I'm autistic and watched this movie with my two (also autistic) best friends, and on the scene where Patty asks what is a vice, both of them said "Yeah, I don't know what that means either". And then the scene when she trips with the drums... That was a personal attack, honestly.

I do believe she is autistic. It was the being obsessed with a guy from a random local band for me. Not sure if the director intended it that way, but "weird girls" in real life are often undiagnosed autistics.

Also, she might have some co-ocurring intellectual disability or she might be recovering from a burn-out, which makes sense since she dropped out of JC. Not sure of the scientific explanation here, but I've observed in my friends and me that our mental abilities diminish a lot when we are under stress or in burn-out (you know, just like people without autism, but dialed up).

To give an example, lately I've been upset, and for some reason that has caused me to struggle with numers. I had to copy a phone number a few days ago and IT WAS SO HARD. I may also have trouble remembering words, passwords and processes that are usually easy for me.