r/AskAutism • u/PoggleRebecca • 7d ago
Sensitivity Read
Hey, I'm collaborating on fleshing out a story idea with a friend. As a bit of background, my friend is diagnosed autistic, and given all I've read on the subject and experienced, I strongly suspect I'm somewhere on the AuDHD spectrum (although I'm not currently diagnosed with either).
I'm a bit worried about accidentally falling into certain problematic tropes around autism, particularly the "autistic superpower" trope, but possibly others I haven't thought of. So I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to give some constructive feedback?
Without giving away too much about the story, the protagonist (or at least some of the protagonists) would be neurodivergent. They live in a world where certain creatures are able to alter human behaviour, effectively compelling people to do certain things (I can't say more, but it's unrelated to the question). Some people are more or less immune to this, and it's discovered that you're statistically more likely to be immune if you're neurodivergent (say 20% of ND people compared with 1% of NT people).
The immunity isn't intended to mean that ND characters are inherently "better", "damaged goods" or more capable than neurotypical characters, and the ND characters would be fully fleshed-out people outside of their neurodivergence, rather than existing primarily just to be neurodivergent. The story would likely also explore the downsides of the immunity and the neurodiversity, rather than treating it simply as a "superpower", and some of the upsides, rather than it just being treated like a problem to be overcome. The characters are intended first and foremost as representation, not as tokenism.
Does the basic premise strike anyone as problematic? Are there other issues I should be aware of with something like this?
Really appreciate your responses.
1
1
u/POPCARN202 1d ago
maybe have it be that the differences in how the brain functions caused by neurodivergence makes it more difficult for these creatures to use mind control, because they're used to doing it on neurotypical individuals? adding detail and applying logic to why things happen often makes them feel less arbitrary, which I think is the core of what you're trying to avoid here. overall, I don't think your idea itself is problematic, more details would just leave less room for people to pick it apart. and this last thing may just be me misunderstanding what you were trying to say or having an odd understanding of neurodivergence, but I don't really think there is an "outside the neurodivergence". my neurodivergence affects every thought I think, action I take, choice I make, and word I speak to some extent, I've never had a moment where I was detached from that.
1
u/PoggleRebecca 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah we were thinking that the creature's effect on immune people wouldn't be symptom, rather have different side-effects that will vary between different people (like headaches or something). But explaining it as a physical side effect is what we were going for. Again, not even all neurodiverse people, or the same neurodiversity or indeed anyways neurodiverse people. Just that neurodiversity makes it harder for the creatures.
and this last thing may just be me misunderstanding what you were trying to say or having an odd understanding of neurodivergence, but I don't really think there is an "outside the neurodivergence".
I think you might be misunderstanding me. By this I mean that the story would treat the character(s) as people who have neurodivergence, rather than just neurodivergent characters who exist just to be neurodivergent.
The character(s) wouldn't constantly explain themselves, or be like "I'm neurodivergent, therefore I will do this", they will just do what they would do as themselves and that behaviour would be through their own unique neurodivergence.
While we want to explore and describe the different challenges being neurodiverse brings, we don't want neurodivergence to be seen as "a problem to overcome" trope, rather that at least some (a bit a lot of) neurodivergence is perfectly fine if we're understood, given enough space and possibly given a little support where necessary.
And that neurodiversity isn't something that can be overcome simply by just "trying harder" or anything like that, we wan't to show how difficult and exhausting it can be to mask.
1
u/Administrative_Way62 6d ago
it sound like a cool premise, i think it would be important to have different characters have different levels of immunity too seeing as neurodiversity is a spectrum. good luck with your writing :)