cousins, nor the police, nor the politicians, nor the sports figures, nor rock stars, nor religious icons, nor my school teachers, nor Tarzan, nor Bruce Lee, nor anyone else.

I relate to my heroes' pain of being bullied, of being ostracized, of being outcast, of being smart, of being socially awkward, of being alone, of still managing to survive and achieve something despite the fact that sadness and depression hung over them like an undying cloud. They give me a reason to feel good about myself, and that is, there are others like me out there. So if anyone wants to come on WP and deny me my heroes, well, in the famous words of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "They can kiss my a**!"



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09 Jun 2016, 1:41 am

redrobin62 wrote:
Even if all these fictional characters (Spencer Reid, Spock, Sheldon Cooper, etc) were not autistic, and even if all these historical figures (Mozart, DaVinci, Einstein, Tesla, etc) were not autistic, I wouldn't care. I see enough of me in those people that I can relate to. They are my heroes. My father was not my hero, nor my mother, nor my siblings, nor my uncles, aunts and cousins, nor the police, nor the politicians, nor the sports figures, nor rock stars, nor religious icons, nor my school teachers, nor Tarzan, nor Bruce Lee, nor anyone else.

I relate to my heroes' pain of being bullied, of being ostracized, of being outcast, of being smart, of being socially awkward, of being alone, of still managing to survive and achieve something despite the fact that sadness and depression hung over them like an undying cloud. They give me a reason to feel good about myself, and that is, there are others like me out there. So if anyone wants to come on WP and deny me my heroes, well, in the famous words of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "They can kiss my a**!"


I completely agree. Well put, redrobin62.


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EzraS
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09 Jun 2016, 2:03 am

redrobin62 wrote:
Even if all these fictional characters (Spencer Reid, Spock, Sheldon Cooper, etc) were not autistic, and even if all these historical figures (Mozart, DaVinci, Einstein, Tesla, etc) were not autistic, I wouldn't care. I see enough of me in those people that I can relate to. They are my heroes. My father was not my hero, nor my mother, nor my siblings, nor my uncles, aunts and cousins, nor the police, nor the politicians, nor the sports figures, nor rock stars, nor religious icons, nor my school teachers, nor Tarzan, nor Bruce Lee, nor anyone else.

I relate to my heroes' pain of being bullied, of being ostracized, of being outcast, of being smart, of being socially awkward, of being alone, of still managing to survive and achieve something despite the fact that sadness and depression hung over them like an undying cloud. They give me a reason to feel good about myself, and that is, there are others like me out there. So if anyone wants to come on WP and deny me my heroes, well, in the famous words of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "They can kiss my a**!"


Thanks for posting that. It allowed me to see the subject from a different perspective.



ZombieBrideXD
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09 Jun 2016, 4:26 pm

I'm pretty sure the writers intentionally wrote him as an aspergers type characters, like abed from community.

But really if it's never mentioned in the show they probably never intended to have autism. Here are a list of shows with confirmed autistic characters

Arthur
Community
Girl meets world
Parenthood
House
Greys anatomy
Sesame Street

Actually the character in greys anatomy I don't like, house did it better, same with parenthood.


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redrobin62
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09 Jun 2016, 4:42 pm

Hopefully this interview linked below will finally quell these rumors once and for all.

http://tvdramas.about.com/od/criminalmi ... gubint.htm



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09 Jun 2016, 4:55 pm

redrobin62 wrote:
Hopefully this interview linked below will finally quell these rumors once and for all.

http://tvdramas.about.com/od/criminalmi ... gubint.htm

Lol- regardless of the other threads/topics of discussion about what it means for fictional characters to be autistic or not- they said "hey, he's autistic LITE version" <- which is basically saying, he's autistic, but you know the "palatable" kind, weird but not super super weird- just a middling level of autistic. Don't worry folks- it's only Aspergers! That's just like a smattering of autism if you didn't know :wink:
:roll:



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14 Jun 2016, 4:43 am

It seems contraindicative that an autistic character would be able to "get in the heads" of people so well.
I've started watching Law and Order : Criminal Intent and they say the same thing about the character of Bobby Goren. That he behaves like an autistic. However, he is also depicted to be very sneaky, manipulative, empathises with people to a degree even unusual for a neurotypical character, has no sensory indications apart from a keen sense of smell, is obviously able to network and behave capably politically to hold a detective's job ... I don't know. These kinds of characters just seem to get the parts of autism that are the most socially acceptable and just make them "quirky," without having to deal with the downside of all this that real people do.
And thus, people who think that anything depicted on TV must be an accurate representation of real life (and no I'm not insinuating that of anyone in this topic) think this is what autism is. It'd be nice if real autistics could just get the "good" parts without the rest of the real disorder like fictional characters do.


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EzraS
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14 Jun 2016, 5:23 am

Unfortunate_Aspie_ wrote:
redrobin62 wrote:
Hopefully this interview linked below will finally quell these rumors once and for all.

http://tvdramas.about.com/od/criminalmi ... gubint.htm

Lol- regardless of the other threads/topics of discussion about what it means for fictional characters to be autistic or not- they said "hey, he's autistic LITE version" <- which is basically saying, he's autistic, but you know the "palatable" kind, weird but not super super weird- just a middling level of autistic. Don't worry folks- it's only Aspergers! That's just like a smattering of autism if you didn't know :wink:
:roll:


Good one.



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14 Jun 2016, 10:34 am

He seems more like a genius with an asynchronous development and geeky traits - which is quite normal.


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16 Jun 2016, 5:05 am

Many disorders (physical, intellectual, and psychological) are represented in media in a non-realistic way to make it less difficult to watch. As people are usually suspicious and mistrustful of those who are 'different', writers etc. usually try to make 'good' and 'likeable' characters relatable to the general population by downplaying their abnormalities. I find this extremely annoying, as ND people also want (perhaps more than NTs) somebody to whom they can relate. Spencer Reid is one such character for me; when I first read about him, I was surprised but thrilled to find a representation of somebody so much like me in popular culture.

Whether anybody else wants to consider Dr Reid Aspie or not, I (undiagnosed though I am) find him extremely relatable. We all need people to whom we can relate (I have none whom I personally know IRL), and I identify with him. This is more important to me than any official diagnosis (or lack thereof).


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redrobin62
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16 Jun 2016, 9:43 am

^ My sentiments exactly.



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16 Jun 2016, 10:27 am

Aggree!


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btbnnyr
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16 Jun 2016, 2:54 pm

Reid is more relatable to me than too obvious autistic characters being really obviously autistic all the time.


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16 Jun 2016, 6:44 pm

I don't think it is possible to be that smart and that much a pattern thinker without some autistic traits. But yea, I am too glad they didn't come out and say it, they did with one other fictional character Tony Hill (Wire in the blood), and they said it to his friend like "I'm really sorry but he has ASPERGER'S..." Like that was worse than the tumor in his head. Sigh.



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17 Jun 2016, 2:39 am

I am glad I am not alone in my opinions. Thank you for replying positively. It makes me happy to agree with people. :D


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Diagnosed: Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 without accompanying language impairment
I find it easiest to connect with people through the medium of fandoms, and enjoy the feeling of solidarity.
Too often, people say things they don't mean, and mean things they don't say.