Asperger's Syndrome In Fiction
Quick! Name a fictional character that has Aspergers!
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What did you come up with? Perhaps Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory? Good one. Anybody that is even remotely familiar with Aspergers knows that Sheldon is a textbook Aspie. He has all the telltale signs.
How about Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds? Yep, all the telltale signs are there once again.
Any Parenthood fans out there? A married couple has to cope with the diagnosis of their son having Asperger's. Very touching stuff. My wife and I watched the first few episodes in tears because it hit so close to home for us.
OK, well, what about in books?
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon comes to mind. Excellent book told from the first person point of view of an Aspie.
In the Millenium series, and in the recent film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the main character, Lisbeth Salander, is an Aspie.
One of my favorite literary characters from my childhood, Sherlock Holmes, is thought to have Asperger's. Many psychologists have had a little fun and given a "fictional" diagnosis to the character.
Which brings me to the point of this blog entry, yes, I do have a point to make. If you have read the sneak peek to Collapse you know that one of the main characters, Howard Beck, has Asperger's Syndrome. I knew that when I started writing this novel that one of the three main characters would have Asperger's Syndrome. It was never a question, that's just how it was going to be. Never occurred to me not to do it.
Why?
My fourteen-year-old son has Asperger's. He was diagnosed at the age of four. Dealing with the diagnosis was an ordeal for me and my wife. We had never even heard of Asperger's, when we found out it was on the autism spectrum, we immediately assumed the worst. The only frame of reference that we could lean on was Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. We pictured our son requiring constant care, even into adulthood. Patience and education was our saving grace. We absorbed everything that we could find on the subject.
It didn't take long into our journey for me to figure out that I very well could have Asperger's myself. I've never been formally tested, but I share a lot of the characteristics. I become fixated on something to the point of obsession. I am awkward around people that I am not comfortable with. I seldom look anyone in the eye when they talk to me. I can retreat into my mind and stay there for a very long time and not come out. All of these traits I share with my son.
I feel that I have a duty to help raise awareness. People need to be educated when it comes to Asperger's. Parents need to know what it is so that they can recognize it and get a head start on treatment. Our son was lucky, before he started kindergarden he been regularly attending speech and occupational therapy.
Parents also need to know that an Asperger's diagnosis is not the end of the world. Their child will grow up to live full and productive lives. Some of the most influential characters in history are thought to have had Asperger's. Men like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Mark Twain, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Speilberg, and Bill Gates are all thought to be among the ranks of Asperger's.
I'm proud to offer up a fictional character in the name of Asperger's awareness. I'm not pretentious enough to put Howard Beck on the same level as the references I have made in this entry. That being said, if anyone opens up Collapse having never heard of Asperger's, I hope they can close the book and have a better understanding of Asperger's. If that happens just one time, I will be satisfied.
Collapse (New America, #1) Sneak Peek
....
....
....
What did you come up with? Perhaps Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory? Good one. Anybody that is even remotely familiar with Aspergers knows that Sheldon is a textbook Aspie. He has all the telltale signs.
How about Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds? Yep, all the telltale signs are there once again.
Any Parenthood fans out there? A married couple has to cope with the diagnosis of their son having Asperger's. Very touching stuff. My wife and I watched the first few episodes in tears because it hit so close to home for us.
OK, well, what about in books?
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon comes to mind. Excellent book told from the first person point of view of an Aspie.
In the Millenium series, and in the recent film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the main character, Lisbeth Salander, is an Aspie.
One of my favorite literary characters from my childhood, Sherlock Holmes, is thought to have Asperger's. Many psychologists have had a little fun and given a "fictional" diagnosis to the character.
Which brings me to the point of this blog entry, yes, I do have a point to make. If you have read the sneak peek to Collapse you know that one of the main characters, Howard Beck, has Asperger's Syndrome. I knew that when I started writing this novel that one of the three main characters would have Asperger's Syndrome. It was never a question, that's just how it was going to be. Never occurred to me not to do it.
Why?
My fourteen-year-old son has Asperger's. He was diagnosed at the age of four. Dealing with the diagnosis was an ordeal for me and my wife. We had never even heard of Asperger's, when we found out it was on the autism spectrum, we immediately assumed the worst. The only frame of reference that we could lean on was Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. We pictured our son requiring constant care, even into adulthood. Patience and education was our saving grace. We absorbed everything that we could find on the subject.
It didn't take long into our journey for me to figure out that I very well could have Asperger's myself. I've never been formally tested, but I share a lot of the characteristics. I become fixated on something to the point of obsession. I am awkward around people that I am not comfortable with. I seldom look anyone in the eye when they talk to me. I can retreat into my mind and stay there for a very long time and not come out. All of these traits I share with my son.
I feel that I have a duty to help raise awareness. People need to be educated when it comes to Asperger's. Parents need to know what it is so that they can recognize it and get a head start on treatment. Our son was lucky, before he started kindergarden he been regularly attending speech and occupational therapy.
Parents also need to know that an Asperger's diagnosis is not the end of the world. Their child will grow up to live full and productive lives. Some of the most influential characters in history are thought to have had Asperger's. Men like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Mark Twain, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Speilberg, and Bill Gates are all thought to be among the ranks of Asperger's.
I'm proud to offer up a fictional character in the name of Asperger's awareness. I'm not pretentious enough to put Howard Beck on the same level as the references I have made in this entry. That being said, if anyone opens up Collapse having never heard of Asperger's, I hope they can close the book and have a better understanding of Asperger's. If that happens just one time, I will be satisfied.
Collapse (New America, #1) Sneak Peek
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Vered
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Apr 19, 2012 11:17PM
Love how you've turned a potential crisis into a source of inspiration. Well done!
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The first time I met someone with Asperger's I had never heard of this condition and I had no idea why this individual was suddenly asking me rather awkward questions. Luckily, I just decided to "go with the flow" rather than backing off or being unpleasant to the person. Later when I found out that she was an "Aspie," I was glad I'd handled the situation properly, even if it was just by chance.I think it's great that you can work your personal life into your writing in this way!
Thanks to both of you for the feedback! Good to know someone is actually reading my blog entries. I was starting to wonder if I was just talking to myself here.
I've noticed that a lot of Kindle readers have tagged my book 'aspergers'.And I just heard from a reader who said he thought the MD character, which is a fictionalized version of me, had Asperger's.
I've never been diagnosed, so I'm not sure what it is about my writing that gives this impression.
If anyone would like to help me out, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Austin-Nights-e...
or you can download it for a tweet here:
http://theopenend.com/
Well, maybe the readers make too many assumptions. Even if the protagonist is a fictionalized version of you, that doesn't mean it is you. If your writing goes into intricate description or repeats anything too much, (but how much is too much?), you might be labelled anything from obsessive compulsive to Asperger's. People just love pigeon-holing other people!
That's true. Readers make a lot of assumptions. I'm guilty of the same assumptions when I read books, especially literary fiction.It's just the assumption that MD was on the spectrum kind of surprised me. Autism is mentioned in the book because MD's girlfriend is going to grad school studying it, but there's nothing about MD having it, and yet it's MDs quirky worldview that made this reader think he had Asperger's.
And really MDs worldview is pretty darn similar to mine!
Some of these syndromes have lots of symptoms. And most people have some of the symptoms. I mean, let's face it, we're all a little obsessive about something, right? But from what I've read (which admittedly isn't much), I think it's a matter of the combination, number and intensity of symptoms. And as Richard S. says: "An Asperger's diagnosis is not the end of the world. [...] Some of the most influential characters in history are thought to have had Asperger's."
I'm very happy to report the Digital Book Today picked up this article! It is featured on their front page! I'm honored and thrilled!http://digitalbooktoday.com/
Richard wrote: "I'm very happy to report the Digital Book Today picked up this article! It is featured on their front page! I'm honored and thrilled!http://digitalbooktoday.com/"
Congratulations Richard! That's so exciting--and great publicity too!
Thank you Richard. :)I like your name. Good strong first name. LOL
Richard wrote: "Thank you Richard. :)I like your name. Good strong first name. LOL"
Sometimes when I talk to you, it's like talking to myself. But in a good way! :)
Richard, I feel exactly the same way. LOL
There does need to be more awareness about Aspergers. Fiction writing is one way to educate people. Myself, I've written a middle-grade fantasy "Keeper of Directions" with the main character having Aspergers. http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-of-Direc...
That is fantastic! I will gladly spread the word. Followed you on Twitter. I am @RStephenson5
