Press the space key. Again, please feel free to ask me about autism if you need clarification!!!!! Please read the notes and credits to learn more :)
Hey guys! I said I would post projects soon, and I did! So, anyways. This project may seem a bit sloppy or rushed, and that's mainly because it is.... ha... hahaha.... But that's because this is very important to me. As an autisic person, I feel like there just isn't enough information about autism out there. When i'm older and more expirienced, I hope that I can teach people about this disorder. I want to reach people, especially kids and teens, by creating characters that share their struggles and show people with autism that they aren't alone. If you want to do that someday, too, here are some tips on how to create a good autistic character: ~Like I said in the project, autistic people have sensory problems. You could design your character's outfit to reflect this. You can give them tinted glasses, for instance, if you want to show that they are sensitive to bright lights. Some autistic people wear tight clothes or heavy coats because they like that extra bit of pressure. Some might even wear gloves to avoid feeling certain things. ~You might want to make them be very literal. You can show this by having another character say something sarcastic or figurative, and having the autistic character not understand or ask for clarification. ~Some autistic people are nonverbal, which means they do not speak. They instead communicate through sign language, text- to- speech apps, etc. What i'm saying is they don't need to talk. ~Autistic people have a different way of thinking. They think using pictures... by visualizing things... you could maybe have a situation where the other characters are trying to solve a problem and failing, and the autistic character could think of a new solution that solves the problem. ~Special interests!! We autistics have special interests, which are things that we are completely and totally obsessed with. They can be lifelong, or some can only last for a week or so. We're always thinking about them. We can tell you everything about our special interests, and when we do that, it's called infodumping. Give your character a special interest!!! Make them infodump about their special interest!!!!! Also, try to stay away from stereotypical special interests, like trains, cars, planes, etc. ~Some autistic people are lacking in empathy, while others are hyper empathetic. (Hyper empathy is rarer) Your autistic character might say something insensitive accidentally if they have low empathy, or they may constantly ask if someone's ok when showing the slightest sign of sadness if they are hyper sensitve. ~You really don't even have to say they're autistic. Show, don't tell. ~Show them stimming!! Show them flapping their hands or rocking back and fourth or playing with a fidget toy or something!! If you still want help, you can look at some canonically autistic characters for inspiration. Or, you can look at characters that autistic people find relatable!! ~Recently, the PBS kids show Sesame street introduced an autistic character named Julia. Although this is aimed toward younger children, Julia is still a very good autistic representation. ~Another PBS kids show, Arthur, introduced an autistic character named Carl a few years earlier. Although Carl is a bit of a stereotype, he is still a pretty good autistic character. ~If you want a character who isn't aimed towards younger kids, how about Symmetra from Overwatch? She has been specifically stated to be on the autism spectrum. I'm not a big fan of Overwatch, but from what i've heard, Symmetra is a good representation. ~Although it has never been stated to my knowledge that they actually ARE supposed to be autistic, Pearl, Peridot, and Padparadscha Sapphire from Steven Universe are thought to be to very well potrayed autistic characters. ~Many pokemon characters are good representation, such as Ash Ketchum, N, and Steven Stone. As a matter of fact, Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of pokemon, is indeed autistic!! If you want more good autistic characters, you can ask me for my personal opinions! Thank you for reading all of this! It means a lot to me!! I hope you learned something & that you have a good day! God bless!! Good whatever time it is in your timezone!!! wow, i'm really tired....
