I got interested in the autism spectrum after reading My Husband With Scholar Syndrome. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about autism in the novel as I read it (despite not knowing much beyond the stereotype at that time), but it's what got me curious about the spectrum in the first place. Since then, I've been reading articles and watching youtube videos from autistics themselves and I gained more insight that I didn't have before. I think, their "special interests" are awesome. It varies from person to person. And I don't know how they see it. I also have interests but it varies. I like reading beyond anything. I can research about a topic that interests me for months but I get tired of it and research something new I found interesting. And then I go back researching about what got me interested in the past. Is this the case for you, too? I think people with autism are unique individuals but there are also similarities with other people. Which is nice because we can have more common ground. Do you also like collecting stuff? I like collecting shells when I was young. Now, I mainly collect coins and sentimental items. Now, I want to write a fluff story with an autistic protagonist but what's important is to actually represent it right. I don't know if I'll ever do it write or if I will be able to write anything at all because I never got things done. Most of the time, I do a lot of research but fails to write the actual book. Usually, when I get interested in something, I always want to make a book about it. But of course, I can't finish it... So I have a question for people in the spectrum or people who knows people in the spectrum: What is/are your special interests? How did you get interested in it? How do you give yourself time to indulge in your special interest if it's especially busy? What age did you got diagnosed? How did it feel like? What are the struggles that you faced growing up? What would you have wanted for other people in your life to support you better? What are your advice for me when writing? What will you do in case of an apocalypse? What will be gour thought processes? (totally random) The main conflict of my story will probably be related to fantasy or sci-fi.
Random tidbit: People with autism don't tend to do pacifiers just once in a while to seem 'quirky' like on TV. They can be hours and hours doing the action without tiring themselves. They can 'control' the urge but it's like an itch that needs to be scratched.
I was diagnosed at 23. My dad would always scold me for not speaking and making eye contact when I was 4-6 years old. I didn't understand why eye contact was important or why it made me feel weird having to look others in the eye. I think the most prominent effect it has on me is extreme concentration where I can't hear others when I am doing something, but there are times that I can't get into that zone because of external factors. Learning was probably the toughest for me and it didn't help that teacher gave instruction that were vague expecting me to understand what they were saying meant and it didn't help that English was not my first language. For example my teacher would say we are going to learning multiplication! and she would start to multiply on the black board in vertical fashion. Me at 7 - What is multiplication? why do two sevens equal 49? *plays with pencil* why does 6x3 =18? *pulls out power ranger from pocket and plays on the desk* *12-20 students stair at me instead of teacher as my power ranger fights* *teacher catches me playing and makes me stand in the corner and takes my power ranger* *pulls out another power ranger from other pocket and plays on the bookcase located on the corner" 40min later teacher doesn't understand why I haven't said a word after standing in the corner for almost an hour and walks up and catches me playing with another power ranger and she fumes into a rage and takes it away from me as she scream for me to go sit down. I start to annoy my teacher every 2-3min "can I have my power rangers back?" after 20min she rages "HERE!!! PUT THEM IN YOUR BAG AND NEVER BRING THEM TO SCHOOL!!!!"
Don't think it's possible to write a fluff piece. Most people (99.99999%) in autism spectrum don't end up uber-handsome and functionally talented like the ML in "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome". They don't even get useful savant abilities like those portrayed in the media (math, science, art, etc). Those are the exception, not the rule. You might also be watching videos of teenage/adult autistic people, AFTER they've passed most of their worst phases. Those are the ones that survived. Autistic kids are normally diagnosed very early, because they are unable to mingle with other normal school kids. The real issue is how quickly they can be brought to therapy/meds. Even autistic kids in the mid-range of the spectrum can often turn physically abusive when they reach high levels of anxiety (which is VERY often). They end up lashing out at others by punching/hitting/biting others. Sometimes there's just no solution other than to place them in a padded room/safe area to act out until they get tired out. I've seen one parent literally wear body armor so they can act as a punching bag for their autistic child until they are exhausted. Autistic kids can wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and then punch you in the face while you're sleeping. Or pace around for 24-48 hours. Yea, it's that bad. There's all kinds of early intervention therapy involved, including ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) treatment. You're just trying to get them adjusted asap to reach some basic level of self-reliance and avoid self-harm. Of course, you have to be lucky enough to even BE in an area where therapy and medical help is possible. Most asian countries (and probably most low-income ones as well) don't have the facilities needed to help, and just leave them to die (their conditions worsen to the point they suicide, or physically decline till death). Yea, it's that f*cked up. I give "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome" kudos for bringing attention to a common problem (autism in society), but it definitely took A LOT of artistic licenses.... But I get it. Who would want the ML to represent a real typical autistic person? Nobody would read it.
Autism is very much a spectrum, there are some people who are autistic but it is hardly noticeable. My younger sibling is on the more severe side. They pain a lot, for hours a day, using different mediums. They collect stuffed animals and rocks. I have boxes of rocks both big and small. The strange thing is I'm pretty sure they remember all of them from 10 years collecting. For example we were building a diorama, and they ask for a specific rock, I had no idea what they are talking about after looking through a few boxes, we found the rock. The rock was it from a few years ago, in 2017, we have dates on the boxes how they remembered it is beyond me. It's the Sanford to stuff downloads, except there are less stuffed animals because they take up more space. They were diagnosed at 1 year and 3 month I think. So struggles, there are a lot. My siblings is mentally younger then their age. This made school impossible. They were constantly being over stimulated and becoming I'll. At first it was fevers and nausea. Eventually progressed to seizures, then we made the choice that it was better to homeschool them. They get hypothermia easily, can't stand warm water on the hotter side. Need daily showers or can't sleep, routine is important, allergies to everything, trouble communicating, making eye contact, and a bunch of others. My family is pretty supportive, I think. I plan my schedule around them. I try to take them to as many places as I can. My other siblings and nieces and nephews try to be as understanding and patient with them as possible. One big thing is they will always have to live with someone as they will always need help. Also we've known to many people in special care facilities who were abused (physical, emotional, sexual and I know people who have lost children) to ever feel comfortable putting them in one. Autism is a spectrum. There are less severe cases and there are those that are more severe. In reality, most children don't get super amazing abilities or a amazing talents, in reality, they just have Hobbes and bacon be good at them but not good enough to make a living off of them. It is really hard for people with more severe cases of autism are even in the mid spectrum to get jobs. Funny enough we discussed if there was an apocalyptic situation what everybody would do. My mother and father ask that we kill them quickly and painlessly, as they are too old to survive, and as for my younger sibling with autism, we decided that they would most likely have to die as well as they have too many allergies, medical needs, high need for sanitation and not high enough mental capacity to understand the situation to survive. So it would be better to save them from suffering. Put an end to the fake apocalypse discussion everyone was having, as then it came down to who would do it and the pets were brought up (at that time were hat a 17 year old cat and currently have a 3 legged dog). The apocalypse would be filled with many hard decisions, we got too deep into the conversation, it was supposed to be a fun conversation and it was until we got to the end.
Greetings! Soooo it's usually autistic males that get diagnosed early, not so much females as we tend to "mask" our symptoms. The reason being is that the majority of studies for autism were done done on males as opposed to females or a generally mixed group. Females generally aren't diagnosed until adulthood and even then they have probably been misdiagnosed or diagnosed with multiple mental health problems until finally get to autism. As I child, I read, I read for hours, I read for days, I read at every waking moment. While ate, while being driven from place to place, at parties, I would take my books everywhere with me. Since about the 1st grade nothing smaller than 150 pgs per book, buy 2nd grade I stayed with books like Harry Potter, Narnia, and biographies as they were often the longest I could find. I generally stayed in the realm of reading, music, puzzles and language. I have a wall of puzzles, am an audiophile, and have read more books than I can possibly count. I dont like reading online if a physical book is available but as an adult I really don't have the luxury of whipping out a physical book at every waking moment so ....hello internet from hand held device I am also an insomniac so I do the majority of my interests at night. 1000pc + only unless it's an anime puzzle. Reading is still done at every waking moment. 24..25 was the year for me but only after getting diagnosed with tourettes, depression, anxiety, ptsd, claustrophobia, and now an automatic nervous system disorder . Concerning how it felt....it felt liberating because that was always a question and questions must be answered. I hate being in a state of confusion or lack of complete understanding of a certain subject. The more answers I have, the better. It is like a missing puzzle peice and the picture isn't and won't be complete without that answer....so I am not complete without that answer ....my struggles mainly dealt with people. I dont like them ...it was really bad in middleschool, in elementary, I had my best friend to emulate but I transferred to another school in middle school, got ditched by an acquaintance of mine and I just didn't really connect with anyone enough to observe them and do and they do. I did eventually get adopted buy the holy grail of manga readers though and my life was never the same. She didn't talk much, legit just went up to me and said wanna come with me and I said ok lol she must have noticed my social ineptitude. All uphill from there....well except for the sexual harassment/assault and eternal scarring for life that comes with it. Honestly, a little acceptance never hurt anyone...neither did patience Idk imagining isn't my Forte.
Thank you so much for this. It really means a lot because I don't want to write something and not take responsibility for what kind of thing I wrote. I want to write about a character that is supported and gets all the love they deserve. That's what I mean about the fluff. It doesn't shy away from the things they had to face. But because I am an escapist and wants to get away from my problems, I also don't want my characters to suffer so much. I want my character to be happy eventually even if things started rough. Although I'm planning to write about an autistic protagonist, I don't want to focus on autism but on other things. Like the world that I'm going to build. I want to see how my character will experience it as an autistic person and what he does about the problem he will face as a person. Everyone's autism is different from what I've read so far and autistic people have varying personalities. I wanted to show that. Because aside from autism, I am also planning to put the other subjects of my research in the novel... which is mostly about world building. You deserve so much better. I probably wouldn't understand what you've been through nor would I be able to. The way I am, I always try to escape from my problems. Usually tbrough books because I can't live without it. But I mostly read online because I don't have money. The bad things we had to go through may not be the same, but I hope we can get through it!
Since you want to write about a supportive relationship, maybe it'd be interesting to write a side perspective from the family/friends/people that supported your autistic protagonist. Movies like "The Accountant" (2016), "Rain Man" (1988), and now webnovels like "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome" tend to show autistic leads as being superheroes in their own right. While that's applaudable, I don't think enough has been talked about the people who really struggled to support them. It can be a real emotional/financial/physical toll on them too. The FL in "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome" honestly kinda had it easy since ML was relatively easy to communicate with. There were a few token paragraphs about ML's parents trying to support ML in his childhood, but they were rich and basically just threw money at the problem. On a random note, "My House of Horrors" actually had an arc where a child -- possessed by a spirit -- was regarded as autistic. It also depicted the single mother who selflessly supported her "autistic" child despite social discrimination. Pretty impressive work for a horror novel.
I was planning to do that too! Because sometimes the important people in their lives want to help, but don't know how to. And they both love each other but can't express it to each other because they have different love language. I like it when both characters try to understand each other and work things out together rather than just one person trying to adapt or mask everything. It's really tiring. And I agree, the FL of My Husband With Scholar Syndrome really had it easy. What I appreciate about it is the effort to understand him. What I don't like about it is just because of the grandma's wish, the ML had to be married. Marriage doesn't guarantee happiness.
I don't know much abt Autism~ However, I believe the CN novel you read had been inspired a bit from a movie called "RAIN MAN". Like people pick up you know inspiration from smth or oth... Check this link out:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Man?wprov=sfla1 P.S. Here the autistic lead is a SAVANT!!
"Not possible to write fluff". Bah. Dude you're literally saying I can't have a good life or have nice relationships. Not sure what autistic kid hurt you but you're so off the mark on so many things that every paragraph you wrote independently managed to get me angry about something. Please stop licking the boot of Autism Speaks, the autistic community has agreed for decades that they're basically evil and that their ABA therapy is abusive and hurtful. Are there autistic children who are very hard to raise? Yes. We're talking about a diagnosis ranging between and across a LOT of different types of physical and mental symptoms. Being the parent of an autistic child isn't always easy. But you're generalizing so damn hard. There are autistic people out there whom you won't notice anything off about at all. We're just people. Like other people, we have our own unique challenges in life. That's all.
Chill dude. I don't claim to speak for you, but I am responding to OP, who asked whether she could write a fluff piece like "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome". Go read that novel if you haven't. All my comments are with that context in mind. And re-read what I wrote, I don't think I generalized all autistic kids to have gone through what I described. If you took that the wrong way ... well not much I can do. Agreed that since autism spectrum is now defined very widely, there are plenty of kids that are able to adapt well enough. Not gonna go down the rabbit hole of whatever "Autism Speaks" is, whether they are evil or what not. No idea what that is.
I've read the novel. What I don't get is why it would be impossible to write a fluffy story about an autistic mc? OP, check out the book 'Uniquely Human' by Barry Prizant. It's a book written to help allistic parents understand their autistic kids. If you want to understand what it's like to be on the spectrum, it's a great read.
Thank you! I've been looking for books than can help me understand more beyond what's usually portrayed in media.
Because OP stated she "I want to write a fluff story with an autistic protagonist but what's important is to actually represent it right". I mentioned in my follow-up post. Movies like "The Accountant" (2016), "Rain Man" (1988), and now webnovels like "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome" tend to show autistic leads as being superheroes in their own right. While that's applaudable, I don't think enough has been talked about the people who really struggled to support them. It can be a real emotional/financial/physical toll on them too. Writing about an almost perfect autistic ML who has it all, like the one in "My Husband with Scholar Syndrome", is highly unrealistic based on what OP wants to create. EDIT: If I had to draw an analogy, that would be like trying to write a story about an "average" Black American MC. But he just happened to grow up in a sheltered environment, went to school with all white/asian kids, grew up in Hawaii, went to Ivy League schools, and the closest thing he came to witnessing racial bias was a white grandma refusing to ride an elevator with him. I guess I just described Obama. Sure the Black community isn't a monolith and there are various subgroups within it, but Obama clearly doesn't represent the real situation of most Black people
Omy I just saw this reply. Can't believe I missed it. I'm happy that your family is very supportive! We have different circumstances but a family member of mine also needs a lot of special care both physically and mentally. It taught me so much patience and I never knew I was capable of giving more love to others than to myself. It's really hard but the person deserves it. Now, I also try to give love to myself so that I can love them better. And in case of apocalypse... I'm surprised you talked about it. And although hypothetical, it got serious. I can see where it's coming from. It's so cute your siblings collect rocks. I used to do that to but I can't really remember the specifics about the rocks I collect. Anyway, it's satisfying to collect things.
Thanks, the rock collection is massive. I'm trying to convince them to polish them and make things out of them.
I somehow managed to borrow a copy of this book. Been reading it between breaks of my internship. It's a good book, and there are real life examples of the problems faced by families who are very supportive. Like misdiagnosis and not finding the right professionals to trust. It gave me more insight and inspiration about the book I'm planning to write. And also, it will help me treat the people around me better. Especially my nephew. Thank you so much for recommending it. I'm just at the first chapter but I'm planning to dedicate a few hours a day for this book. Do you also know other shows or novels about autism? I started watching Steven Universe because it was one of the recommended ones.
That's so cute. I used to collect red rocks too. But I never thought about doing something creative with them.
Maybe you got adhd as well I had that issue but not as bad and I have adhd and dyslexia Best autistic story is flowers of Algernon, that made me shed the tears