4 TV Series That Have Characters With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Works of fiction are a very good way to make known the daily life of minorities who often suffer the consequences of the majority of people not understanding their situation. People with Autism Spectrum Disorders until not so long ago, have remained in the most absolute shadows.

Fortunately, more and more people know about what their daily lives are like, partly thanks to television series.

4 television series with characters with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Below you can see a selection of 4 television series in which there are characters with autism with an important or protagonist role. Although there are several more that do not appear here, they give enough screen time to these characters to make it clear what the characteristics and symptoms linked to autism are.

1. Atypical

Atypical is the latest major fiction series in which a character with autism has an important role. In fact, Sam Gardner, the young man with symptoms of the autism spectrum, is the protagonist of this story.

The first thing that catches Sam’s attention is the monotony with which he speaks , the little repertoire and intonations he uses to express himself. This is a characteristic of people on the autism spectrum who can use verbal language fluently, as is the case, although the causes of this are unknown (like almost everything that has to do with these disorders).

On the other hand, the other great peculiarity of Sam when it comes to his way of capturing on screen the lives of many people with autism is that he has serious difficulties “reading between the lines” In other words, the interpretation that Sam usually makes from what is said to him is characterized by literality; He does not recognize what it is or it is a metaphor, and the lack of knowledge of certain phrases and expressions makes him really confused, since he does not know what they mean or makes him believe that the other person has really meant something. queer.

Additionally, Sam feels very vulnerable when he is in environments with a wide variety of stimuli. That is why he often places a type of headphones over his ears that are, in reality, noise filters. This allows him to concentrate on the predictable aspects of his daily life, the ways of thinking and action in which he will not encounter surprises.

One of the ways that Sam not getting out of your mental and behavioral routine is to think repeatedly about Antarctica and, specifically, about the penguins that inhabit it. For example, when he gets nervous, to calm himself he repeats to himself over and over again the names of the four species of penguins that exist on that frozen continent, but even when he is not very stressed his thoughts end up leading to ideas about from Antarctica. Predictability and the absence of changes in actions and thoughts are of great importance for the majority of autistic people.

2. Community

Community is one of the most famous comedy series due to the high quality of its scripts and the chemistry between its characters. One of them, Abed Nadir (played by Danny Pudi) is one of the most interesting because of the way in which he expresses several of the behavioral traits. typical of many people with an autism spectrum disorder

One of these typically autistic characteristics is the lack of richness in the nuances of the intonation of the voice. Abed seems to speak like a robot, in a dispassionate and monotonous way, but that does not mean that he does not have feelings, although he may appear otherwise.

In addition, Abed also presents another characteristic of people with some form of autism: has developed a strong interest in a specific area , a range of knowledge that he usually thinks about on a recurring basis. This area of ​​interest (and obsession, in fact) is pop culture, specifically that which is related to series and movies. In fact, in the series it is implied that much of the things Abed knows he knows from having seen or heard them on television.

Of course, for the producers of Community it is very convenient to have a character who is always willing to give a nod to series and movies that the viewer may know. However, for real people who manifest symptoms of the autism spectrum, pop culture is too broad a scope. The areas of interest of these people tend to be even more specific ; for example, police series, or the universe of a single fiction series.

3. The Good Doctor

Shaun Murphy is a young neurosurgeon with autism who, in many ways, manifests the symptoms depicted on screen by the protagonist of Atypical.

In this series it becomes clear that people with ASD experience all types of emotions, even though they do not always know how to express them in a way that other people understand. Someone with autism is not a robot is simply a person whose socialization style does not fully fit with that of other people and who, in addition, is much more susceptible to moments of anxiety and to expression and cognitive problems (many people with ASD are not able to speak and/or experience intellectual disability).

4. The Big Bang Theory

Sheldon Cooper He is possibly the character with behavioral patterns typical of autism who has achieved the most fame, and is known at least “by sight” by many millennials. In fact, it could be said that it is the driving force of the series The Big Bang Theory, a work of fiction that, at least in its first seasons, focused on creating comic situations based on the social ineptitude of a group of misfit young adults with problems when relating to women.

Sheldon is a clear caricature of many of the characteristics attributed to autism. Like Abed, he also speaks in a monotone, removing any trace of musicality from his voice; However, in his case the creators of the series have tried to make it seem that Sheldon really lacks feelings. This is evident in the fact that, unlike what happens with Abed or Sam Gardner, Sheldon doesn’t seem at all interested in empathizing with anyone and seems to enjoy making reproaches.

On the other hand, where his peers fail to socialize with women, Sheldon displays simple indifference, at best, or misogyny, because most of the women he associates with know nothing about your area of ​​interest.

Because yes, Sheldon also has a specific field of interest: physics. However, it must be said that also in this case this range of knowledge seems to open a lot at the convenience of the script. For example, forms of entertainment such as role-playing games or science fiction works They also seem to be part of this space of Sheldon’s “obsessions”, simply to fit the stereotype of a misfit young man. Although it is not unusual to occur, there is nothing in these cultural products that is in itself a magnet for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.