History PlayingWith / HollywoodAutism

'''Basic Trope''': A clichéd, [[TheThemeParkVersion crude, and narrow]] way to portray an Autistic character, which is a cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or ManChild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.
* '''Straight''': Bob is a white cisgender guy with autism who can barely function in everyday life and requires support wherever possible, [[GeniusDitz but has an extraordinary talent at]] [[GoodWithNumbers mathematics]].
* '''Exaggerated''': Every character in the show is a [[MonochromeCasting white]] [[ChromosomeCasting cisgender male]] with autism who can barely function in everyday life, but has a really extraordinary talent. And the show narrates all their lives as if they were utterly tragic.

** Bob is a white cisgender guy with autism who has some severe problems with getting along in everyday life and needs some help here and then, but usually gets along quite well and has a good job at NASA thanks to his talent with numbers.
** Bob is a TwoferTokenMinority cisgender guy with autism, but [[AsianAndNerdy his race(s) is]] [[BollywoodNerd one of the]] [[BlackAndNerdy stereotypical]] [[JewishAndNerdy nerdy races]].

** Bob's autism happens to express very much "by the book".
** Bob has autism and fits all the stereotypes, but for different reasons: he's good at mathematics because one or both of his parents are math teachers, he can't live independently because nobody teaches him to [[MenCantKeepHouse keep his own house]], etc.

** The production doesn't have enough time to research about autism, so there are only SmallReferencePools left for the information.

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic and common traits of autism. He is an OccidentalOtaku trans man (his deadname being Roberta)[[note]]TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]].[[/note]] with some social, emotional, and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragic and dependent. He has good relationships with his friends and relatives, who support him rather than view his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active, enjoyable sex life.
** Bob really does have high support needs and is non-verbal, but his situation still has proper solutions. He and his family have a strong support network, meaning he has access to therapy, treatments, and an education that's tailored for him. He communicates using sign language and/or an assistive device, goes to activity groups for autistic people, receives treatments and surgeries that eliminate all of his physical and emotional discomforts, and is generally content with his life.

** As soon as four-year-old Bob is diagnosed with autism, he magically starts to be an IdiotSavant, his parents start crying and sobbing in despair about the news, and his doctor predicts with a crystal ball that he will grow up to become a ManChild who will need support with everything later.

** As soon as four-year-old Bob is diagnosed with autism, he is even required by the doctor to have a [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} sex change]] and permanently lives as a GirlyGirl if he (or his parents) doesn't want him to be a ManChild.

** Bob wants to receive treatment for his autism, so he deliberately acts like an IdiotSavant to make the doctor believes he actually has autism.

* '''Conversed''': "The autistic people on TV are all the same, aren't they? It's like if the writers would just go through checklists for the symptoms online. But it has a reason that they say: if you know one autistic person, you know ''[[ShapedLikeItself one]]''."

** Alice, another autistic person who doesn't fit with the stereotype, struggles for being viewed as "[[NoTrueScotsman not actually autistic]]", which keeps her from getting the treatment she needs. Alice even calls Bob out for [[StopBeingStereotypical embracing this stereotype]] and doing nothing to stand up for his own rights.

** Bob is even required by the doctor to have a [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} sex change]] and permanently lives as a GirlyGirl if he (or his parents) doesn't want him to be a ManChild.

** Autistic person is portrayed accurately and realistically, but InspirationallyDisadvantaged implications are shown in the plot.

** As soon as the young boy Bob is diagnosed with autism, he magically starts to be an IdiotSavant, his parents start crying and sobbing in despair about the news, and his doctor predicts with a crystal ball that he will grow up to become a ManChild who will need support with everything later.
** One of the lessons in special classroom for autistic students is how to be a perfectly ManChild.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': [[ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld There are only two kinds of autism:]] the IdiotSavant white cisgender ManChild, and [[FiveTokenBand a group of extremely diverse]] SoapBoxSadie who is [[FlawlessToken talented at several things and much more sociable than the white male counterpart]].

* '''Discussed''': When young Bob is diagnosed with autism, his family asks the doctor about the condition, what it will mean for Bob's life, whether they should see it as tragic, and how they can help him. Their questions are very much formed by their clichéd, [[TaughtByTelevision TV-formed view]], and the doctor discusses with them what is true, what is not true, and what might be true.

** Bob struggles with everyday life only because [[DisabledMeansHelpless his parents assumed he'd never be able to learn any useful skills]], so [[SelfFulfillingProphecy didn't teach him any]]. The only thing they encouraged him to do was be really good at mathematics, since they believed that was all he could do.
** Alice, another autistic person who doesn't fit with the stereotype, struggle for being viewed as "not actually autistic", which keeps her from getting the treatment she needs. Alice even calls Bob out for [[StopBeingStereotypical embracing this stereotype]] and doing nothing to stand up for his own rights.

** Alice is too fixated with this stereotype, which she [[SoapBoxSadie unstoppably calls out everyone about this]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters she]] [[InternalizedCategorism ends up]] [[BullyingTheDisabled bullying Bob]] for being [[StopBeingStereotypical too stereotypical]], as a result, Bob still receives more sympathy than Alice.

'''Basic Trope''': A clichéd, [[TheThemeparkVersion crude and narrow]] way to portray an Autistic character, which is a cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or ManChild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic and common traits of autism. He is an OccidentalOtaku trans man (his deadname being Roberta)[[note]]TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]].[[/note]] with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragic and dependent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active, enjoyable sex life.
** Bob really does have high support needs and is non-verbal, but his situation still has proper solution; He and his family have a strong support network, meaning he has access to therapy, treatments, and an education that's tailored for him. He communicates using sign language and/or an assistive device, goes to activity groups for autistic people, receives treatments and surgeries that eliminate all of his physical and emotional discomforts, and is generally content with his life.

* '''Zig Zagged''': [[ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld There are only two kinds of autism:]] the IdiotSavant white cisgender ManChild, and [[FiveTokenBand a group of extremely diverse]] SoapBoxSadie who is [[FlawlessToken talented at several things and much more sociable than the white male counterpart]].

* '''Parodied''': As soon as the young boy Bob is diagnosed with autism, he magically starts to be an IdiotSavant, his parents start crying and sobbing in despair about the news, and his doctor predicts with a crystal ball that he will grow up to become a ManChild who will need support with everything later.

'''Basic Trope''': A clichéd way to portray an Autistic character. A cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or ManChild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.

** Bob comes out as Alice, a transgender girl.

** As Alice, she still exhibits every other cliché about neurodiversity out there to an insufferable degree.

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic and common traits of autism. He is a trans man (his deadname being Roberta)[[note]]TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]].[[/note]] OccidentalOtaku with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragic and dependent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active, enjoyable sex life.
** Bob really does have high support needs and is non-verbal, but his situation still has proper solution; He and his family have a strong support network, meaning he has access to therapy, treatments, and an education that's tailored for him. He communicates using sign language and/or an assistive device, goes to activity groups for autistic people, receives treatments that eliminate all of his physical and emotional discomforts, and is generally content with his life.

Back to HollywoodAutism

* '''Lampshaded''': "Beanpole build? Check. Super clumsy in everything, except in that one thing? Check. Family views his autism as a tragedy? Check. See, Bob is like all those autistic people on TV. I told you he is autistic."

** Alice, another autistic person who doesn't fit with the stereotype, struggle for being viewed as "not actually autistic", which bars the proper treatment away from her. Alice even calls Bob out for [[StopBeingStereotypical embracing this stereotype]] and do nothing to stand up for his own rights.

'''Basic Trope Description:''' A clichéd way to portray an Autistic character. A cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or ManChild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.
* '''Straight:''' Bob is a white cisgender guy with autism who can barely function in everyday life and requires support wherever possible, [[GeniusDitz but has an extraordinary talent at]] [[GoodWithNumbers mathematics]].
* '''Exaggerated:''' Every character in the show is a white cisgender male with autism who can barely function in everyday life, but has a really extraordinary talent. And the show narrates all their lives as if they were utterly tragic.
* '''Downplayed:'''

* '''Justified:'''

** Bob has autism and fits all the stereotypes, but for different reasons: he goods at mathematics because his father is a math teacher, he can't live independently because nobody teaches him to [[MenCantKeepHouse keep his own house]], etc.
* '''Inverted:'''
** Alice is a black transgender girl with autism who has barely any problems in everyday life, doesn't even consider therapy an option, and is talented at several things. Many people doubt her autism.
*** Bonus point if Alice is a MarySue in a SelfInsertFic by an autistic writer.

* '''Subverted:'''

* '''Double Subverted:'''

* '''Enforced:'''

* '''Averted:'''

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic and common traits of autism; He is a trans man (his deadname being Roberta) [[note]] TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]] [[/note]] OccidentalOtaku with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragic and dependent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active and good sex life.

* '''Parodied:''' As soon as the young boy Bob is diagnosed with autism, he magically starts to be an IdiotSavant, his parents start crying and sobbing in despair about the news, and his doctor predicts with a crystal ball that he will grow up to become a ManChild who will need support with everything later.

* '''Exploited:''' Bob's family falls victim to a ConMan who manages to sell his mother special nutrition that promises to cure his autism.
* '''Defied''': After Bob's diagnosis, his family tries their best to support him into adulthood, helping him learn very different skills, giving him many opportunities to learn socializing and support him in wooing his dream girl/[[TwoferTokenMinority guy]]. As an adult, he has a stable job and a family on his own, and while he still has his odd personality, it's not too debilitating.
* '''Lampshaded:''' "Beanpole build? Check. Super clumsy in everything, except in that one thing? Check. Family views his autism as a tragedy? Check. See, Bob is like all those autistic people on TV. I told you he is autistic."
* '''Discussed:''' When young Bob is diagnosed with autism, his family asks the doctor about the condition, what it will mean for Bob's life, whether they should see it as tragic, and how they can help him. Their questions are very much formed by their clichéd, [[TaughtByTelevision TV-formed view]], and the doctor discusses with them what is true, what is not true, and what might be true.
* '''Conversed:''' "The autistic people on TV are all the same, aren't they? It's like if the writers would just go through checklists for the symptoms online. But it has a reason that they say: if you know one autistic person, you know one."
* '''Deconstructed:'''

** Alice, another autistic person who doesn't fit with the stereotype, struggle for being viewed as "not actually autistic", which bars the proper treatment away from them. Alice even calls Bob out for [[StopBeingStereotypical embracing this stereotype]] and do nothing to stand up for his own rights.
* '''Reconstructed:'''

** Alice is too fixated with this stereotype, which they [[SoapBoxSadie unstoppably call out everyone about this]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they]] [[InternalizedCategorism end up]] [[BullyingTheDisabled bullying Bob]] for being [[StopBeingStereotypical too stereotypical]], as a result, Bob still receives more sympathy than Alice.

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic/common traits of autism; He is a trans man (his deadname being Roberta) [[note]] TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]] [[/note]] with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragedy and dependent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active and good sex life.
** Bob really does have high support needs and is non-verbal, but his situation is far from tragic. He and his family have a strong support network, meaning he has access to therapy and an education that's tailored for him. He communicates using sign language and/or an assistive device, goes to activity groups for autistic people, and is generally content with his life.

** Alice, another autistic person, struggle for being viewed as "not actually autistic", which bars the proper treatment away from them. Alice even calls Bob out for [[StopBeingStereotypical embracing this stereotype]] and do nothing for standing up of his autism.

** Alice is too fixated with this stereotype, which they [[SoapBoxSadie unstoppably call out everyone about this]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they]] [[InternalizedCategorism end up]] [[BullyingTheDisabled bullying Bob]] for being [[StopBeingStereotypical too stereotypical]], as a result, Bob is still treated as a "proper role model" of autism.

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic/common traits of autism; He is a trans man [[note]] TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]] [[/note]] with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is far from tragedy and dependent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active and good sex life.

**

** Bob has autism, and he is rather portrayed as the more realistic/common traits of autism; He is a trans man [[note]] TruthInTelevision as [[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity/ people with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ]] [[/note]] with some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is happy and independent. He has a good relationship with his friends and family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy, and he is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active sex life.

** Bob is a mixed-race trans man with autism. He has some social, emotional and sensory difficulties and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is happy and independent. His special interests are art history, animal care, and his favourite webcomic, and any notable skills he has are the result of consciously developing them. He has friends he cares deeply about, [[CommonalityConnection many of whom are also autistic]], is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active sex life, and has a positive relationship with his family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy.

** Bob wants to receive medical treatment for his autism, so he acts like an IdiotSavant to make the doctor believes he actually has autism.

* '''Downplayed:''' Bob is a white cisgender guy with autism who has some severe problems with getting along in everyday life and needs some help here and then, but usually gets along quite well and has a good job at NASA thanks to his talent with numbers.

* '''Subverted:''' Bob, an autistic person, barely gets anything done in everyday life and is unbelievably good with mathematics. But he is a ManipulativeBastard and everything is just a shtick to make people pity him.
* '''Double Subverted:''' Then it turns out that Bob is in fact autistic and was never given any needed therapy as a child. He lied that he would just act it up because he is ashamed of the reality of his autism.
* '''Enforced:''' The storyboard wants to make it absolutely clear that Bob is autistic and thinks this would be an idiot-safe way for that.

* '''Invoked''': Bob's parents want to get on TV and press their son to act like a "typical autistic person", since they think they won't be believed if he doesn't.

* '''Defied''': After Bob's diagnosis, his family tries their best to support him into adulthood, helping him learn very different skills, giving him many opportunities to learn socializing and support him in wooing his dream girl. As an adult, he has a stable job and a family on his own, and while he still has his odd personality, it's not too debilitating.

* '''Deconstructed:''' Bob struggles with everyday life only because [[DisabledMeansHelpless his parents assumed he'd never be able to learn any useful skills]], so [[SelfFulfillingProphecy didn't teach him any]]. The only thing they encouraged him to do was be really good at mathematics, since they believed that was all he could do.
* '''Reconstructed:''' Bob struggles with everyday life until he meets somebody else who connects with him, sees what he can do with his mathematical ability, and helps him get into an honest job that pays him a living wage.

* '''Defied''': After Bob's diagnosis, his family tries their best to support him into adulthood, helping him learn very different skills, giving him many opportunities to learn socializing and support him in wooing his dream girl. As an adult, he has a stable job and a family on his own.

'''Basic Trope Description:''' A cliched way to portray an Autistic character. A cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or manchild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.

* '''Straight:''' Bob is a white cisgender guy with autism who can barely function in everyday life and requires support wherever possible, but has an extraordinary talent at maths.

* '''Exaggerated:''' Every character in the show is a white cisgender guy with autism who can barely function in everyday life, but has a really extraordinary talent. And the show narrates their lives as utterly tragic.

* '''Justified:'''
** Bob has seen so many examples of this trope on TV that he believes he has to be like this to be taken serious as an autistic person, and behaves this way by this reason.

* '''Inverted:'''
** Alice is a black transgender girl with autism who has barely any problems in everyday life, doesn't even consider therapy an option and is talented at several things. Many people doubt her autism.

* '''Subverted:''' Bob, an autistic person, barely gets anything done in everyday life and is unbelievably good with maths. But he is a ManipulativeBastard and everything is just a shtick to make people pity him.

* '''Averted:'''

** There are several autistic characters, all highly different from each other.
** Bob is a mixed race trans man with autism. He has some social, emotional and sensory difficulties, and sometimes needs support, but for the most part is happy and independent. His special interests are art history, animal care and his favourite webcomic, and any notable skills he has are the result of consciously developing them. He has friends he cares deeply about, [[CommonalityConnection many of whom are also autistic]], is HappilyMarried to his husband with whom he has an active sex life, and has a positive relationship with his family who support him rather than viewing his condition as a tragedy.

* '''Parodied:''' As soon as the young boy Bob is diagnosed with autism, he magically starts to be an IdiotSavant, his parents start crying and sobbing in despair about the news, and his doctor predicts with a crystal ball that he will grow up to become a manchild that will need support with everything later.

* '''Exploited:''' Bob's family falls victim to a con man who manages to sell his mother special nutrition that promises to cure his autism.

* '''Discussed:''' When young Bob is diagnosed with autism, his family asks the doctor about the condition, what it will mean for Bob's life, whether this is to be seen tragic and how they can help him. Their questions are very much formed by their cliched, TV formed view, and the doctor discusses with them what is true, what not and what maybe.

* '''Deconstructed:''' The reason Bob struggles with everyday life is because [[DisabledMeansHelpless his parents assumed he'd never be able to learn any useful skills]], so [[SelfFulfillingProphecy didn't teach him any]]. The only thing they encouraged him to do was be really good at maths, since they believed that was all he could do.

* '''Inverted:''' Alice is a black transgender girl with autism who has barely any problems in everyday life, doesn't even consider therapy an option and is talented at several things. Many people doubt her autism.

* '''Justified:''' Bob has seen so many examples of this trope on TV that he believes he has to be like this to be taken serious as an autistic person, and behaves this way by this reason.

* '''Inverted:''' Alice is a black transgender girl with autism who has barely any problems in everyday life, doesn't even consider therapy an option and is talented at several things.

* '''Lampshaded:''' "Beanpole build? Check. Super clumsy in everything, except in that one thing? Check. Family views his autism as a tragedy? Check. See, Bob is like all those autistic people on TV. I told you he is autistic."

* '''Averted:''' There are no autistic characters in the show.

'''Basic Trope Description:''' A chliched way to portray an Autistic character. A cisgender male, slim, IdiotSavant or manchild from a more privileged background that treats his autism as a tragedy.