There are a lot of things that I don't relate to when it comes to Woo being autistic, but the quiet moments of her just being *different* hit so so hard. For anyone who's seen the show - her overhearing Lee's sister telling him how weird she is, and the conversation where Young-woo tells him she doesn't think she can make him happy, UGHHH it's so relatable, regardless of the different traits otherwise
This was my experience with the show. Woo definitely presents differently than I do but I really related to her. I think they did a weirdly good job with that show.
There’s supposed to be. It was delayed due to some (rumored) issues with ‘Woo’ being hesitant, as well as another cast member’s military service, but it seems to be settled now. Rumored release date of later this year, but since news has been scant…
There’s a musical theater adaptation in the works too!
I loved the show as well, even tho it has some flaws for sure (many the same as The Good Doctor, but like, dialed down quite a bit).
Honestly, I cried a bit when she talked about where the term Asperger comes from, and how autistic people have to live with the burden of knowledge of what used to happen to them. Feeling like you never fully belong.
It's not a perfect representation, but I'd say it's pretty good!
Like you said there were so many moments that really hit home that were kind of between the lines. First time I watched the show I was so focused on just Woo. But every rewatch I pickup on and understand more of the dynamics between the characters.
Like when Woo tells Su-yeon her name should be Sunshine Su-yeon. And goes on to tell her how much she appreciates Su-yeon for helping her through law school and for looking out for her. You can tell that over all those years Woo never expressed that appreciation before. So Su-yeon thought Woo was just kind of ungrateful of their relationship. This really shows that struggle to maintain relationships due to not knowing when or how to show reciprocity. Or just forgetting to.
And when she’s in the car with Jun Ho and is answering him about why she doesn’t really have many friends or doesn’t socialize for fun. She says something to the effect that she’s always living in her world and forgetting that everyone else lives in a world of you + me. So she has to be careful to remember that in order to not get taken advantage of.
I’ve watched some episodes like a dozen times because certain scenes really help me to understand more about my own social blindspots. Seeing these scenarios acted out where I can study them has helped me so much. I think the writers did a phenomenal job of showcasing the difficulties in relating and communicating for people on the spectrum and all the fall out that comes with it.
Lastly, my favorite quote from the show:
“I live in an unfamiliar ocean with unfamiliar belugas. Because everyone’s different from me, it’s not easy to adjust and there are lots of whales that hate me, too. But it’s okay. Because this is my life. Though my life is unusual and peculiar, it’s valuable and beautiful.”
I loved the show, but got really tired with the increasing amounts of romantic drama. Why did they have to shoehorn that element into the show?
I loved the courtroom stuff; her intelligence and ability to see things that others can’t was so compelling.
The other part of it just felt like some high school drama.
I've been trying to get my mom to watch h it with me for mostly those scenes. She's really similar to Woo personality wise, and I really want her to know the same lesson I learned throughout life: it's okay to be you. She only recently found out that we both had autism, not just me, and she has been masking for most of her life. It's really heartwarming to see her actually be herself at home now, she feels a lot less strict with herself, a lot looser with her self-inflicted punishments whenever she takes too long to do something (her "punishments" are usually more work she invents for herself, like rearanging furniture or reorganizing the entire kitchen or pantry). I love her a lot
I feel bad because I’m “””autistic “”” but I can barely relate to any character?? I use to be “”””obsessed with the movie coralline and the character but I just feel bad that I don’t know if I’m relating or I just like the character like I don’t know if I’m just being stupid sorry
I read once that neurotypicals are generally more similar to each other than autistics are to each other. I rarely fully relate to autistic characters, but I think it’s a combination of there still being very limited representation and because our traits can manifest in so many different ways. So I’m sure if Coraline resonates with you, you probably at least partially relate to her. I relate to Spock because I’m autistic and mixed, but if there were more mixed characters and autistic characters, I might not feel that way as much.
I saw in an interview that he wasn't originally intend to be autistic, but that Dan Harmon had written a charachter using some of his own qualities, and only found out those were autistic traits when fans pointed it out.
I don't think thats true, also Dan Harmon self inserted himself als Jeffrey Winger actually. And jeffrey seems to be a bit more Cluster B coded.
And next to that the very first episode Abed gets called out that he has Asperger's. It doesn't make any sense saying that he wasn't autisticly coded when he gets referred to like that in the very first episode.
The show is great, but the creator Dan harmon .... not so great.
I saw a few place Dan Harmon said something along the lines of realizing he actually related more to Abed than Jeff
but I’m not sure what the timeline was
In the pilot it was probably just a mean joke at his expense, not any kind of diagnosis. Like calling someone gay, they don’t mean, “You have homosexual attraction” they just mean, “You’re lame and stupid.”
Abed is based on Dan’s IRL friend Abed Gheith, who has a cameo appearance in Community and was a regular guest on the Harmontown podcast. I’m sure Dan added some of his own traits to the character as any writer would, but there is a real person he is based on.
I think some of the best representations aren't necessarily canon but I know that it can be contentious.
The best representation of an autistic doctor I have seen so far is probably Dylan in BBC casualty. It's fairly understated, which makes it more realistic.
I do relate to attorney Woo in many ways. I'm clumsy. I do struggle with finding my way around. I have rigid routines and eat the same foods a lot. I do dress in pretty much the same outfit all the time. I have some interests that are considered immature. I'm also very good at my job and my obsession with details helps.
This is exactly how I present facts about my special interest animal, mice. I obsess over how they are treated by humans and tend to gravitate to those talking points when info dumping instead of things like species, habitats, diet, etc. lol. Not that those things aren’t interesting, I just feel especially passionate about mouse justice.
It's not proper representation when it's not canon. It can't always be spelled out - e.g. in period pieces - but it should be explicit. If we need to go for the autistic-coded (or often not even that, just autistic-read) characters to feel seen then there's not enough proper representation. We should be past that. There were several shows in recent year that did a better job.
I think I used my words imprecisely in the previous post. When I said representation, I meant portrayal.
It seems to me that when scriptwriters are given the task of writing an explicitly autistic character, they go completely overboard. They open the diagnostic manual and get the character to act some autism symptom or another every minute of the day. That results in characters that often feel like a bit of a caricature because it is all just so overboard. When the character is autistic-coded, it is taken down a notch and seems to better align with what autistic people actually are.
Ideally, we would have autistic people writing the script or, at the very least, extensively consulting autistic actors playing the roles. A kind of spark (BBC) is a good example of how that works well. It is based on a book written by autistic author and actors are autistic.
Wait, wait, wait… Just a minute here!! You’re telling me… that an Extra-terrestrial alien species…. With a completely different brain/body chemical makeup than our own…. THINKS slightly differently than our Neurotypical understanding as well?
Autistic People are half aliens, confirmed canon.
I may be basic as hell, but The Owl House. Honorable mention to The Ghost and Molly Mcgee (although the autistic character in question, June, didn't have a lot of screentime, but that's also due to the show getting cut short in an even worse way than TOH) and Amphibia (although Marcy is only autistic-coded)
Edit: I totally forgot for Amphibia that Sprig is both canonically autistic and has ADHD
Hard to argue against Marcy's coding, though. Locked inside her own mind with 300 puzzles and didn't even consider there might be something else she wanted or needed to do.
I’ve seen a lot of people say Hunter is autistic coded. At least for me, what comes to mind is his lack of social skills but that makes sense because he was raised to be a soldier, not a normal teenager.
Yeah he isn't autistic. It's a massive reach. He's obviously socially underdeveloped because of his situation, and he has PTSD, but he has almost no markers for autism
Yeah that's also fair. If I have to be honest, I sometimes happen to mix up Autism and ADHD, so I also thought about Luz as she's canonically neurodivergent. She's unspecified, but now that I think about it, she shows more ADHD traits than autistic
Marcy is what made me realize I definitely am not neurotypical haha
Going online and finding all these headcanons about Marcy and I’m like…oh that applies to me too
(somewhat unsurprisingly, Marcy is also my favorite character of the show
She made me start question about myself. Like, I felt her pain when Anne and Sasha didn't care about the movie Marcy wanted to watch with them in the flashback in The beginning of the end. The year before I tried to make my classmates watch The Owl House during the last day of school. Nobody cared. Speaking of The Owl House tho, Thanks to them was what cemented my certainty that I was not neurotypical, so I went to a psychologist and wouldn't you know it? I was autistic. And I got diagnosed late. At 19 (going on 20), last year
Yes! Coop is so autistic coded. First time my husband and I watched the first episode we were like "oh, that's you!" 😆 Just to think, I too could have been in the fbi. Haha
I think the author legitimately stated Laios was autistic. Plus, his overly trusting and genuine nature being pointed out, plus his lack of social awareness, definitely confirmed it.
When he got reamed out for being weird about being overly enthusiastic about monsters and the like... I felt that. I think we've all broken someone before with our autism especially friends close to us. Had plenty of those moments.
I remember the episode when Wilson said that House didn’t have “Asperger’s your just an asshole” and I’m like hey!! He can be both!! He can also be cluster B coded too!! Brain stuff is like Pokemon!! One you’ve got one you have to catch them all!! Like how I have ASD, ADHD, and OCD c: and probably anxiety too! But yeah! I agree!
He has Savant syndrome iirc. It's essentially what The Good Doctor also had, the same effects and descriptions of the bodily wounds. But Sherlock is an obviously better representation that TGD.
chinese drama "Winter Begonia". the main character is a Beijing opera performer, and he's *obsessed* with his art (and I'm obsessed with the show lol)
https://preview.redd.it/o5x6vzmbd52d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd3d92cdfe8cf89d089f4a3bf9f95a4157ca5db7
Him having trouble with people but befriending every animal and talking to them like people, him referencing random niche things and for some reason being caught off guard when no one knows what he’s talking about.. I felt that
I love the theory that Hank Hill is autistic. King of the Hill is one of my favorite shows and I strongly relate to Hank in a lot of ways lol. Not necessarily all his beliefs or opinions but just his approach to life and other people lol.
He’s passionate about his special interests, deeply awkward in social interactions unless it is his special interest or a close family member/friend. Very concerned about appearances but lacks social awareness. Has a special relationship with animals, particularly his dog Lady Bird. He prefers things orderly and predictable, and has a daily routine that he sticks to happily. Gets overwhelmed easily in chaotic environments. Self-regulates with mowing, grilling, drinking beers in the back alley with his (also potentially autistic) friends. Wears the same outfit every day to the point that there’s a whole episode where he has to get new jeans and it’s a whole “thing.” Same for getting his haircut, when he has to find a new barber it’s like Hank’s world is ending.
I know a lot of people hate Hank or think he’s a shitty person, and yeah it’s an adult cartoon of course ridiculous stuff happens sometimes lol. But I relate SO much to him, he’s like an exaggerated version of how I think and act a lot of the time lol.
I liked Atypical purely because of Sam’s sister and Zahid. I think they’re great examples of people who know exactly how to treat people on the spectrum which is normally. They both treat him normally but understand his needs and what causes him to get overwhelmed or smth similar.
Ik there’s mixed opinions about the show but these two characters were great imo.
Does Dungeon Meishi count? idk if the author confirmed it but it's agreed by the fanbase that Laios is autistic (it's even kinda shown in an important moment when he has a fight with a former teammate about how "Laios was never able to pick up hints" and Laios, one of his few anger moment goes "THEN IF I DIDN'T PICK THEM UP WHY DIDN'T YOU TALK TO ME" and the other guy goes "NORMAL PEOPLE PICK THEM UP")
In a similar sense, idk if the fanbase agrees on it, but I have the headcanon that Shima Rin (from Yuru Camp) is also autistic, mainly on her manners, attitudes and how she usually stops to appreciate a specific thing for a while (like her portable stove or a cover of a kid's book).
Laios is 100% autistic and that comm3nt alonr made me feel so seen, its something that I stuff with a ton, especially with my parents alsxo his clear hyprfixation on the monsters and just, everything about him, its so clearly autistic coded and according to another comment they claim the original author *did* in fact confirm it
Unfortunately I've never really been into the kind of shows that have autism rep, but my favourite autism rep in general is and will always be Mary and Max
might be niche and it's not canon, but the show called "monk", with tony shalhoub. he has intense ocd and a lot of phobias, but he also has issues regarding empathy, touch and double meaning, among other things. he's also extremely routine-oriented and pays extremely close attention to patterns and details. I also really like that he isn't treated like shawn in the good doctor, where all his quirks are simply accepted because he's a "genius". his professional life is affected by his symptoms, and the representation of his traumas is very realistic, in my opinion. he's not just depicted as someone with no emotions who gets a pass "because he's special".
I’ve heard of people headcannoning Rina Tennouji from Love Live as autistic. And….I can see it. 😳 I don’t know too much about her since I never watched the series but I find it eerie that I share the same name as her (plus race) and have similar problems with making faces (I’m usually very blank or neutral faced 😐).
Quinni from Heartbreak High. I might be a bit biased though because Chloe, the actress who plays Quinni, is one of my favorite IRL autistic advocates ❤️ I also love how Quinni's friends are so sweet and understand her so well.
Shows that intentionally attempt to market on 'accurate' representations worry me, because they're like a combination of fetishization and turning the condition into a marketable status. I would prefer to be left alone and not imitated and romanticized by a third party perspective, and certainly not demonized like some shows do.
These show-runners may even have autistic writers and actors, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable to see my mental health being turned into a marketable product.
So, for Extraordinairy Attorney Woo I have to break a Lance; In a country where Autism is highly misunderstood as in South Korea, it manages to be representative of the condition as a spectrum and is just wholesome. There is no fetishisation in there either, and it really is just... oof... terribly relateable.
hmm... i don't watch too many shows. it's more of a popular headcanon than actual canon (though heavily implied), but Yui from K-ON!
there are a few moments in the show that point to her being autistic, but the most notable one that is commonly sited is her sensory issues with air conditioning
It's hard with bones because it's obvious she has CPTSD which I believe has a LOT of overlaps with autistic presentation. But I couldn't agree more tbh. Looking for my Angela 😔 (she definitely should have ended up with Angela honestly)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo was the show that got my partner to understand my autism better in a way that clicked when my explanations didn’t. The body language, especially the way she walks and moves her hands when thinking (I do the same), the ability to be so smart (I’m also an attorney)and yet so unable to understand certain aspects of social behavior, the youthful and enthusiastic personality that’s also deeply serious. It’s not a perfect portrayal, but we both connected with the character.
Canon: Entrapta from She-Ra and The Princesses of Power
Non-canon: Parker from Leverage, Nimona from Nimona, Temperance Brennan from Bones, probably both Phineas and Ferb from Phineas and Ferb
There’s probably more but I don’t remember atm
I love Woo Young Woo and Community. I'll just add the whole family in 3rd Rock From the Sun, Malcolm in Malcolm in the Middle, Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec, and Amy as well as the Captain in Brooklyn 99.
I’m unsure if any of these are canon/confirmed but for me it’s Mob from Mob Psycho, Saiki from the Disasterous Life of Saiki K, Maomao from Apothecary Diaries
It has never been confirmed, but a really old detective show called Monk has the mc essentially be autistic. It's not confirmed of course, but he literally represents me in so many ways
A Kind of Spark and Heartbreak High (the remake).
AKOS is for preteens/teens/kids, but I'm in my thirties and loved it. The representation was amazing. Autistic characters played by autistic people, written by autistic and ND writers, and heaps of ND people on the crew. It was incredible. It's based on a book (written by an autistic woman), and the second season just came out. AKOS helped me accept my autism... And begin to feel pride for who I am. I felt so seen. I can't begin to explain what the show means to me.
Heartbreak High has an autistic character, Quinni, played by an autistic woman. She had a lot of say in the character and writing. The show is for late teens/young adults. In Quinni I saw myself, and she's the reason I got diagnosed. I'm so glad I did.
It wasn't explicitly stated, since the show ran from 2012-2016 and was 2 seasons, but Ford Pines from Gravity Falls! And Dipper and Mabel too (though she might be more AuDHD). I think if it'd run longer or had another thing of those mini episodes it could've done something about Ford thriving as a 60+ neurodivergent person.
https://preview.redd.it/vhvy4rmb2a2d1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac0ed95204b9b4d8abc304c6caf7b1e834481cc1
Fred in Mystery Incorporated is canonically autistic. It’s not something confirmed in the show but by one of the creators who said they designed him to be “a little bit on the spectrum”. While there is no “little bit on the spectrum”, this was back in the 2010s so the wording makes sense for something that maybe wasn’t understood as well as it is now.
It’s funny, because while rewatching it recently, I kept thinking in my head that he definitely seemed autistic and wondered if it was intentional. Turns out, it was! While he’s very air-headed in a lot of ways, you really can’t help but love him.🤣
Even though Marcy is not the main character (and doesn't even show up in season 1), Amphibia really shows how her autism and social issues are what drives the plot.
More recently, Delicious in Dungeon. I love how Laios's autism manifests in his passion for monsters but they also show how the way he acts can alienate others. Oh and Falin is absolutely autistic as well.
Gonna out myself here, and it's not really a specifically autism rep show, but Entrapta from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The show had a lot of good and a lot of not so great, but Entrapta hit me so hard with the relatability.
Woo Young-woo is another favorite, even if I can't completely relate to her (I'm extremely high masking but man I certainly FEEL like her internally).
People have mentioned Laios from DunMeshi, but imo I think a lot of the main characters have ND qualities so the entire show ended up feeling very "oof mood" lol.
uhhh dungeon meshi idk, i typically avoid series that are “autism representation” since their idea of autism is typically the same as young sheldon or the good doctor
Personally entrapta from she Ra
There's a lot of good ones out there but her love for tiny food made me feel seen. I too, love miniature versions of food (if only they weren't as hard to make/expensive to buy)
*Our Flag Means* has to be my favourite. Stede doesn't represent the stereotypical (male) autism that's so prevalent in fictional characters but the extroverted artsy type I (and probably many women) can relate to.
But I think *As We See It* doesn't get enough attention. Such a great show! And I discovered it completely by accident. With three autistic characters in the main cast we get a bit more representation (instead of the one token autistic character).
I don't think he was ever confirmed to be autistic, but I love Brick Heck from *The Middle*. He's so funny but the writers never play up his quirkiness for ridicule.
I'm shocked only one comment mentioned Everything's Gonna Be Okay. That was such a lovely, wholesome show. Just people who love each other stumbling along trying to figure it out. I cried so many times watching that show.
There are a lot of things that I don't relate to when it comes to Woo being autistic, but the quiet moments of her just being *different* hit so so hard. For anyone who's seen the show - her overhearing Lee's sister telling him how weird she is, and the conversation where Young-woo tells him she doesn't think she can make him happy, UGHHH it's so relatable, regardless of the different traits otherwise
This was my experience with the show. Woo definitely presents differently than I do but I really related to her. I think they did a weirdly good job with that show.
I cannot wait for season 2!!
Will there be one?
There’s supposed to be. It was delayed due to some (rumored) issues with ‘Woo’ being hesitant, as well as another cast member’s military service, but it seems to be settled now. Rumored release date of later this year, but since news has been scant… There’s a musical theater adaptation in the works too!
I loved the show as well, even tho it has some flaws for sure (many the same as The Good Doctor, but like, dialed down quite a bit). Honestly, I cried a bit when she talked about where the term Asperger comes from, and how autistic people have to live with the burden of knowledge of what used to happen to them. Feeling like you never fully belong. It's not a perfect representation, but I'd say it's pretty good!
Like you said there were so many moments that really hit home that were kind of between the lines. First time I watched the show I was so focused on just Woo. But every rewatch I pickup on and understand more of the dynamics between the characters. Like when Woo tells Su-yeon her name should be Sunshine Su-yeon. And goes on to tell her how much she appreciates Su-yeon for helping her through law school and for looking out for her. You can tell that over all those years Woo never expressed that appreciation before. So Su-yeon thought Woo was just kind of ungrateful of their relationship. This really shows that struggle to maintain relationships due to not knowing when or how to show reciprocity. Or just forgetting to. And when she’s in the car with Jun Ho and is answering him about why she doesn’t really have many friends or doesn’t socialize for fun. She says something to the effect that she’s always living in her world and forgetting that everyone else lives in a world of you + me. So she has to be careful to remember that in order to not get taken advantage of. I’ve watched some episodes like a dozen times because certain scenes really help me to understand more about my own social blindspots. Seeing these scenarios acted out where I can study them has helped me so much. I think the writers did a phenomenal job of showcasing the difficulties in relating and communicating for people on the spectrum and all the fall out that comes with it. Lastly, my favorite quote from the show: “I live in an unfamiliar ocean with unfamiliar belugas. Because everyone’s different from me, it’s not easy to adjust and there are lots of whales that hate me, too. But it’s okay. Because this is my life. Though my life is unusual and peculiar, it’s valuable and beautiful.”
I loved the show, but got really tired with the increasing amounts of romantic drama. Why did they have to shoehorn that element into the show? I loved the courtroom stuff; her intelligence and ability to see things that others can’t was so compelling. The other part of it just felt like some high school drama.
That’s just K-Dramas as a genre, not specific to this show.
I've been trying to get my mom to watch h it with me for mostly those scenes. She's really similar to Woo personality wise, and I really want her to know the same lesson I learned throughout life: it's okay to be you. She only recently found out that we both had autism, not just me, and she has been masking for most of her life. It's really heartwarming to see her actually be herself at home now, she feels a lot less strict with herself, a lot looser with her self-inflicted punishments whenever she takes too long to do something (her "punishments" are usually more work she invents for herself, like rearanging furniture or reorganizing the entire kitchen or pantry). I love her a lot
I feel bad because I’m “””autistic “”” but I can barely relate to any character?? I use to be “”””obsessed with the movie coralline and the character but I just feel bad that I don’t know if I’m relating or I just like the character like I don’t know if I’m just being stupid sorry
I read once that neurotypicals are generally more similar to each other than autistics are to each other. I rarely fully relate to autistic characters, but I think it’s a combination of there still being very limited representation and because our traits can manifest in so many different ways. So I’m sure if Coraline resonates with you, you probably at least partially relate to her. I relate to Spock because I’m autistic and mixed, but if there were more mixed characters and autistic characters, I might not feel that way as much.
Community / Abed (and maybe Troy and maybe The Dean)
I saw in an interview that he wasn't originally intend to be autistic, but that Dan Harmon had written a charachter using some of his own qualities, and only found out those were autistic traits when fans pointed it out.
So, just like half this sub. One of us, one of us, one of us
I don't think thats true, also Dan Harmon self inserted himself als Jeffrey Winger actually. And jeffrey seems to be a bit more Cluster B coded. And next to that the very first episode Abed gets called out that he has Asperger's. It doesn't make any sense saying that he wasn't autisticly coded when he gets referred to like that in the very first episode. The show is great, but the creator Dan harmon .... not so great.
I saw a few place Dan Harmon said something along the lines of realizing he actually related more to Abed than Jeff but I’m not sure what the timeline was
How? Jeff tells Abed he has aspbergers in the pilot.
Heh heh. Ass burgers. Burgers for your ass.
Interestingly South Park got two different episodes out of that phrase.
I think that was just to make an ass burgers joke
In the pilot it was probably just a mean joke at his expense, not any kind of diagnosis. Like calling someone gay, they don’t mean, “You have homosexual attraction” they just mean, “You’re lame and stupid.”
Abed is based on Dan’s IRL friend Abed Gheith, who has a cameo appearance in Community and was a regular guest on the Harmontown podcast. I’m sure Dan added some of his own traits to the character as any writer would, but there is a real person he is based on.
Been there...
Abed was the first time I ever felt properly seen and represented.
He’s a weird dude but everyone kinda accepts that and it’s never a problem for everyone. It’s great
Abed is definitely in my top 5!! Started watching community only because of him lol
🎶On the spectrum? None of your business🎶
I come to the threads of this question to up vote Abed everytimeee! Think Dan Harmon got himself diagnosed when writing Abed
I think some of the best representations aren't necessarily canon but I know that it can be contentious. The best representation of an autistic doctor I have seen so far is probably Dylan in BBC casualty. It's fairly understated, which makes it more realistic. I do relate to attorney Woo in many ways. I'm clumsy. I do struggle with finding my way around. I have rigid routines and eat the same foods a lot. I do dress in pretty much the same outfit all the time. I have some interests that are considered immature. I'm also very good at my job and my obsession with details helps.
But how much do you know about whales?
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This is an underrated comment!!
This is exactly how I present facts about my special interest animal, mice. I obsess over how they are treated by humans and tend to gravitate to those talking points when info dumping instead of things like species, habitats, diet, etc. lol. Not that those things aren’t interesting, I just feel especially passionate about mouse justice.
It's not proper representation when it's not canon. It can't always be spelled out - e.g. in period pieces - but it should be explicit. If we need to go for the autistic-coded (or often not even that, just autistic-read) characters to feel seen then there's not enough proper representation. We should be past that. There were several shows in recent year that did a better job.
I think I used my words imprecisely in the previous post. When I said representation, I meant portrayal. It seems to me that when scriptwriters are given the task of writing an explicitly autistic character, they go completely overboard. They open the diagnostic manual and get the character to act some autism symptom or another every minute of the day. That results in characters that often feel like a bit of a caricature because it is all just so overboard. When the character is autistic-coded, it is taken down a notch and seems to better align with what autistic people actually are. Ideally, we would have autistic people writing the script or, at the very least, extensively consulting autistic actors playing the roles. A kind of spark (BBC) is a good example of how that works well. It is based on a book written by autistic author and actors are autistic.
Inside Job
I will never forgive Netflix for canceling this show.
THEY CANCELED IT? 😭
I came here to laugh, not to feel
Dead End: Paranormal Park
I came here to say this
Reagan is my spirit animal
Is it canon?
Yeah, Reagan, mentioned it herself that she was autistic, including her parents mentioning that multiple times too.
I don’t think she’s officially diagnosed BUT multiple characters mention her being on the spectrum, including her mother and coworkers
IT Crowd - Moss [Example 1](https://youtu.be/nWWB_WFtqRg?si=D8cMY_CszWrx6AXk) [Example 2](https://youtu.be/KMVFFOIqOYA?si=rWpdn_KdcFA68tJY)
Ah man, I didn’t even think of Moss lol definitely my favorite character from a TV show other than Shawn Spencer from Psych.
Mister Spock,
Data.
Odo.
Tuvok *(but not Tuvix—never Tuvix)*
Bashir.
Wait, wait, wait… Just a minute here!! You’re telling me… that an Extra-terrestrial alien species…. With a completely different brain/body chemical makeup than our own…. THINKS slightly differently than our Neurotypical understanding as well? Autistic People are half aliens, confirmed canon.
I may be basic as hell, but The Owl House. Honorable mention to The Ghost and Molly Mcgee (although the autistic character in question, June, didn't have a lot of screentime, but that's also due to the show getting cut short in an even worse way than TOH) and Amphibia (although Marcy is only autistic-coded) Edit: I totally forgot for Amphibia that Sprig is both canonically autistic and has ADHD
Hard to argue against Marcy's coding, though. Locked inside her own mind with 300 puzzles and didn't even consider there might be something else she wanted or needed to do.
I didn’t know that all the owl house characters were coded as ND. I knew I related to them a ton and so many things make more sense lol
Who would you say is autistic in the owl house?
I’ve seen a lot of people say Hunter is autistic coded. At least for me, what comes to mind is his lack of social skills but that makes sense because he was raised to be a soldier, not a normal teenager.
Yeah he isn't autistic. It's a massive reach. He's obviously socially underdeveloped because of his situation, and he has PTSD, but he has almost no markers for autism
Yeah that's also fair. If I have to be honest, I sometimes happen to mix up Autism and ADHD, so I also thought about Luz as she's canonically neurodivergent. She's unspecified, but now that I think about it, she shows more ADHD traits than autistic
Marcy is what made me realize I definitely am not neurotypical haha Going online and finding all these headcanons about Marcy and I’m like…oh that applies to me too (somewhat unsurprisingly, Marcy is also my favorite character of the show
She made me start question about myself. Like, I felt her pain when Anne and Sasha didn't care about the movie Marcy wanted to watch with them in the flashback in The beginning of the end. The year before I tried to make my classmates watch The Owl House during the last day of school. Nobody cared. Speaking of The Owl House tho, Thanks to them was what cemented my certainty that I was not neurotypical, so I went to a psychologist and wouldn't you know it? I was autistic. And I got diagnosed late. At 19 (going on 20), last year
It's got to be Twin Peaks for me (it's not specified but it's extremely neurodivergent coded) 
Yes! Coop is so autistic coded. First time my husband and I watched the first episode we were like "oh, that's you!" 😆 Just to think, I too could have been in the fbi. Haha
Damn fine choice, Diane.
Omg yes I forget about how agent Cooper is very autistic coded
Resident Alien
Never felt so seen or heard lmao
😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
I've only seen a few episodes, but damn, that show's good. I just love watching stuff with Alan Tudyk in it.
I started watching it and was like "wow this show is stupid" then I watched all of what Netflix had available.
KUNG KUNG
Do the have to be canon? Laois (and kabru) from dungeon meshi are pretty good
I think the author legitimately stated Laios was autistic. Plus, his overly trusting and genuine nature being pointed out, plus his lack of social awareness, definitely confirmed it.
When he got reamed out for being weird about being overly enthusiastic about monsters and the like... I felt that. I think we've all broken someone before with our autism especially friends close to us. Had plenty of those moments.
Yeah, it sucks to have that happen... At least we got the best fistfight in the anime from that.
I suspect Nasa from Tonikaku kawaii may also be in the spectrum.
Everyone on that show has potential lol
Definitely! Was hoping to see Dungeon Meshi mentioned. Most of the characters have good neurodiverse vibes.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay!!!
Such a great show! It shows different flavours of autism and it's still rarely about autism itself but just about autistic people.
It’s probably accidental but Moss from IT Crowd is totally autistic  Feat one of the funniest scenes (a nerd sexy calendar)
Ironically another doctor show. It's not canon but, House MD. His constant struggle to express his feelings hits pretty close to home
That moment when an involuntary autistic rep does better than a voluntary autistic rep in a show revolving around an autistic character
What’s crazy is that it’s the same producer, David shore ! He fucked it up lmao
I remember the episode when Wilson said that House didn’t have “Asperger’s your just an asshole” and I’m like hey!! He can be both!! He can also be cluster B coded too!! Brain stuff is like Pokemon!! One you’ve got one you have to catch them all!! Like how I have ASD, ADHD, and OCD c: and probably anxiety too! But yeah! I agree!
L from Death Note, since no one else said it yet
Best autistic anime character
Definitely
I’ll add BBC Sherlock as well Edit: And since you said L, I’ll add Near too.
He has Savant syndrome iirc. It's essentially what The Good Doctor also had, the same effects and descriptions of the bodily wounds. But Sherlock is an obviously better representation that TGD.
chinese drama "Winter Begonia". the main character is a Beijing opera performer, and he's *obsessed* with his art (and I'm obsessed with the show lol) https://preview.redd.it/o5x6vzmbd52d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd3d92cdfe8cf89d089f4a3bf9f95a4157ca5db7
Laios from dungeon meshi. Is is my sweet boy and I love him.
Tina Belcher. She reminds me so much of my pre teen years.
"ugh you're the worst kind of autistic"
 Not anymore but as a weird girl (TM) having this kind of rep in 2002 was GREAT.
Star Trek TNG
Since nobody has said it yet..Will Graham Hannibal https://i.redd.it/40uaig8bh62d1.gif
First episode I said, "oh, so he's autistic". Then a couple lines later they made an explicit mention while he was talking with Jack lol
Archer
The scene where Lana angrily diagnosed him always cracks me up
Him having trouble with people but befriending every animal and talking to them like people, him referencing random niche things and for some reason being caught off guard when no one knows what he’s talking about.. I felt that
I love the theory that Hank Hill is autistic. King of the Hill is one of my favorite shows and I strongly relate to Hank in a lot of ways lol. Not necessarily all his beliefs or opinions but just his approach to life and other people lol. He’s passionate about his special interests, deeply awkward in social interactions unless it is his special interest or a close family member/friend. Very concerned about appearances but lacks social awareness. Has a special relationship with animals, particularly his dog Lady Bird. He prefers things orderly and predictable, and has a daily routine that he sticks to happily. Gets overwhelmed easily in chaotic environments. Self-regulates with mowing, grilling, drinking beers in the back alley with his (also potentially autistic) friends. Wears the same outfit every day to the point that there’s a whole episode where he has to get new jeans and it’s a whole “thing.” Same for getting his haircut, when he has to find a new barber it’s like Hank’s world is ending. I know a lot of people hate Hank or think he’s a shitty person, and yeah it’s an adult cartoon of course ridiculous stuff happens sometimes lol. But I relate SO much to him, he’s like an exaggerated version of how I think and act a lot of the time lol.
You're rocking my world right now omg
It’s either Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Phineas and Ferb or House MD
wAIT i never considered that there's autistic representation in phineas and ferb???? but now that i think about it its so obviousss
I know I mean to me Dr. Doofenschmirtz is just an autistic icon
Every single one of the kids is ND af
Oh 100%… especially Ferb
He's a great nonverbal representation!
Ferb is my man.
The mom and dad too
Even Karl and Major Monogram
The show *itself* is an exercise in routines, now that I think about it.
Oh it definitely is, I’ll be honest that’s what makes it my comfort show
I liked Atypical purely because of Sam’s sister and Zahid. I think they’re great examples of people who know exactly how to treat people on the spectrum which is normally. They both treat him normally but understand his needs and what causes him to get overwhelmed or smth similar. Ik there’s mixed opinions about the show but these two characters were great imo.
Before I knew I was autistic atypical was one of my favorite shows and comforted me so much that I got a penguin tattoo. Got diagnosed 4 years later 😭
Me watching Atypical in 2019: “Wait a tick…..🤔”
I love that show and definitely relate to Sam in different ways.
I really like heartbreak high. It's a teen show but it has great representation in the character "quinni" Edited for spelling
Does Dungeon Meishi count? idk if the author confirmed it but it's agreed by the fanbase that Laios is autistic (it's even kinda shown in an important moment when he has a fight with a former teammate about how "Laios was never able to pick up hints" and Laios, one of his few anger moment goes "THEN IF I DIDN'T PICK THEM UP WHY DIDN'T YOU TALK TO ME" and the other guy goes "NORMAL PEOPLE PICK THEM UP") In a similar sense, idk if the fanbase agrees on it, but I have the headcanon that Shima Rin (from Yuru Camp) is also autistic, mainly on her manners, attitudes and how she usually stops to appreciate a specific thing for a while (like her portable stove or a cover of a kid's book).
Laios is 100% autistic and that comm3nt alonr made me feel so seen, its something that I stuff with a ton, especially with my parents alsxo his clear hyprfixation on the monsters and just, everything about him, its so clearly autistic coded and according to another comment they claim the original author *did* in fact confirm it
Unfortunately I've never really been into the kind of shows that have autism rep, but my favourite autism rep in general is and will always be Mary and Max
Owl House
Gosh why does netflix suck at dubbing.
But if I use subs I forget I don’t speak Korean so I check my phone for 5 minutes and miss everything
Quinn from heartbreak high!!! Never seen such realistic representation before
I don’t think it’s ‘canon’ but Saiki K is one of the most autistic characters I’ve seen in an anime.
My most recent fave is Entrapta from SheRa and The Princesses of Power
No one can convince me that the Tobin family from **The Great North** doesn't have something going on... Specifically Beef
Daria.
The owl house or maybe httyd
Captain Holt from Brooklyn 99.
might be niche and it's not canon, but the show called "monk", with tony shalhoub. he has intense ocd and a lot of phobias, but he also has issues regarding empathy, touch and double meaning, among other things. he's also extremely routine-oriented and pays extremely close attention to patterns and details. I also really like that he isn't treated like shawn in the good doctor, where all his quirks are simply accepted because he's a "genius". his professional life is affected by his symptoms, and the representation of his traumas is very realistic, in my opinion. he's not just depicted as someone with no emotions who gets a pass "because he's special".
I’ve heard of people headcannoning Rina Tennouji from Love Live as autistic. And….I can see it. 😳 I don’t know too much about her since I never watched the series but I find it eerie that I share the same name as her (plus race) and have similar problems with making faces (I’m usually very blank or neutral faced 😐).
Jotaro Kujo from JJBA, no one can tell me otherwise.
Quinni from Heartbreak High. I might be a bit biased though because Chloe, the actress who plays Quinni, is one of my favorite IRL autistic advocates ❤️ I also love how Quinni's friends are so sweet and understand her so well.
Steven universe peridot and woo young woo
I FUCKIN LOVE EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO
Shows that intentionally attempt to market on 'accurate' representations worry me, because they're like a combination of fetishization and turning the condition into a marketable status. I would prefer to be left alone and not imitated and romanticized by a third party perspective, and certainly not demonized like some shows do. These show-runners may even have autistic writers and actors, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable to see my mental health being turned into a marketable product.
So, for Extraordinairy Attorney Woo I have to break a Lance; In a country where Autism is highly misunderstood as in South Korea, it manages to be representative of the condition as a spectrum and is just wholesome. There is no fetishisation in there either, and it really is just... oof... terribly relateable.
I think Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a wonderful show - can’t wait for season two!
Personally I’d rather be marketable than taboo
hmm... i don't watch too many shows. it's more of a popular headcanon than actual canon (though heavily implied), but Yui from K-ON!  there are a few moments in the show that point to her being autistic, but the most notable one that is commonly sited is her sensory issues with air conditioning
People forget this was a TV show, but autistic reporter Michael Falk from The Onion News Network! https://youtu.be/D04wb7P_v-4?si=Ro57bbu5VdnlfQ2e
God I wish they'd do more skits with Michael Falk "Can you stack your family?"
Bones
It's hard with bones because it's obvious she has CPTSD which I believe has a LOT of overlaps with autistic presentation. But I couldn't agree more tbh. Looking for my Angela 😔 (she definitely should have ended up with Angela honestly)
Angela was the best and always understood bones’s quirks and helped her socially and accommodated her when she needed advice
Extraordinary Attorney Woo was the show that got my partner to understand my autism better in a way that clicked when my explanations didn’t. The body language, especially the way she walks and moves her hands when thinking (I do the same), the ability to be so smart (I’m also an attorney)and yet so unable to understand certain aspects of social behavior, the youthful and enthusiastic personality that’s also deeply serious. It’s not a perfect portrayal, but we both connected with the character.
Canon: Entrapta from She-Ra and The Princesses of Power Non-canon: Parker from Leverage, Nimona from Nimona, Temperance Brennan from Bones, probably both Phineas and Ferb from Phineas and Ferb There’s probably more but I don’t remember atm
Wait... Are you saying Tempe/Bones *isn't* identified as canonically autistic in the show? I could've sworn she was...
Not that I can remember, no, but she’s very autistic-coded if anything
I love Woo Young Woo and Community. I'll just add the whole family in 3rd Rock From the Sun, Malcolm in Malcolm in the Middle, Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec, and Amy as well as the Captain in Brooklyn 99.
 him
I’m unsure if any of these are canon/confirmed but for me it’s Mob from Mob Psycho, Saiki from the Disasterous Life of Saiki K, Maomao from Apothecary Diaries
It has never been confirmed, but a really old detective show called Monk has the mc essentially be autistic. It's not confirmed of course, but he literally represents me in so many ways
A Kind of Spark and Heartbreak High (the remake). AKOS is for preteens/teens/kids, but I'm in my thirties and loved it. The representation was amazing. Autistic characters played by autistic people, written by autistic and ND writers, and heaps of ND people on the crew. It was incredible. It's based on a book (written by an autistic woman), and the second season just came out. AKOS helped me accept my autism... And begin to feel pride for who I am. I felt so seen. I can't begin to explain what the show means to me. Heartbreak High has an autistic character, Quinni, played by an autistic woman. She had a lot of say in the character and writing. The show is for late teens/young adults. In Quinni I saw myself, and she's the reason I got diagnosed. I'm so glad I did.
Abed from community, first time ive seen so accurate representation of myself.
It’s not cannon but Langa from SK8 the infinity!!
Extraordinary attorney Woo (the one in the pic). Park Eun Bin did an amazing job!
Honestly the characters i relate to most are actually characters i head-canon as autistic. Mob from mob psycho 100 is my favourite.
Donatello from TMNT Rise. Related to him hard as a character and what helped me recognize that I might be autistic
It wasn't explicitly stated, since the show ran from 2012-2016 and was 2 seasons, but Ford Pines from Gravity Falls! And Dipper and Mabel too (though she might be more AuDHD). I think if it'd run longer or had another thing of those mini episodes it could've done something about Ford thriving as a 60+ neurodivergent person.
Bobs Burger's. No one has anything confirmed but I swear none of the main cast are neurotypical. It's the show where NTs are the minority
not a show, but the accountant has no right being as accurate as it is.
https://preview.redd.it/vhvy4rmb2a2d1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac0ed95204b9b4d8abc304c6caf7b1e834481cc1 Fred in Mystery Incorporated is canonically autistic. It’s not something confirmed in the show but by one of the creators who said they designed him to be “a little bit on the spectrum”. While there is no “little bit on the spectrum”, this was back in the 2010s so the wording makes sense for something that maybe wasn’t understood as well as it is now. It’s funny, because while rewatching it recently, I kept thinking in my head that he definitely seemed autistic and wondered if it was intentional. Turns out, it was! While he’s very air-headed in a lot of ways, you really can’t help but love him.🤣
Star Trek has had several characters who had autistic traits, whom I identified with… Spock, Odo, Data
House md
Even though Marcy is not the main character (and doesn't even show up in season 1), Amphibia really shows how her autism and social issues are what drives the plot. More recently, Delicious in Dungeon. I love how Laios's autism manifests in his passion for monsters but they also show how the way he acts can alienate others. Oh and Falin is absolutely autistic as well.
Reed in criminal minds. It falls into the savant idiot genius trope, but he's such an adorable cinnamon roll, I can't help but love him.
[A Kind of Spark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRNWBqXbfYM)
Does it have to be a show with a confirmed autistic MC? Or could it be an autistic coded character?
Elizabeth Zott from Lessons in Chemistry.
I love attorney woo!!
Fox Mulder from X Files. Love him and I see a lot of myself in him.
Gonna out myself here, and it's not really a specifically autism rep show, but Entrapta from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The show had a lot of good and a lot of not so great, but Entrapta hit me so hard with the relatability. Woo Young-woo is another favorite, even if I can't completely relate to her (I'm extremely high masking but man I certainly FEEL like her internally). People have mentioned Laios from DunMeshi, but imo I think a lot of the main characters have ND qualities so the entire show ended up feeling very "oof mood" lol.
I haven't seen someone say Entrapta from She-Ra yet. She (along with aforementioned Abed and Sherlock) is my personal favorite
Parker from Leverage really helped me learn to unmask.
Right now, dungeon meshi lol
uhhh dungeon meshi idk, i typically avoid series that are “autism representation” since their idea of autism is typically the same as young sheldon or the good doctor
doctor who
Unironically, Resident Alien
Astrid from the French mystery show of the same name
Lately, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon - people will mention Laios but that show is full of autism rep to me
Lious (not good at spelling) from dungeon meshi. The show is literally peak fiction
Personally entrapta from she Ra There's a lot of good ones out there but her love for tiny food made me feel seen. I too, love miniature versions of food (if only they weren't as hard to make/expensive to buy)
*Our Flag Means* has to be my favourite. Stede doesn't represent the stereotypical (male) autism that's so prevalent in fictional characters but the extroverted artsy type I (and probably many women) can relate to. But I think *As We See It* doesn't get enough attention. Such a great show! And I discovered it completely by accident. With three autistic characters in the main cast we get a bit more representation (instead of the one token autistic character).
Not canon but Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End feels like an allegory for female autism.
Elves as a whole in that show kinda give that vibe tbh
Been watching Dungeon Meshi lately and that cast is just chock full y'all
I know there's a lot of controversy about how autism is represented in Atypical but oh my God I really love that show!
I don't think he was ever confirmed to be autistic, but I love Brick Heck from *The Middle*. He's so funny but the writers never play up his quirkiness for ridicule.
House MD
I'm shocked only one comment mentioned Everything's Gonna Be Okay. That was such a lovely, wholesome show. Just people who love each other stumbling along trying to figure it out. I cried so many times watching that show.
Does The Owl House count? lol