AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER =
a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. They may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention.
Writing about an autistic character if not autistic yourself WILL be very hard to do properly. A ton of research and conversations with autistic individuals is required. You also have to keep in mind that although there are many shared experiences among autistics, everyone's situation is unique. Don't fall for stereotypes, that's been done more than enough already.
With that being said, let's get into the writing part!
BACKSTORY
There's no single root for ASD; most often it's caused by genetic and/or environmental factors. You don't have to mention them in your story, however, you may consider the character having an autistic parent.
TREATMENT
There's no treatment for ASD itself - only ways to minimize the symptoms and help with everyday’s challenges.
There are many types of therapies that have been proven helpful. However, it should be pointed out that getting the ASD diagnosis is hard when you're not presenting the most textbook example and/or you're high masking.
Getting the diagnosis can be a long and exhausting process, not even mentioning how expensive it is.
BEHAVIOR
As I said before, there's no one-and-only way to be affected by your autism. I'll only note down some of the behaviors that can - but don't have to - be a part of the autistic experience:
→ sensory issues (feeling distressed and in discomfort under loud noises, unfamiliar tastes, touching an unpleasant structure…)
→ social interactions are tricky. Not understanding social cues, not getting sarcasm and/or being judged for the tone of voice are some of them
→ special interest. A lot of autistics have one or a couple of special interests they spend a significant amount of time on. It can be literally everything!
→ stimming (=repetitive movements used to cope with one's emotions), such as: clapping hands, jumping in place, swirling around, playing with hands, standing on toes)
→ routine. Having a routine for most of the things happening around is very helpful for autistics and not being able to go with it may be extremely distressful
A lot of autistics (not all of them!) also struggle with ADHD, depression, PTSD or other. Very often it's due to the experiences of living as an undiagnosed autistic - misunderstood and perhaps even bullied for one's differences.
A little warning at the end. The movies very RARELY show what ASD truly is like. Famous examples such as Sheldon Cooper show there are individuals like him, but there's much more autistics very different to this representation!!! Read, listen, educate yourself. Still, if you don't have a close experience with ASD, but want to write a character with it, you should probably settle for a side character rather than the MC. The world already has enough misinformation🩵
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