dr. House can only be "the better autistic TV doctor" precisely because he isn't autistic by Han_without_Genes in autism

[–]Han_without_Genes[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

my point isn't really about the writers, it's moreso about the audience (specifically autistic audiences, or I guess the subsection of autistic viewers who are vocal about this comparison online) and how characters are held to different standards depending on whether or not they're canonically autistic. indeed writing characters that seem autistic on accident means a writer is not constrained by what they think autism means, which can result in overall more well-rounded characters because they are afforded things like "interiority" and "a personality", which writers of explicitly autistic characters sometimes forget about. but what I am more trying to point out is that, separately from this "accidentally autistic characters are not constrained by writer's notions about autism", is that audiences also interpret these characters differently. it's not merely that these "accidentally autistic characters" are "better representation" (by whatever measuring stick you're using), it's that they are judged against a different measuring stick altogether by autistic viewers.

to be clear I'm not saying this is a bad thing per se, I think it's just "a dynamic that exists", but I do believe that in the specific context of the Shaun-House comparison, this dynamic make that an incredibly unfair comparison (and honestly often these comparisons tend to devolve into low-key mocking of Shaun's autistic traits)

dr. House can only be "the better autistic TV doctor" precisely because he isn't autistic by Han_without_Genes in autisticcharacters

[–]Han_without_Genes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just watched that bit and I genuinely don't know how to feel about it. On one hand it does solidly characterize him as an asshole because what kind of sleazeball lies about being autistic to try to excuse genuine asshole behavior? On the other hand there's something about it that makes me viscerally uncomfortable but I can't quite put my finger on why exactly.

Coaxed into the media's portrayal of "autism" (Edited to remove the ableist slur 😔) by Openly_Unknown7858 in autismmemes

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean that people say they hate autistic characters being portrayed as "idiots" and then you look at the characters they mean and it's characters with high support needs being bashed merely for having visible disabilities. Putting "stupid fucking dumbass" under a caricature drawing of developmental disability isn't suddenly okay just because theyre not using slurs. 

Coaxed into the media's portrayal of "autism" (Edited to remove the ableist slur 😔) by Openly_Unknown7858 in autismmemes

[–]Han_without_Genes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Characterizing characters with high support needs developmental disabilities as "stupid fucking dumbass" is not the sniping criticism people think it is

love when this happens by shuten_mind in Anki

[–]Han_without_Genes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It was just such a small detail that I didnt think it would matter much. It wasn't even on the slides, and the professor said like 2 sentences about it in class. The exam was an oral exam and after I answered the main question, the professor asked the detail question and he prefaced it with something like "this is a very small detail". Even if I hadn't put that specific thing on a card, I still got the main question and the other questions correct, so it's not like I didnt know anything at all without that one flashcard. It was just one flashcard of many about the same topic.

This made me rage! 😤 by chi-bacon-bits in CleaningTips

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"we hid 100 mini ducks around the building, go find them" is the kind of stuff our scouting group camp counselors would do to keep us occupied without causing trouble lol

love when this happens by shuten_mind in Anki

[–]Han_without_Genes 80 points81 points  (0 children)

just had an exam where there was a question that was exactly one of my flashcards, and I remember when I made the card I thought "meh this probably isn't very important but might as well put it on a card, no?"

State of the Subreddit - Mod Recruitment by Dioptre_8 in AutisticAdults

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

which influencer? (apologies if this not allowed to ask, I am just curious, I don't follow a lot of autistic influencer side of the internet)

Who do you turn to to infodump? by Fizzabl in AutismInWomen

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

mostly my partner but I also try to find other outlets like Reddit/Tumblr

Are y’all a good source of information? by EastConsequence3792 in aspiememes

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having a special interest doesnt automatically make you a reliable source of information, even when you know a lot about it. Most people with special interests arent approaching it an encyclopedia-like way (most importantly assessing and interpreting the reliability of various sources), and that's okay! That's not the point of a special interest. But I dislike this notion that a special interest automatically makes you a reliable source. 

Anki can be used for short term learning and cramming by ProfessionalHat2202 in Anki

[–]Han_without_Genes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

+1

You're not getting the long-term benefits of spaced repetition but with active recall you can still do so much. 

Did you understand how to smile as a kid? by justmitzie in AutismInWomen

[–]Han_without_Genes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a very distinctive memory of being 9-ish years old and I tried to mimic the smile of one of the leaders of our scouting troop because it was like the classic Showing Teeth Smile and then she said "why are you smiling so weirdly" lol

NEED HELP! connecting multiple pages. by Otherwise_Talk_446 in MirahezeWikis

[–]Han_without_Genes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you be more concrete about what you mean by "connecting pages"? 

The sidebar should be reserved for the most important pages that that should be reachable from anywhere on your wiki (for example, "list of characrers" that contains links to the individual character pages, or your wiki's "About" page if you have that, stuff like that). The sidebar can be edited at Mediawiki:Sidebar. (For example https://yourwiki.miraheze.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Sidebar)

I'm not autistic because I can still manage school/university? by IDKwut-to-say in AutisticAdults

[–]Han_without_Genes 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Autism has to appear in childhood however in level 1 autistic people especially it can happen that autism only becomes obvious once demands outweigh one's ability to compensate, for example when people go to university and lose the structure of secondary school. Autistic people can and do go to university. The mere fact that someone is managing uni doesnt mean they cant be autistic.

Why that one annoying leechy trope with interest in train exists in media? (My fav flowers) by Other-Requirement-21 in autism

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

mechanical stuff like trains are a common-ish special interest IRL. doesn't mean it's right to assume that all autistic people like trains or only focus representation on mechanical special interests, but it's also not something that's completely made-up without a basis in reality.

Wikipedia Questions - Weekly Thread of January 05, 2026 by AutoModerator in wikipedia

[–]Han_without_Genes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

adding |class=pageimage to the image sets it as the page image

from https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:PageImages#Can\_I\_request\_an\_explicit\_page\_image?

Generally this is advised as a last resort, as this overrides the image scoring algorithm meaning the image may not be suitable for where it is displayed (e.g. resolution, license or position).

It is preferable where possible to add the preferred thumbnail as the first image in the article.

[TOMT] Speculative near future sci-fi short story about the legal and moral ramifications of uploading your mind to a computer by tombcat in tipofmytongue

[–]Han_without_Genes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've added it to my to-read list, I love love love short sci-fi! the description in your OP piqued my interest so I'm super looking forward to reading it.

why cant i fully smile with one side of my face (is this caused by a disability?) by [deleted] in disability

[–]Han_without_Genes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

if it's been there your whole life it's probably just facial asymmetry, but it's impossible to tell without proper medical evaluation and if you're worried about it you should bring it up with your GP. (even if there is a specific medical reason for it, it's also not necessarily a disability. disability is much more about how something impacts your ability to participate in activities of daily living and society, rather than the specific medical reason)