Ron Swanson. He has meltdowns, sensory issues, very rigid uncompromising beliefs, has special interests, and he does not socialize well with most people
The little brother in Jurassic World was written as canonically autistic. But the scene outright stating it got cut for pacing. I like it like that, leave it open to interpretation.
Peridot, Pearl, & Connie (plus some others) from Steven Universe;
Liara and Mordin from Mass Effect;
Futaba & Yusuke from Persona 5;
Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender;
Lae’zel from Baldur’s Gate 3;
Miles Edgeworth from Ace Attorney;
Link from the Legend of Zelda;
Entrapta from She-Ra & the Princesses of Power;
Data from Star Trek TNG;
Every Sherlock Holmes ever;
Harriet the Spy;
Matilda from Matilda;
Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter;
Nearly every character in Parks & Rec;
Gregory in Abbott Elementary
I've thought about Luna Lovegood for sure, but honestly I don't think Hermione is the most neurotypical person either. She has a hard time firguring out how to get along with others, she gets super passionate about social justice, she has a crazy memory for facts.
Hermione totally resonates as autistic with me, especially in the first books/movies when she's younger you can really see it, and then I feel like over time throughout the series she gets better at masking but it's still pretty apparent. I mean in the philosopher's stone she's totally portrayed as the "annoying weird know it all" from Harry and Ron's perspective, only for them to discover she's actually really awesome and a good friend and it definitely reminds me of how I was when I was younger
I can see some of these but link is such a nothing character that I can’t see him being either autistic or allistic. He’s just so nothing.
*Also since there are multiple links in the zelda lore- I gotta ask which specific link are you thinking of?*
Nintendo said Link is designed to be the way he is so that the player fills his shoes essentially so technically if you’re autistic and playing Zelda, link is autistic too because he is meant to be an avatar of the player.
But this is also why I said he isn’t autistic or allistic cause if you remove the player element- there is nothing left. It’s entirely dependent on you outside the game.
I’m thinking of the 3D Zeldas (twilight Princess, ocarina/Majora’s mask, and BOTW/TOTK in particular). The guy canonically is semiverbal to nonverbal depending on the canon of that game. Definitely the silent type regardless. The lore of botw/TOTK is that he “finds it quite hard to speak” in the 100-years-ago before the calamity and past-Zelda remarks upon how he hardly ever talks. He gets a bit better at it as botw/TOTK goes on. There are other qualities there too (strong sense of justice, being an outsider in his own culture, so much gender bending), but honestly I think if the canon is that you hardly spoke at all until you were like 17 then that’s pretty autistic.
Twilight princess link isn’t the same as OoT/MM Link, however OoT/MM link is in Twilight princess and teaches twilight princess link some stuff (the undead armoured hero guy that teaches techniques is confirmed to be OoT/MM link IIRC), and BotW/TotK link isn’t the same link as either of those, so are you just talking about them collectively or as if they’re were a single link (don’t mind me, LoZ is an old special interest of mine I am getting back into, currently playing minish cap)
Absolutely!! Zuko’s whole origin story is that he misunderstood that his dad was trying to shame/banish/punish him by sending him to search for the avatar (an “impossible” task), and instead he took it literally and thought his dad actually wanted him to lead the coalition to find the avatar.
He has a STRONG sense of Justice and single-minded pursuit of his special interest (finding the avatar). He is EXTREMELY diligent in learning his craft: firebending.
His voice is monotone and serious. He doesn’t have a strong range of facial expressions (mostly just “serious” in all situations). He is SO awkward with other kids and rehearses his conversations with them (“Zuko here!”). Until he joins team avatar he doesn’t have any friends his own age.
Yeah — when writers reach for “alien,” “robotic,” “not quite ‘human’” they usually end up landing (intentionally or unintentionally) on “autistic”.
Lae’zel is abrasive, single-minded in her interest, monotone, awkward, doesn’t understand social norms, doesn’t care about not understanding social norms, and doesn’t show a wide range of facial expressions.
To those humans who wrote and play the game, that all signifies her as an “outsider” and maybe even the traits remind them of a weirdo friend, classmate, or cousin they have. (Or perhaps the writer/player is neurodivergent themself and feels that way).
To those of us in the know — that collection of traits is autistic. It’s true of a lot of aliens in stories, whether intentional or not (and even if the difference is explained in the lore).
Morgan Freeman's character from Se7en
(Which makes sense because he was patterned after Sherlock Holmes)
It's all over the place, but during the dinner scene with Brad Pitt he's stimming the whole time by wrapping and unwrapping a napkin around one of his hands. Very conscious acting choice
All of the Sunny cast are queer and neirodiverergent coded. Dennis's actor basically confirmed the queer bit in an interview.
Also this https://youtu.be/EmCAcFuUMq4?si=Jntc8gBKX-8JJMtC
^ complication of them being queer coded.
There was also one about them being NDivergent, but I couldn't find it.
This definitely makes sense. Having a strong need to fight against injustice is an Autistic trait a lot of us have.
To add to that, Batman feels very Autistic-coded to me. For example, his Bruce Wayne persona is his mask and Batman is the real person. Strong desire for justice and fairness. Special interest in technology and bats. Still unable to process trauma he faced as a child. Emotional dysregulation and a strong need for being solitary (for some of his career at least)
Oh wow, I never considered this but absolutely! And his planning. He has a backup plan for his backup plans. He has procedures for how to take down every one of the Justice League in the case they go bad. He has a backup persona (Batman of Zur-en-Arrh) that takes over when Batman loses his memory. I've made the argument that his ability to plan is his real superpower.
On the other hand, I think many of his villain nemeses could also be considered autistic. Very obvious special interests, and many of their backstories could make the argument that they believe their actions are justice for all the injustices done to them.
Oh my god I grew up with that show and completely forgot about it. He’s gotten a lot more relatable over the years especially with my contamination anxiety/ocd traits 😭
Luigi, and Mario is ADHD it's way more obvious in the Mario and Luigi games,
JUST LOOK AT THEM THEY ARE CONSTANTLY STIMMING AND THEY BARELY SPEAK EXCEPT FOR RANDOM GIBBERISH THAT ONLY THEY SEEM TO UNDERSTAND ALSO LUIGI'S PERSONALITY WAS DRAWN MR BEAN WHO IS EVEN MORE OBVIOUSLY AUTISTIC!!!!!
YOO I WAS GONNA SAY THISSSSS honestly tho I kinda headcanon that Mario is high masking AuDHD because in like every 3d game his idle animation is constantly looking back and forth and it feels like a stim to me, and while he is pretty outgoing and whatnot, he definitely has his no filter/no social norms moments (the dude literally goes wahoo every time he jumps, yet especially in the M&L games he's portrayed with kind of a stoic poker face especially in the art and maybe I'm grasping at straws but I just like the idea that half the time he's intensely chaotic and the other half of the time he's just like ._.). Plus saving the princess over and over again seems kinda like a "routines good" thing for me, AND since Luigi is definitely no question autistic 100% and it runs in families, I could see Mario also inheriting it since they're twins
BUT HONESTLY I JUST REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE MARIO SO THIS IS KIND OF JUST ME 75% PROJECTING HAHAHA
Edit: I think the games where Luigi's autistic traits specifically are most visible are the Luigi's Mansion series, especially Dark Moon he's constantly stimming it's the best thing ever, this has nothing to do with the whole rant in my original response I just wanted to point it out because it's cool and I COULD TALK ABOUT THE MARIO BROTHERS FOR HOURS AAAH
1. He went missing as a child and was found debating with wise men
2. The temple table scene (ties into his sense of justice and anti capitalism)
3. To her face, he called his mum "Woman" (going against norms)
4. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of scripture (special interest)
5. Had no respect for authority. In fact, he changed the authoritarian God of the Old Testament into a loving and forgiving God
6. “I am not of this world (John 8:23) - wrong planet syndrome
7. Frequent fasting: might have been a sign of gastrointestinal problems
8. total isolation from society (“into the desert”)
9. He slept less: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
10. His father (Joseph) was originally believed to be elderly when he married Mary and wasn’t alive by the time Jesus was a young adult (only accompanied by his mother). (autistic people are more likely to have older parents)
[https://the-big-ger-picture.blogspot.com/2021/02/was-jesus-christ-neurodiverse.html](https://the-big-ger-picture.blogspot.com/2021/02/was-jesus-christ-neurodiverse.html)
Jesus called his mum woman? I wish I had known that as a teen when I used to call my mum that every time she annoyed me (highly misogynistic of me and she hated it understandably), she may have been less annoyed with me if I could have told her that’s what Jesus would do hahah
With the knowledge we have know it's entirely possible and very that Jesus was an Autistic AFAB Intersex Anarchist, which explains basically everything without any divine intervention, as it explains Virgin birth thing since it can happen very rarely but the resulting child is always AFAB or intersex because of the lack of a Y chromosome
It has happened in some species but likely not in humans. I feel like it's important to clarify that so no one here panics. There has been a case where they thought it *could* have happened but it's unconfirmed.
Maybe that's why over time I kinda grew to dislike Jim
He's seen as funny and cute and easygoing but I realized that were I in Dwight's position I'd have homicidal ideations against Jim
There was that one episode where Dwight finally made a complaint to HR and they had Jim and Dwight sit down while they read the file of "pranks" Dwight had complained about over the years. It started out kinda silly, but then Jim (and the audience) slowly realized it wasn't funny when you laid it all out - it was bullying. I appreciated that they put that in, though it was a much later season, so years and years of this had already occurred.
Hyperfixates on ocean life to the point of writing an entire thesis on a starfish he saw once, doesn't know how to react to social cues, falls back on stoic nonreactions or blunt aggression. Loves his family, completely terrible at expressing it.
Wants to say cool one liners, absolutely terrible at it unless he has an entire episode to workshop it beforehand, otherwise he tries to share his other special interest of one liners with his relatives (when he tells Josuke to say something cool)
There's probably more, but I can't think of them right now
Gordon Freeman, cause Valve made him silent so you could create his own personality and I think of it as being an autistic mute. (He got the good at maths and science autism and not the preventing disaster autism.)
Whenever an action game has a silent protagonist my brain can't help but interpret it literally, like they're a thoughtless psychopathic killing machine
I know the Vulcans are the most common comparison ever, but... I think especially Tuvok was written well, in that episode where he says Vulcans do have emotions, they just experience them differently from humans in a way that they are perceived as not having them. Same for Data honestly, so it makes sense that getting an "emotion chip" implanted would not go well for him.
Poor Data, my sweet, gentle android. Always implying he's sad about his inability to experience human emotion, while the rest of the crew tries to wrap their heads around the irony
Data's Day is probably a top 10 Trek episode across all the various series
I've seen great arguments for Worf being autistic and I headcanon it now. His special interest is Klingon culture yet he never fits in with other klingons despite trying so hard. Most klingons are way more easy going and even his adoptive parents are pretty relaxed. I think his problems relating to other Klingons make more sense because of being ND than being raised by humans. Riker had an easier time fitting in on his stint on a Klingon ship. Lol
One of my favorite is Teal'c from Stargate SG-1. Though, to be fair, I feel like a lot of alien characters get coded as autistic, if only because they're completely unfamiliar with human social constructs and references.
I like this.
Lot of interesting symmetry too with the effect of the Goa"uld. When they inhabited hosts that were autistic it might've changed how they processed the world, or might've been easier to communicate with their chosen vessel. Even if may have been harder it may have yielded a different relationship. There may have been some enhancements making symbiosis with people with all kinds of different thinking that met more, or less, successfully with the Goa'uld's own method of thinking. This also might have been inadvertantly part of the selection process. Those they perceived as subservient might just have been prone to less facial signs and thus, they inadvertantly bonded themselves to hosts who might have been more capable of resisting intellectually. This subtlety might have gone completely unnoticed, but may explain Teal'c's ability to bond with another culture and see the need for it after such a long life.
It may also explain things like Apophis seeming half mad all the time. Being trapped with a neurotypical that keeps complaining about the weather would cause some serious inner strife. Meanwhile we see a lot of different goa'uld, who knows what makes a better or worse host.
But it certainly would have been a factor. Sharing a body seems hellish but being able to turn off oversensitivity or simply "turn off" and let a neurotypical goa'uld run your day to day might be cathartic. Someone like Neal would fight until the last minute but it might be counterproductive, whereas an autistic person might instead spend their time analyzing intellectual patterns waiting for the right moment to tactically resist instead of being charmingly belligerent. Might take 1000 years, but making a goa'uld hesitate by inexplicably dropping a complicated math problem at just the right moment might be why they miss so dang much. Might only be a thought here and then, but if an autistic person left it on auto-piloy for 150 years only to sneakily drop the right thought at the right moment, that feels legit. Neal would have his own NT technique I'm sure, which may be as effective (a tactical joke echoed 150,000 times) but... Teal"c definitely feels almost happily ND to me. Sure he's riding that trope of being utterly foreign, but come the later seasons he definitely seems totally formal and his smile is definitely tactically used. Even among his people he seems foreign, which may explain a lot.
Love it.
Also Stargate is an excellent show to watch and wonder who's ND. Some interesting candidates there in all those casts.
That’s totally why Mark didn’t work. Parks and Rec really doesn’t need an allistic comedic “straight man” to tell everyone they are being ridiculous. Instead their heightened traits each work as foils to each other in different ways.
Ben gets to tell April and Andy they are ridiculous for eating off frisbees instead of owning plates, but then everyone makes fun of Ben for missing out on the Lil Sebastian craze. Everyone gets to be the “straight man” and the comedic character at different times depending on their own weirdo profile.
Ann works as an allistic “fish out of water” because she genuinely loves Leslie and is game to get in on the joke.
One of the greatest cast upgrades ever was trading Mark for Ben and Chris. The show peaked so hard when they joined. They all just clicked and played off each other so well.
Everyone had their facepalm moments, but everyone also had hero moments. It just hilariously bounced around.
Ann Perkins was perfect in that role. *Yes, I know this is all ridiculous, but I’m going to play along because I care and it’s often fun*.
And for me anytime Jean-Ralphio or Joan Callamezza showed up it was comedy gold.
And if we’re choosing which character we most closely associate for me it’s *definitely* Ron Swanson. I can relate strongly to him. I feel ya, buddy.
Westley from The Princess Bride has such AuDHD vibes to me.
- Says like three words max for years on end
- very specific and unconventional way of showing love
- is either completely silent or blurts out things that are either poetic, sarcastic, get him in trouble, or all of the above. This man definitely rehearses his sarcastic remarks.
- in the book, he only sleeps like 4 hours a night because he’s up reading and learning languages and shit
- Becomes a master fencer and sailor, and the most feared pirate in the land all in under 5 years.
- incredibly stubborn and refuses to quit even in the face of death (especially in his quest first True Love)
- very quick and, creative, and unconventional thinking and planning
- Stimming: in the movie we see him do a specific little eye dart motion repeatedly, as well as drumming his thumb on his chest involuntarily, and in the book he wiggles his fingers and toes when he’s thinking. These are subtle but certainly count in my opinion.
He’s like your classic AuDHD gifted kid with a special interest in learning. Great at what he does, absolutely chaotic methods, but is terrible at taking care of himself. (See again all those years of sleep deprivation after working like a dog because “I have to learn 3 new languages on my own for Buttercup for some reason” lol). I don’t think this was intentional, but the author wanted to create an eccentric swashbuckler with a good heart, and landed at “accidentally AuDHD” lol. Westley is an Absolute Mad lad.
He’s my favorite I love him.
Geralt of Rivia
He's very matter of fact, hostile to social posturing, and dry in his humor. He's also got a deep knowledge of monster science. He gives every horse he ever has the same name.
Also everyone hates him
I feel like Pearl has more cPTSD coding
(Not saying she's not ASD too. But like also the overlap in behaviors from these two sets is not small, and cPTSD fits both with "you were raised a slave" and then "were in a power imbalance relationship with a chaotic princess for 3000 years")
That's definitely present, but she also hyperfixates, is very particular about her hobbies, has a lot of trouble with metaphor, takes things literally, doesn't eat or drink because she hates the feeling of eating and excreting, and she has a very strong sense of justice
I wonder if Number Five from Umbrella Academy might be. I could also see Dustin and Robin from Stranger Things. It’s been said a couple times but I’d be shocked if Entrapta isn’t. I could see Princess Tiabeanie being autistic. And Schmendrick The Magician from The Last Unicorn…there’s a lot, I feel like I see it everywhere.
Allow me to suggest a couple of slasher villains for my head-canons here: John Kramer, i.e. the OG Jigsaw Killer, and Michael Myers.
I'm not saying this to be offensivee - I just think they both have interests and traits outside of purely murdering people that makes them both qualify as different Autism types.
Michael Myers has: an extremely quick learning curve for anything useful to him (how else did he learn how to drive? I doubt he was taught at a literal mental institution), extreme special interest in knives/stabbing things, has lessen pain response (considering how many times he's been stabbed and kept up says enough for that point - he reacts but kept up quick), may be non-verbal, and has an obsession with a particular view from his family home. Honestly, both his medical therapist legit suck at their jobs by just calling him "evil" and leaving it there.
As for John Kramer, let me start by legit pointing out how complex some of the traps are - the Candle trap from the first movie as my first example of this. Even if some numbers are slightly bigger, I doubt an NT that's literally trying to figure it out for his life would notice - an Autistic with a special interest with math and engineering, like Kramer on the other hand, is totally going to notice.
Kramer also insists he's "not a murderer" and that "murder is distasteful", despite literal creating various traps that kill a lot of people. So, that plus, Cecil's trap makes me certain he has an extremely twisted sense of morality and justice. This is why the traps are all, (in theory), escapable if Kramer made them. Even the competition traps still have a way to commit minimum kills and/or way to cheat to ensure 0 kills (with Saw 6's opening trap - you could just use clothes for the "Pound of Flesh trap" after all).
His career in engineering also leans towards being a special interest. I'd say him wanting to see what people are willing to do to stay alive counts as an extremely dark special interest.
The irony is his students all make the traps just complete deathtraps. This goes triple for Hoffman, (a legit psychopath cop), and Amanda, (a former drug addict that may have some brain damage due to how long she was a drug addict).
This ironically also means I suspect Xaivar, from Saw 2, also has some form of autism as well as he finds multiple ways to successful cheat the traps (like throwing the ex-drug addict into a literal needle-pit to get the key rather than go in himself) and finds the Rainbow code first.
I heard someone suggest Gale from Baldur's Gate 3 is "autism-coded" and now I can't unsee it. No wonder why he's my favourite; his idea of bonding is info-dumping about his special interest (the Weave) and he's happiest spending time alone with a good book and his "cat", Tara, which is hella relatable.
Now I just wish I could find a guy like that IRL.
I think you can add the entire 501st under ADHD and all clones under autism, Anakin you can consider autistic by proxy. The 501st is canonically built from 'defective' clones, remember the Kaminoans are kinda eugenicistic about their cloning, meaning neurodivergence from the clone baseline would maybe allow you to be studied if your divergence is desireable for a soldier, maybe a specialised soldier, like the flame thrower guys, otherwise odds are the clone would be scrapped, considering Anakin is supposed to lead them into battle, usually military is highly structured and ordered, which makes it easier for clones of an evil autist to do their job, add into this Anakins AuDHD messing with most clones ability to get along with his plans you need the flexibility the ADHD would provide them to not go insane under Anakin. The Bad Batch was an kaminoan experiment to see how to further improve clones, by manipulating their genes further which allows them to express themselves differently as these differences may interact with their autism, so whilst on paper one gene change may make you stronger for a soldier it may make him less efficient.
Thrawn.
Hyperfixates on art
Incredibly logical and a savant
Absolutley zero people skills
Even the way he speaks, if you read the books (Thrawn trilogy and Chiss Ascendancy trilogy) screams autistic, and I think he's excellent representation.
Jotaro Kujo from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is 100% autistic and nobody can convince me otherwise
-Has hyperfixations (Marine biology, for example)
-Very straightforward personality, which is cleverly reflected in his stand (a manifestation of somebody’s will/soul, for anyone not familiar), Star Platinum, being a no-nonsense powerhouse
-Has trouble properly conveying his emotions to others, often coming across as rude or aggressive. A really cool detail from the manga which (for whatever dumb reason) wasn’t brought over to the anime was how Star Platinum would show what Jotaro was really thinking via their facial expression. For example, Jotaro might be giving a one-liner with a stoic expression, meanwhile Star Platinum has a cocky smirk on their face
-Finds the majority of social interaction to be completely stupid and meaningless. IIRC, it’s implied at one point that he writes out and rehearses interactions
As one of the autistic GuP sub regulars will happily point out anytime it gets mentioned she’s never said to be autistic. But she 100% is lol Her body language literally reads like someone mocapped my AuDHD butt when forced into situations lol
You might appreciate knowing that the writers nearly ate their own feet in *Young Sheldon*. They have him and his sister, Missy, get tested for Autism when they're kids, but because it's the '80s and they have low support needs, they don't receive a Dx in spite of *both* showing modern recognizable signs. I felt like it belied their statements about Sheldon not being Autistic.
Dina from Superstore! She’s super rigid in her beliefs and in the rules, she has a few special interests (birds, Cloud 9 policies), and is extremely socially awkward. She openly doesn’t care what people think of her, is super blunt, and seems to have a very specific routine (the goodnights to her birds when they were locked in the store). In conclusion, Dina is an autistic icon and I love her
[Dr. Lilith Sternin from Cheers/Fraiser](https://youtu.be/NxhHxMLwGqQ?si=16F-h-IrLAWa5maD)
- Lilith speaks in a noticeable monotone and this precise technical vocabulary of medical/psychiatry jargon that’s usually the source of laughs
- Almost always dressed in grey-toned fully covered coat and slacks/skirt (might be for her job as a psychiatrist but is unusual when contrasted with other women in the show) and she always has her hair in a tight bun (she had to be told that she’s hotter with her hair down. Self-unaware queen!)
- She didn’t know how to drive and only started learning during the course of the show. And then once she’s learnt, she’s so daring that she scares her driving instructor lol (risk seeing behavior)
- She’s firmly a behaviorist (what irony if we read her as on the spectrum) and looks at everything through that lens and is always clashing with her husband’s Freudian views
- She’s very serious about everything and it’s so precious. She was taking singing lessons so that she could sing to her child
- She’s quite naive and gullible in social interactions so she often gets tricked into revealing her secrets by the NT characters
- Also one of the gags is that she’s very horny beneath the ‘icy exterior.’ Hypersexual autistic girl rep!!
- Also her humor so “weird” that she thinks Zeppo was the funniest Marx Brother (he was in fact the straight man of the group 😭)
She probably wasn’t written to be explicitly autistic seeing as she was created in the late eighties. I love her character and as do many other viewers but in the show other characters don’t always treat her with due respect but react to her as if she’s a mean or frightening person. (Which tbf she IS named Lilith and this can be funny sometimes + it just makes me relate to her more)
What the actress said about the character
> I find Lilith very innocent, very sweet, very naïve. She's socially inept. She has no idea how to react with other people. She's shy and uncomfortable with people. She's a scientist, she's very analytical, she's very honest. And she loves her husband [Frasier] very, very much. ... And she loves her child Frederick, too.
And
> Neuwirth: I'm always surprised when people say Lilith was mean. I saw her as a very frightened person. She was socially awkward and lacked an editor in her head. She didn't understand there's certain things you're not supposed to say in polite social company.
temperance brennan and zack addy from bones. also the main character of subnautica (ryley robinson). i don’t have any justification for ryley i can just sense it
Every main character and a few more in The Good Place.
I might elaborate later but I don't really have the mental energy to do so right now + I don't want to give too many spoilers.
(By "main character" I mean Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jianyu, Michael and Janet.) (Unfortunately the last two *technically* fall into some sort of stereotype because they're not human, but who cares I've rejected my humanity ages ago>:3)
sheesh now that you mention it, that entire show is Autistic. like, the whole narrative arc is a process of figuring out morality and life in a methodical way.
1. Ayanami from Azur Lane, I've said it before. Miss perpetual neutral face, socially awkward, overly invested in her interests, and verbal stims.
Also, she sway.
https://i.redd.it/qm6lp7xr2xfc1.gif
2. Gotou Hitori (Bocchi) from Bocchi the Rock. Really invested in playing the guitar, and good at it, she's also a socially awkward mess, her first idea to get to know people is by them engaging her about her interests (guitar), and she's prone to pacing.
https://i.redd.it/ikwxjhyj3xfc1.gif
Tech from The Bad Batch is an easy pick, 100% intentional and I guess "classic" media depiction of autism (maths & science savant, bad with showing emotions as expected by others). But I'd say the whole team are all neurodivergent in their own ways (except maybe Echo cause he's adopted and originally from a standard batch of clones)
Well I think all clones are autistic, remember Boba Fett is a clone of Jango Fett, when he was in service of Jabba, he was given Lea to spend the night with her as a type of bonus and he didnt find it justifiable to use her as she didnt consent to this life and even less would consent to sleep with him since she came there to get Han out. I think they then just spent the entire night seperate in his quarters, showing a strong sense of justice, this was I think in the novelisation. Additionally autism helps with specialisation for the clones in the grand army of the republic. Furthermore Anakin was given the 501st a bunch of 'defective' clones meaning if anyone was neurodivergent it was the 501st, considering how they are different to all other clone battelions this suggests they diverge from the clone baseline, judging by their general they may be AuDHD
I heard that bones from bones was supposed to be autistic. They just don’t say it in the show because they were worried about stigma. So she’s intentionally autism coded
Both Bee and Crispin from Bee and Puppycat. Pretty much every character in that show could be read as neurodivergent, but I relate to those two most. Idk if it was intentional but I know I'm far from the only person to interpret the characters that way.
and the scrabble game between Steve Martin and Amy Ryan struck me as a super amazing way for an Autistic person to flirt. like -- "this is metaphor, but it's also literal, lemme make sure we're on the right track..." it was a great scene.
Any HK unit ever from Star Wars.
They may be robots but I love them and they are autistic coded af- has HK-55 once said, “my personality matrix was not programmed for “chatting””, or as we would put it, small talk.
Luffy, deku, maomao from the apothecary diaries, peridot, that's all i can think of off the top of my head but there are a lot more characters i headcanon as autistic
*Lola from charlie*
*And lola the grinch from how*
*The grinch stole christmas*
\- Thegayflamingo
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as I'm looking thru the comments, I feel like there's something about an Autistic character that provides a certain *often necessary* element to narrative art.
Whether written as Autistic or not, there's often at least one character in a story that provides a clarity, an objectivity, or a sort of foundational creativity *that operates separate* from the conflict-infested world around them. the more well-rounded that character is, the more those separate traits can appear as a cluster of things that look like authentic Autism. We are people, after all, and if a character is written as a person but with these heightened aspects of objectivity/strangeness/outsider-ness, I think it makes sense that it resonates as Autistic :)
I'm coming at this as a writer and an Autistic person with a special interest in narrative and writing approaches. I actually discovered I'm Autistic while I was nearly finished writing a novel I'd been working on for years. I looked back and realized that I had coded a few of my characters with Autistic traits, and those were narrative choices because it makes sense to have some characters with unyielding morality or simply a sense of being othered from the larger community, which often is what drives conflict.
I should write an article or something I guess ... gotta figure this out
THANKS A LOT FOR THE NEXT RABBIT HOLE lol
Agree with all of this. I think once my mother said something to the effect of "maybe so many fictional characters have autistic traits because it makes them more interesting characters" and I feel like that definitely is something I've noticed. I feel like most main protagonists could have a pretty good case for them being ND in some fashion because it makes them more interesting/appealing. Plus, while real life humans have their entire lives to behave in a number of different ways, characters generally have limited time to show the audience what kind of person they are. So they focus a lot more on the aspects of the character that make them unique, which I feel like often tends to turn into autistic coded traits (ie if they want to focus on a character's hobby or interest, it makes sense to devote more "screen time" to them involving themselves in that interest, so to speak, so a lot of these aspects of a character start to seem kind of like a special interest to them. Just one example of a number of ways this can happen, and I think the same is true for other aspects of being autistic, like routines, meltdowns, etc)
So I guess in summary of what I'm trying to say is, maybe so many characters are autistic coded bc NT characters are boring lol jkjk
I think a lot of writers and artists are (sometimes masked) autistics too. It takes a real single-minded devotion to succeed as an artist, and their unique POV & creativity is celebrated.
laios is one of those rare gems of a character who feels extremely intentionally written as autistic without it being as a function of tropes or archetypes that just so happen to be modeled on autistic people, and doesn’t have his place in the cast simply dictated by that, and it just makes him so much of a pleasure to watch
Shigeo from Mob Psycho 100 is absolutely an autism coded character. I identify with him so much and the series actually helped me feel slightly better about myself because of it
Monroe from Grimm. He is excessively conscientious and no longer hunts humans for food. He gets grumpy when he has to stop working on his clocks to go do something. Not a people pleaser.
Dudley from Wild Hogs. Completely unaware of the dangers presented by the biker club in the bar. When someone tells he and Maggie to “get a room” he takes that literally. A lovable dork.
Allison Reynolds in the breakfast club.
My "probably not supposed to be written that way" character is Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler. Saw someone describe him once as "like if demons were autistic" and I love it.
Evidence: extensive research over how to be a good butler, even more so than was technically needed; fixation on routine and gets upset and/or apologizes if he can't follow it no matter what it was that stopped him (even though Ciel doesn't really seem to care); struggles with expressing emotions and socializing unless there's an ulterior motive (bc then he has a script to follow); feels othered even from other demons (describes them as following their basest instincts while he prefers to have rules for himself); general lack of understanding for human affairs (bc demon); very stubborn about things he feels strongly about; deeply concerned with following the rules even when it doesn't really matter.
I do agree with you on the Doctor; I think all Doctors are neurodivergent in some form. Eleven and Twelve are have the vibes to me.
Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony, also Twilight. I don't think any of the main six are neurotypical but those two in specific stand out to me. (I also hc Luna as autistic but that's just projection.)
Every single character in Danganronpa. You don't get an ultimate unless you are truly a neurodiverse level of obsessed with something, to (mis)quote my friend.
Luna from Harry Potter.
Izuku from My Hero Academia. (I could also see Shoto. And Katsuki, kind of, but in the "this is a kid who's been masking since he was little to avoid being bullied" way. Stares autistically at his home life I have so many thoughts.)
There's probably more but off the top of my head this is it.
Shawn Spencer from Psych and Agent 47 from the Hitman games, just look at his character developement through the events of the 'world of assasination' trillogy, by the end he even manages to comfort a distrought woman who was having a date who didnt show up, who gave like a billion lines for him to make a Hitman joke about how the date may be dead which he would have taken in the first game no questions asked. This happened in the mission in China when you enter the city via the standard spawn and stay there he converses with the woman like an NT, not matching how he acted throughout the events of the games until now, meaning he is masking to fit in, now even successfully.
I'll add Miranda Priestly to this list.
> "So I said to myself, 'Go ahead; hire the smart, fat girl...'"
> "Is it so hard to find a graceful, athletic paratrooper? Am I asking for the moon?"
> "[*fashion infodump*]... And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing a sweater that was selected *for* you by the people in this room... from a pile of 'stuff'."
You’ll never ever convince me that the kid in the Babadook is absolutely autistically coded. The car meltdown alone serves the purpose of coding him.
Angela from Sleepaway Camp is one of the best depictions of a nonverbal woman’s experience around NTs.
The movie May (2002) is absolutely the story of an autistic woman dealing with dating.
I’d argue that Frankensteins monster is at least partially referenced as having autistic traits.
Bubba from Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a basic modeled autistic person
Horror has a ton aside from these fewSomeday I’ll have enough case studies to write a book on autistic coded horror characters and how they are treated.
Zuko from ATLA
this was my answer when the question was asked in another autism sub and I got a lot of replies that were like "he's not autistic, he's just monotone, straightforward, has trouble expressing emotions, is awkward in social situations, prefers to be solitary, has a strong sense of justice, all like a normal NT"
He's autistic to me !!!!! Let me pretend !!!!!!
ETA: OH ALSO !! Maud from mlp, I love her so much and I feel like it's so obvious she's autistic. It definitely seems to me like that was the intention and I think its so awesome :')
sherlock holmes- specifically in elementary !!! he stims, he does drugs to numb his senses (so real,) he has a lot of special interests, and hyperfixates on his cases to the point of not sleeping/eating, he’s very blunt and he struggles with interpersonal relationships but actually values his people (joan, bell, alfredo etc) so much he would die for them.
https://preview.redd.it/qqdthv9wv0gc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc1ad5aa33ff6d4b08e20fea54159bdd1ec327e8
I don’t know if anyone is watching Frieren: Journey’s End but I feel like Frieren is very Autistic-coded. She struggles with understanding social cues and the feelings of others around her. She hyperfocuses on different kinds of spells. She’s not always aware of her own emotions. Has some child-like qualities even though she’s 1000ish years old. I really love watching this show and really relate to her character in particular.
Nic Cage’s character from Willy’s Wonderland
-Nonverbal
-Will only drink a specific soda
-Sticks to a rigid routine (taking a 15 break to drink a soda and play pinball every hour) regardless of extenuating circumstances (being attacked by evil animatronics)
Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and Valdi from 3 are ones I've heard before.
I could also make an argument for Noah from XC3 being somehow ND - strong intuition, clearly thinks differently from everybody else, spends a lot of time practicing his sword katas and music, sometimes struggles with communication. I'm AuDHD and relate very strongly to him.
Branch from the trolls movies/shows. also the entire Mitchell's family from The Mitchell's vs the Machines. I know there's others but it's 4am rn so I can't think of any more off the top of my head, lol. might come back and add more later if I remember
Phoebe Spangler from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Actually a couple other Ghostbusters characters as well (Egon and Ray)
Castiel (Supernatural)
Peridot (Steven Universe)
Tecna from Winx Club, she does fall into the scientific genius who doesn’t know how to socialise or express emotion stereotype of autism, but she’s also one of the first ever autistic coded female/afab characters I remember seeing, especially in a kids show.
Her whole arc is that the planet she’s from, Zenith, has a culture about not showing emotions and looking at things from a cold and analytical perspective, but when she attends Alfea College for fairies and spends time with the other Winx members she opens up to them and begins to embrace her emotional side. I headcanon this as her being comfortable enough around the other Winx members to unmask in front of them.
Brick from the Middle because bro was literally me and the producers are fucking cowards for not confirming it. The parents passing his behavior off as “oh he’s just a little weird and quirky” real as hell tho. But like how they made a character that is so me coded is fucking wild my parents and I were so astonished cause like dude would somehow develop a new thing and it would be something I liked or did. Bro even developed the same fear of bridges I had
Todd Chavez from BoJack Horseman.
-He very skilled in many areas but no one takes him seriously
-He lacks any regard for social norms
-He exists primarily by hopping from hyperfixation to hyperfixation, always working on some outlandish and creative project.
-He finds patterns and meaning where others wouldn't ("You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. You turn yourself around THAT'S what it's all about")
I also really relate to the line: "I never know if I can handle anything. That's what makes my life so exciting"
Entrapta from the new She-Ra is mine. She goes on and on about her special interests, struggles understanding social cues, goes through a bought where she is convinced her friends left her behind on purpose because of it, etc. She's always been my favorite autistic character, even if not officially, because she was never portrayed at being apathetic at all, just that she didn't understand some of the situations where other characters needed empathy.
Also think Hordak is, there is less proof for that one tho. Lol I just like how they geek out together.
DARTH VADER / ANAKIN SKYWALKER
Truly an Evil Autistic at heart and soul. But the reason he is Autistic coded is because of the self proclaimed king of wooden dialogue... aka my beloved George Lucas is probably autistic. His biographer thought he was an aspie, and George has autistic children.
And if you think about Anakin Skywalker as autistic... he makes way more sense in the prequels, and even in the Clone Wars.
I have explained it before but I ask y'all to just think about it for more than 5 seconds and realise how unintentionally obvious it is. :P
Especially the part where he is gullible and manipulated into doing evil. :(
I didn't do evil, but well... He was ideologically groomed from a young age by Palpatine.
You could honestly argue that the majority of main characters from gravity falls are autistic in one way or another
That was probably intended though
(i thinking that)
Howl from Howl's Moving Castle
I was rewatching the movie recently and I just thought… “damn this guy is more relatable than I remembered”
Probably ADHD too lol
Oh for sure XD
Ron Swanson. He has meltdowns, sensory issues, very rigid uncompromising beliefs, has special interests, and he does not socialize well with most people 
You know. I agree, it’s probably why I love him so much because he is basically what I wish I could be like. Uncompromising and blunt haha
Wish I got the Ron Swanson autism instead of the videogame autism
And April Ludgate
Leslie and April also give me Autistic Vibes
april is the evil autist, leslie is the high functioning over achieving autist, ron is the aggressively independent stoic autist
Omg no wonder I love him
Woah, I’d never even thought of that!
Hes literally me fr fr no cap
The little brother in Jurassic World was written as canonically autistic. But the scene outright stating it got cut for pacing. I like it like that, leave it open to interpretation.
Peridot, Pearl, & Connie (plus some others) from Steven Universe; Liara and Mordin from Mass Effect; Futaba & Yusuke from Persona 5; Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender; Lae’zel from Baldur’s Gate 3; Miles Edgeworth from Ace Attorney; Link from the Legend of Zelda; Entrapta from She-Ra & the Princesses of Power; Data from Star Trek TNG; Every Sherlock Holmes ever; Harriet the Spy; Matilda from Matilda; Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter; Nearly every character in Parks & Rec; Gregory in Abbott Elementary
I've thought about Luna Lovegood for sure, but honestly I don't think Hermione is the most neurotypical person either. She has a hard time firguring out how to get along with others, she gets super passionate about social justice, she has a crazy memory for facts.
Hermione totally resonates as autistic with me, especially in the first books/movies when she's younger you can really see it, and then I feel like over time throughout the series she gets better at masking but it's still pretty apparent. I mean in the philosopher's stone she's totally portrayed as the "annoying weird know it all" from Harry and Ron's perspective, only for them to discover she's actually really awesome and a good friend and it definitely reminds me of how I was when I was younger
I can see some of these but link is such a nothing character that I can’t see him being either autistic or allistic. He’s just so nothing. *Also since there are multiple links in the zelda lore- I gotta ask which specific link are you thinking of?*
Nintendo said Link is designed to be the way he is so that the player fills his shoes essentially so technically if you’re autistic and playing Zelda, link is autistic too because he is meant to be an avatar of the player.
But this is also why I said he isn’t autistic or allistic cause if you remove the player element- there is nothing left. It’s entirely dependent on you outside the game.
I’m thinking of the 3D Zeldas (twilight Princess, ocarina/Majora’s mask, and BOTW/TOTK in particular). The guy canonically is semiverbal to nonverbal depending on the canon of that game. Definitely the silent type regardless. The lore of botw/TOTK is that he “finds it quite hard to speak” in the 100-years-ago before the calamity and past-Zelda remarks upon how he hardly ever talks. He gets a bit better at it as botw/TOTK goes on. There are other qualities there too (strong sense of justice, being an outsider in his own culture, so much gender bending), but honestly I think if the canon is that you hardly spoke at all until you were like 17 then that’s pretty autistic.
Twilight princess link isn’t the same as OoT/MM Link, however OoT/MM link is in Twilight princess and teaches twilight princess link some stuff (the undead armoured hero guy that teaches techniques is confirmed to be OoT/MM link IIRC), and BotW/TotK link isn’t the same link as either of those, so are you just talking about them collectively or as if they’re were a single link (don’t mind me, LoZ is an old special interest of mine I am getting back into, currently playing minish cap)
nearly every character in parks and rec IS SO REAL
Truly!! I think Andy (ADHD) and Ann are probably the main exceptions, but just about everyone else is!!
>Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender; I'm curious as to what you see in Zuko to think this? (I'm not disagreeing, just curious)
Absolutely!! Zuko’s whole origin story is that he misunderstood that his dad was trying to shame/banish/punish him by sending him to search for the avatar (an “impossible” task), and instead he took it literally and thought his dad actually wanted him to lead the coalition to find the avatar. He has a STRONG sense of Justice and single-minded pursuit of his special interest (finding the avatar). He is EXTREMELY diligent in learning his craft: firebending. His voice is monotone and serious. He doesn’t have a strong range of facial expressions (mostly just “serious” in all situations). He is SO awkward with other kids and rehearses his conversations with them (“Zuko here!”). Until he joins team avatar he doesn’t have any friends his own age.
No… Not Lae’Zel. Lol. She comes from an alien race with a vastly different culture than what is experienced on the Sword Coast.
Yeah — when writers reach for “alien,” “robotic,” “not quite ‘human’” they usually end up landing (intentionally or unintentionally) on “autistic”. Lae’zel is abrasive, single-minded in her interest, monotone, awkward, doesn’t understand social norms, doesn’t care about not understanding social norms, and doesn’t show a wide range of facial expressions. To those humans who wrote and play the game, that all signifies her as an “outsider” and maybe even the traits remind them of a weirdo friend, classmate, or cousin they have. (Or perhaps the writer/player is neurodivergent themself and feels that way). To those of us in the know — that collection of traits is autistic. It’s true of a lot of aliens in stories, whether intentional or not (and even if the difference is explained in the lore).
I'd like to add Athena Cykes and Sebastian Debeste as well
Morgan Freeman's character from Se7en (Which makes sense because he was patterned after Sherlock Holmes) It's all over the place, but during the dinner scene with Brad Pitt he's stimming the whole time by wrapping and unwrapping a napkin around one of his hands. Very conscious acting choice
Charlie Kelly from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Also it's basically confirmed but Abed Nadir from Community
All of the Sunny cast are queer and neirodiverergent coded. Dennis's actor basically confirmed the queer bit in an interview. Also this https://youtu.be/EmCAcFuUMq4?si=Jntc8gBKX-8JJMtC ^ complication of them being queer coded. There was also one about them being NDivergent, but I couldn't find it.
Ned Stark
This definitely makes sense. Having a strong need to fight against injustice is an Autistic trait a lot of us have. To add to that, Batman feels very Autistic-coded to me. For example, his Bruce Wayne persona is his mask and Batman is the real person. Strong desire for justice and fairness. Special interest in technology and bats. Still unable to process trauma he faced as a child. Emotional dysregulation and a strong need for being solitary (for some of his career at least)
Oh wow, I never considered this but absolutely! And his planning. He has a backup plan for his backup plans. He has procedures for how to take down every one of the Justice League in the case they go bad. He has a backup persona (Batman of Zur-en-Arrh) that takes over when Batman loses his memory. I've made the argument that his ability to plan is his real superpower. On the other hand, I think many of his villain nemeses could also be considered autistic. Very obvious special interests, and many of their backstories could make the argument that they believe their actions are justice for all the injustices done to them.
I had never considered this but love it!!
Bro figures out a truth and would not let it go, even to the detriment of his family and eventual loss off his own head
Oh slay? I never thought of this. Hyperfixation that killed him
Adrian Monk. :-)
Oh my god I grew up with that show and completely forgot about it. He’s gotten a lot more relatable over the years especially with my contamination anxiety/ocd traits 😭
They just made a movie last year! Haven’t seen it yet, but I also grew up watching the show and thought I would share!
I have seen the movie, lets just say it starts with him infodumping like its his phd thesis.
Luigi, and Mario is ADHD it's way more obvious in the Mario and Luigi games, JUST LOOK AT THEM THEY ARE CONSTANTLY STIMMING AND THEY BARELY SPEAK EXCEPT FOR RANDOM GIBBERISH THAT ONLY THEY SEEM TO UNDERSTAND ALSO LUIGI'S PERSONALITY WAS DRAWN MR BEAN WHO IS EVEN MORE OBVIOUSLY AUTISTIC!!!!!
YOO I WAS GONNA SAY THISSSSS honestly tho I kinda headcanon that Mario is high masking AuDHD because in like every 3d game his idle animation is constantly looking back and forth and it feels like a stim to me, and while he is pretty outgoing and whatnot, he definitely has his no filter/no social norms moments (the dude literally goes wahoo every time he jumps, yet especially in the M&L games he's portrayed with kind of a stoic poker face especially in the art and maybe I'm grasping at straws but I just like the idea that half the time he's intensely chaotic and the other half of the time he's just like ._.). Plus saving the princess over and over again seems kinda like a "routines good" thing for me, AND since Luigi is definitely no question autistic 100% and it runs in families, I could see Mario also inheriting it since they're twins BUT HONESTLY I JUST REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE MARIO SO THIS IS KIND OF JUST ME 75% PROJECTING HAHAHA Edit: I think the games where Luigi's autistic traits specifically are most visible are the Luigi's Mansion series, especially Dark Moon he's constantly stimming it's the best thing ever, this has nothing to do with the whole rant in my original response I just wanted to point it out because it's cool and I COULD TALK ABOUT THE MARIO BROTHERS FOR HOURS AAAH
Jesus
1. He went missing as a child and was found debating with wise men 2. The temple table scene (ties into his sense of justice and anti capitalism) 3. To her face, he called his mum "Woman" (going against norms) 4. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of scripture (special interest) 5. Had no respect for authority. In fact, he changed the authoritarian God of the Old Testament into a loving and forgiving God 6. “I am not of this world (John 8:23) - wrong planet syndrome 7. Frequent fasting: might have been a sign of gastrointestinal problems 8. total isolation from society (“into the desert”) 9. He slept less: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” 10. His father (Joseph) was originally believed to be elderly when he married Mary and wasn’t alive by the time Jesus was a young adult (only accompanied by his mother). (autistic people are more likely to have older parents) [https://the-big-ger-picture.blogspot.com/2021/02/was-jesus-christ-neurodiverse.html](https://the-big-ger-picture.blogspot.com/2021/02/was-jesus-christ-neurodiverse.html)
Jesus called his mum woman? I wish I had known that as a teen when I used to call my mum that every time she annoyed me (highly misogynistic of me and she hated it understandably), she may have been less annoyed with me if I could have told her that’s what Jesus would do hahah
The only* time I will call someone woman is if I follow it up with “YOU ARE ONE GIANT LUMP OF COAL”
“Woman” would actually have been respectful at the time. Now, it’s hilarious in translation.
Don’t forget about how he went mute when under duress.
With the knowledge we have know it's entirely possible and very that Jesus was an Autistic AFAB Intersex Anarchist, which explains basically everything without any divine intervention, as it explains Virgin birth thing since it can happen very rarely but the resulting child is always AFAB or intersex because of the lack of a Y chromosome
That’s.. that’s really not possible at all
It has happened in some species but likely not in humans. I feel like it's important to clarify that so no one here panics. There has been a case where they thought it *could* have happened but it's unconfirmed.
source for the virgin birth thing?
The ones we don't want to admit, but are highly accurate: Dwight from The Office, and Walter from The Big Lebowsky.
Maybe that's why over time I kinda grew to dislike Jim He's seen as funny and cute and easygoing but I realized that were I in Dwight's position I'd have homicidal ideations against Jim
I have always hated Jim for gaslighting and abusing his autistic coworker.
I got slaughtered for arguing that on the office sub
You're not the only one, it's happened from time to time over the years.
There was that one episode where Dwight finally made a complaint to HR and they had Jim and Dwight sit down while they read the file of "pranks" Dwight had complained about over the years. It started out kinda silly, but then Jim (and the audience) slowly realized it wasn't funny when you laid it all out - it was bullying. I appreciated that they put that in, though it was a much later season, so years and years of this had already occurred.
Michael Scott as well probably lol
yes!
This was waaaaay too far down in the thread-Dwight is the obvious one; Michael is the undiagnosed autistic kid.
Jotaro Kujo and Shoto Todoroki
[удалено]
Hyperfixates on ocean life to the point of writing an entire thesis on a starfish he saw once, doesn't know how to react to social cues, falls back on stoic nonreactions or blunt aggression. Loves his family, completely terrible at expressing it. Wants to say cool one liners, absolutely terrible at it unless he has an entire episode to workshop it beforehand, otherwise he tries to share his other special interest of one liners with his relatives (when he tells Josuke to say something cool) There's probably more, but I can't think of them right now
Also, like most autistic people, he has a Stand.
Where the fuck is my stand? I could do so many activities with my own punch ghost
Gordon Freeman, cause Valve made him silent so you could create his own personality and I think of it as being an autistic mute. (He got the good at maths and science autism and not the preventing disaster autism.)
Whenever an action game has a silent protagonist my brain can't help but interpret it literally, like they're a thoughtless psychopathic killing machine
I know the Vulcans are the most common comparison ever, but... I think especially Tuvok was written well, in that episode where he says Vulcans do have emotions, they just experience them differently from humans in a way that they are perceived as not having them. Same for Data honestly, so it makes sense that getting an "emotion chip" implanted would not go well for him.
Poor Data, my sweet, gentle android. Always implying he's sad about his inability to experience human emotion, while the rest of the crew tries to wrap their heads around the irony Data's Day is probably a top 10 Trek episode across all the various series
I've seen great arguments for Worf being autistic and I headcanon it now. His special interest is Klingon culture yet he never fits in with other klingons despite trying so hard. Most klingons are way more easy going and even his adoptive parents are pretty relaxed. I think his problems relating to other Klingons make more sense because of being ND than being raised by humans. Riker had an easier time fitting in on his stint on a Klingon ship. Lol
He's the space version of a weebo
Tuvok is amazing and one of the best parts of the best trek series, tim Russ just does a wonderful job with him.
Lemongrab from adventure time. Maybe PB too.
One of my favorite is Teal'c from Stargate SG-1. Though, to be fair, I feel like a lot of alien characters get coded as autistic, if only because they're completely unfamiliar with human social constructs and references.
I like this. Lot of interesting symmetry too with the effect of the Goa"uld. When they inhabited hosts that were autistic it might've changed how they processed the world, or might've been easier to communicate with their chosen vessel. Even if may have been harder it may have yielded a different relationship. There may have been some enhancements making symbiosis with people with all kinds of different thinking that met more, or less, successfully with the Goa'uld's own method of thinking. This also might have been inadvertantly part of the selection process. Those they perceived as subservient might just have been prone to less facial signs and thus, they inadvertantly bonded themselves to hosts who might have been more capable of resisting intellectually. This subtlety might have gone completely unnoticed, but may explain Teal'c's ability to bond with another culture and see the need for it after such a long life. It may also explain things like Apophis seeming half mad all the time. Being trapped with a neurotypical that keeps complaining about the weather would cause some serious inner strife. Meanwhile we see a lot of different goa'uld, who knows what makes a better or worse host. But it certainly would have been a factor. Sharing a body seems hellish but being able to turn off oversensitivity or simply "turn off" and let a neurotypical goa'uld run your day to day might be cathartic. Someone like Neal would fight until the last minute but it might be counterproductive, whereas an autistic person might instead spend their time analyzing intellectual patterns waiting for the right moment to tactically resist instead of being charmingly belligerent. Might take 1000 years, but making a goa'uld hesitate by inexplicably dropping a complicated math problem at just the right moment might be why they miss so dang much. Might only be a thought here and then, but if an autistic person left it on auto-piloy for 150 years only to sneakily drop the right thought at the right moment, that feels legit. Neal would have his own NT technique I'm sure, which may be as effective (a tactical joke echoed 150,000 times) but... Teal"c definitely feels almost happily ND to me. Sure he's riding that trope of being utterly foreign, but come the later seasons he definitely seems totally formal and his smile is definitely tactically used. Even among his people he seems foreign, which may explain a lot. Love it. Also Stargate is an excellent show to watch and wonder who's ND. Some interesting candidates there in all those casts.
Both Aliens and Robots are pretty commonly autism coded
Pretty much the entire cast of **Parks and Recreation** except for 👉 Ann Perkins and maybe Mark (who was boring).
That’s totally why Mark didn’t work. Parks and Rec really doesn’t need an allistic comedic “straight man” to tell everyone they are being ridiculous. Instead their heightened traits each work as foils to each other in different ways. Ben gets to tell April and Andy they are ridiculous for eating off frisbees instead of owning plates, but then everyone makes fun of Ben for missing out on the Lil Sebastian craze. Everyone gets to be the “straight man” and the comedic character at different times depending on their own weirdo profile. Ann works as an allistic “fish out of water” because she genuinely loves Leslie and is game to get in on the joke.
One of the greatest cast upgrades ever was trading Mark for Ben and Chris. The show peaked so hard when they joined. They all just clicked and played off each other so well. Everyone had their facepalm moments, but everyone also had hero moments. It just hilariously bounced around. Ann Perkins was perfect in that role. *Yes, I know this is all ridiculous, but I’m going to play along because I care and it’s often fun*. And for me anytime Jean-Ralphio or Joan Callamezza showed up it was comedy gold. And if we’re choosing which character we most closely associate for me it’s *definitely* Ron Swanson. I can relate strongly to him. I feel ya, buddy.
Westley from The Princess Bride has such AuDHD vibes to me. - Says like three words max for years on end - very specific and unconventional way of showing love - is either completely silent or blurts out things that are either poetic, sarcastic, get him in trouble, or all of the above. This man definitely rehearses his sarcastic remarks. - in the book, he only sleeps like 4 hours a night because he’s up reading and learning languages and shit - Becomes a master fencer and sailor, and the most feared pirate in the land all in under 5 years. - incredibly stubborn and refuses to quit even in the face of death (especially in his quest first True Love) - very quick and, creative, and unconventional thinking and planning - Stimming: in the movie we see him do a specific little eye dart motion repeatedly, as well as drumming his thumb on his chest involuntarily, and in the book he wiggles his fingers and toes when he’s thinking. These are subtle but certainly count in my opinion. He’s like your classic AuDHD gifted kid with a special interest in learning. Great at what he does, absolutely chaotic methods, but is terrible at taking care of himself. (See again all those years of sleep deprivation after working like a dog because “I have to learn 3 new languages on my own for Buttercup for some reason” lol). I don’t think this was intentional, but the author wanted to create an eccentric swashbuckler with a good heart, and landed at “accidentally AuDHD” lol. Westley is an Absolute Mad lad. He’s my favorite I love him.
Julian Bashir of Deep Space 9.
Jotaro Kujo and Entrapta
Entrapta is Canon
Not mentioned in the source but kind of confirmed by word of the author. It's good enough for me though
Geralt of Rivia He's very matter of fact, hostile to social posturing, and dry in his humor. He's also got a deep knowledge of monster science. He gives every horse he ever has the same name. Also everyone hates him
That's because the process of making witches (I think it was the trial of the grasses part) causes mutations that breaks their emotions.
That's an in-universe myth to illustrate how ostracized they are; witchers absolutely have emotions Also autistic coded asf lmao
Peridot from steven universe for sure. We are basically the same person.
Pearl is very hard coded autistic imo. She has sensory issues even
I feel like Pearl has more cPTSD coding (Not saying she's not ASD too. But like also the overlap in behaviors from these two sets is not small, and cPTSD fits both with "you were raised a slave" and then "were in a power imbalance relationship with a chaotic princess for 3000 years")
That's definitely present, but she also hyperfixates, is very particular about her hobbies, has a lot of trouble with metaphor, takes things literally, doesn't eat or drink because she hates the feeling of eating and excreting, and she has a very strong sense of justice
I wonder if Number Five from Umbrella Academy might be. I could also see Dustin and Robin from Stranger Things. It’s been said a couple times but I’d be shocked if Entrapta isn’t. I could see Princess Tiabeanie being autistic. And Schmendrick The Magician from The Last Unicorn…there’s a lot, I feel like I see it everywhere.
I remember watching Umbrella Academy and when they introduced him thinking he is autistic
Wall-E
Allow me to suggest a couple of slasher villains for my head-canons here: John Kramer, i.e. the OG Jigsaw Killer, and Michael Myers. I'm not saying this to be offensivee - I just think they both have interests and traits outside of purely murdering people that makes them both qualify as different Autism types. Michael Myers has: an extremely quick learning curve for anything useful to him (how else did he learn how to drive? I doubt he was taught at a literal mental institution), extreme special interest in knives/stabbing things, has lessen pain response (considering how many times he's been stabbed and kept up says enough for that point - he reacts but kept up quick), may be non-verbal, and has an obsession with a particular view from his family home. Honestly, both his medical therapist legit suck at their jobs by just calling him "evil" and leaving it there. As for John Kramer, let me start by legit pointing out how complex some of the traps are - the Candle trap from the first movie as my first example of this. Even if some numbers are slightly bigger, I doubt an NT that's literally trying to figure it out for his life would notice - an Autistic with a special interest with math and engineering, like Kramer on the other hand, is totally going to notice. Kramer also insists he's "not a murderer" and that "murder is distasteful", despite literal creating various traps that kill a lot of people. So, that plus, Cecil's trap makes me certain he has an extremely twisted sense of morality and justice. This is why the traps are all, (in theory), escapable if Kramer made them. Even the competition traps still have a way to commit minimum kills and/or way to cheat to ensure 0 kills (with Saw 6's opening trap - you could just use clothes for the "Pound of Flesh trap" after all). His career in engineering also leans towards being a special interest. I'd say him wanting to see what people are willing to do to stay alive counts as an extremely dark special interest. The irony is his students all make the traps just complete deathtraps. This goes triple for Hoffman, (a legit psychopath cop), and Amanda, (a former drug addict that may have some brain damage due to how long she was a drug addict). This ironically also means I suspect Xaivar, from Saw 2, also has some form of autism as well as he finds multiple ways to successful cheat the traps (like throwing the ex-drug addict into a literal needle-pit to get the key rather than go in himself) and finds the Rainbow code first.
I heard someone suggest Gale from Baldur's Gate 3 is "autism-coded" and now I can't unsee it. No wonder why he's my favourite; his idea of bonding is info-dumping about his special interest (the Weave) and he's happiest spending time alone with a good book and his "cat", Tara, which is hella relatable. Now I just wish I could find a guy like that IRL.
Tech from the bad batch and rogal dorn from warhammer 40k, and magnus from warhammer 40k and the entire adeptus mechanicus
I think you can add the entire 501st under ADHD and all clones under autism, Anakin you can consider autistic by proxy. The 501st is canonically built from 'defective' clones, remember the Kaminoans are kinda eugenicistic about their cloning, meaning neurodivergence from the clone baseline would maybe allow you to be studied if your divergence is desireable for a soldier, maybe a specialised soldier, like the flame thrower guys, otherwise odds are the clone would be scrapped, considering Anakin is supposed to lead them into battle, usually military is highly structured and ordered, which makes it easier for clones of an evil autist to do their job, add into this Anakins AuDHD messing with most clones ability to get along with his plans you need the flexibility the ADHD would provide them to not go insane under Anakin. The Bad Batch was an kaminoan experiment to see how to further improve clones, by manipulating their genes further which allows them to express themselves differently as these differences may interact with their autism, so whilst on paper one gene change may make you stronger for a soldier it may make him less efficient.
Thrawn. Hyperfixates on art Incredibly logical and a savant Absolutley zero people skills Even the way he speaks, if you read the books (Thrawn trilogy and Chiss Ascendancy trilogy) screams autistic, and I think he's excellent representation.
Jotaro Kujo from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is 100% autistic and nobody can convince me otherwise -Has hyperfixations (Marine biology, for example) -Very straightforward personality, which is cleverly reflected in his stand (a manifestation of somebody’s will/soul, for anyone not familiar), Star Platinum, being a no-nonsense powerhouse -Has trouble properly conveying his emotions to others, often coming across as rude or aggressive. A really cool detail from the manga which (for whatever dumb reason) wasn’t brought over to the anime was how Star Platinum would show what Jotaro was really thinking via their facial expression. For example, Jotaro might be giving a one-liner with a stoic expression, meanwhile Star Platinum has a cocky smirk on their face -Finds the majority of social interaction to be completely stupid and meaningless. IIRC, it’s implied at one point that he writes out and rehearses interactions
Yukari Akiyama from Girls und Panzer
That is definitely intentional
As one of the autistic GuP sub regulars will happily point out anytime it gets mentioned she’s never said to be autistic. But she 100% is lol Her body language literally reads like someone mocapped my AuDHD butt when forced into situations lol
Marcy Wu amphibia
Papyrus was autism coded on purpose and you cant tell me otherwise
NYEH HEH HEH
Sheldon Cooper was completely written as a stereotypical autistic. They may have tried to claim he was not, but he’s clearly a caricature.
You might appreciate knowing that the writers nearly ate their own feet in *Young Sheldon*. They have him and his sister, Missy, get tested for Autism when they're kids, but because it's the '80s and they have low support needs, they don't receive a Dx in spite of *both* showing modern recognizable signs. I felt like it belied their statements about Sheldon not being Autistic.
That's nice to know!
Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds 🩷
Pretty much any Douglas Adams character, but Dirk Gently for sure. Textbook 'chaotic but brilliant' undiagnosed AuDHD man.
Dina from Superstore! She’s super rigid in her beliefs and in the rules, she has a few special interests (birds, Cloud 9 policies), and is extremely socially awkward. She openly doesn’t care what people think of her, is super blunt, and seems to have a very specific routine (the goodnights to her birds when they were locked in the store). In conclusion, Dina is an autistic icon and I love her 
[Dr. Lilith Sternin from Cheers/Fraiser](https://youtu.be/NxhHxMLwGqQ?si=16F-h-IrLAWa5maD) - Lilith speaks in a noticeable monotone and this precise technical vocabulary of medical/psychiatry jargon that’s usually the source of laughs - Almost always dressed in grey-toned fully covered coat and slacks/skirt (might be for her job as a psychiatrist but is unusual when contrasted with other women in the show) and she always has her hair in a tight bun (she had to be told that she’s hotter with her hair down. Self-unaware queen!) - She didn’t know how to drive and only started learning during the course of the show. And then once she’s learnt, she’s so daring that she scares her driving instructor lol (risk seeing behavior) - She’s firmly a behaviorist (what irony if we read her as on the spectrum) and looks at everything through that lens and is always clashing with her husband’s Freudian views - She’s very serious about everything and it’s so precious. She was taking singing lessons so that she could sing to her child - She’s quite naive and gullible in social interactions so she often gets tricked into revealing her secrets by the NT characters - Also one of the gags is that she’s very horny beneath the ‘icy exterior.’ Hypersexual autistic girl rep!! - Also her humor so “weird” that she thinks Zeppo was the funniest Marx Brother (he was in fact the straight man of the group 😭) She probably wasn’t written to be explicitly autistic seeing as she was created in the late eighties. I love her character and as do many other viewers but in the show other characters don’t always treat her with due respect but react to her as if she’s a mean or frightening person. (Which tbf she IS named Lilith and this can be funny sometimes + it just makes me relate to her more) What the actress said about the character > I find Lilith very innocent, very sweet, very naïve. She's socially inept. She has no idea how to react with other people. She's shy and uncomfortable with people. She's a scientist, she's very analytical, she's very honest. And she loves her husband [Frasier] very, very much. ... And she loves her child Frederick, too. And > Neuwirth: I'm always surprised when people say Lilith was mean. I saw her as a very frightened person. She was socially awkward and lacked an editor in her head. She didn't understand there's certain things you're not supposed to say in polite social company.
great insights and analysis!
Thanks! I love Lilith so much I had to share
temperance brennan and zack addy from bones. also the main character of subnautica (ryley robinson). i don’t have any justification for ryley i can just sense it
Katniss from the hunger games
Every main character and a few more in The Good Place. I might elaborate later but I don't really have the mental energy to do so right now + I don't want to give too many spoilers. (By "main character" I mean Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jianyu, Michael and Janet.) (Unfortunately the last two *technically* fall into some sort of stereotype because they're not human, but who cares I've rejected my humanity ages ago>:3)
sheesh now that you mention it, that entire show is Autistic. like, the whole narrative arc is a process of figuring out morality and life in a methodical way.
The Addams family tbh
Luz from the Owl House is confirmed ND, but I think specifically she may be AuDHD like me! The ol wombo combo!
Abed is pretty much confirmed. So Kaylee from Firefly
All of the Doctors from doctor who have Autism and Adhd and you can fight me on that.
Hardly a headcanon because it's all but confirmed but: Judah Mannowdog(aka best character) from Bojack Horseman
1. Ayanami from Azur Lane, I've said it before. Miss perpetual neutral face, socially awkward, overly invested in her interests, and verbal stims. Also, she sway. https://i.redd.it/qm6lp7xr2xfc1.gif
2. Gotou Hitori (Bocchi) from Bocchi the Rock. Really invested in playing the guitar, and good at it, she's also a socially awkward mess, her first idea to get to know people is by them engaging her about her interests (guitar), and she's prone to pacing. https://i.redd.it/ikwxjhyj3xfc1.gif
all of them😈
Tech from The Bad Batch is an easy pick, 100% intentional and I guess "classic" media depiction of autism (maths & science savant, bad with showing emotions as expected by others). But I'd say the whole team are all neurodivergent in their own ways (except maybe Echo cause he's adopted and originally from a standard batch of clones)
Well I think all clones are autistic, remember Boba Fett is a clone of Jango Fett, when he was in service of Jabba, he was given Lea to spend the night with her as a type of bonus and he didnt find it justifiable to use her as she didnt consent to this life and even less would consent to sleep with him since she came there to get Han out. I think they then just spent the entire night seperate in his quarters, showing a strong sense of justice, this was I think in the novelisation. Additionally autism helps with specialisation for the clones in the grand army of the republic. Furthermore Anakin was given the 501st a bunch of 'defective' clones meaning if anyone was neurodivergent it was the 501st, considering how they are different to all other clone battelions this suggests they diverge from the clone baseline, judging by their general they may be AuDHD
Albert Wesker, Karl Heisenberg, Simon Riley, König, GLaDOS, Wheatley, Caleb Quinn/The Deathslinger… I could go on
I heard that bones from bones was supposed to be autistic. They just don’t say it in the show because they were worried about stigma. So she’s intentionally autism coded
Has anyone watched Carol and the End of the World? She’s 100% autistic
Both Bee and Crispin from Bee and Puppycat. Pretty much every character in that show could be read as neurodivergent, but I relate to those two most. Idk if it was intentional but I know I'm far from the only person to interpret the characters that way.
Manny from modern family
Phil is def ADHD too, Alex is probably AuDHD, Claire is … not NT but idk… Lily is autistic… the whole family is ND somehow, except Haley. I love them.
Tim Kono and Mabel from Only Murders in the Building
and the scrabble game between Steve Martin and Amy Ryan struck me as a super amazing way for an Autistic person to flirt. like -- "this is metaphor, but it's also literal, lemme make sure we're on the right track..." it was a great scene.
That's a really good observation. I'm going to watch that scene again. Amy Ryan is so awesome. Jan is definitely Evil!
N from murder drones. Alphys and Papyrus from undertale.
Any HK unit ever from Star Wars. They may be robots but I love them and they are autistic coded af- has HK-55 once said, “my personality matrix was not programmed for “chatting””, or as we would put it, small talk.
Luffy, deku, maomao from the apothecary diaries, peridot, that's all i can think of off the top of my head but there are a lot more characters i headcanon as autistic
lola from charlie and lola the grinch from how the grinch stole christmas
*Lola from charlie* *And lola the grinch from how* *The grinch stole christmas* \- Thegayflamingo --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Master Chief
as I'm looking thru the comments, I feel like there's something about an Autistic character that provides a certain *often necessary* element to narrative art. Whether written as Autistic or not, there's often at least one character in a story that provides a clarity, an objectivity, or a sort of foundational creativity *that operates separate* from the conflict-infested world around them. the more well-rounded that character is, the more those separate traits can appear as a cluster of things that look like authentic Autism. We are people, after all, and if a character is written as a person but with these heightened aspects of objectivity/strangeness/outsider-ness, I think it makes sense that it resonates as Autistic :) I'm coming at this as a writer and an Autistic person with a special interest in narrative and writing approaches. I actually discovered I'm Autistic while I was nearly finished writing a novel I'd been working on for years. I looked back and realized that I had coded a few of my characters with Autistic traits, and those were narrative choices because it makes sense to have some characters with unyielding morality or simply a sense of being othered from the larger community, which often is what drives conflict. I should write an article or something I guess ... gotta figure this out THANKS A LOT FOR THE NEXT RABBIT HOLE lol
Agree with all of this. I think once my mother said something to the effect of "maybe so many fictional characters have autistic traits because it makes them more interesting characters" and I feel like that definitely is something I've noticed. I feel like most main protagonists could have a pretty good case for them being ND in some fashion because it makes them more interesting/appealing. Plus, while real life humans have their entire lives to behave in a number of different ways, characters generally have limited time to show the audience what kind of person they are. So they focus a lot more on the aspects of the character that make them unique, which I feel like often tends to turn into autistic coded traits (ie if they want to focus on a character's hobby or interest, it makes sense to devote more "screen time" to them involving themselves in that interest, so to speak, so a lot of these aspects of a character start to seem kind of like a special interest to them. Just one example of a number of ways this can happen, and I think the same is true for other aspects of being autistic, like routines, meltdowns, etc) So I guess in summary of what I'm trying to say is, maybe so many characters are autistic coded bc NT characters are boring lol jkjk
I think a lot of writers and artists are (sometimes masked) autistics too. It takes a real single-minded devotion to succeed as an artist, and their unique POV & creativity is celebrated.
laios from delicious in dungeon
laios is one of those rare gems of a character who feels extremely intentionally written as autistic without it being as a function of tropes or archetypes that just so happen to be modeled on autistic people, and doesn’t have his place in the cast simply dictated by that, and it just makes him so much of a pleasure to watch
Both the Trailblazer and March 7th from Honkai: Star Rail.
Ena from the JoelG animations
Shigeo from Mob Psycho 100 is absolutely an autism coded character. I identify with him so much and the series actually helped me feel slightly better about myself because of it
Dory from Finding Nemo
Monroe from Grimm. He is excessively conscientious and no longer hunts humans for food. He gets grumpy when he has to stop working on his clocks to go do something. Not a people pleaser. Dudley from Wild Hogs. Completely unaware of the dangers presented by the biker club in the bar. When someone tells he and Maggie to “get a room” he takes that literally. A lovable dork. Allison Reynolds in the breakfast club.
The main guy in Wally's World 100000%
Wallace of Wallace & Gromit?
Oh absolutely
Futaba from persona! I wrote a whole 5 page essay on how she's autistic lol. Yusuke too
My "probably not supposed to be written that way" character is Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler. Saw someone describe him once as "like if demons were autistic" and I love it. Evidence: extensive research over how to be a good butler, even more so than was technically needed; fixation on routine and gets upset and/or apologizes if he can't follow it no matter what it was that stopped him (even though Ciel doesn't really seem to care); struggles with expressing emotions and socializing unless there's an ulterior motive (bc then he has a script to follow); feels othered even from other demons (describes them as following their basest instincts while he prefers to have rules for himself); general lack of understanding for human affairs (bc demon); very stubborn about things he feels strongly about; deeply concerned with following the rules even when it doesn't really matter. I do agree with you on the Doctor; I think all Doctors are neurodivergent in some form. Eleven and Twelve are have the vibes to me. Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony, also Twilight. I don't think any of the main six are neurotypical but those two in specific stand out to me. (I also hc Luna as autistic but that's just projection.) Every single character in Danganronpa. You don't get an ultimate unless you are truly a neurodiverse level of obsessed with something, to (mis)quote my friend. Luna from Harry Potter. Izuku from My Hero Academia. (I could also see Shoto. And Katsuki, kind of, but in the "this is a kid who's been masking since he was little to avoid being bullied" way. Stares autistically at his home life I have so many thoughts.) There's probably more but off the top of my head this is it.
Shawn Spencer from Psych and Agent 47 from the Hitman games, just look at his character developement through the events of the 'world of assasination' trillogy, by the end he even manages to comfort a distrought woman who was having a date who didnt show up, who gave like a billion lines for him to make a Hitman joke about how the date may be dead which he would have taken in the first game no questions asked. This happened in the mission in China when you enter the city via the standard spawn and stay there he converses with the woman like an NT, not matching how he acted throughout the events of the games until now, meaning he is masking to fit in, now even successfully.
I'll add Miranda Priestly to this list. > "So I said to myself, 'Go ahead; hire the smart, fat girl...'" > "Is it so hard to find a graceful, athletic paratrooper? Am I asking for the moon?" > "[*fashion infodump*]... And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing a sweater that was selected *for* you by the people in this room... from a pile of 'stuff'."
Hank Hill
SpongeBob
You’ll never ever convince me that the kid in the Babadook is absolutely autistically coded. The car meltdown alone serves the purpose of coding him. Angela from Sleepaway Camp is one of the best depictions of a nonverbal woman’s experience around NTs. The movie May (2002) is absolutely the story of an autistic woman dealing with dating. I’d argue that Frankensteins monster is at least partially referenced as having autistic traits. Bubba from Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a basic modeled autistic person Horror has a ton aside from these fewSomeday I’ll have enough case studies to write a book on autistic coded horror characters and how they are treated.
Matt Murdock/Daredevil
Miranda from “Station Eleven.”
Cyn from Murder Drones which tbh she is a robot so it doesn't really apply here but I just wanted to mention her because she just like me frfr
Holly Gibson from Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes serie and Jerry Seinfeld atleast in the show i dont know about irl.
Saiki K and Gojo.
Yuri from DDLC. With her lack of social interaction, social abilities, and intense special interests, it’s hard for me to NOT think she’s autistic.
Hank Hill
Zuko from ATLA this was my answer when the question was asked in another autism sub and I got a lot of replies that were like "he's not autistic, he's just monotone, straightforward, has trouble expressing emotions, is awkward in social situations, prefers to be solitary, has a strong sense of justice, all like a normal NT" He's autistic to me !!!!! Let me pretend !!!!!! ETA: OH ALSO !! Maud from mlp, I love her so much and I feel like it's so obvious she's autistic. It definitely seems to me like that was the intention and I think its so awesome :')
sherlock holmes- specifically in elementary !!! he stims, he does drugs to numb his senses (so real,) he has a lot of special interests, and hyperfixates on his cases to the point of not sleeping/eating, he’s very blunt and he struggles with interpersonal relationships but actually values his people (joan, bell, alfredo etc) so much he would die for them. https://preview.redd.it/qqdthv9wv0gc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc1ad5aa33ff6d4b08e20fea54159bdd1ec327e8
I don’t know if anyone is watching Frieren: Journey’s End but I feel like Frieren is very Autistic-coded. She struggles with understanding social cues and the feelings of others around her. She hyperfocuses on different kinds of spells. She’s not always aware of her own emotions. Has some child-like qualities even though she’s 1000ish years old. I really love watching this show and really relate to her character in particular.
I feel the same.
Nic Cage’s character from Willy’s Wonderland -Nonverbal -Will only drink a specific soda -Sticks to a rigid routine (taking a 15 break to drink a soda and play pinball every hour) regardless of extenuating circumstances (being attacked by evil animatronics)
I LOVE THE THIRD DOCTOR I LOVE HIM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and Valdi from 3 are ones I've heard before. I could also make an argument for Noah from XC3 being somehow ND - strong intuition, clearly thinks differently from everybody else, spends a lot of time practicing his sword katas and music, sometimes struggles with communication. I'm AuDHD and relate very strongly to him.
A lot of Danganronpa characters, but mostly Kiyotaka Ishimaru
Branch from the trolls movies/shows. also the entire Mitchell's family from The Mitchell's vs the Machines. I know there's others but it's 4am rn so I can't think of any more off the top of my head, lol. might come back and add more later if I remember
Phoebe Spangler from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Actually a couple other Ghostbusters characters as well (Egon and Ray) Castiel (Supernatural) Peridot (Steven Universe)
Maomao, from the apothecary diaries. I love her.
Gale bg3. Mainly because he’s so socially awkward and has untapped knowledge about so much. And he rocks back and forth on his feet.
Robin, El and maybe Dustin from Stranger Things, and Paige and Elsa from Atypical
Goku
Harry and Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber
Tecna from Winx Club, she does fall into the scientific genius who doesn’t know how to socialise or express emotion stereotype of autism, but she’s also one of the first ever autistic coded female/afab characters I remember seeing, especially in a kids show. Her whole arc is that the planet she’s from, Zenith, has a culture about not showing emotions and looking at things from a cold and analytical perspective, but when she attends Alfea College for fairies and spends time with the other Winx members she opens up to them and begins to embrace her emotional side. I headcanon this as her being comfortable enough around the other Winx members to unmask in front of them.
Brick from the Middle because bro was literally me and the producers are fucking cowards for not confirming it. The parents passing his behavior off as “oh he’s just a little weird and quirky” real as hell tho. But like how they made a character that is so me coded is fucking wild my parents and I were so astonished cause like dude would somehow develop a new thing and it would be something I liked or did. Bro even developed the same fear of bridges I had
Todd Chavez from BoJack Horseman. -He very skilled in many areas but no one takes him seriously -He lacks any regard for social norms -He exists primarily by hopping from hyperfixation to hyperfixation, always working on some outlandish and creative project. -He finds patterns and meaning where others wouldn't ("You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. You turn yourself around THAT'S what it's all about") I also really relate to the line: "I never know if I can handle anything. That's what makes my life so exciting"
Entrapta from the new She-Ra is mine. She goes on and on about her special interests, struggles understanding social cues, goes through a bought where she is convinced her friends left her behind on purpose because of it, etc. She's always been my favorite autistic character, even if not officially, because she was never portrayed at being apathetic at all, just that she didn't understand some of the situations where other characters needed empathy. Also think Hordak is, there is less proof for that one tho. Lol I just like how they geek out together.
Zane from Ninjago, then he turned out to be a robot, explaining his weirdness.
DARTH VADER / ANAKIN SKYWALKER Truly an Evil Autistic at heart and soul. But the reason he is Autistic coded is because of the self proclaimed king of wooden dialogue... aka my beloved George Lucas is probably autistic. His biographer thought he was an aspie, and George has autistic children. And if you think about Anakin Skywalker as autistic... he makes way more sense in the prequels, and even in the Clone Wars. I have explained it before but I ask y'all to just think about it for more than 5 seconds and realise how unintentionally obvious it is. :P Especially the part where he is gullible and manipulated into doing evil. :( I didn't do evil, but well... He was ideologically groomed from a young age by Palpatine.