4 series with characters with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Works of fiction are a very good way of publicizing the day-to-day life of minorities who often suffer the consequences that most people do not understand their situation. People with Autism Spectrum DisordersUntil not so long ago, they have remained in the absolute shadows.

Fortunately, more and more people know about their day-to-day life, partly thanks to television series.

• Related article: "15 movies that talk about Autism"

4 television series with characters with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Below you can see a selection of 4 television series in which there are characters with autism with an important or leading role. While there are several more that aren't featured here, these give enough screen time to these characters so that it is clear what are the characteristics and symptoms linked to autism.

1. Atypical

Atypical is the last great fictional series in which a character with autism has an important role. In fact, Sam Gardner, the young man with symptoms of the autism spectrum, is the protagonist of this story.

The first thing that catches Sam's attention is the monotony with which he speaks., the little repertoire and intonations that he uses to express himself. This is a characteristic of people on the autism spectrum who can use verbal language in a fluid, as is the case, although the causes of this are unknown (like almost everything that has to do with these disorders).

On the other hand, the other great peculiarity of Sam in regard to his way of capturing the lives of many people with autism on the screen is that he has serious Difficulty "reading between the lines". In other words, the interpretation that Sam usually makes from what is said to him is characterized by literalness; he does not recognize what is or is not a metaphor, and the ignorance of certain idioms and expressions makes him really confused, since he doesn't know what they mean or else they make him believe that the other person has implied something really weird.

Also, Sam feels very vulnerable when he is in environments with a wide variety of stimuli. That is why he often places a kind of headphones over his ears that are actually noise filters. This allows him to focus on the predictable aspects of his day-to-day, the ways of thinking and acting that he won't be thrown off his feet.

One of the ways that Sam has of not get out of their mental and behavioral routine it is to think recurrently about Antarctica and, specifically, about the penguins that inhabit it. For example, when he gets nervous, to calm down he repeats to himself the names of the four species of penguins over and over again. that there is in that frozen continent, but even when he is not very stressed the thought of him ends up leading to torches about the Antarctica. The predictability and the absence of changes in actions and thoughts is of great importance to most autistic people.

• You may be interested in: "The 4 types of Autism and their characteristics"

2. Community

Community is one of the most famous comedy series due to the high quality of its scripts and the chemistry between its characters. One of them, Abed Nadir (played by Danny Pudi) is one of the most interesting because of the way in which he expresses various behavioral traits. typical of many people with an autism spectrum disorder.

One of these typically autistic characteristics is the lack of richness in the nuances of the intonation of the voice. Abed seems to speak like a robot, in a dispassionate and monotonous way, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings, although he may appear otherwise.

In addition, Abed also presents another of the characteristics of people with some form of autism: he has developed a strong interest in a specific area, a range of knowledge in which he used to think recurrently. This field of interest (and obsession, in fact) is pop culture, specifically that which is related to series and movies. In fact, in the series it is hinted that much of the things that Abed knows he knows from having seen or heard on television.

Of course, for the producers of Community it is very convenient to have a character who is always willing to wink at series and movies that the viewer can know. However, in real people who manifest the symptoms of the autism spectrum, pop culture is too wide a field. The areas of interest of these people tend to be even more specific; for example, police series, or the universe of a single fiction series.

• Related article: "Autism Spectrum Disorders: 10 symptoms and diagnosis"

3. The Good Doctor

Shaun Murphy is a young neurosurgeon with autism who, in many ways, manifests the symptoms depicted on screen by the protagonist of Atypical.

In this series it becomes clear that people with ASD experience all kinds of emotions, despite the fact that they do not always know how to express them in a way that the rest of the person understands. Someone with autism is not a robot, he is simply a person whose style of socialization does not fully fit with that of other people and who, in addition, is much more susceptible to the moments of anxiety and expression and cognitive problems (many people with ASD are unable to speak and/or experience disability intellectual).

4. The Big Bang Theory

Sheldon Cooper he is possibly the character with behavior patterns typical of autism that has achieved the most fame, and is known at least "by sight" by many millennials. In fact, it could be said that he is the engine of the series The Big Bang Theory, a work of fiction that at least in its first seasons focused on create comical situations based on the social ineptitude of a group of maladjusted young adults with problems when it comes to relating to women.

Sheldon is a clear caricature of many of the characteristics attributed to autism. Like Abed, he too speaks in a monotone, removing any trace of musicality from his voice; However, in his case, the creators of the series have tried to make it seem that Sheldon really lacks feelings. This can be seen in that, unlike what happens with Abed or Sam Gardner, Sheldon doesn't seem interested in empathizing with anyone. and he seems to enjoy making reproaches.

On the other hand, where his peers fail to socialize with women, Sheldon shows simple indifference, at best. or misogyny, because most of the women he associates with don't know anything about his area of ​​interest.

Because yes, Sheldon also has a specific field of interest: physics. However, it must be said that also in this case this range of knowledge seems to open up a lot at the convenience of the script. For example, forms of entertainment such as role-playing games or works of science fiction they also seem to be part of this Sheldon "obsessions" space, just to fit the stereotype of a misfit young man. Although it is not unusual for this to occur, there is nothing in these cultural products that is by itself a magnet for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.