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@keilah-h @godlyfantasy12 @seekjustice @whalekeeper @smiley
Sooo…I know I made a forum a while back about writing a child character with Autism, but I can’t find that forum, lol, and this time…I need advice on writing an adult character with Autism.
I’ve looked up some of the symptoms and mannerisms, and I think he will have Level 2 autism, but I thought I’d talk to y’all, many of y’all who probably know more about it than me 😂 I didn’t originally think about him having Autism, but after developing him some more and looking at his mannerisms…well…y’all…I think Wolfgang may have autism, and I just want to portray it correctly, but still without forcing it, y’know?
For Wolfgang, 3 things I KNOW he has is 1, devotion to routines, 2, avoids eye contact with people, and 3, fidgets when he has to sit still or stand still for long periods of time, but I’m sure he has other autistic mannerisms.
Like I said, I’ve looked up some symptoms and mannerisms, but if y’all have advice on writing someone with autism or just advice on autism in general, I’d really appreciate it. 💖
@freedomwriter76 GASP
WOLFIE HAS AUTISM????
Sorry, I get really giddy when I learn a charrie is autistic….cause I’m kinda one of them, y’know??
What does level 2 mean btw?
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
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@keilah-h Welll, I’ve been thinking about it, yes 😊 Don’t apologize, I totally understand!!! 💖
Level 2 means he’s on the 2nd level of Autism. From the research I did, there are 3 levels of Autism, from 1-3, and each are similar, but come with their own levels of severity of the usual Autistic mannerisms.
1 is the least severe, and 3 is the most severe, and those with level 3 can often be nonverbal, but many of the symptoms are the same, they just fluctuate in severity 🙂
@freedomwriter76 oh ok.
After looking it up, I think I’m probably level 1.
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
Ok I’m kinda late to the party here…
But I’m still going to respond to the initial post because I want to lol.
I had a really similar thing happen to me about two years ago (the intrusive thoughts ocd, not actually diagnosed but there’s like nothing else it could have been) and dude like there’s nothing more exuasting. It was like all of the sudden I was terrible, the way other people treated me was my fault because I didn’t respond correctly (maybe more anxiety than ocd there, but I’d think about it over and over and over again) For the longest time I just thought I was a terrible human (Because of the intrusive thoughts) and felt so bad about it, would pray repetitively to make myself feel better ect., it all happened after trying to treat my health and was so sudden, It was just the most draining thing ever because I thought it was all me just being terrible all of the sudden. Anyways, I’m quite a lot better now, but mostly because I understand it isn’t my fault, so I don’t get as guilty about it, therefore it happens to me less. I saw a video about ocd and learned a bit about that branch of it (Which I never knew existed) and it changed my whole outlook about it. Like instead of beating myself up about it internally, I had some understanding of what was beyond my control and within my control.
I hardly ever write it into my characters (Although I almost did) because for me at least, there isn’t much of a happy ending that is easy to write, and besides it just hits too close to home and makes the story feel dark and heavy for me. Maybe it’s because it’s still too recent a issue or something, it’s not entirely gone. I still feel the guilt, and wonder how much is my fault. I do write characters with depression, and although it’s good to not write it just more the sake of it I think a lot of us do it to feel seen. It’s no different than me writing a sad poem when I’m sad y’know? My most recent wip is based all around a story idea from when I was really depressed like a winter or so ago around the premise of a hopeless world, so yeah… sometimes you just need a place to express your feelings. Not that I didn’t need to get help though lol. My feelings are drastically affected by my current health, as are my stories.
Idk If I’m nuerodivergent at all, I’ve known people who are though. Here’s a link to writercon’s post on writing nuerodivergence (My sister is one of the panelists so I’m just feeling hype and sharing it lol)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu5o08DrDdt/?img_index=4
here’s part two, I’m sure there’s a lot more on their page and they haven’t finished the project yet:
(Ok nevmind the links are scewing kp up)
Lot’s of great stuff in there too!
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
If you wanted more of that post there’s plenty more on writercons insta, I couldn’t link the rest because kp didn’t like it
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Sorry for jumping in here, but I just wanted to say I get it. I’m pretty sure I have OCD too, and that’s mainly what I struggle with, but I’ve had lots of intrusive thoughts too. I guess for me, it’s more that I’m always able to just like latch onto a question and then worry about it constantly, so that made reading the Bible and stuff like that hard, cause I’m always misunderstanding stuff.
would pray repetitively to make myself feel better ect.
I actually do this too! I’m trying to stop worrying so much, and I’m doing a lot better now, but it still happens… I’m sorry it’s been so stressful for you with your health, and then this…
Anyways, I’m quite a lot better now, but mostly because I understand it isn’t my fault, so I don’t get as guilty about it, therefore it happens to me less.
I’m glad you’re doing better!! Yeah, I think that’s the best way to handle it. I’ve read a couple books about it, and I think the main thing is that you have to not let your thoughts have such a handle on you. Like, just acknowledge that you have the thought, and then don’t let yourself get stressed about it.
Yep, I think that writing is one of the best things to do to express yourself, and I totally understand writing what you feel.
Ooh, is your sister a writer too? That’s awesome she talks about this stuff in her characters.
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
Sorry for jumping in here, but I just wanted to say I get it. I’m pretty sure I have OCD too, and that’s mainly what I struggle with, but I’ve had lots of intrusive thoughts too. I guess for me, it’s more that I’m always able to just like latch onto a question and then worry about it constantly, so that made reading the Bible and stuff like that hard, cause I’m always misunderstanding stuff.
Yeah I’m pretty sure there’s different degrees of it, and idk when anxiety starts to look more like ocd. I’ve always kinda got a little bit of both, but sometimes it’s more anxiety and sometimes it’s more ocd. There tends to be specific topics I get really anxious about to the point where idk which it is.
I actually do this too! I’m trying to stop worrying so much, and I’m doing a lot better now, but it still happens… I’m sorry it’s been so stressful for you with your health, and then this…
Thanks girl! Yeah, I’ve had less intrusive thoughts lateley so it’s more of the anxiety getting to me now. The only reason It’s not been really bad right now is because I’m not doing activities with people really, so there’s less to worry about.
I’m glad you’re doing better!! Yeah, I think that’s the best way to handle it. I’ve read a couple books about it, and I think the main thing is that you have to not let your thoughts have such a handle on you. Like, just acknowledge that you have the thought, and then don’t let yourself get stressed about it.
Yep, I think that writing is one of the best things to do to express yourself, and I totally understand writing what you feel.
Yeah maybe learning a bit more about it would help me.
Ooh, is your sister a writer too? That’s awesome she talks about this stuff in her characters.
Yep! She just got published tooo!!! She has a short story in the ‘seize the fight’ anthology called the sparrow in the cage. It’s ww1 his fic and it’s really good.
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Yeah I’m pretty sure there’s different degrees of it, and idk when anxiety starts to look more like ocd. I’ve always kinda got a little bit of both, but sometimes it’s more anxiety and sometimes it’s more ocd. There tends to be specific topics I get really anxious about to the point where idk which it is.
Yep… I think for me at least, if I’m having anxiety about something, OCD just amplifies it, if that makes sense.
Thanks girl! Yeah, I’ve had less intrusive thoughts lateley so it’s more of the anxiety getting to me now. The only reason It’s not been really bad right now is because I’m not doing activities with people really, so there’s less to worry about.
Well, that’s good that you’re doing better! I hope it won’t get much worse once school starts, and activities. (Are you homeschooled? I can’t remember, sorry if you’ve already mentioned it)
Yeah maybe learning a bit more about it would help me.
Yes! It did for me, anyway. Also, I’m here if you ever need to talk to someone about this kind of stuff! I usually talk to my mom about it if it’s really bad, and that usually helps! (Although, if it’s just feeding a compulsion, it’s better to just ignore it, or so I’ve heard.)
Anyway, you should definitely research it!
Yep! She just got published tooo!!! She has a short story in the ‘seize the fight’ anthology called the sparrow in the cage. It’s ww1 his fic and it’s really good.
Ooohhh, that’s awesome!!
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
I’m doing duel credit, and my college offers courses both in person and online. I’ll take more in person credits later in the school year, I signed up for just online first quarter. That’s great that learning more about it helped you! It doesn’t help to talk to my mom about it 😅 yeah I wouldn’t want to feed a compulsion (Telling my mom everything is an old compulsion of mine) but also she doesn’t know what it’s like and usually her best efforts to help me make it worse, there’s no way for her to know what to say to me. Are you homeschooled?
Thanks! I’m excited for her!
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Ohhh, ok! Cool! (Dual credit is awesome 😉)
Yeah! I actually get it from her, so I think that’s why. Yeah, that would be really hard 😟 I’m always here if you wanna talk, tho!
Yep! Have been my whole life, lol
Yeah!! It’s exciting! ☺️
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
XD oh yeah? I guess she can relate than. Thanks girl!
Ikr?
Btw love your quote!
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Of course!!
Oh thanks 😅 I didn’t make it up, saw something similar online and paraphrased 😂
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
Visiting this a half year later!
I like listening to video essays, and recently came across this observation someone made about a movie character – but it could apply to any character. Here’s the gist of it.
Diagnosing a character with a mental disorder is entirely beside the point. The character can have some of the symptoms, but the writer should not be forcing a diagnosis on the character. They are using specific symptoms as a tool, to hit the reader with specific thoughts and emotions. And because of this, you can sacrifice accuracy for story.
It’s like if you had a character who has two personalities, to cope with different environments. You could research DID if you really wanted to, but that’s not necessarily important to the story you’re already telling. Or if you had an extremely apathetic character with violent tendencies, and those tendencies come out only in a few scenes – it isn’t like they are a full-fledged psychopath. They can have patchy symptoms, and that’s entirely your choice. It’s all in service of the story. (As long as it isn’t disrespectful.)
Honestly I like this 😅 Because I have characters who… you know, they’re special. 🤣 But I just don’t diagnose them with stuff. I never created them with any condition in mind.
1 to 10, how much do you agree?
“Everything is a mountain”
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