Elementary introduced an Autistic Character

[sinisterporpoise]

 Last night's Elementary featured an autistic character as a love interest for the title character. (I wasn't going to post today at all, but I needed to get as much of this out while it was still as fresh as possible.)

When it comes to myself, I don't consider myself to be Autistic. I know I have Asperger's Syndrome or whatever it is now, but it seems that I've never been aware of how it affected my life.  I noticed that she tended to break some of her sentences up the way I do at times, although I doubt I would have noticed this if I hadn't started doing videos. She often seemed to focus more on not picking up on signals. Now, this seems a bit unrealistic to me. I know I often don't pick up on non-verbal cues and I am terrible at recognizing flirting.  

I have also, never in my life, described anyone as Neurotypical, although she did so frequently.  To his credit, Johnny Lee Miller's character responded that he abhorred the typical.  She also seemed to be far more obsessive about things than I am, including trying to make sure she followed appropriate social proprieties.

Now, she had very little to do with the main case, but I was surprised to see a depiction of a person with autism on television as a sexual being, and a possible Romantic love interest for one of the main characters.  I think there may have  been some flaws in the actress's performance, but I'll let other people judge that.

As for applying these things to me -- well, if I ever figure out how to have a successful romantic relationship with a member of the opposite sex or of the same sex, I'm sure I will let you know.   I think it may be wise for me to try her strategy of letting other people know what she wanted because she couldn't read them.

As to why I've never defined myself that way -- I've just never felt a need.  Something about the autistic communities I've seen online just doesn't click with me. Maybe that's because I see way too much from Autism $peaks.

Comments

[silk_dragon_zen]

I think you're right: you're seeing way too much from Autism $peaks and other pathologizing sources.

I suspect you might gain a better perspective on things if you were to read Steve Silberman's book _Neurotribes_.

By the way, “Asperger's Syndrome” has been subsumed by the current DSM under “Autistic Spectrum Disorder”. I'm cool with “Autistic Spectrum”, but not so cool with calling it a “disorder”. Yes, for some people it can manifest in disabling ways, but I think of it as more of a broad neurotype that can include people of a vast variety of abilities and/or impairments.

[sinisterporpoise]

I'm still in the habit of calling it Asperger's Syndrome. If there's a school of thought of this at all, it's just always something I've been. I've never thought of it as a disability. The depression and anxiety that came from the way others treated me when I was younger *are* a disability for me, particularly when they relapse. (Note to self: Pay attention to the warnings about thyroid disease and ephedra-containing products in the future. It seems that the interaction between the condition, thyroid disease and caffeine *causes* severe anxiety attacks.)

Well, I did download some books onto my Kindle app last night, but I think those were political texts that I thought I should read at some point. I'll probably have to download Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" to avoid ending up on a government watch list after downloading "Anarchism and Other Essays" and "The Communist Manifesto." I'll see what I can do about getting "Neurotribes" on my Kindle app tomorrow.

I should have posted this after watching the episode, and maybe I shouldn't have posted this so close to my bed time. I was just a little surprised to see this. Some aspects of her performance were overplayed to make it clear that she wasn't "normal" whatever that may mean. I hope she's a recurring character.

[silk_dragon_zen]

Oh, wow, I didn't know anything containing ephedra was even legal anymore given how many deaths there have been from it. (Unless you're talking about pseudoephedrine, which is also not great in combo with caffeine.)

I'd offer to buy you your copy of Neurotribes, but first I need to fix the problem with the other book.

[sinisterporpoise]

Pseudoephedrine is most likely what I meant, since that is the decongestant in cold medicines. But I'm pretty sure it isn't in the over-the-counter nasal sprays I was using to clear the nasal passages. (I'll ask about this tomorrow.)

I will get a copy of the book soon. While I don't quite have a paycheck, it seems I have more income streams right now and they might become useful. They'll be a bit more useful when I can quit picking up items I need for side projects.

[sinisterporpoise]

I finally go the full version of the Happiness Trap onto my Kindle app today.

[silk_dragon_zen]

Wow, how did you manage that? (Please don't tell me you paid for it. ETA: But if you did, please let me get you _Neurotribes_.)

[sinisterporpoise]

It took some doing. It wasn't easy to convince the Indian call center employees that Lara Landis is the same person who is listed on my Amazon account, since it's software doesn't handle name changes well.

[silk_dragon_zen]

Oh, that problem. Yeah, my wish list still lists me by an old fake name (which I'm afraid I'm just going to have to fix by deleting the whole thing and starting over again).

ETA: I'm very happy you finally have the book!!!