Inside The Minds of Fictional Aspies

Post Reply New Topic

In all of the fiction novels written for teens about AS (Wild Orchid, Waiting for No One, The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous, Mockingbird, Colin Fischer, etc) they are in first person (save for the last example) and are extremely mechanical; the narrators effectively think like robots, use personal acronyms for remembering social information, or have odd or obscure ways of explaining how they see the world. I never thought like this, my mind is far more fluid, and I don't give conscious consideration to every word people say or every thought I have. Does the way these novels are written resonate with anyone here, do any of you actually think like this, or is it just an NT author's way of trying to portray a condition they have no direct experience with? I'm just curious, because of the stark similarity between the writing styles of these particular types of books.

I suspect it's a case of bad stereotyping, or perhaps the authors themselves just write in that style - they may or may not be on the spectrum, or otherwise unaware of the impression this gives of their characters.
Remember the S in ASD is spectrum, meaning there is a broad range of behaviour, character traits, and thinking styles within the spectrum.
In the cases you have mentioned obviously it has been overly simplified and stereotyped, though I'm sure there must be examples of other novels showing a more diverse range of character traits from people on the spectrum; if not maybe it's time some of us Aspies started getting into the teen novel writing business?!

Hmm. This reminds me of the broad, stereotypical drawings of fictional Hollywood autistic characters. With the exception of the 2005 Korean film 'Marathon', all the movies seem implausible and "type-y."

I just recently finished writing a novel that includes an Autistic character who is presented in third person omniscient, just like all the other characters. He's shown as coping functionally in the same environment as the NT characters, but wrestling on a day-to-day basis with his unique handicaps. There are certain scenes in which I was very intent on putting the reader inside that character's POV, in order to help the non-Autistic experience just what sensory overloads and anxiety and panic attacks actually feel like. He's not the protagonist, so I didn't focus on it too much, though I did consciously try to use the character to raise awareness without sounding preachy. I think it worked, but I guess I won't really know unless it gets published.

That sounds very interesting Willard, you'll have to tell us when it gets published; I'd like to read it

Yes I definitely agree. Another classic example of the autistic robot stereotype is "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime".

One possible innaccuracy I have noticed, is the fictional aspie's tendency to say things like:
"While I was talking to person X today, I noticed that they had a strange expression on their face which I didn't understand"

Now, I cant speak for everyone, but I certainly dont go around on a regular basis thinking Hmmm I saw a strange facial expression today. I wonder what that facial expression means?". Thats because facial expressions are mainly interpreted fluidly and subconciously, and so if you are missing the ability to read them you aren't necessarily particularly aware of it. Rather, the lack of ability will manifest itself as an odd feeling of being out of sync with others and their emotions, and the tendency to misinterpret situations in subtle yet significant ways.

Sherlock Holmes

I was fortunate to be able to read Iain Banks's new (& last) novel The Quarry without buying it (since I can't afford the price of new books), & it is told from the point of view of an aspie teenager. even though this character is less the focus of the story than his father, who is dying (as Banks was, alas) of cancer; or the father's friends, who are reconvening at their onetime-group house a la The Big Chill, I think that this depiction is fair & accurate (inasmuch as any single character can be, which is unreal & also unavoidably read as representative of a varying group). It is particularly strong in showing how there can be empathy of a sort that isn't part of the ordinary social mechanisms to signalize or contain it.

Aside from this aspect, it's also a rather virtuosic depiction of a character dying with great bitterness by an author who seemingly died without any, a stingingly funny takedown of the Thatcher era & after, & a study of a father-son relationship in which each is a mystery to the other, & how they finally resolve it.

My favorite fictional aspie I can relate to alot! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kh360KU114[/youtube] I also love sweets!