Asperger's Syndrome -- Writing Advice

So, in case the title isn't obvious, I have a character, and I've always kinda written him to have very mild asperger's.

It's not like I haven't had any experience with the thing; my significant other is diagnosed with mild asperger's, so he kinda provides a good angle to look at.

But, I'd still like to know if there are any general things I should know, do research on, etc. etc. etc.

Also, the character, while having asperger's, is a tad Ambiguously Autistic, due to the fact, that the time period and world he's in simply does not understand or recognize such mental states.

As a result, it's kind of hard to 100% show, not tell, especially since this is a graphic novel, and it's told omnisciently, so no narrating by said character to help things along.

Finally, while he does have certain traits, I find myself on a bit of a crossroads. I don't want to define his problems entirely on this syndrome, so it's a bit of a struggle of how many "aspie" traits I want to include, and how many I should avoid or soften.

Help?

Traits he has, that can be attributed to aspergersness/amplifid by it:

• Dislikes change intensely (the rest of the family shows signs of this as well, but in a much more subtler form, a grandmother who sticks to the old ways, a mom with a political perspective more relevant when she was a kid...)
• An unnecessarily loud voice (a way to convey a speech difference without resorting to an informed flaw)
• No Social Skills
  • Unintentionally insulting/condescending
• Refuses to try new things.
  • Refuses to try new variations on things he likes

Aspergers traits I know of, but don't know if I should include:

• Inability to multitask, or at least, get severely panicked by it.
• Blind love — the type of people who quote blindly, etc. etc.
• Delayed motor development (not too relevant, since he's 14, but flashbacks usually have him just as motorly fine as his sister).
• Formal style of speaking
• Avoiding eye contact, or constant staring
• Heightened senses
  • This one would probably be easiest to include, I just don't know how.
• Unusual facial expression or postures
  • Played with, but it goes more to disliking changing routine — he fights with odd stances that are incredibly inferior.

edited 24th Sep '11 10:45:47 AM by MrAHR

OK, I have Asperger's, but I'm not an expert on it from a theoretical perspective. I'm mostly going to go with what is true about me, and may not be true about other Aspergic people.

I think most of what you state in this post is good. You probably shouldn't introduce too many of these traits: your character is a person, and he will have a personality that's not dependent on his syndrome, after all. But the traits you're using so far don't seem over the top. The lack of social skills and volume control sound good to me.

A few notes:

"Disliking change" does not necessarily refer to disliking, say, more large-scale change, as much as changes that affect you personally. For example, I'm quite politically radical, but hate the thought of moving house.

I personally don't have a problem with trying new things. Still, that could just be his character.

A formal way of speaking might be fun (if this is the character I'm thinking of from your work), but if you already have developed a "voice" for him, you probably shouldn't change it for no good reason.

Avoiding eye contact or staring at people might be good. Up to you.

So far, sounds like you've done your research and are treating the issue with respect. Looks good to me.

Oh, I know. He's more of a minute change guy (interestingly enough, yeah, one of the things that does indeed piss him off was going to a boarding school)

The problem with eye contact is that for most of the series, you can't see his eyes, so it's not something I ever had to think about before. Hm.

Thanks though!

And yes, it is the idiot hero, Nicky Cuantine.

edited 24th Sep '11 2:07:46 PM by MrAHR

Try reading the Wrong Planet forums: http://www.wrongplanet.net/forums.html

Definitely check out this thread: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt131296.html

That seems to be for autism.

But Asperger is on the spectrum, so there seem to be a good number of Aspie-related threads there.

I am aware that asperger's is on the spectrum. I just didn't want to get advice for something stronger.

It's the difference between someone without feet and someone with legs.

Also, none of the links on the website work.

Oh, wait, there we go. Stupid adverts.

edited 24th Sep '11 2:51:17 PM by MrAHR

Double post BECAUSE I CAN.

OK, I definitely know this is something that happens, and I adhere to it properly.

But, I also have something that hinges on the character recognizing someone who seems to be stalking them around the world.

What would be a good trigger, if there are issues with facial recognition and stuff?

I don't think faceblindness has to do with aspergers. A certain part of the brain recognizes faces (like how there's a certain part of the brain dedicated to grammar) and if it gets damaged/is weird to begin with the mechanism which makes people's faces "special" doesn't work.

"# Inability to multitask, or at least, get severely panicked by it.

1. Blind love — the type of people who quote blindly, etc. etc. "

I want to know where the hell you got those two, I've never had them. I can multi-task quite well and I have never heard of these two being symptoms.

Also, go ahead and include a more technical/formal type of talking, from other people with aspergers ive seen talk online its appears to me that we seem to do it as an acquired skill to better convey what we are saying, since, well, we do not get all the social conventions that other people use when talking.

Kind of like that last sentence.

From my own experiences with people with aspieness.

It could be symptoms from other things, but considering how one is based on over stimulation, and the other is based on strong obsessive love of something, without the understanding that others want to talk about something else, I say they fit.

Cats: Here.

edited 24th Sep '11 3:00:35 PM by MrAHR

That doesn't sound like true faceblindness.

I never said it was. But it's still similar, and it's still something worth tackling, if I'm going to alternate between having my character not recognize certain acquaintances, but recognize others.

edited 24th Sep '11 3:07:31 PM by MrAHR

oh my god, how did you know about the face thing?! i thought that was just me!!!

also i didnt realize with the qouting things that you meant one of our many obsessive subjects. I thought you meant saying qoutes of famous people unrelated to what is going on in a given situation, not talking about our passions.

Also the overstimulation is a sensory thing like lots of light and noise can sometimes, not all the time, bother us. I think it more has to do with our state of mind. Maybe it is because I have ADHD too, but if I am in the zone i can block out almost anything else going on but still be aware of it. Again, we can multi-task two or three tasks, but stack too much plus a lot of sensory input and you frustration and anger can follow at the slightest provocation.

I've never even heard of the facial recognition thing.

But nice work. I'm an Aspie myself, and most of those make sense. I myself don't have a problem with some of these:

Now, I always thought stubbornness was just my personality. I try most new things if they seem interesting. But I've never gotten to the extent of the second bullet.

Now, I'm assuming that you mean hypersensitivity. This is quite accurate. I still have problems with this; I hate loud noises and super bright, flashing lights, both of which are common fixtures at high school dances. I don't break down like some people, my brain just screams at me to get the hell out of there.

I used to exhibit these, but I've worked through them. Something very important to know about Aperger's Syndrome is that it's possible to work through at least some of the symptoms until they almost cease to exist. Exactly which ones can be worked through will depend on the person, the therapist's methods, and how the parents raise them.

My mom is a firm believer that a parent should not just write off some of the more disruptive symptoms as just being part of their child. I'm not Nicky's parents, but it's something to think about.

edited 24th Sep '11 3:25:04 PM by CrystalGlacia

CG: Well, the new variation is a bit badly worded. He likes sword fighting, but he doesn't want to be corrected on how he's already doing it. So, kinda in that sense. I'm sure if someone said "I have a new sword technique" he'd be all over it, but he wouldn't want to change what he's already set up.

Yeah. Hypersensitivy. That thing. Heheh.

But yeah, I am planning on having him grow through some of them, although that's almost beyond the scope of the story.

But could you elaborate on that? Do you know which symptoms are commonly worked through, and which ones tend to stick?

I know very little about Asperger's Syndrome in general, and I myself have what's probably a higher-functioning case then normal, but symptoms I recognize from my own life on that list include:

• Dislikes change intensely
• No social skills - as I note below, this ought to be qualified as no innate social skills: while it definitely depends on the individual, it's very much possible to learn social skills
• Unintentionally rude or condescending - also can be improved over time
• Formal style of speaking (this one is particularly obvious in anything I write)
• Refuses to try new things
• Unnecessarily loud voice - this hasn't been an issue in years, but I did have one in elementary and middle school

One that struck me as odd was "Inability to multitask, or at least, get severely panicked by it." If anything, I believe I'm the opposite, and I haven't encountered anyone else with Asperger's who has this going on either.

This is an extremely important point to be made - as a whole, I now find it very difficult to draw a line between my actual symptoms and "normal" personality traits. Certainly I don't have much trouble with social interactions anymore.

Ohp, here it is:

From here.

I suck at facial recognition, but I don't know whether it's related to my AS or not. I don't think it's a problem for your story: Nicky might just not have that specific issue.

Doktorvon: Yeah. I think that I'll go for a slight mix. Since the one incident in which he does have trouble remembering people is when everyone is in uniform, and they all have the same haircut, I figure I can justify other instances when clothes and hair are way more varied.

Hypersensitivity might not ever be completely worked through because it has to do with brain chemistry. Medicines might help, but I wouldn't know myself because my mom does not want me to get dependent on it.

As for the rest, sometimes a person might gradually grow out of some of the symptoms. Most children with Asperger's Syndrome are diagnosed as early as eighteen months. I wasn't diagnosed until I was ten. All of the doctors I saw until then just thought I had a behavioral problem, which resulted in my mom disciplining me harder.

But I think what prevents most of the social-based symptoms that make an Aspie look strange is a dislike of social situations in general. Reasons might vary. I figured out that I dislike small talk and other social situations because I know that I'm bad at conversation. What interests 90% of my peers does not interest me, and the kinds of things that I write about are not necessarily what other teenagers are interested in hearing. Nicky's reasons will probably be different from mine.

Now, about multitasking, I'm not sure when I got good at it. I was bad at it before middle school, but then... I dunno.

I've seen some books that cite differences between the thought patterns of normal people and Aspies, and will mention cases where Aspie kids watch Star Trek and declare that Spock is their favorite character. The accuracy of this statement is dubious, but it definitely applies to me.

Gracias!

is it not normal for people to say their fav charactor is spock?

as for multitasking, i dont think its actually related to AS...

my dad at least, certainly doesnt have AS, and he cant even talk while doing something else.

meanwhile, i spend the majority of my time either doing nothing, or multitasking, because it feels more natural that way.

as for inability to carry a coversation...

well i think its more luck based. some people could get lucky and latch onto a subject other people around them actually have interest in, while others...may not. if the former happens, i wonder if they develop better social skills because they're actually encouraged to talk to people more often.

edited 25th Sep '11 9:32:50 AM by Tarsen

I meant that it was supposed to be evidence that Spock and Aspies think alike.

Tarsen: It's a symptom some aspies do indeed show. Just because you do not have it, and normal people do, does not mean no aspies do. I have the research.