Autistic character

[tuneup]

Does anyone want a character diagnosed with autism to join the main cast?

[Leonard Meltsner]

One might make such an argument for Eugene, or at least could've, at some point in the past.

[Laurie]

What I wonder about is how an autistic character would play on the radio.

[whittaker96]

I think it would be easier to portray the full character and dimension of an autistic character visually...unless you found a really, really good actor.

[JesusFreak777]

I doubt Eugene has autism, but he could have aspects of Aspergers, though he'd have to be EXTREMELY high functioning if that is the case...

[Anemone]

Actually......I think it would be neat to have an autistic character in Odyssey. I think they could do some interesting lessons.

[Leonard Meltsner]

I doubt Eugene has autism, but he could have aspects of Aspergers, though he'd have to be EXTREMELY high functioning if that is the case...

Well unless I'm mistaken, Aspergers is the extreme end of the Autistic Spectrum. Also, great to see you on, Sarah!

[Laura Ingalls]

My cousin is slightly autistic, and I don't know quite how you would portray that with audio. A lot of indicators, like not making eye contact, little nervous tics, having to have everything exactly the same, etc. would be difficult to communicate, I would think.

[Jesus' Princess]

I think it would be pretty hard to portray autism, or any disability really, on the radio without explaining it via a character. For instance someone could ask Whit "what's wrong with him" or something, but it would still be pretty hard to come across well, without being offensive or anything

[JesusFreak777]

I doubt Eugene has autism, but he could have aspects of Aspergers, though he'd have to be EXTREMELY high functioning if that is the case...

Well unless I'm mistaken, Aspergers is the extreme end of the Autistic Spectrum. Also, great to see you on, Sarah!

Actually, its the opposite: Aspergers is on the mild end of it. People with Aspergers are quite high functioning, just very socially awkward. They are extremely literal and often have a hard time with pop culture/colloquialisms. Most have trouble dealing with change, though many have learned to adapt. They have find social gatherings difficult, and many cannot read body language or tone of voice very well causing social misunderstandings. Often they ruminate or hyper-focus on a specific problem or subject, and some become quite brilliant in one area of study (though not all). They have other problems with learning and change, but can generally adapt into normal society. (Bones on the TV show of the same name is an example, as is Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, to name a few).

Autism on the other hand has a very broad spectrum, the worst being no ability to communicate at all.

[Leonard Meltsner]

I doubt Eugene has autism, but he could have aspects of Aspergers, though he'd have to be EXTREMELY high functioning if that is the case...

Well unless I'm mistaken, Aspergers is the extreme end of the Autistic Spectrum. Also, great to see you on, Sarah!

Actually, its the opposite: Aspergers is on the mild end of it. People with Aspergers are quite high functioning, just very socially awkward. They are extremely literal and often have a hard time with pop culture/colloquialisms. Most have trouble dealing with change, though many have learned to adapt. They have find social gatherings difficult, and many cannot read body language or tone of voice very well causing social misunderstandings. Often they ruminate or hyper-focus on a specific problem or subject, and some become quite brilliant in one area of study (though not all). They have other problems with learning and change, but can generally adapt into normal society. (Bones on the TV show of the same name is an example, as is Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, to name a few).

Autism on the other hand has a very broad spectrum, the worst being no ability to communicate at all.

Huh. I may need to look over my analysis of Sheldon and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime from English 12, and see if I then got all my info on autism backwards...

[JesusFreak777]

I'm not quite sure what your post is referring to, but for helpful info on Aspergers, check the wikipedia page for more info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome - Aspergers is similar to or the same as (debated by dr.'s) High Functioning Autism.

[Leonard Meltsner]

That must be it. I must've interpreted "high-functioning" as "high on the spectrum". I was referring to an essay I did in English 12 on Aspergers, comparing Sheldon Cooper and Christopher John Francis Boone (from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime).

But yes, I did get it wrong. To clarify, that last post of mine wasn't sarcastic, I really did have everything backwards.

[JesusFreak777]

Its all good, thanks for clarifying...so back to the topic at hand...

[King Butter Turtle]

I don't think Eugene is socially awkward, he just... has little in common with most people (most notably Connie) but, he's anything but awkward around Katrina, Whit, Jason and the group he hangs out with in 'Third Degree' when Bernard's in jail (especially noteworthy since it's a large group social setting). So, no, I don't think Eugene has autism, or aspergers for that matter.

AIO has featured several characters with mental/social/learning disabilities including Oscar, Charles VanHorn (Natural Born Leader) and Lester but, I agree with what seems to be the consensus that it would be to hard to convey with a regular character. It's certainly something worth addressing but, I would think it'd be quite tricky to handle both writing-wise and audio-wise.

[JesusFreak777]

Sorry to bump this, but I was listening to old Christmas episodes and I hit on "The Reluctant Rival" featuring Jenny Whitaker-Dowd, Whit's granddaughter. I think she of any character thus far falls under the Autism-Aspergers spectrum. And they handle her character quite well for the record.

[Leonard Meltsner]

Sorry to bump this, but I was listening to old Christmas episodes and I hit on "The Reluctant Rival" featuring Jenny Whitaker-Dowd, Whit's granddaughter. I think she of any character thus far falls under the Autism-Aspergers spectrum. And they handle her character quite well for the record.

Nice catch, I didn't even think of Jenny.

[King Butter Turtle]

Sorry to bump this, but I was listening to old Christmas episodes and I hit on "The Reluctant Rival" featuring Jenny Whitaker-Dowd, Whit's granddaughter. I think she of any character thus far falls under the Autism-Aspergers spectrum. And they handle her character quite well for the record.

Yeah - good thought, especially with her violin... prodigiousness (yes, that's a word - I looked it up - )

[Leonard Meltsner]

And her inability to perform for others unless her part is perfect in Scattered Seeds.

[EUCC]

There's a huge difference between being highly intelligent (and in Jenny's case, a perfectionist) and having a hard time dealing with average intelligence people than being on the Autism spectrum. I think it would be very hard to get a good radio portrayal of autism, and as has already been mentioned, there's such a range (hence, spectrum).