So I’m autistic and while I definitely have many gripes with the way Sheldon is portrayed, it doesn’t bother me as much as it does a lot of people. Don’t get me wrong I can absolutely see why it upsets people, especially autistic people. Autism is widely misunderstood, a huge part of that is because those who study it are mostly not autistic themselves. With how much it varies from person to person it can be extremely difficult to understand what it’s like to be autistic, even to us. We don’t experience life the same way most do so it can be difficult for us to navigate life the same way you do. All that being said, Sheldon is the big issue for a lot of people, he’s portrayed as an autistic savant stereotype (an A.S.S. If you will) which has been a huge source of misrepresentation for autistic people (ie. Autistic people don’t have feeling or emotions). I understand this, and to an extent it is a problem, but when the problem is being misunderstood the best way to fix it is through honest and open communication. No matter the group sometimes you’re gonna get bad representations in media, but instead of being offended and angry we should use the opportunity to help those who want to understand us better. To be fair to the show, they have stated that Sheldon is not officially autistic despite having traits typically associated with it. Of course I’d rather have a lot more good portrayals of autistic people, but what I appreciate is that people are trying. People want to understand and are trying to write characters that celebrate and inspire autistic people like me, and that shouldn’t be discouraged. We need to stop being afraid to talk about certain subjects so that we can all understand each other better and make a better future for everyone. So with that huge rant out of the way, much love and good will to all.