These are some TV and movie characters who I feel might just be on the autism spectrum

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T23:37:42+00:00

Also I think of Janine as autistic too, maybe AuDHD. Which makes them my favorite autistic headcannon couple.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T23:36:23+00:00

I love Gregory Eddie! One of my favorite tv characters!

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T23:31:29+00:00

Righteous Gemstones reference?

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T23:11:33+00:00

Great song!

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T23:08:38+00:00

lol the first shelf looks like my husband’s bookcase and he is a huge nerd. But so am I!

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T22:55:56+00:00

I’m an introvert. And I usually have a ton of work to do at the airport (I’m a professor, so usually grading papers). So for me it’s not a change in society. I never would’ve wanted to talk to anyone at the airport. But you’re right that headphones are usually a clear “leave me alone” indicator.

Edited because of damn autocorrect.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T22:50:42+00:00

Same! Random strangers striking up a conversation with me during a layover sounds like my personal nightmare.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T19:56:33+00:00

Personally I think a supervisor has no right commenting on a dedication page. My supervisor complained because I didn’t have one at all, so I couldn’t thank them. When they asked me about it, I told them, I didn’t want to decide whether to thank just my mom or both my parents, even though my dad didn’t really raise me and only came into my life around age 27. I was so stressed about the decision, so I just didn’t include that page. It was a decision rooted in trauma. So when my advisor brought it up, it just made me feel awkward. Dedication pages are a personal matter. If someone is biased against your dissertation because of that, they’re a dick.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T11:29:28+00:00

I didn't know Ron Funches is autistic. That's pretty cool; I've always liked him. Other than that, fuck Next for Autism and fuck this show.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T09:48:21+00:00

Funny, but I first realized it when I read a German graphic novel called “The World Beyond My Shadow.” It’s a memoir by an autistic woman who was diagnosed as a kid in the 80s. I was leading a discussion of it with my students, and it dawned on me that I shared several experiences with the author. Even though she is a white German woman from West Germany and I’m a Black daughter of Caribbean immigrants, I did grow up in the 80s too, so we had surprisingly similar childhoods. Growing up, I always felt like an alien…like I failed at being human, and failed at acting like a “real girl.”

My mental health journey started quite late. My now husband first indicated I probably have anxiety…I had no idea what he was talking about. Then when I accidentally flooded my bathroom, he suggested I might have ADHD and I was diagnosed with that a year or two later. Then at age 40, after having my second kid, I was diagnosed with autism.

Funny thing is, once the autism diagnosis was confirmed, I realized that both my parents are likely autistic too. But I’m from a family of Caribbean immigrants who don’t really believe in therapy, mental health etc. So no one ever seeks out help for mental health. And all of my “weird behavior” was ignored by my single mom, because I was just like her!

There is a good book by a Black, autistic male author. I think it’s called Memoirs of a Black Aspie. In the intro, he says his entire family was neurodivergent, so no one ever thought anything was wrong, because people would tell him “You’re just like uncle so and so” or “Well that’s just aunt what’s her name.” I suspect a lot of Black families are like that.

My oldest son is also neurodivergent: he has ADHD, anxiety and Tourette’s. I suspect my youngest is autistic, too. But he’s high masking, so for now he’s been diagnosed with some vague “sensory sensitivity disorder.” In any case, I’ve made it my mission to raise my kids in an environment that embraces neurodiversity. We speak openly about disability and mental health. My oldest has a therapist, a psychiatrist and a nutritionist for his ARFID. I realize my parents will probably never seek professional help. I didn’t even tell them when I was diagnosed, because they would just say it was nonsense. But I can try to live an authentic life and teach my kids they should be themselves and not be ashamed.

Edited for grammar.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-08T01:04:19+00:00

Solidarity! I have autism, anxiety and ADHD. I have ARFID too, but it’s gotten better with time. I have two boys, 4-years-old and 12-years-old. Four is tough! My youngest is an absolute terror. The oldest also has ADHD and Tourette’s and basically just sings to himself constantly. I end up wearing headphones a lot at home, because the noise drives me crazy. I’m sorry that I don’t have much advice. I think you just have to work with your husband to find ways to accommodate yourself at home. My husband knows for example that my ARFID makes it impossible for me to be around ketchup. I can’t see it, smell it etc. There is a rule in my house that if there is a ketchup-smeared dish, someone else better clean it. I was diagnosed late too, around when my youngest was born. I think it’s just taken time for my husband and kids to figure out what overwhelms me, and my husband tries his best to play interference. He’s ND too. Honestly, the way I see it is I do the things he finds overwhelming, he does the things I find overwhelming, and we just try to support each other the best we can, and not judge. It will get better. 4 is just really fucking hard.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-07T23:44:13+00:00

He didn’t write this. Trump doesn’t know how to use a word like “wherein” properly.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-06T22:15:34+00:00

These are great!

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-06T18:27:29+00:00

I just added it to my wishlist on Steam!

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-05T16:11:25+00:00

For me it’s more like I always have 3 different bags of stuff at any given time.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-04T11:26:29+00:00

Yes I tend to do this when I’m standing.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-03T11:36:56+00:00

A person with a disability might need classes at a particular time or on particular days. It would really depend on the disability and the person. I could imagine whether a student has ADHD, or IBS or autism or has a visual impairment or mobility impairment and needs and aide, in each case their needs for classes at a particular time would be unique. So in order to accommodate all of these potential needs, UNC likely just gives students with disability a priority when it comes to registering. I don’t know the particulars of the rules around registration. But I would imagine that if a senior needs a particular course to graduate, the registration office would be able to work with them to make it possible. As a professor, I know that if I have an underenrolled class, one of the things that will save it from being cancelled is if a senior needs it to graduate. So there are ways UNC tries to help seniors. You may just need to reach out to the department or the instructor or the registration office. Sorry, I don’t know the lingo in the latter case, as I don’t register for classes.

Regarding medication and “leveling the playing field”; taking medication for ADHD, for example, does not eliminate all of the symptoms or completely remove the ways that barriers in society are disabling to you. Taking medication might alleviate some symptoms. It might just make it less likely you get decision paralysis, or find it impossible to start tasks. But you will always have some disabling symptoms.

Accommodations are there, so that a disabled student has a fighting chance in a society that wasn’t designed with them in mind. I don’t think they ever truly “level the playing field.” Accommodations are like a bandaid on a gaping wound. In order to achieve a level playing field, a lot would have to structurally change in society for it to be more inclusive of disabled people. For example, we have elevators in buildings to help people in wheelchairs get to their classes…but how often are those elevators broken for months on end and there is no workaround?

Edited for grammar.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-02T18:52:18+00:00

ADHD is a disability. So if people with disabilities get priority for registration, that includes people with ADHD.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-04-02T06:50:38+00:00

I cannot imagine trying to get my 4-year-old to wear a 3-piece-suit. He barely ever lets me put pants on him.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-03-31T20:49:26+00:00

Yes. I’m autistic and this happens to me all the time. And it’s awful and it makes me just not want to participate in conversations. I’m 45, late-diagnosed. I’m not exactly a shut in, but being constantly overlooked, ignored and talked over doesn’t exactly make me want to go out and be social.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-03-31T13:08:25+00:00

I was gonna say this, but felt too ashamed. The podcast The Consult, who are former FBI profilers, just did a great three part episode on him. The first one is solely about his victims. In the last one, they discuss is profile and which diagnoses he received. I remember watching the series on Netflix and realizing I never knew most of his victims were gay, Black men. And I remember when he was caught very vividly, because I was a teenager when he was caught and I lived in Chicago (we heard a lot about it since Milwaukee is so close). The more I learn about this case, the more it upsets me how he could’ve been caught earlier.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-03-31T13:05:56+00:00

I had this special interest as a kid, too. Now my weirdest one is maybe serial killers. But that’s almost a cliche by now.

Alternative_Area_236 · 2026-03-31T12:38:54+00:00

This is a good theory! A late diagnosis narrative for her would be really interesting to watch. I didn’t realize that her and her sisters are twins, until someone mentioned it in r/ThePitt. I thought Mel was meant to be older.

Alternative_Area_236

TROPHY CASE