Aspies on TV

Update on the Big Bang Theory

2011-06-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

The more recent episodes of the Big Bang Theory have added a not-girlfriend for Sheldon, Amy, who also appears to have AS, as well as being on the genius side. She and Sheldon are able to interact socially on an intellectual level, but Amy recently began to try to experience some more conventional social activities, eg. drinking and partying, putting her in conflict with Sheldon. As he says: no major scientific discoveries were made my people having a good time!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-12-30T02:20:00.000-08:00

Book by Steig Larsson (now also a movie) and sequels

Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth is one of the few mainstream characters explicitly stated to have AS where this is not the main focus of the plot. She is hypothesised to have AS in the first and second book by her colleague/lover Mikael Blomkvist. Certainly Lisbeth has features of ASD, particularly as portrayed in the movie. She has difficulty with social relationships, an unusual reaction to stresses (eg. getting into fights) and a limited range of facial and emotional expressions. She lives on the fringes of society, her friends being fellow computer hackers and some alternative arty subculture types, but also is described as being quite happy on her own. She is described as having savant skills, in computer hacking and maths, but there is one part of the stories I don't find totally believable. Lisbeth is very young, has limited social skills in everyday interactions, but is able to hack into people's computers, analyse their social lives in great detail and give a coherent, thorough verbal report of their lives based on the fragmented computer research. This combination seems fairly unlikely, but the almost magical skills she has, combined with the fact that she acts so inappropriately, almost seeming intellectually handicapped, is a major part of why people seem to have found her character so interesting. I wonder is this girl is partly based on the author's real life partner, a woman described as being difficult to talk to, and has now devoted her life to getting control of his works, and particularly control of the foreign translations, which she feels are not done to her satisfaction (I don't have the reference here, this was covered in The Age a while ago).

The New Sherlock Holmes

2010-12-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

UK Sherlock Holmes Series 2009
Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch)
In keeping with the current fashion for having an autistic character in almost every crime show, the latest version of Sherlock is far more autistic than any I've seen, or even than the books. The actor describes his Sherlock as both a little autistic and a little psychopathic, although the characters colleagues feel he is more on the psychopathic side, with his unusual interest in solving murders for no pay. However when you look at this interest as an aspie trait, he isn't fascinated with the blood an violence, but with the intelllectual challenge, and also has an unusual lack of fear, allowing him to get into dangerous situations without reacting normally. In watching the show, we learn that he does have the ability to care about others through his relationship with his mate Watson, and that a lot of the things he says which seem designed to offend are actually related to either an aspie just wanting to get the job done and/or to a lack of social awareness.

South Solitary

2010-09-28T03:26:00.000-07:00

South Solitary
Australian Movie 2010
Fleet (Martin Csokas)
Miranda's Uncle (Bary Otto)

I watched this movie on a plane to NZ, and surprised that firstly it was an Asperger movie, and secondly that it wasn't the depressing arthouse movie I was sure it would be from the reviews. It is actually quite entertaining and even funny in parts, and nothing particularly tragic happens.
The story is about Meredith (Miranda Otto), a single woman in 1920s Australia, who goes to live with her Asperger uncle in his new job of getting a slack lighthouse crew to get their act together. He does this, bossing people around and showing no empathy to anyone, although she has known him for a while and understands he doesn't mean to be so rude, that it's just his nature. The situation on the island changes, however, and Meredith finds herself alone with the other single person on the Island, a Welshman called Fleet. Fleet has been described in reviews as "burnt out" or "war-damaged" when as far as I can tell his is fine, with just very mild and occasional post-traumatic stress symptoms as well as his Aspergers. He prefers to be alone and has chosen the solitary lighthouse lifestyle as this suits him, not to run away from a horrible trauma as seems to have been assumed by some. Fleet is a more attractive Asperger hero than her uncle, saying very little but brooding and glancing mysteriously ala. Mr. Darcy, suggesting hidden depths. As well as actually being helpful and meaning well, this allows an unexpected friendship to form between these characters.

The Frighteners

2010-09-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Frighteners
New Zealand movie (1996)
Starring Michael J Fox
Directed by Peter Jackson

Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs)
I just saw this movie again: its great, not just because it was made in Christchurch! It was ahead of its time, one of the first supernatural comedy/romance/action drama movies. Milton Dammers is a very unusual character with many autistic characteristics. As a specialist FBA inspector brought in to work on special supernatural cases, he is able to quote his field in detail usually only seen in people with ASDs. He has eccentric eye contact, poor social skills, a strong aversion to certain stimuli and fixed ideas. He provides a large part of the comedy in this very eclectic movie. I recommend seeing it if you are a Peter Jackson fan.

Spirited

2010-08-27T00:33:00.001-07:00

Spirited:
Australian TV series
Suzy Darling (Claudia Karvan)
Suzy is a very socially awkward dentist with a husband who is frankly a bastard. She leaves him, loses all her friends and makes friends with a ghost! This show follows the trend of putting AS women in fiction: men are getting little old hat! Worth watching (one episode has shown on Foxtel W in Aus so far).

Mary and Max: not just one character with Aspergers

2010-05-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

Mary and Max
Australian animated movie
2009
Mary and Max

This movie is actually promoted as an Asperger movie, about a friendship between a girl not stated to have Aspergers and a man with diagnosed Aspergers. I believe she would also be considered to have Aspergers, as she has unusual interests and extreme social difficulties. Mary is a lonely only child with eccentric parents and no friends, who randomly befriends an overweight New York man called Max, who also has no friends. They have a number of unusual interests in common, such as collecting a certain type of toy, and so keep in touch over the years. Mary still appear to later form no friendships, but does manage to get married, to a man who turns out to be gay (so one wonders whether she is a convenient disguise for him). Mary also develops a research interest in Aspergers, but in an unlikely and very insensitive way manages to publish a book about Max without his permission: behaviour any researcher, with Aspergers or not, would engage in, but if this was possible it might be a sign of Aspergers.
Interestingly, the whole style of this movie is quite autistic: a narration to explain what is happening, very obvious facial expressions and obvious characters. I feel it is a little overrated, but also wonder if the director, seemingly with an obsession with making films starring characters with developmental disabilities, is on the autism spectrum himself.

All About Steve

2009-11-01T02:35:00.000-08:00

All About Steve:
US movie (2009)
Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock)

May Horowitz is a crossword constructor obsessed with her job and a very limited social life. She has a very unusual style of interaction, with little awareness of social conventions and usual topics of conversation. Mary is set up on a blind date with Steve (Bradley Cooper), and an episode of teasing by some primary school kids about her lack of a boyfriend and a conventional life motivates her to take the date seriously.
Having decided that she needs a boyfriend, and that this will help her to be more "normal", she manages to appear normal for a few minutes on her date, gets into some heavy petting, but then ruins this by talking constantly and inappropriately. Steve makes and excuse, and leaves with a polite "you should come visit". With an autistic lack of social awareness she takes this literally, persues Steve, and Steve's workmates take the opportunity to manipulate Mary into continuing the stalking. She eventually makes some friends along the way in travels around the countryside who are as odd as her and more accepting of her quirks. After a high-profile rescue from a mine a news coverage, Mary eventually spurs Steve and his mates into realising its not acceptible to treat someone like they have treated her, and that she means well.
Overall, this is a movie which accurately depicts a woman likely to have Asperger's Syndrome in a sympathetic fashion.

The Hangover: Alan

2009-08-08T04:19:00.000-07:00

The Hangover
2009 US movie
Alan (Zach Galifianakis)
This movie, about a Buck's Night in Vegas gone wrong, uses the inappropriate behaviour of one of the characters, Alan, as a central focus for much of the humour.
Alan is the bride's brother, and is invited along more as a courtesy to the bride than because he is considered a close friend of the other three main characters. We learn that he has always been a little odd: his father tells the other characters that he shouldn't drive his car, as "there's something wrong with him". Alan is a single man, possibly in his late 30s, and his behaviour seems to indicate he has had little to no romantic experience. He also appears to have had little experience with friends of any sort: describing himself as a "lone wolf" until his future brother-in-law spends enough time with him for him to consider that he has made a friend.
To detail all the inappropriate behaviour would describe a large part of the movie: it includes his plan to be "blood brothers", his creepy friendship song and many, many other episodes. One of the other characters indicates that he is "too stupid to insult": reflecting not so much a low IQ but a lack of social cognition. The writers seem to have been aware that the character has substantial autistic traits given there is a Rainman homage towards the end of the movie.

Adam: the Asperger hunk!

2009-08-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

Adam
US movie 2009
Adam (Hugh Dancy)
I haven't seen this yet (its out the 20th of Aug) but given the trailer talks about the character of Adam having AS I think its safe to add it here! He appears to be obsessed with space travel and astronomy. Also stars Rose Byrne, an accomplished Aussie actress. More to follow when I see it!

Eagle Vs. Shark

2009-05-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

Eagle Vs. Shark
NZ movie 2006
Jarrod (Jemaine Clement)
Lily McKinnon (Loren Horsley)
Most of Jarrod's friends
This is another classic Asperger movie, which has suffered a little from being very similar to both Mozart and the Whale (the costumes and emotional instability) and Napoleon Dynamite (the odd family and country setting). There's enough interesting and uniquely NZ aspects, though, to make it interesting.
Lily is a young woman who initially works in McDonalds, but it ridiculed by the other staff for her odd prosody and poor social skills, and fired under the excuse of needing to downsize. She has a crush on Jarrod, a very rude young man who appears to have no concern or perception of other people's feelings, which makes him a little less insightful than Lily: they meet when he gives her a note to ask one of her workmates out, while she makes it quite obvious she has a crush on him.
They get together in their very awkward way, with Lily persuing Jarrod despite outrageously inconsiderate behaviour. Like many people with AS, he has been bullied in school, and has become obsessed with revenge on his bully: a "nonfunctional special interest" which interferes with his being able to get on with his life. Jarrod is also so socially dysfunctional that despite having a young child from a one-night stand, he shows little interest in the girl and has not been able to be a parent to her: having the social cognition of a young child himself.
Despite the dark aspects of the movie, it is a fairly sympathetic look at two very odd characters with AS.

Grey's Anatomy

2009-03-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

Grey's Anatomy
US TV series
Dr. Virginia Dixon (Mary McDonnnell)
This character was introduced for a 3 episode arc, shown on Australian TV for the first time last week. The character is very unlikely: she behaves like a severely autistic person, with seemingly no effort to appear normal. It is really very unlikely that someone (or at least that a woman) wold make it through surgical training with this type of behaviour: she would in real life to have made major concessions to behaving normally, and more likely not been accepted into the training programme in the first place (I'm come across potential surgeons with signs of AS who have been rejected from trining for far less obvious behaviour). But then basis in reality has never been this series' strong point, so for those looking for the fantasy that someone with AS can behave like this and reach the top of a medical career, this is the place to look!

Reign over me

2009-03-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Reign over me
US movie (1997)
Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler)

Adam Sandler ventures again into the world of unusual personalities/developmental disability, but a little less obvious this time as there seems to be another explanation for this man’s behaviour. Charlie is dentist who’s whole family was killed several year prior in the September 11 attacks. He has not recovered from this, and cut off all friends and social activity, except for playing drums in his band. Music appears to be a special interest; with interest in this not waning with his trauma. Although Charlie might be considered to be depressed, his behaviour is outside the range of a normally depressed person, and sometimes off in an almost manic, childish way. He seems to have difficulty in judging the feelings of others: for example after his friend’s father has died, Charlie expects him to continue having fun with him. He has difficulty with social contact: not due to anxiety, but this seems to be just his manner. His eye contact is odd, and he cannot talk about his feelings well at all. Charlie’s acquaintances give hints that they think his behaviour is odd: one calls him a “retard” and the young daughter of his friend says he acts like he is younger than her younger sister.

A Beautiful Mind

2009-01-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

A Beautiful Mind
US movie (2001)
John Nash (Russell Crowe)

I said in the introduction that I didn’t want to include real people, but I just rewatched this movie, having seen it the first time when it came out and I knew nothing about Aspergers. Since then I’d read someone say that Russell Crowe “played the character as Aspergers” so checked this out. And its true: he doesn’t just play the character as Aspergers, but every aspect of this character’s behaviour is consistent with Aspergers, apart from the psychotic aspects. People with Aspergers are no less likely to develop schizophrenia than other people, so this is of course not inconsistent with Aspergers. John Nash (in the movie: I make no claims to know what he was really like, although everything else I looked through on the internet portrays him as similar) has had lifelong difficulties getting along with people: his primary school teacher told him he has “two helping of brains and one helping of heart”. He has poor eye contact, almost no social skills and very odd use of facial expressions. Like many people with Aspergers he feels that basically he lives to work: if he can’t do this he is useless.

The Big Bang Theory

2008-12-29T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Big Bang Theory

US Comedy series 2007-

Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons)

This series, which has recently started showing in Australia, is an excellent depiction of someone with very high IQ Asperger’s in his natural environment: spending time with his fellow nerds and working in physics. It seems to have been written with a textbook knowledge of a particular type of Asperger man: in fact I’d recommend this series instead of some texts for its high degree of accuracy!

The series follows two physics nerd housemates: Sheldon and Leonard (and two other nerd friends, Raj and Howard), and their relationship (and Leonard’s attempts at romance) with their neurotypical neighbour, an attractive young woman called Penny. Leonard is a shy guy, but we haven’t seen evidence as yet that he might cross the boundary into Asperger territory: he seems to have a good grasp of social behaviours and customs, and do their other friends. Sheldon, however, has little knowledge of or regard for any social conventions: seeing them as illogical and time-wasting. He sees no need for social chat, and doesn’t hesitate to say so. Penny spends some time trying to persuade him that buying presents for his friend’s birthday is a way of showing he cares: Sheldon sees this as a waste of time and money: why doesn’t everyone just buy their own presents? He also speaks in a typically overly technical and monotonous fashion, and is of course unable to tolerate inaccuracy of any type. Sheldon can however study certain social behaviours and conventions when decides to: in one episode he constructs an elaborate story about a drug-using cousin, and is able to predict the fictional cousin’s behaviour through extensive research into human behaviour under the influence of drug dependence.

Lars and the Real Girl, About a Boy

2008-10-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

Lars and the Real Girl
US movie
Lars (Ryan Gosling)

This movie is the story of a young man with classic Asperger's symptoms, and his bizarre relationship with a life sized doll: he develops a delusional disorder with the delusion that she is real, and his whole town goes along with the delusion.
Lars is a very socially awkward man who appears to have no friends: his brother and sister in law even have difficulty getting him to walk a few metres to eat share a meal with them. The local community in his small town tolerate him but he has no real connections with anyone. He lives a restricted life based on routine. His fashion sense is non-typical: for example, he wears a moustache in an unfashionable style.
Lars is treated by his local GP for sensory difficulties, commonly seen is AS: he is unable to touch other people comfortably.
Interestingly, even though this movies depicts a textbook case of AS, this is never mentioned: perhaps the filmmakers it would detract from the story and become an educational exercise.

About a Boy
UK novel by Nick Hornby
Adapted into the UK movie
Marcus

I've thought hard about this movie, as its not all that clear. Marcus is a socially awkward boy with no friends who does eventually go on to develop normal peer relationships. At first glance, his social difficulties might be blamed on his slightly clueless mother (who has some AS traits) who dresses the boy inappropriately and give him no model for usual behaviour. However, this idea only hold water if you believe parents actually have any role in determining a kid's behaviour, which, after recently reading "The Nuture Assumption" by Judith Rich Harris, I think is not the case for normal kids. So a normal kid, even with a mother with unusual social skills and who dresses him inappropriately, would still find a way to fit in with the peer group: eg. reject the mother's clothes, borrow more appropriate ones from a friend etc. However, because Marcus is inherently not normal, he is unable to reach the point of becoming socialised to his peers, so remains an outcast despite adult intervention in trying to make him look more normal. He is said to have fitted in more in another school in an "academic" area: perhaps with other kids with AS and traits.
Later in the book, Marcus becomes more socialised towards normal after being "adopted" by a girl friend, Ellie, who trains him to fit in: again, this is not uncommon for AS kids who do eventually manage to fit in, as described by Lianne Holliday-Willey in her autobiography.
This story is particularly interesting in that it helps to illustrate why social skills training programmes by adults may not be that useful. To be socialised by the method of "group socialisation" the teaching needs to be by the kid's peer group.

The Flight of the Conchords

2008-07-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Flight of the Conchords
US TV series 2007 (HBO)
Murray Hewitt
Mel

This is another comedy almost entirely based on autistic traits, but I feel only the 2 above characters clearly fit within this category, although none of the main characters in this show are completely normal!
The series is about NZ novelty music act The Flight of the Conchords, who move to New York to try to make it big. The characters, Brett and Jemaine, are largely clueless, but this is at least partly due to their naiveity in coming from a country town in NZ. They don't do well in their careers but do acquire one fan, Mel, who is obsessed with them (they become her special interest) and displays extremely socially inappropriate in her behaviour with the group.
The group's manager is Murray Hewitt, who also works at the NZ consulate. He is disorganised as a manager, completely lacks common sense and has no social sense. He sticks to rigid routines rather than adapt to circumstances (eg. formal meetings with a role call for the 3 of them). He has unusual prosody and fashion sense. Murray also appears to have no friends apart from the group, who tolerate him, and has the unusual special interest of band rotundas.
The earlier BBC radio series of the same name has similar characters, although not a Mel equivalent.

Dexter: aspie, psychopath or both?

2008-07-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

Dexter

US TV series

Dexter

I've just seen the pilot on the show: I don't think it will help the broader public view of Aspergers. Dexter certainly has some aspie traits: he feels he needs to fake his way thorough social interactions, he does not understand "mating rituals" and he has an obsessive special interest: killing people who deserve to die. He does not feel a need for connection to others, which can be seen in Aspergers, but his not feeling any concern for others, or connection to others, is more a trait of the psychopath.
Watching Dexter, its possible to say that he has good social skills in the work setting, so this goes against Aspergers. However he has been coached by his father, a cop, to fit into the crime workplace. Also (if we are to believe other crime shows) perhaps the normal behaviour of a forensic expert is not so hard to fake as an aspies, as perhaps this is a field with many people with AS traits: allowing focused attention to detail, a routine, and relatively less social interaction.
In conclusion, I feel he probably fits both categories (AS and psychopath), and probably at least one PD (schizoid).

Bones: an Asperger-friendly crime show

2008-07-06T23:41:00.000-07:00

Bones

US TV series

2005-

Temperance “Bones”Brennan (Emily Deschanel)

Zack Addy (Eric Millegan)

Dr. Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley)

This series seems to have been written with extensive knowledge of the Asperger personality. Temperance “Bones” Brennan is an anthropologist who works on murder cases with the FBI, with the involvement of her University lab team of nerds of various kinds. She also writes books based on her life, which she claims to be fiction but is reported to have strong similarities with actual life. Bones is brilliant, but acknowledged by herself and almost everyone who meets her to have almost no interpersonal skills. She appears to have no friends outside of her work, and her main (you could say obsessive) interest is in her job, which helps her to excel. Bones does have a reasonable degree of insight into her limitations, and sets out to try to act more normally. At one point she decides to spend time with the FBI agent Booth (David Boreanz), trying to work out how he is able to read people (maybe subtle changes in pupil dilation?) as she is not able to do this most of the time. She states often that she “hates psychology”, perhaps largely because it is so foreign to her.

Luckily, Bones is respected in her workplace and the general community for her abilities, so she does not need to spend too much time trying to appear “normal”, and is able to concentrate most of her energies on her strong areas.

Bones can be often seen launching into incomprehensible speeches, filled with jargon, without considering the context of her communication. She also seems to be largely unaware of popular culture, including TV and slang, and gets around this by frequently saying “I don’t know what that means” whenever these issues come up.

In terms of Bones relationships with men, she is usually single but has several significant relationships. In the pilot, we see her talking to a recent ex-boyfriend, who reports she is cold and distant, which would be consistent with Aspergers. An old flame, a former colleague, visits in series 1, and Bones describes their relationship as purely sexual and academic: both are unwilling to get emotionally involved. Bones has some affection for the agent Booth, largely based on their mutual dedication and skill in finding the bad guys. In Series 2, Bones forms a relationship with a policeman, despite some inappropriate behaviour on her part, such as subjecting him to a speech on the anthropological implications of sport (proving manhood etc) after she watches him play basketball. She is unable to leave her work to go with him on an extended holiday, however: it is implied that this is because of her relationship with Booth, but perhaps as an aspie who is all about her career she would not be able to cope with this sudden loss of identity.

Zack is Bones’ student, and is more severely impaired even than Bones. He initially had not learnt any but the most basics methods of working out what other people are thinking or feeling. HIs speech is pedantic and monotonous, and he has difficulty communicating with ordinary people. We hear that he is a big Science Fiction fan: commonly seen in male aspies, especially scientists. He is also very good at his job, which could be described as his “special interest”.

Another interesting point about this series is that in their highly nerdy science environment, Angela, who is an extremely neurotypical artist, is the odd one out: she could actually be described as the one with the disability in this workplace. She struggles with the concept of potentially being needed to work all the time, giving up personal activities, whereas the others would often prefer to be at work. Her highly sensitive empathy qualities make her quite distressed about the cases, whereas the others are able to be more unemotional. She also values relationships outside of the lab, and her job tends to put off men (as we see when she brings in a date and scares him away).

A new character has been recently added to the bunch of brilliant socially impaired individuals: the psychologist Dr. Lance Sweets. This is a brilliant young guy, who sees every person he meets as a psychological case study to analyse, but seems to have trouble turning this off, using his extensive education and occupational skills to replace social intuition.

This series, I feel, is much more entertaining than your average crime drama. It’s really more about the main characters, and how their lives and relationships develop, than about the crime. The two aspies also provide huge comedy potential: for example, Zack decides to try some popular body language (punching fists with another person to indicate mutual victory) with Bones, who is puzzled. Angela comments “I love it when you two impersonate earthlings”.

The Edge of the Alphabet and The House of God

2008-05-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Edge of the Alphabet

Novel by Janet Frame

Toby Withers

Zoe Bryce

Pat Keenan

Janet Frame has described three different characters on the autism spectrum: based closely on people in her own life, as described in her autobiography. Toby Withers is based on her brother George, and Pat on her friend Pat.

The three characters are misfits and outcasts, with no significant role in society, who end up accidentally in each other’s lives, largely due to their lack of other social options. The book is quite depressing, so I don’t recommend it for entertainment, but it is an interesting description of the characters and provides further insight into the author’s own life.

Toby is the main character in this story. Like Janet’s brother, he is a New Zealander with epilepsy, who lives with his parents in their family home in his 30s. He decides to go on a trip to England. We see many autistic traits in Toby: he is interested in the movement of the doors on the ship, for example. Toby is described as having very poor social communication, being unable to form basic relationships with others, and finds it very difficult to remain employed: he makes major social errors in his job at a theatre. He also has significant organizational difficulties, a common problem in those with Aspergers.

Zoe Bryce is a teacher who has left her job, finding the social interactions involved in teaching very stressful. She is also in her 30s, and has found forming any relationships difficult. She has no described friends, and has never had a lover. Zoe does not have a special interest, but perhaps like many women with autistic traits develops depression as she realizes the limited scope of her social life. At one point Zoe contemplates visiting someone in prison: she wonders what it would be like to really have bars between her and the person, as this is how she feels all the time: a good description of the barrier some with Aspergers feel between them and other people.

Finally, Pat is at a different point again on the autism spectrum. He is obsessed with planning, especially financially. He attempts to make friends with others, especially others on the edge of society, by helping them and controlling them, but is unable to connect with his fellow human beings. He is described as collecting “friends” like stuffed animal trophies: to be looked and listed at rather than participated in.

The author uses the term “The Edge of the Alphabet” to describe these people with limited social communication: who normal communication cannot reach. All of these people want at some level to form connections with others, but are unable to do so effectively.

The House of God

US book

Samuel Shem

“The Fish”

Pinkus and Leggo (some traits)

Roy’s father (some traits)

This is one of the most well-read books about the medicine. It concerns a central theme of the unusual personalities and dysfunctional culture of American medicine in the 1970s. Written by a psychiatrist, it covers a broad spectrum of psychiatric illness in the characters, but the autistic traits of several of the doctors are of especial note.

Roy Basch is the thinly disguised alter ego for the author, who is reported to have written fairly closely about his own experiences as an intern. He is a hotshot young doctor in the hospital “The House of God”, so named because it was built by Jews for Jews. Roy and his friends come across many eccentric and empathy-lacking characters in their year, and the culture in the hospital results in Roy developing post-traumatic stress disorder, one of his colleagues committing suicide and one becoming psychotic. Despite these depressing themes, the book somehow still manages to include a lot of comedy, some centred on the autistic characters.

The first of these is a (then rare) female doctor, Jo: one of the residents. Jo has no personal life, and is obsessed with getting her patient care perfect. She has difficulty relating to anyone, especially her interns, and the narrator Roy describes that underneath the perfectionism she knows that she would be much more suited to research, but is reluctant to give up medicine, which is basically her entire life. She contributes to the distress of the interns until they decide not to listen to her.

Fish, the senior resident, is slightly different: he is known for his bizarre speeches about

his latest medical topic of interest. He has a similar lack of ability to relate to others.

Pinkus is one of the consultants. Again, he demonstrates significant difficulties in empathizing with others, but we don’t see enough of him to know whether he has Aspergers. The same with Leggo, the Head of Medicine: he has some difficulties in empathy which have allowed him to develop an uncaring, rigid hospital culture, resulting in mental health problems in the staff, but there is not enough information to decide whether he may have Aspergers.

Finally, Roy’s dentist father writes him letters with an autistic flavour: telling Roy how he should be going rather than expecting a 2-way communication with his son. Roy is unable to turn to his father to discuss his difficulties with work, as he knows he is unlikely to be helpful.

Seinfeld and the Pink Panther added

2008-05-13T00:40:00.001-07:00

I've added updates to the main text re. the above.

Introduction and first 46 examples

2008-03-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

Characters with possible Asperger’s syndrome in television series, movies and fiction literature

Introduction

This site aims to discuss a selection of fictional works with characters with strong signs of Asperger’s syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA). I have used the term AS to cover both AS and HFA, as these are very similar, distinguished most clearly by an early language delay, which we cannot determine for these characters. These conditions come under the DSM-IV TR category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs)_1,2,3. One aim of this site is to link stories of AS with our broader culture, and rather than depicting AS as rare and obscure, to show that we all know characters who show signs of AS. These characters have been very thoroughly depicted for at least the time television has existed, and at least as far back as “Pride and Prejudice”. I’m not a literary expert, so I’m sure there are examples from before this time, they are just not so accessible!

There is also a large amount of speculation about fictional characters with possible AS on internet forums, some very perceptive and some seriously inaccurate, so a more formal analysis may help add to general awareness of AS and its possible presentations. Finally, I hope that people with and other PDDs can choose some of these works and use them to gain a greater insight into the presenting features of PDDs, and if so inclined, to analyse the behaviour of the individuals portrayed, and consider what might be changed to make the interaction more appropriate. I feel “The Office” is excellent for this purpose: both the UK and US versions.

I have included some characters who, with the information we are given, may not fit all of the criteria for AS or autism. If any of these characters existed, and saw a clinician, it is possible they might be diagnosed with a slightly different variety of PDD, such as Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), the main differing characteristic for some of the characters being that we do not know if they have a “special interest” or obsessive behaviour to help place them clearly in the AS or autism categories. I have chosen to include these characters, as they still exhibit the key disabling characteristic of AS: significant social communication impairment. It is also possible that if any of these characters did exist, and consulted a clinician, the clinician might feel that because they are high-functioning (eg. successful linguists, doctors, engineers, etc) and/or have made some friends they do not qualify for a PDD diagnosis. However as professionals, and as a society, we need to consider whether someone should qualify for diagnosis of this particular type of disability based on how much they have been able to achieve, as we do not use this criteria for other disabilities. For example, imagine basing a decision regarding whether someone had cerebral palsy on whether as an adult they were able to walk in the community without an aid, even though they may have had severe difficulty walking in their earlier years, with substantial efforts by themselves, their families and perhaps health professional in allowing them to reach their current state.

Please also consider that suggesting someone may have AS does not constitute an insult or attack on their personality in any way: it is simply a different way to describe the unusual traits seen in these characters. It does not in any way suggest that there are limitations on what the person can achieve, or that they are not a unique individual, or that it is somehow unacceptable to be these characters. These points should not need to be stated, but my experience has shown that some people consider a suggestion of AS or HFA in this way.

Most of the included works are classified as comedy, have a strong comedy component or use a particular character as comic relief. This is with good reason: much of comedy is based on social interaction and the errors in interaction. If one character has extreme difficulties with social interaction, this may even provide the comedy for an entire film or TV series.

You will notice that a number of the characters are considered in lay language to be “geeks”, “nerds” or “dorks”: these are the type of person most people who know about AS are likely to associate with the autism spectrum. I am not suggesting that everyone who fits these categories has a PDD, but it is likely that a substantial proportion is on the autism spectrum. There are also characters less obviously on the spectrum: those classified as “rude”, “a bastard”, “stupid”, “eccentric” or “a little nuts”. It is these characters (and real people like them) who present the more challenging end of PDD diagnosis, as it is very easy to stick to our original impressions of these characters without looking more deeply.

Some people might consider that laughing at people with a diagnosable disability is not a nice thing to do: however, none of the comedy characters are “diagnosed”, and the higher end of the autism spectrum has only been recognized in recent years, after many of these works were made. It is also still largely unrecognized, so the people making and watching the shows with this theme are unlikely to know that they are depicting or watching a disability. There is also a difference, I feel, between “kind” comedy (eg. “Napolean Dynamite”) and “unkind” comedy. Kind comedy has a theme of accepting these odd but well-meaning characters, and of the characters learning to accept themselves and finding a place in society, and “unkind” comedy (eg. “Some Mothers do ‘Ave ‘Em”), involves simply laughing at the disabilities. We should also remember that interactions in society in general include many instances of laughing at those on the autism spectrum, and that this is simply recognized in entertainment, sometimes in an exaggerated way.

I have chosen to stick to fictional characters, with one exception, New Zealand author Janet Frame, to avoid the inevitable controversy associated with speculation about real people. The only source for my opinions regarding these characters is the fictional works themselves, as they are characters, not real people, so there is no other definitive source of information, just the subjective opinion of others. I have not given page or episode references, as my aim is to give an opinion, not to provide a formal academic analysis. I also have not seen every episode of every series, where the behaviour of the character or characters does not change throughout the series, but I have watched the whole of the movies (sometimes several times), and read the whole of the books.

The one real person I have included, Janet Frame, is included in this site because I feel there are strong signs in her work that she had AS or HFA, and that she is probably the greatest ever writer on the autism spectrum. I published a medical journal article on this topic, and the resulting criticism has now died down. I feel that including her work, and the movie based on her life, will add to this site significantly without further controversy.

I appreciate constructive feedback, including suggestions for additions.

Definitions

Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A severe impairment in reciprocal social interaction skills and communication skills, and the presence of repetitive behaviour, interests and activities ₄.

Aspie: a person with Asperger’s syndrome. This term is commonly used by people with AS

Neurotypical (adjective or noun): someone who is not on the autism spectrum

Links

Autism Spectrum Australia http://www.aspect.org.au/

Autism Victoria http:/www.autismvictoria.org.au

The Internet movie Database http://www.imdb.com

Jen Birch: Congratulations, its Asperger Syndrome! http://www.aspergers.co.nz

Humans.org.nz New Zealand autism/asperger stories

Jessica Kingsley Publishers http://www.jkp.com/

Tony Attwood http://www.tonyattwood.com.au

Wrong Planet: Asperger’s and Autism Community /www.wrongplanet.net

References (used for all entries)

1. American Psychiatric Association. 299.80 Asperger’s Disorder. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision.Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association. 2000. 80-84.

2. American Psychiatric Association. 299.00 Autistic disorder. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association. 2000. 70-75.

3. American Psychiatric Association. 299.80 Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (Including Atypical Autism). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision.Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association. 2000. 84.

4. Attwood, Tony. The Compete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006.

Biography: Dr. Sarah Abrahamson

MBChB, FAFRM, Grad Dip Clin Epi

I am a neurological rehabilitation physician in Victoria, Australia. My undergraduate medical training was at Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand and I have lived in Victoria since 1999. I am researching epidemiological and diagnostic aspects of high-functioning PDDs for a PhD at Monash University.

American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001) and American Pie 3 (aka American Wedding) (2003)

US movie

Michelle Flaherty (Allyson Hannigan)

Michelle in American Pie is probably the most widely known female character with autistic traits of recent years. We first see Michelle sitting in a classroom talking to the hero Jim (Jason Biggs): she is unconcerned by the fact that he is not listening, and continues her monologue. Michelle’s well-known perseverative catchphrase is “there was this one time, in band camp”. She tells inappropriate stories without an awareness of the responses of others. Michelle also has an unusual sense of fashion, and a possible special interest: playing the flute. Michelle does have friends in the school band community: we do not learn if they are all socially impaired.

In the second and third American Pie movies, Michelle becomes more socially appropriate in her behaviour: like many high-functioning people with AS, especially women, she has learnt more social skills. It is interesting though that the hero Jim realizes that he is more of a “geek” than he at first thought (his social communication skills with women are limited) and so has more in common with Michelle than with normal girls, and their relationship flourishes.

Amelie, aka The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain (2001)

(also a number of other titles from international releases)

French movie

Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tatou)

Amelie’s parents

Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz)

“Amelie” is a gentle comedy/romance about a young woman who has some signs of AS. Many of the people in Amelie’s life also seem to be on the spectrum, including her romantic interest, Nino.

Amelie’s story begins with her childhood. Her parents both appear to be on the spectrum. Her father is a doctor, and unable to express emotion. He also has severe perceptive communication difficulties, and is unable to pick up social messages from his daughter. He expressed concern for his daughter, instead, by providing her medical care. Amelie’s mother is described as neurotic, and is also cold emotionally. Both of her parents have autistic-friendly hobbies: her father’s is cleaning out his toolbox, and her mother’s cleaning out her handbag. Amelie is home-schooled, and does not have opportunities to improve her social skills in her early years.

When Amelie leaves home she continues to live a solitary lifestyle. Rather than seeking the company of others, she amuses herself with unusual interests: skimming stones, the sensory stimulation of putting her hand in bags of grain, cracking crème brulee, and noticing small details in movies: all of which are very plausible interests for someone with AS. She has no need for friends outside of her contact during work hours with her small group of workmates, preferring to be by herself. She does have some skills in social perception, and when she does interact with people as an adult this is shown to be appropriate.

Amelie’s life changes when she takes on a new project, that of finding the owner of some childhood treasures. Her search brings her into unaccustomed contact with her neighbours and others in her life. It also introduces her to Nino, a young man who has some autistic traits. He has been accepted in an “outsider” group: the sex industry, in which he works in an administrative role. Nino has an unusual interest of collecting discarded passport booth photos, in which Amelie then takes an interest. Nino is also like a quiet young man, but has some social skills. We see that he was picked on at school, common with many with AS. Amelie and Nino’s common interest and personality traits bring them together.

An Angel at My Table (1990)

New Zealand movie

Janet Frame (Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, Kerry Fox)

Based on the combined autobiographies of New Zealand author Janet Frame₁

This movie is one of the most popular New Zealand movies ever (at least of those about New Zealand!) It covers the childhood and young adult years of Janet Frame, who had severe social communication difficulties. I feel that this author is the greatest ever writer on the autism spectrum, which is why I wrote a medical journal article describing why I think she had either high-functioning autism or AS₂.

Janet has few friends, and finds being in the company of most other people stressful. She is, however, very bright, and from a young age has a strong interest in literature and writing. She achieves well academically, but is often let down by her difficulties interacting and forming relationships. She struggles to connect with others particularly after leaving home and her familiar surroundings. She is unable to complete her teacher training, as the pressure to socially interact with the other teachers becomes unbearable. She becomes dependent on her university psychology tutor, who has taken on the role of a clinician, and in order to continue her talks with him she fabricates symptoms of schizophrenia. Her supposed schizophrenia, along with her transient depression and suicidal ideation, leads to her eventual admission to several psychiatric hospitals.

Eventually, Janet is able to leave hospital, move to the UK and Europe, and gain confidence in her role in the world as a writer, without the pressure of needing to conform to other people’s ideas about whether she should socialize.

Janet Frame was closely involved in the production of this movie, commenting on the script before production and advising about locations, props and costume₃. She is reported as being happy with her portrayal in the movie, especially as an adult by Kerry Fox, and pictured posing happily with the three actresses who portrayed her, so the evidence suggests that this movie this is a fairly accurate picture of the author’s early years.

References

Frame, Janet. Janet Frame: the Complete Autobiography. The Women’s Press (London), 1990.
Abrahamson, Sarah. Did Janet Frame have high-functioning autism? New Zealand Medical Journal 12 Oct 2007, 120:1263.

King, Michael. Wrestling with the Angel: A Life of Janet Frame. Penguin (NZ), 2000.

Arthur & George (2005)

Novel by Julian Barnes (Vintage, Random House)

George Edalji

This novel describes the relationship which developed between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of the Sherlock Holmes books, and George Edalji, a solicitor accused wrongly of mutilating animals, and Arthur’s role in clearing his name. The book is based on a true story, but some fictionalization has been needed to turn the story into a novel. The solicitor George has clear signs of AS.

George’s early life is described in detail. He has no friends at school, and was not interested in the usual activities of boys in a country town, mainly sport, preferring time alone, reading. His family appears to have an autistic flavour: his father is the town pastor, and most of his family members are quiet and bookish, with very little socializing outside of the family.

George grows into a serious young man, and trains as a solicitor. He then develops a special interest, in railway law, and he is described as spending his recreational time researching this interest, with no interest in usual activities. He is described as speaking inappropriately about this topic, for example, to the local police, which adds to their impression that there is something very odd about him.

The trouble begins for George when he is accused, and then convicted, of the crime of mutilating animals near the town. Due to George’s odd manner, and what is often perceived as superior attitude, he has little support from the local police, who have developed some resentment towards the poor man.

When sent to prison, George copes surprisingly well, as he is described as spending much of the time in solitary confinement, and has little contact with the other prisoners. Instead, he is allowed to read book after book: a much preferable option to contact with other prisoners!

The story of the relationship which forms between the two main characters, and the public support for George, is a touching example of how aspies and neurotypicals can form substantial bonds, willing to forgive eccentricities and see the good person underneath.

Back to the Future Part 1 (1985)

US movie

George McFly (Crispin Glover)

This movie concerns the central character of Marty McFly, (Michael J. Fox), who travels back 30 years to the teenage years of his parents, George and Lorraine (Leah Wilson). He inadvertently changes the course of their meeting, endangering his own existence.

Marty’s dad, George, is a typical aspie. He has no friends, limited social skills, and unusual fashion sense. He has an intense special interest in aliens, and writes stories about alien visitors. The initial course of history involved Lorraine’s father hitting George with the car, Lorraine feeling sorry for him, then falling for him and marrying him based on a maternal feeling, not uncommon in the women who marry men with AS. Their life is not happy, however, largely because George does not develop the interpersonal skills and confidence he needs to achieve his potential in life.

In the second version of their history, George, with some coaching from his neurotypical son Marty on his visit to the past, is spurred to begin to develop these skills. This is dramatically demonstrated when he is finally able to stand up to the bully Biff, and starts to see his potential. After this, he is able to begin to form a real relationship with Lorraine, based not on pity but on mutual respect. George, in his altered life, goes on to achieve his full potential, as a happy human being, good husband, father and author, without seeming to compromise his underlying identity.

Bedazzled (2000)

US movie

Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser)

Elliot is an office worker with strong AS traits. He has poor social skills and does not appear to have any friends. He has a crush on a woman in his building, Alison (Frances O’Connor), who he knows little about, but, like many men with AS (and some without) with a crush, seems to have formed a largely imaginary relationship based on superficial aspects of her appearance, rather than any interpersonal connection. He is in an extremely unsuitable workplace, surrounded by neurotypical bullies, in an office job for which he has no particular skills. This has led to low self-esteem, and made him a prime target for the devil (Elizabeth Hurley). The devil offers him the opportunity to be someone else, and he jumps at this chance.

He discovers, though, after several very funny experiences, that being anyone but himself is not all it’s cracked up to be. Eventually he learns to like and respect himself, and stand up to his coworkers. Consequently he does not now feel the need to make friends with them, as he realizes they are not worth the effort. He also meets another woman, played by the same actress as Alison (but with a different hairstyle) who has a personality more compatible with his own. He will, however, need to make a quick change to his career if he is to be happy!

Being There (1979)

US movie

Chance (Peter Sellers)

Chance (Peter Sellers), who has strong signs of autism, is a gardener for a rich old man, and he fits more closely with the classic picture of autism rather than AS. He has never left the property, and spends his time, when he is not gardening, watching his many TVs. His life is spent in a strict routine, with no emotion in his relationships. An unexpected change occurs when the old man dies, and Chance is asked to leave.

Chance is lost outside of his usual world: he does not have the initiative to determine how to get himself food or drink, and luckily is hit by the car of Mrs. Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine), the wife of a very wealthy man, and taken back to their house.

At the Rands’ house, we see Chances strong echolalic (repeating speech) and echopraxic (repeating action) tendencies: he is at times unable to control these, it seems. He speaks in an overly formal way, and the bare minimum of words.

The Rands mistake his communication deficit with hidden depths of wisdom, and his simple words quickly propel him to the public spotlight and the affections of the Rands. Chance, however, is making no effort to fool anyone: and is unaware of what is going on around him.

I feel this is an unlikely story, but a realistic portrayal of the possible presentation of a moderately impaired autistic man.

Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

US comedy movie, based on the character created for TV (US and UK series of “Ali G”)

Borat (Sacha Baron-Cohen)

Borat is a journalist from Kazakstan who unintentionally offends people wherever he goes. He has the naive charm, however, of many aspies, and is hard to dislike.

Borat’s autistic traits are partly disguised by the fact that he is from another country. However, it is hard to believe that any society would develop where his behaviour is the norm. He will unknowingly pick the topic most likely to offend, and bring this up in his naive way. He will persist with the topic, even when the person is visibly annoyed, with seemingly little perception of the effect he is having. He also has an unusual gait: a common sign of AS. Borat’s interest in sex (at least as a topic for discussion) could be seen as his special interest.

Borat seems to be racist, especially against Jews. However, he is not bigoted, but has simply learnt some rules of his society by rote, and goes to great lengths to apply them. He is not able to perceive that these rules may not be generalisable to other settings on his trips overseas. He demonstrates that he is not genuinely racist by his friendship with a black woman in the movie.

Borats’s dress is also a little autistic. He has one outfit which he wears all the time, and has not thought to adjust this for local dress preference, even though it is obviously inappropriate.

Borat’s use of language has some features in common with people on the spectrum. He appears to have learnt many of his English words from out-of-date written documents, and persists in using these: for example, his meeting with the “American scholars”. He persists in pronouncing English works and names wrong, having learnt them in a written form in his own way: eg. Pamela. He also creates novel new terms for items, as do many aspies, such as “water panties” to describe bathing suits.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

2001 UK movie, based on the book by Helen Fielding

Mark Darcy (Colin Firth)

This story is overtly an update of Pride and Prejudice, and demonstrates that some aspects of human behaviour do not change over the years. There are many similarities in this story between that of Pride and Prejudice, and between the two Mr. Darcys, (played by Colin Firth in this movie and the UK series). Mark Darcy at first seems rude and a little socially inept, making honest but unflattering comments about Bridget (Renee Zellweger). Bridget, unlike Lizzie Bennett, has some autistic features herself, especially “verbal incontinence”, as commented on by Mark. Instead of being embarrassed by a large family as with Lizzie Bennet, Bridget is able to provide this quality all on her own! Bridget takes a dislike to Mark after his initial behaviour, and forms a relationship with the socially skilled but devious Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), who has much in common with Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. Mark is obviously unable to easily express feelings, and more at home in the world of the law, with formalized rules and procedures. He is however good and honest, and helps Bridget’s career by agreeing to an interview which launches her TV career, much like the original Mr. Darcy saved Lizzie Bennet’s reputation by ensuring the marriage of her eloped sister Lydia. Bridget is able to see the good in Mark, despite his suboptimal social skills.

In recently re-reading the book, I feel that there is not enough evidence to say that the novel's Mr. Darcy has Aspergers: this entry is included partly because the movie's Darcy is so similar to the Pride and Prejudice Darcy.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

US TV series

Anya (Emma Caulfield)

Spike (James Marsters)

Anya is widely discussed as a possible fictional character with AS. Anya is a demon, who was transformed into human form. She has severe difficulty in interacting politely with anyone, and she provides comic relief in the show, always making inappropriate comments.

Spike has also been suggested as having AS. While it is difficult to attribute his behaviour as a vampire to AS, when we see him before he became a vampire his behaviour was certainly consistent with someone with AS: he is severely socially incompetent, and spends all of his time with his mother a writing bad poetry. Becoming a vampire seems to give him the facility to behave in a more confident, socially normal (although evil) way.

Dilbert

Many cartoon books and syndicated cartoons by Scott Adams

Dilbert (cartoon character)

Dilbert exhibits signs of AS. He is an engineer (a high-risk profession) and prefers to spend his time playing with his computer and other electronic appliances. He has friends at work among the other engineers, but has trouble interacting with women and in other unfamiliar social situations.

Scott Adams has actually written one of the best descriptions of AS that I have ever seen. In the chapter “Engineers, Programmers, Scientists and Other Odd People”₁ his very wise comment is that people in this category need to learn a technical skill that they can use instead of their personality: sound advice for many with AS! He also describes how engineers and people like them have different objectives in social interaction: to exchange information as quickly as possible, and avoid pointless chat: this could again be a textbook entry about AS.

Reference

1. The Dilbert Principle. Scott Adams, 1996. United Features Syndicate.

Doc Martin (2003-)

UK TV series

Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes)

Dr. Ellingham (who hates to be called by a nickname: Doc Martin, but it happens anyway) is a surgeon who develops a sudden phobia of blood. Instead of the more usual reaction, which would be to be treated with medication and psychotherapy, he chooses to leave his surgical career and become the GP in a small, picturesque fishing village, Portwen.

On his arrival (and even on the plane trip to the village) Dr. Martin immediately starts offending people with his bluntness and complete lack of any social skills. The villagers quickly decide he is not normal, and he is teased by local youths as being “bodmin”: slang for mad. The Doc is excessively formally dressed, never being seen dressed in anything but a suit. He has a “special interest” of repairing old clocks, which he prefers to do rather than socialise. We learn from his aunt, who lives near the village, that his behaviour is typical of his paternal family. In one episode his mother visits: we hear from her that she was so embarrassed by her socially inept son that she had actually made very effort to keep him away from her, at boarding school and visiting relatives. We are given other strong evidence of a developmental disorder in childhood: the Doc was teased for his lack of social skills, and slow to develop urinary continence. He surprised everyone by becoming a surgeon, although there was never doubt as to his intelligence.

Doc Martin develops a romantic interest in a local teacher, Louisa Glasson, but his limited social skills let him down time after time in forming a closer connection.

The character Doc Martin could be put in a textbook under the label “Asperger’s syndrome”, he so epitomizes many qualities classically associated with this syndrome. This story also has much in common with that of “Pride and Prejudice”, and the interactions between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet. Like Mr. Darcy, Doc Martin wins people over very slowly, by proving his good intentions as well as his excellent procedural skills.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003)

Novel by Mark Haddon

Christopher Boone

This is one of the most well-known works with a character on the autism spectrum, and one of the only works where the fact that the character has a diagnosable disability is described in the work.

Christopher is 15, and the book is a narrative about his investigations of the death of his neighbour’s dog, told from his point of view. The book especially focusses on Christopher’s photographic memory. It also examines his impaired social cognition, in that he is not able to guess at the meaning behind the behaviour of those around him.

There are, however, a few features of this character which I feel are not totally consistent. Firstly, Christopher is in a special-needs school: given his high level of intellectual functioning, I would suspect that this would be unusual, as he describes being in a class with children who seem to have intellectual disabilities. Instead, the vast majority of children with AS/HFA would be in normal schools, or home-schooled, rather than be placed with those with dramatically different needs from them.

Christopher displays one example of unusual use of written language, specifically in his use of his own term “do sex” instead of “have sex”. I suggest that his would be unusual for an aspie, especially as the rest of his language is within the normal range, and given that he reads extensively.

Thirdly, it is relatively unusual, although it is possible, for a child with AS to have no relatives, especially parents, with autistic traits. Christopher’s parents are highly neurotypical, and struggle to understand him.

Dude: where’s the party? (aka Where’s the party yaar?) (2003)

US movie

Harish Kumar Patel: “Hari” (Sunil Malhotra)

At first glance this movie appears to be the last possible candidate for an insight into the issues in aspies forming relationships with neurotypicals. On cover of the DVD release in Australia the prominent feature is of one of the stars, Kal Penn, holding up a ladie’s pink lacy g-string. However, this greatly misrepresents the movie.

The movie instead covers several issues in a semi-realistic and entertaining way. It examines the problems of being a new immigrant to the US, and of US-born Indians. However, the other prominent theme, which qualifies the movie for this site, is the relationship between its main character, Hari, who has come from India to study, and his cousin, Mohan (Kal Penn), who is a “part boy”.

Hari is a post-graduate engineering student, and is a classic nerd. He has many signs common in Asperger’s syndrome. He is almost mechanically polite to all those he meets, having obviously been thoroughly taught correct manners by his family. He is comically gawky, but in a pleasant way. He is very excited by concepts of engineering and mathematics, and is delighted when he has the opportunity to help a girl with her maths: more the maths than the girl! He has little interest in fashion, and he only becomes interested in attending the party of the movie’s title when he decided that it is his destiny to meet the girl of his dreams there, based on the predictions of his Guru. Hari soon meets some engineering nerd friends, with whom he is comfortable. He begins to feel, however, with regular exposure to the different lifestyle of his cousin Mohan that he should try to hang out with the “cool crowd.

Mohan tries to politely discourage Hari from trying to be cool, as of course Hari will never fit in. The situation reaches a crisis point when Hari finds out that Mohan has been deliberately withholding information about the party. There is a falling out, and then reconciliation, with Mohan realizing all the good qualities of his nerdy cousin, and that those who are cool but superficial are not worth having as friends.

Everything is Illuminated (2005)

US movie

Based on the book of the same title by Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer (Elijah Wood)

This story concerns the journey a young man, Jonathan Safran Foer, takes to see the town in the Ukraine which his Jewish grandfather left during the war, and to look for the woman who helped him escape.

Jonathon is a serious young man with many signs of AS. He is an obsessive collector of family items, both “normal”, such as photos and jewelry, and unusual, such as soil. He collects all of these in little plastic bags, which he pins to his wall. He dresses in an overly formal way, in the same outfit, a black dress suit, every day. He appears to have little understanding of and ability to use humour in conversation. He takes his trip to the Ukraine after his grandmother dies, and hires an eccentric grandfather and grandson, both called Alex, who take him on an illuminating trip through the countryside.

This movie is both a comedy and an affecting drama. The focus is not on the main character’s traits, but his traits are a key part important in the story.

Extremely loud and incredibly close (2005)

Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer (Penguin Books)

Oskar Schell

This novel has some similarities to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”. Like that other, more well-known book, it is the story of a boy, nine year old Oskar, who decides to investigate a mystery, and it is told in the first person. I felt this book, however, was a much more convincing description of the likely thoughts and lifestyle of a boy with possible AS.

Oskar has a number of strong indicators of AS. He has unusual special interests, such as inventing and the science of war. He eats only very specific things, and feels so strongly about not hurting animals that he is unable to even sit on a leather couch. He wears only white. His unusual behaviour and lack of social skills have lead to him having few friends, and being picked on by his classmates. He has trouble with anxiety and insomnia, as do many with AS.

Other members of Oskar’s family also have autistic traits. His father, who dies before the start of the book, is describe as having features of AS. Perhaps this is why Oskar’s neurotypical mother appears to have developed an intuitive understanding of how to live with someone with AS. Oskar’s paternal grandparents also feature in the story: both of them seem to have some autistic signs.

Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)

UK TV comedy series

Basil Fawlty (John Cleese)

Basil Fawlty runs a Torquay hotel, and as a likely aspie, it is one of the worst jobs imaginable for him. He is unable to cope with the social demands on the job, including managing his often incompetent staff and interacting appropriately with guests. As his wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) states, he never quite gets it right, spitting venom or falling all over them. He has no friends, and is unable to relate to his wife on more than a very superficial level. He has poor emotional control under pressure, resulting in the hilarious “Germans” scene. Basil is partly aware that he is not normal, shown in the “Psychiatrist” episode, when he goes to extraordinary lengths to prove that he is completely normal, resulting in him proving the opposite.

Basil has a common trait of those with AS: he is unusually concerned with saving money, to the point where he hires poor quality tradesmen, when they can well afford better quality ones.

Of note, Basil has no “special interest”: perhaps he has no time to develop one. He has certainly not learnt the skills he needs to live happily, and having an interest to relieve him from the stresses of his life might be one way he could improve the qualify of his life.

Friends (1994-2004)

US Comedy Series

Gunther (James Michael Tyler)

Amy Green (Christina Applegate)

The doctor delivering phoebe’s triplets

Rachels’ worst date ever Steve (Jon Lovitz)

I have included “Friends” partly because many of the main characters have been casually speculated to have AS, and I do not feel that any of them have PDDs. This has usually been Ross (David Schwimmer) and Pheobe (Lisa Kudrow), but has also included Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Mathew Perry). While they do have one or two autistic-related traits, particularly Monica’s obsessive behaviour, I do not feel that any of the characters could have AS. They all interact well with most other people, have largely people-based interests, and choose to spend the majority of time with others. Their group of friends includes a diverse range of characters, with no “special interests” in common. Their social lives are the envy of at least one other character in the show (Gunther) and probably millions in real life. I feel that such a group would be difficult to establish, and tiring to maintain, for someone with AS, although I acknowledge that it might be possible. A substantial part of the comedy in Friends, however, stems from the more unusual social behaviour of the minor and guest characters.

These include:

Gunther

Gunther, the long-term waiter in Central Perk, is of normal to high intelligence, but from our exposure to him he does not seem to make friends easily, and envies the main group of friends, while being largely ignored by them (a common experience for many with AS). He has romantic feelings for Rachel for years which he is unable to express. We do not learn if he has unusual special interests.

Rachel’s sister Amy Green

This character could be described by many as “just a bitch”, but looking at her behaviour closely, it is quite possible that she has AS, along with a doubtful moral system. She spends much of her time making comments which offend people, but does not seem to do this in a particularly calculating way, instead saying just whatever comes into her head “without editing”, as describe by the actress who portrays her, Christina Applegate. She genuinely does not follow some of the interactions among the group, misunderstanding who is being addressed, and the message of the communication. She also appears to have at least mild prospasgnosia (face blindness): she is unable to recognize Ross, who she has met many times, mistaking him for the local kebab seller.

The doctor delivering Phoebe’s triplets

This doctor appears for a short time, but behaves very strangely in this time: he cannot speak without referring to the character “The Fonz” in Happy Days (a special interest), not realizing that this is completely socially inappropriate.

Rachel’s worst date ever Steve (Jon Lovitz)

Rachel’s friends, trying to get her back with Ross, set her up on the worst date ever to put her off other men. Her date complains constantly, including about how he is a loser. He does not demonstrate even basic social skills.

George and Mildred (1976-1979)

UK TV comedy series

George Roper (Brian Murphy)

“George and Mildred” is the story of a couple and their interactions with their local community and each other. George, the husband, has many autistic traits. He has poor social perception and expression, and is constantly embarrassing to his wife Mildred. Like some with AS, he has little interest in sex. He also has no interest in other people and in socializing, which drives his wife crazy, as she has some desire for a social life. He is, instead, happy to spend most of his time watching TV, in common with some with AS. There is, however, some apparent affection for his wife, but the way he best expresses this is through physical actions: for example he buys her a dog after they realize they are unable to have children.

Part of the comedy in the series stems from the couple’s neighbours’ reaction to George with his lack of social skills: while Mildred is keen to form relationships with them, George repels them with his embarrassing behaviour.

Home and Away (1988-)

Australian TV series

Colleen Smart (Lyn Collingwood)

Home and Away is Australia’s most popular TV drama series, and concerns plots heavily laden with tragedy and death. Colleen Smart, a woman in her 60s with strong signs of AS, provides much of the essential comic relief in this mix: as do many AS characters in drama shows. Someone meeting Colleen for the first time in her 60s might think that she has some form of dementia affecting her frontal lobes, and so her social behaviour: however, we see no evidence that her personality has changed over her life, and she has not changed for the worse (as would be expected with dementia) during her time on the show.

Colleen works in the local café, and has taken on learning about the people in her local community as her “special interest”. She is highly concerned with all of the local community events and relationships, but we do not actually see her having any close friendships of her own. She tends to make highly inappropriate remarks at points of high drama, and does not know “when to shut up”, so inadvertently hurts others with her comments. She is, however, tolerated by the local community, who see that she means well, and is harmless and highly interested in others’ welfare.

In March 2008 we saw that Colleen is actually the half sister of Alf and Morag: they are shocked that someone so socially impaired can be related to them, but accept that she is harmless. Collen is delighted, seeing this development as a large status jump for her in the local community.

House M.D. (2004-)

US medical drama series

Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie)

This series concerns the daily work of Dr. Gregory House and his team of residents, who spend their time solving medical mysteries for patients with a range of bizarre, sometime even fictional, diseases. House is rude, arrogant and basically behaves in many ways like a young boy. He is, however, dedicated to his job, and to the challenge of solving these mysteries, even if he seems to care little for the people behind the illnesses.

There has been much debate about whether House has AS, especially since the episode with a severely autistic boy, when House identified strongly with the boy. His friend Dr. Wilson looked up a textbook, read about AS, and discussed the possibility that House may have AS with the boss, Dr. Cuddy. She dismissed this idea, saying that this would mean that he has no control over how he acts, and had an excuse for his bad behaviour, and we hear no more about this issue.

We cannot consider Cuddy’s opinion as definitive: remember, she has no clinical experience in this field, and takes only a second to consider the question about whether he has AS. It is possible she actually knows nothing about AS. It is ridiculous to suggest that someone with AS has no control over their behaviour, and if she was inclined, with further research into AS, she might see House has many aspie traits. Her reaction is not however unusual for doctors, and others, if AS is suggested in high-functioning adults, so for her to react in this way is not unrealistic (unlike the medical problems, and in fact most of the other story, in House).

House is a very interesting character, and some might argue that he cannot have AS because he appears to have a good understanding of what other people are thinking. But consider that he is in his 40s, has a likely genius IQ, and people are his job. So to perform his job effectively he has had to study people, and analyse them intellectually, which is why, perhaps, he is able to provide some of his witty insights. He has to think about others’ Theory of Mind in dept to understand it, wheareas this comes naturally to neurotypicals. So House’s analyses of people are I feel similar to his analyses of diseases: they are not intuitive but can be learnt well, and come rapidly with practice.

House has found an ideal workplace environment: one which I doubt exists in real life: doctors are not usually allowed to behave in this way and stay employed! He has perhaps had trouble making friends, and becoming liked, by workmates in the past. In his current job, he does not need to try to be popular, or make friends: people accept him, even though he has made the decision to use none of his extensive intellectual capacity to try to behave normally and be polite. Perhaps this may actually help him to perform well in his occupation: without needing to use brain space trying to be normal, he can be a “superdoc”.

Jeeves and Wooster

Books by P.G.Wodehouse, and UK TV series (1990-1993)

Gussie Fink-Nottle

Reginald Jeeves

There are two major characters with strong autistic traits in these series: Gussie Fink-Nottle, and Jeeves himself.

Gussie Fink-Nottle is the most obviously aspie character. He is a fellow who spends his time with his newts in the countryside, and usually has little contact with people. He develops a fondness for Madeline Basset: but has no idea how to communicate his feelings for her in an appropriate way. Subsequently, he is placed in a situation by Wooster with the opportunity to propose to Madeline. He begins to babble, however, about his special interest, newts, and rather than speak appropriately, gives the young lady a “full and complete account” of the subject of newts: an easy thing to do for an aspie with a special interest, and a way to relieve stress in a difficult situation. Gussie, despite his autistic behaviour, is well-accepted by his peers: I would suggest that upper class English society was (and probably still is) well-suited to people on the spectrum. Gussie’s love interest, Madeline Bassett, may also have some autistic traits: it is more difficult to determine this in her case, as any signs are more subtle.

Jeeves is a less obvious possibility for being an aspie. However, on closer inspection he has some autistic traits. An argument against Jeeves being autistic is that Jeeves does have good social perception. However, remember that social perception is actually his job, and he has presumably spent most of his life acquiring formal skills in analyzing the behaviour of others in an objective way, much like a scientist. Consequently, he is able to come up with unique solutions to social dilemmas.

Jeeves speaks all of the time in a very formal manner: it is as if he has learnt his role as a valet, and does not have any other role in his repertoire. Consequently, despite his substantial intellectual ability, he is happy in his low-profile role, with its regimented behaviour and tasks and plenty of time for reading and contemplation.

Jeeves does not seem to crave the social company of others: he seems most happy when reading a book, or sitting quietly, which his job gives him ample opportunity to do. He appears to have a more collegial relationship with his fellow servants than a friendship.

In his role as a valet, part of Jeeve’s task is ensuring that his employer is dressed appropriately. He takes a highly detailed interest in this issue, becoming quite distressed when his employer or other gentlemen dress inappropriately: even being upset by the pattern of Bingo Little’s tie!

Kath and Kim (2002-)

Australian TV series (ABC/Channel 7)

Sharon (Magda Szubanski)

Kath and Kim is Australia’s most popular situation comedy. It is filmed in a subtle “mockumentary” style. It is the story of a mother, Kath (Jane Turner), and daughter, Kim (Gina Riley), and their lives in the suburbs.

Sharon is Kim’s “second-best friend”. She is overweight and has an unfashionable hairstyle. She wears her netball uniform most of the time. Sharon is socially inept, presenting in her interactions in a polite but childlike way: for example she calls Kath “Mrs. D”. She is devoted to Kim, who has strong narcissistic traits. Kim does not respect Sharon at all, and Sharon may not see that Kim’s behaviour is outside of the usual range of “friendship”, and fits more into the category “bullying. We do not see that Sharon has any other friends, although she did have another friend at school, a girl who was an outcast. Kim produces the line for Sharon “red hair, no friends”: not very supportive for a supposed friend! Sharon has a “special interest” in netball.

Sharon picks up a range of inappropriate men during the series, including a Shane Warne impersonator (played by Shane Warne, renowned cricketer) but the relationships don’t last. Instead Sharon stays at an adolescent stage in the main interactions in her life, with Kim and her family.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Australian movie

The Duke (Richard Roxburgh)

The character of the Duke exhibits strong traits of AS. He is totally socially inept: the only way he is able to have any influence over others is through the use of his money. He may not actually initially have been evil: there are some gentle, boy-like qualities in him (“look, my dear-a little frog!”). However, the Duke picks the wrong obsession, a beautiful woman, Satine (Nicolle Kidman), who he is unable to perceive, due to his limited theory of mind, is totally unable to feel affection for him, but is required to pretend that she does as part of her profession.

Despite being a tragedy, Moulin Rouge has many comedy moments. Many of these focus on the Duke and his severely impaired social perception and expression.

The Duke’s descent into true evil begins when he becomes more and more controlling in his attempt to hold on to Satine. He persists in this past the point that most people would stop: a sign perhaps of autistic perseveration.

Interestingly, the DVD extras for Moulin Rouge include an early version of the screenplay in which the Duke is much more neurotypical. Obviously the team realized before the film went into production that this would actually have been quite boring, and allowed much less potential for comedy in this show.

Mozart and the Whale (2005)

US movie

Donald Morton (Josh Hartnett)

Isabelle Sorenson (Radha Mitchell)

Mozart and the Whale is fiction but inspired by the story of Jerry and Mary Newport.

Donald has AS. He runs an autistic support group, which seems however able to provide little support to him, as the other members are quite low-functioning. Donald is obsessed with numbers, socially inept and unable to hold a job, especially as he chooses inappropriate jobs such as taxi driving.

One day Isabelle joins the support group. Isabelle has slightly different features of AS from those Donald exhibits: her social skills are a little better, but she has more severely impaired emotional control.

Donald and Isabelle get together, but it is not easy for them. The story of their struggles with their identities and relating to another person is difficult at times, but touching.

This movie is particularly interesting in that the character of Isabelle, while having been diagnosed with AS, is much less obviously on the spectrum than most of the characters on this site. It is quite likely that someone with her signs who presented to most clinicians, especially outside of specialist AS practice, would not diagnose her with AS.

Mr. Bean (1990-2007)

UK comedy TV series and movies

Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson)

Mr. Bean is perhaps the undiagnosed fictional character most commonly said to have AS. He certainly does have some features: he has odd movements, odd voice, and very poor social skills. He seems to have sensory sensitivity, putting his socks in his ears on a train at one point to avoid hearing the man sitting next to him laughing. He prefers to limit change and uncertainty in his life: he wears the same outfit all the time and takes his curtains on holiday with him. He has unusual problem-solving skills, perhaps indicating impaired executive function.

However, Mr. Bean is such an exaggerated character, unlike anyone in real life, that he cannot really be used as a realistic example. In addition, he seems very aware of the feelings and thoughts of others at some times, going out of his way to annoy people, such as by poking them in a queue, for no apparent reason. This would be unusual in AS, especially at the lower-functioning end where Mr. Bean exists. Instead, most people with AS do not usually deliberately mean to annoy others, and often have difficulty determining how to intentionally annoy others.

Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

Australian movie

Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette)

Muriel’s Wedding is a popular Australian movie which launched Toni Collette on an international film career.

Muriel is a socially inept young woman. She has a limited social life, and spends much of her day in her room listening to the music of ABBA: this could be considered her “special interest”. She hangs around with a group of other young women who barely tolerate her, who one day they tell her that they don’t want her spending time with them any more. Muriel suffers from such impaired social cognition, and is so desperate to be included, that she pursues the girls to a holiday resort, despite their clear signals that she is not welcome. Muriel is adopted as a friend by a more outgoing former schoolmate, Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) who sees Muriel perhaps as safe and reliable. Rhonda then takes Muriel to Sydney to start a new life.

In Sydney Muriel finds a new non-functional special interest: weddings. She spends her days working in a video shop watching wedding videos, then her lunchtimes trying on wedding dresses for her wedding, which is not going to happen due to a lack of a groom. Muriel’s chance of finding a suitable groom increase when she answers a personal advertisement in the newspaper, for a marriage of convenience with a South African swimmer. He is not impressed with Muriel’s limited social skills, but his coach sees her as a safe bet and the wedding goes ahead. After a family tragedy, however, Muriel realizes that her priorities are wrong. She leaves her fake marriage, which has gained her some degree of long-craved social acceptance to support Rhonda, who has had a major upset in her life.

My Fair Lady

1964 movie

Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison)

My Fair Lady, the movie based on the stage musical, is one of the most popular musical movies of all time. The movie centres on the relationship between Henry Higgins, a linguist, and his project to convert Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), a cockney girl, into a lady by changing her speech.

Henry shows many classic signs of AS. He appears to think of nothing else but his job: he describes it as his job and his hobby. He has colleagues, with a common interest, rather than friends. He is into his 40s, and as far as we are told never been in a relationship with a woman for a substantial period, describing the loss of routine and control, and noise, that such a relationship would bring unbearable: instead he prefers sitting in silence. Henry also has a disregard for the feelings of all of those in his life, including Eliza, his mother and his servants: both in not noticing these feelings and not being inclined to want to notice them.

Henry has no regard for the social norms of his class: he appears at the Ascot races inappropriately dressed, and his mother does not welcome him there, saying that his poor manners scare her friends away. Eliza later says that she had to learn the manners of a lady from his colleague, Colonel Pickering.

Henry perhaps represents a successful outcome for someone with significant social communication impairment and little desire to fit in to normal society. This could be partly because he has had the advantages of a wealthy upbringing with little stress, and has been able to explore potential interests until he found the one ideal for him, and has not had to try to fit in to survive. The interest he has developed is linguistics, which is his only hobby and his career, and it has given him an ideal lifestyle with good financial rewards. His abilities in linguistics could be described as savant-like: for example, his trick for determining the exact street where Eliza grew up from her way of speaking.

Eliza, against all odds, develops some fondness for Henry. She has been perhaps a little affected by his dedication to teaching her to speak like a lady, even though he is focusing on her as a project, rather than a person. He also becomes fond of her, in a more autistic way: she has become part of his routine, and he misses her when she is not there, as he describes in the song “I’ve grown accustomed to her face”.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

US movie 2006

Jenny Johnson/G-Girl (Uma Thurman)

This movie may seem to be an unlikely candidate to have a character with AS. However, a closer look reveals a fairly convincing depiction of a woman with possible AS.

Jenny Johnson is a woman with special powers, equivalent to those of Superman, which she acquired in her teenage years, when she was transformed from a teenage geek into a more attractive girl with hidden powers She does not have good interpersonal skills, however, which has probably been the case throughout her life. Because of the combination of her limited social skills and her stressful superhero duties she has been unable to form any sustained relationships. She has some attractive qualities: she is beautiful and superficially able to exhibit some social skills.

She meets and becomes romantically involved with the neurotypical hero Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) but soon into their relationship he notices that there is something unusual about her interpersonal interactions. She has reduced social perception and expression, a limited sense of humour and poor emotional control. She feels that there is something “off” about her, but puts this down to her special powers. However, her powers and superhero duties do not fully explain her behaviour, and he eventually breaks up with her and gets together with a more socially skilled workmate.

This results in a downward spiral in her behaviour, finding it difficult to accept that she has lost another man in her life. The situation is subsequently resolved when Jenny gets together with a suitable man: a nerdy guy with some autistic traits.

Napolean Dynamite

US movie 2004

Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder)

Pedro Sanchez (Efren Ramirez)

Kip (Aaron Ruell)

This movie has developed a cult following, but also greatly puzzled many people, who cannot see how anyone could act like Napolean or identify with him. His behavior, and that of his friend Pedro, can be explained when we consider common feature of AS.

Napolean is an odd, nerdy teenager, who has no friends at school, and is picked on by school bullies. He has limited communication skills, in person and over the phone, and uses little facial expression throughout most of the movie. He is unable to maintain eye contact during conversation, either looking away or closing his eyes. He generally speaks in a monotonous voice, although at times his voice is raised in irritation. His unusual speech does not necessarily reflect a lack of interest or depression, but is more likely a result of AS. Napolean has poor fashion sense, and is a terrible liar, failing to convince his classmates that he hunted wolverines over summer. He also has a hobby of drawing fantasy pictures (which are more consistent with drawings by a younger child): this could be considered a “special interest”.

Napolean’s immediate family consists of his older brother, Kip, and his grandmother. Kip also has some signs of being on the spectrum. He has met a woman over the internet, chatting for hours each day, who he considers to be his girlfriend without actually meeting. He appears to have limited verbal social skills, and we do not see that he has any friends: spending time with his brother who is at least 15 years younger than him. Kip seems to have developed no useful occupational skills, and has poor fashion sense.

Napolean and Kip’s grandmother also appears to have some social communication and empathy impairment (for humans): she is abrupt, and is more concerned that their llama Tina is fed than her grandchildren.

Napolean’s life changes for the better when he makes two friends. The first is a new and equally socially impaired student Pedro, who also speaks in a monotonous voice and uses little facial expression. They fall into hanging out together, in the absence of any other opportunities for friendship, and one day Napolean says to Pedro: “so I guess we’re pretty much friends by now” without any actual relationship-forming work appearing to occur. They then meet a shy girl, Deb (Tina Majorino), who has some autistic traits, but does not appear to have AS (it is likely, though, that she is the girl in their school closest in character to these two boys). Pedro, who has good self esteem even if little insight into his social difficulties, then decides, with his friends’ help, to stand for class president. Napolean is able to help Pedro win the election with the help of his newly developed dancing skills.

Napolean and Pedro are incidentally the only fictional characters I have found who have earned an academic medical journal article describing where they lie on the autism spectrum₁, with the reaction from another psychiatrist ₂from Napolean’s home town of Preston, Idaho, that it is an insult to suggest that this is the case, Napolean appearing quite normal to him (and his mother!). I find this surprising: to most who know about AS these characters are obviously on the spectrum (maybe their town is a hotspot of PDDs!) This response demonstrates just how new, and controversial, the idea of AS/HFA is, even to those who should have specialist knowledge in this field.

References

1. Levin HW, Schlozman S: Napoleon Dynamite: Asperger’s disorder or geek NOS? Acad Psychiatry 2006; 30:430–435

2. W. Sharp. Brett W. Napoleon Dynamite Has Asperger’s? Gosh, It’s Called Cultural Competence, You Freakin’ Idiots. Acad Psychiatry 2007; 31:248.

Pride and Prejudice

Novel by Jane Austen (first published 1813)

Many TV series and movies: most well-known 1995 BBC TV series

Mr. Darcy

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

Lydia and Mary Bennet

Mr. Collins

Lady Catherine de Burgh

Ann de Burgh

This classic work, portrayed in many films and TV series, (the most well known the 1995 BBC series with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth), has many characters on the autism spectrum. It is, I feel, the best fictional work ever written detailing the range of possible presentations of high-functioning PDDs, even though it was written a long time before these were officially discovered. An entire book has been written detailing each of these characters_1; those interested should read this excellent book for more detail.

The most thoroughly depicted of these characters is Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy has deficient social skills, tending to stand around silently at parties, showing his lack of skills with sometimes unintentionally critical comments. Due to these deficits, many of those he meet form a poor impression of him, thinking him proud and mean. He does, however, have the respect of his few close friends, who do not expect much conversation, but instead loyalty and considered opinions. He also has the great respect of his family and servants, who comment that he always tells the truth, a common aspie trait.

Due to these issues, our heroine, Lizzie Bennet, takes some time to develop affection for Mr. Darcy, and is swayed by his kind actions in saving her sister from ruin, and from the positive reports of others, rather than his social skills.

The next most thoroughly depicted character is perhaps Lizzie’s mother, Mrs. Bennet. Like many female aspies, she suffers from nerves, and as a result often retreats to her room. She has some social perception, but this is often in error, and she often makes inappropriate comments without concern for their effect. Her behaviour embarrasses her two normal daughters.

Mr. Bennet is less obviously on the spectrum, and apparently ₁ seen by some as totally normal. However, he avoids social interaction, preferring to spend time in the library. He lacks empathy for the real worries of his wife and normal daughters about their situation. He is certainly less impaired than most in the book, but definitely has some AS features.

Lizzie’s other potential suitor, Mr. Collins, presents more as a “nerd” than does Mr. Darcy. He has learnt some theoretical social skills from formal teaching, but applies these inappropriately, often resulting in offence. He has less insight than Mr. Darcy regarding his social inadequacies, so has offended almost everyone, seeming to have no actual friends. He is unable to detect sarcasm or offence from others. He has a special interest, which is his Patron Lady Catherine de Burgh, who he talks about constantly. He marries Lizzie’s friend Charlotte, who has no affection for him, but accepts he means no harm. They have a good marriage considering the circumstances: Mr. Collins can follow his special interest, and Charlotte is mostly left alone.

Mary Bennet is the more bookish sister in the family. She talks pedantically about not enjoying balls, chatting and such, preferring reading and playing the piano and singing. However, she is not able to see that her music skills are limited, and often performs inappropriately. She makes comments on social situations based on formally learnt skills, but is often from appropriate in her interactions, offending especially her sisters.

Lydia Bennet has signs of both AS and ADHD, making her one of the more impaired characters, as she is a target for manipulative men, such as Mr. Wickham.

Finally, the de Burghs have some features of AS. Lady Catherine de Burgh talks endlessly, expecting little reply from those around her. She interferes inappropriately in the lives of those around her, and appears to have little idea of the feelings of those she interacts with. Her daughter, Ann, is described only briefly, but may have classic autism: she speaks little, avoids social interaction, and has particular dietary preferences.

Reference

1. Ferguson Bottomer, Phyllis. So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autism Spectrum in ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ 2007, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Punch-Drunk Love

2002 US movie

Barry Egan (Adam Sandler)

Barry Egan is a socially impaired businessman. He has a seemingly boring, routine life, and avoids most social contact. He speaks in an unusual, monotonous way (although so do most of Adam Sandler’s characters!) Barry also has a problem with emotional control, intermittently losing his temper and violently attacking windows and furniture when under stress: he has had this problem since childhood, as reported by his sisters. Barry also has episodes of unexplained crying. These events appear particularly triggered by either excessive noise or social stresses.

Barry’s uneventful life takes a turn when he gets caught up in a con deal. In addition, he meets his love interest Lena (Emily Watson), possibly his first, adding to his change in routine. This excess stimulation causes an increase in Barry’s outbursts, but he is able to put them to productive use to get the conmen out of his life.

Barry takes on a project after meeting Lena, collecting single-serve puddings, which have an inappropriately excessive rewards program, so that he can travel to be with her whenever needed. His aspie traits have perhaps allowed him to notice the excessive rewards system when many other people have not.

Barry is seen in the same outfit for most of the movie: reflecting perhaps the perseverative style of dress of many on the spectrum.

Another interesting feature is the portrayal of sensory stimuli in a way which appears to reflect the over-sensitivity of many with AS. Noises, especially high-pitched noises, are shown to be loud and annoying, possibly reflecting his sensory hypersensitivity. At a party with his sisters and family, their voices become so overwhelming that he breaks a window. Light also seems to be excessively bright in this movie, perhaps reflecting how it is perceived to Barry, and part of why he is rarely seen outside.

Overall, this movie is a thorough and consistent picture of AS. However, there is one incongruent point. Barry says to his love, Lena, that he would like to “punch her face in” at an intimate moment. She replies in a similarly odd way. I would suggest that this is not usual for those with AS: most do not relish the thought of losing control, and would certainly not fantasize about attacking someone in a violent way for the sheer fun of it.

Red Dwarf (1988-1999)

UK comedy/sci fi series

Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie)

Kryton (Richard Llewellyn)

Rimmer is a holographic projection of a former crew member on a spaceship which has been drifting in space for thousands of years. The only surviving human crew member, Lister (Craig Charles), is endlessly annoyed by Rimmer’s pedantic attitude: Rimmer’s personality has not changed in becoming a hologram, and was not a popular crew member when he was alive. He is slow to pick up on non-verbal cues in conversation and has a knack for offending people. Rimmer is revealed in one episode to have an unusual hobby consistent with AS; he collects photos of 20^th century telephone poles, and is disappointed that his crewmates do not share this passion.

Kryton is a human-like robot with some features in common with people with PDDs. He initially has very specific programming, unable to express emotion or to lie, but he is able to overcome these features. His crewmates rely on him for certain information: he has a perfect memory for the information in his memory, as do many with AS. Although always eager to please, Kryton is unfamiliar with many human social conventions, and relies on his crewmates to inform him of these rules. He enjoys his job: cleaning and laundry, and delights in this seemingly mundane task: in common with many people with PDDs who work in an area of interest (not necessarily cleaning!)

Seinfeld

US TV comedy series

George Costanza (Jason Alexander)

We all know these characters well, and almost all of those in Seinfeld have been suggested to have AS. Indeed, none of the main characters are completely free of autistic traits, but I feel that George is the one who clearly fits within the boundaries of AS. He has great difficulties making freinds outside of his circle, he struggles to get along with workmates, and does not pick up on basic social signals on numerous occasions (eg. "Come up to my place for coffee": he really thinks his date means coffee...)
Jerry is a candidate for possible AS. He has only a small group of friends, does not like meeting strangers, he is obsessively neat, he does not like kissing hello and he analyses social situations (and put the analyses in his act). He may have AS, but have compensated for his difficulties through intellectual analysis better than George. Interestingly, Jerry Seinfeld himself got married and had a child in his 40s: this in itself is a strong risk factor for autistic traits.
Kramer, on the other hand, appears to have signs more consistent with ADD. He is distractible, can never stick to a plan for long, and disorganised. We know that there is a large incidence of social communication impairment traits in those with ADD.
Elaine is the least likely to have any developmental disability: she has some social communications difficulties, which is perhaps why she can relate to this odd group, but seems to more clearly fit within the range of normality.

Scrubs (2000-)

US TV comedy series

Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley)

Dr. Elliott Reid (Sarah Chalke)

While Dr. Cox is widely considered to have AS, Dr. Reid is a little less obvious, especially in the later episodes, but a good argument can be made for both of these characters being on the spectrum.

Dr. Perry Cox is a dedicated doctor, who cares about his patients and interns, but is unable express his caring thoughts in an appropriate way. He does not seem to have friends outside of his workplace (except in one early, unusual episode where he is implied to be watching sport with others). His friendships with colleagues have developed based on a respect for his values and abilities as a doctor, rather than an enjoyment of his company.

Dr Cox spends a large part of his day in an over-stimulated state, perhaps due to the social and sensory difficulties of working as a busy hospital physician. To help him recover from this, instead of socializing in his breaks he follows a routine of watching his favourite soap opera, with dire consequences if he is interrupted. Dr. Cox is also seen to enjoy one way conversations: in one episode he tells one of the interns to prepare himself for a monologue about his favourite sports team (the warning being a comedy moment: most with AS would simply launch into the monologue, not say it is about to happen!)

Like many with AS, Dr. Cox has difficulty giving or receiving affection, especially physical displays of affection. He has difficulty with anger control. On occasion, he is also seen to have sudden, brief “depression attacks”, which occur in many with AS. His colleagues have become accustomed to these, and manage them in a behavioural way, then ignoring them, as he does, when they have passed.

Interestingly, in later episodes Dr. Cox sees a psychiatrist who has a different interpretation of his behaviour: including that his problems are due to “a narcissistic view of himself as a loner”. This sounds like nonsense to me: maybe he is a loner because he has AS, without any extra interpretations needed.

Dr. Elliot Reid, as a woman with possible AS, is much less obvious, partly because like many women on the spectrum, she is trying as hard as she can to fit in. Dr. Reid is seen in early episodes to be lonely and unaccepted by her workmates, having alienated many of them in the course of her day with inappropriate comments. She comments that she has never quite fitted in anywhere, like many with AS. She is compared in a fantasy sequence to a “band geek” at high school. The nurse Carla goes out of her way to avoid including Dr. Reid in her social circle. Elliot also struggles in developing rapport and a sympathetic manner with her patients, and is told so by one of her patients, a man with autistic tendencies, who like her is from Connecticut (there is presumably a stereotype of people from this state being more autistic!). She then tries as hard as she can to be more caring and approachable to patients, without success. She is eventually able to gain the acceptance of her colleagues when, led by JD (who is a little nerdy but certainly does not have AS) they make an effort to include her, recognizing that she means well.

Some mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (1973-1978)

UK TV comedy series (BBC)

Frank Spencer (Michael Crawford)

Frank Spencer has recently married Betty, much to the distress of Betty’s mother, who feels that Frank is a liability, and comments that his mother was “just like him”. Frank may initially appear to be intellectually handicapped, so unusual is his behaviour and appearance. He speaks inappropriately, gives replies to questions which do not illuminate the issue at all, and has poor insight into what the normal behaviour would be in most social situations, signs consistent with AS. He is poor at interpreting non-verbal communication, and often misinterprets what people say to him literally. Looking closely there is no evidence of an intellectual disability, as he has a good vocabulary, normal expressive language and sufficient academic skills to be eligible for a wide range of mainstream employment options, although his success in these jobs is limited.

Frank also has a mild speech impediment, as well as severe coordination difficulties, and abnormal movements in his left arm when under stress. He is left-handed: a risk factor for AS and other neurological conditions (although this may just be because the actor is left handed!) To me this combination indicates that Frank may actually have mild cerebral palsy contributing to his complex disability, although the presentation could be explained solely by a PDD.

I find this series quite painful to watch: Frank has little insight into his problems, and no-one is able to give him useful advice on how to survive in society with his disabilities. He instead inadvertently annoys people and destroys things, and acquires labels such as “demented fool”. One episode in Series 1, “The psychiatrist”, is particularly interesting: Frank has become depressed from his social and occupational failings, and consults a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist tries a traditional psychoanalytic approach with no success: and instead of continuing to try to persuade Frank that he is not “a failure”, and that people do like him, he is able to eventually agree with Frank that he is “a failure”: this gives Frank a sense of great relief: at least now he has an appropriate label, even if it is not very helpful! We also see in this episode that Frank’s mother was ashamed of him as a child, keeping him at home until he was ten, and then when he did go to school he could not make friends. We also see in this episode how Betty came to marry Frank: she seemed to take more of a maternal interest in this well-meaning but odd character rather than having a more conventional romance. Betty is somehow able to continue to tolerate Frank, knowing that he has good intentions and that she can at least rely on his loyalty, if not his ability to integrate into society.

Star Trek

Data (Brent Spiner)

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and any Vulcans

Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)

The Doctor in Voyager (Robert Picardo)

Lieutenant Reg Barclay

Crewman Mortimer Harren (Jay Underwood)

Any Klingon

I’ve watched quite a few episodes, but not every one. Consequently I won’t provide extensive details of these above characters, as I feel that with Star Trek it is risky to make specific comments without seeing all of the material, as so many people have! I can thoroughly recommend season 1 of Voyager: this introduces the character of the holographic Doctor, and describes his interpersonal difficulties. We also see the distinguishing characteristics of the Vulcan Tuvok: he prefers to eat alone, reading, does not make friends, likes to always follow the rules and does not appreciate jokes. Season 4 of Voyager is also interesting: Seven of Nine, a Borg, is taken on by the crew, who attempt to train her in interpersonal skills. Interestingly, as many of the senior crew have also had some interpersonal difficulties (Tuvok, B'Ellana, the Doctor) they have some understanding of her difficulties, even if they are not always very helpful in giving her appropriate advice! One highlight is her attempt to fit in at a party, which does not go well.

There are 2 human characters who appears to have AS, that I have seen: there may be more. The first is Lieutenant Reg Barclay, who features in TNG and the "Pathfinder" episode of Voyager. Reg is socially inept, and creates a holographic life to make up for his difficulties in real life. In the Pathfinder episode he develops an obsessive special interest in Voyager (he is on Earth) which helps him to contact the lost ship. The second human is Crewman Mortimer Harren, who fits most closely with the Asperger stereotype, and features in the Voyager episode "Good Sherpherd". This is a fascinating episode: it concerns the captain's mission to include three misfits from the junior crew in an away mission to make them feel more a part of the crew, whether or not they want it. The episode shows that even though the crew deal with hugely different alien species, they still have some way to go in understanding atypical humans! Crewman Harren is quite happy being a total loner: he has no interests outside of some very high-level theoretical research he is doing in the spare time in his low level job (a bit like Einstein in his clerk job). He has no need for social contact or friends, and no desire to make na connections with anyone. He is extremely inappropriate to anyone who tries to connect with him, including the captain. The neurotypical crew members insist that he must be lonely, and that he needs to make friends and to fit in more: of note, the more atypical crew members such as Seven of Nine, the Doctor and Tuvok keep out if this particular debate: perhaps they feel you have to be alien, hologram or Borg to be allowed to reject normal social contact.

I feel that Star Trek is especially important when considering fictional characters with AS traits, as it is probably the ultimate TV show for aspies: if there was an aspie religion, this would perhaps be it. There is even evidence that Star Trek is turning into something like a religion in the documentary movies Trekkies₁ and Trekkies 2₂. There are religious icons, religious-style gatherings, and a style of dress which indicates you are a member (a Star Trek or alien costume). There is even “religious persecution”: like the early Christians, Star Trek fans are often persecuted, especially when they wear a uniform or Klingon costume in public!

There are a number of reasons that Star Trek embodies the thoughts and desire of many aspies. These are some of them:

It shows a workplace which embraces diversity: anyone enthusiastic and qualified is accepted, regardless of their looks or social skills, including androids, Klingons and Vulcans. The captain, however, is always a neurotypical human: perhaps no AS-like characters want to take on this role!
People are free to act according to their true personality, not try to be someone else, providing they try not to offend their workmates. Hence the neurotypical humans can enjoy laughing about the Vulcans, but the Vulcans are allowed not to laugh back.
Everyone is working towards the same goal, which is an honourable one, rather than working to produce something trivial or for their own advancement.
The whole crew is focused on the task at hand.
The task is often highly technical.
The crew members are all in the profession to which they are best suited, not struggling against their natural abilities.
The work environment is quiet and neat.
Everyone has their own private space.
People don’t great each other in the passageways.
Every member of the team has a clearly defined role.
Noone in the crew is maliciously nasty to anyone unless influenced by an evil force.
The focus of the team is on the work rather than social interactions, and everyone is committed to achieving the highest possible standard in their work.
People work not for money, but for interest and love of the task.
Noone needs to care about fashion: (almost) everyone wears the same comfortable uniform every day.
Despite most wearing the same outfit, people are easier to tell apart than many workplaces, due to the many different races, different alien features, different hairstyles and different coloured uniforms.
Many people with AS actually identify strongly with the concept of being an alien: some even appear to believe that their minds are from another planet. The alien concept has been used extensively in the AS literature, by people with AS and professionals. It seems, therefore, that there is something very attractive to people with AS about the concept of aliens, who work successfully with neurotypical humans.

References

1. Trekkies (1997). Documentary movie: director Roger Nygard.

2. Trekkies 2 (2004). Documentary movie: director Roger Nygard.

Superstar (1999)

US comedy movie

Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon)

Mary Katherine Gallagher is a catholic schoolgirl with dreams of acceptance by her peers. However her odd behaviour: her lack of social skills, her tendency to express herself with inappropriate repetitions of scenes from movies and outbursts of temper when provoked by others has resulted in her becoming an outcast. She is transferred to the special education class with some equally socially impaired students. Her life improves as she meets a friend, Helen, and is accepted by her odd peers. She still, however, aims to be kissed by Sky (Will Ferrell), the most popular boy in school. She feels the only way to do this is to get his attention by entering the talent contest. Her priorities change during the time she does enter the competition, however, and she begins to learn to accept herself, and her life and talents, rather than trying to be someone else.

This movie is both an entertaining comedy and a surprisingly true depiction of a girl with AS. The leads are well portrayed, but it is a little distracting that the lead actors are in their 30s! It did not do well at the box office, apparently, perhaps partly because of the “teenagers” in their 30s and the minority theme.

The Bellboy (1960)

US movie

Stanley (Jerry Lewis)

Jerry Lewis made a career of portraying socially impaired characters, with many features of AS, like Stanley the bellboy. His comedy did not entirely centre on the social impairment, however, and there is also a large component of highly skilled physical comedy.

The Bellboy is a movie, as stated in the introduction, with no plot. The bellboy, Stanley, tries his hardest to do his job as a bellboy in an exclusive hotel. He is hampered, however, by his poor planning, rigidity, and a tendency to take instructions literally, resulting in comedic situations. He has limited ability to express himself socially, and his perception is also impaired. He actually says no words until the very end of the movie, relying entirely on non-verbal communication. His workmates unfairly take advantage of him at times, making him the butt of their jokes.

The Family Stone (2005)

US movie

Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker)

This movie depicts the struggles of a woman, Meredith, in meeting her boyfriend’s family, the Stones. Meredith has a number of features of AS. She is rigid in her manners and dress, having learnt specific styles and sticking to these. She is unable to edit out unnecessary detail when talking, and has difficulty picking up the non-verbal cues of her listeners. She is unable to use, and at times, perceive the use of humour. She uses unusual language, such as “the gays”. She will persist in making a point, despite the obvious offence of those around her.

The movie centres on the family’s lack of acceptance of Meredith and her aspie features. She is so distressed that she calls her sister Julie (Clare Danes) to visit, who is very neurotypical and able to charm the family immediately through her use of humour. Julie is aware of the Meredith’s communication difficulties, and attempts to explain these to the family.

The most embarrassing moment occurs when Meredith persists in finishing her point that “the world is difficult enough without being gay”. This perhaps demonstrates that like many aspies, she sees life as being difficult, not realizing that it is more difficult for her than for most.

Ultimately a surprising change in partners occurs, with Meredith forming a relationship with her boyfriend’s brother, who obviously has a “thing” for women like Meredith. The family eventually sees the good person underneath the social ineptness.

The Brittas Empire (1991-1997)

UK TV series (BBC)

Gordon Brittas (Chris Barrie)

Gordon Brittas is so obviously on the autism spectrum that Tony Attwood used him as an example of someone in the wrong job in his latest book₁. Mr. Brittas runs a sports and leisure centre, and although his intentions are honourable, he does not manage his staff or plan his activities well. Mr. Brittas has an unusual, pedantic way of speaking, dresses unusually formally, and has poor social perception skills. He appears to have no friends. One of his staff members expresses that he frustrates her every time she speaks to him because although he has the “important things” right (his ethics and motivation), he fails on what she sees as the basics: social skills and common sense.

Mr. Brittas has a very anxious wife: perhaps choosing this man hoping for some security, not anticipating the numerous disasters which would result from his peculiar way of doing things. The reaction of other people to this widely known community eccentric is a large part of the comedy in these series. Staff members from another leisure centre take a field trip on a regular basis to see Mr. Brittas and experience his unusual behaviour. A local psychiatrist takes a call from Mr. Brittas about another staff member, and is keen to spent time with Mr. Brittas due to the wealth of material in this man.

Interestingly, the DVD extras in the third series of “The Brittas Empire” (Australian ABC release) include a talk show interview between Chris Barrie, the actor who plays Mr. Brittas, and host Terry Wogan. Mr. Wogan describes the character as being odious and unpleasant, perhaps missing the good intentions behind his behaviour. Chris Barrie then defends his character: in playing this man he has come to understand the reasons behind the behaviour many consider annoying.

Reference

Attwood T. The Compete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006.

The IT Crowd (2006-)

UK TV comedy series

Moss (Richard Ayoade)

Roy (Chris O’Dowd)

This series is about the daily working lives of the IT department of a large business: two classic nerds, who do the IT work, and their initially unwilling supervisor Jen (Katherine Parkinson). While both of the IT guys are certainly nerds, Moss has more definite signs of AS.

Moss has severe difficulty with social communication. He can destroy a conversation with a poorly-timed remark. He has poor dress sense. We see that Moss is unable to lie appropriately: when asked to make up a simple covering lie, he says that his co-worker Jen is dead, resulting in major complications. He has also made the world’s worst video for a dating website.

Roy is less obvious: however, he does have impaired social skills. He tries to meet women with limited success, and is seen at the start of the series to frequently get into arguments with co-workers when he becomes frustrated with their lack of computer knowledge. He seems to have only other computer nerd friends (mainly Moss) and says in the second series that he “doesn’t like people”, although in the first series he is seen wanting to make friends with the staff in other departments. He is interested in technology and geek-friendly movies such as those by Quentin Tarantino. Unlike Moss, he looks more normal: he dresses in casual but more fashionable clothes, although he dresses more inappropriately when he is seen on dates.

The Nutty Professor (1963)

US movie

Professor Julius Kelp (Jerry Lewis)

This movie has the classic aspie fiction theme of a good heart underneath the social ineptness, of accepting yourself, and not trying to pretend you are something you are not.

Professor Kelp is a socially inept, awkward but brilliant chemistry professor who is tired of being bullied by jocks. He determines to bulk up to stand up to the bullies. The gym doesn’t help, so he turns to chemistry. By this stage he is not so concerned with revenge, but with finishing what he started: a stubbornness seen in may aspies. He transforms himself into “Buddy Love”, a suave, good-looking man who is able to charm one of the Professor’s students, Stella (Stella Stevens). However, Stella is ambivalent about Buddy, despite his charms, and actually prefers the kind Professor. The Professor’s scheme is revealed when he runs out of his formula, and gives a touching speech to the students after turning back from Buddy Love to the Professor. He talks about the need to accept yourself, as you need to spend so much time without yourself that life is very difficult if you don’t. He gets his girl with his nerdy but kind self, and she goes about making more subtle changes, starting with a more modern haircut, clothes and braces to fix his buck teeth. His voice and manner have changed subtly as well: he is no longer an ultra-dork, but a more toned-down version.

This movie demonstrates the acting skills of Jerry Lewis, and why he is one of the greatest comedy actors of all time, in both his range and ability to show empathy and sensitivity to the aspie character, while still using the comedic potential.

Note re. the 1996 Eddie Murphy version:

The 1996 version starring Eddie Murphy changes the “disability” from severe social impairment to severe obesity: while the new version’s Professor Klump is shy, I do not feel he has AS.

The Office

UK TV comedy series 2001-2003 (BBC)

US TV comedy series 2005-

David Brent (Ricky Gervais): US version Michael Scott (Steve Carell)

Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook): US version Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson)

Keith the accountant (Ewen MacIntosh): US version Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgarter)

“The Office” is one of the most popular comedy series in recent years. It is filmed in a convincing mockumentary style, allowing us insight into the thoughts of the characters during their individual interviews. There are several characters with strong features of AS in “The Office”.

David Brent

David, the boss, is the central character in the show. He displays many common AS traits during the series, and demonstrates the problems aspies may develop if they have poor insight into their difficulties, and work in a career for which they are unsuited.

David’s poor social perception is a core AS trait. He is unable to detect even basic facial expressions and non-verbal cues in his colleagues. He also has limited ability in appropriate social expression. A striking example of this is David’s interactions with his friend, Chris “Finchy” Finch (Ralph Ineson), who David feels is his good mate. Finchy is however a mean and narcissistic character. He enjoys ridiculing David, while David is powerless to retaliate due to his limited communication repertoire, and does not perceive that this is not the usual behaviour of a “friend”.

David has an autistic-level obsession with comedy, and is convinced that he is one of the funniest people around. He has allowed this obsession to totally undermine his ability to do his job. Although he is on occasion, actually funny, he has poor judgment about the timing of his humour, using this inappropriately in many situations.

David also drinks alcohol to excess, and proudly boasts inappropriately about his drinking, taking to an extreme the societal norm that excessive drinking is a valued social skill.

When David loses his job, he seems to become excessively nasty about others. However, given his nature, it is likely he has lost some ability to perceive the harmful nature of his comments, given his stress and loss of identity.

In the final episode, David meets a blind date, Carol. Against all odds, she enjoys his company and agrees to see him again. When Chris Finch makes a disparaging comment about her, David finally stands up to this malevolent character. In doing this David has finally gained a degree of insight, and is making a move to choose more appropriate company, rather than those who mock him.

Additional notes for Michael Scott:

Michael begins in the US series as the same character as David Brent. He evolves to a slightly different character, however: he is better-looking than David, and this perhaps results in him being able to attract the attention of two women, one of them his boss, with brief romances, but still very inappropriate behaviour in and around these relationships. Jim (John Krasinski) also momentarily mistakes Michael for someone in whom he can confide without the information being spread to everyone, whereas David never appears “normal” enough in the UK series for this to occur. We also see more background of the development of the character in the US series: Michael appeared as a child on TV, and proudly shows his workmates a clip of his appearance. He is seen in the clip, however, to say that he wants to have a hundred children so he will always have friends, to be dressed oddly, and behaving in the unusual manner of a child with AS. It seems that since his childhood Michael’s primary goal in life has been to make some friends, and his obsessive interest in comedy is part of a (largely unsuccessful) strategy to make this happen.

Gareth Keenan

Gareth is David’s friend, and they have much in common. Gareth has less of a grasp of humour even than David, but also tries his best to be humourous, usually failing. Gareth’s special interest is the army, and he is a territorial soldier. He gains a large part of his identity from this role, and relates many daily activities to his army experiences. Gareth also boasts inappropriately about his drinking to his workmates.

Gareth’s deskmate, Tim (Martin Freeman), spends much of his time amusing himself by taking advantage of Gareth’s literal-mindedness and pedantic nature. Gareth has major social incompetence in his interactions with women. The most striking example of this is when he uses a totally inappropriate manner with his female coworkers, being unable to detect their obvious discomfort.

Gareth is, however, a happy character, and his AS tendencies have not allowed him to reach the same degree of dysfunction as David. He is able to learn from David’s example, and he appears to be a more effective manager when he is promoted. He does not try to gain the respect of others with inappropriate humour, but instead maintains some dignity.

Additional note for Dwight Schrute

Dwight again begins as the same character as Gareth: he evolves, however, with the encouragement of his girlfriend Angela (who has some autistic-like qualities herself) to become more scheming and manipulative.

Keith

Keith, the overweight accountant, is another interesting character. He has many classic characteristics of AS. He speaks in a monotonous voice, and during his performance appraisal with David, he is able to speak in only very concrete terms: his strength is “accounting”, and his weakness is “eczema”. Keith also has severely impaired social communication. Keith’s special interest is in music, and he perhaps unrealistically aims to become a popular musician. He appears to be content, though, in his own world, and fortunately for him has a job suited to his personality.

The Pink Panther Movies

UK movies

Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers)

The Inspector character has strong signs of AS: he is clumsy, socially inept, and unable to pick up some very basic clues about the people around him. He is pedantic and dedicated to his job, and means well, always trying his best, which is not always very good! This character is so obvious that I don't think anything else much needs to be added: watch these movies if you dare, and can take being frustrated!

Towards Another Summer (2007)

Novel by Janet Frame (Random House, New Zealand)

Grace Cleave

This book was written in 1963, but was not published until 2007, three years after the author’s death, as she felt it was too embarrassingly personal to be published in her lifetime. The story concerns New Zealand novelist Grace Cleave, and between descriptions of her thoughts and interactions on a weekend visit with friends includes flashbacks to her childhood.

Grace is a thinly disguised picture of the author: only minor details have been changed from the events described in the author’s life when the novel is compared to her biography ₁.

Grace finds staying with her friends, a family with two young children, distinctly uncomfortable. She has to think so hard about any social interaction that she is quickly tired out, but feels retreating to her room for extended periods will be impolite, so has to keep attempting to interact with her hosts. She struggles to make more than very brief conversation, and finds that she uses the wrong tone of voice at times when she speaks. She describes other features consistent with AS or HFA; difficulty with time (always having to be early to compensate), and difficulty with boundaries: determining where she ends and “the world” begins. She describes an unusual interpretation of words and phrases, at times taking things literally, or out of context. She includes also descriptions of early childhood behaviour consistent with AS/HFA: choosing to leave people for substantial periods to spend time with the animals, then pretending to be the animal (cow), and a strong interest in an unusual object, a kerosene tin, for which she sang “God Save the Tin” instead of “God Save the King”. She also describes an early language delay: the exact extent of this delay is not specified, but this may mean the character qualifies to be considered as having HFA, not AS.

Grace also compares herself to a machine and to a migratory bird to illustrate that she does not feel like other people: she does not feel human. Finally, she makes a statement which I feel perfectly describes the key feature of AS: “I have no social intuition” (p 113).

Given the highly autobiographical nature of this book, and the clear features of AS or HFA in this work, this book provides further evidence of Janet Frame’s key role in literary accounts of the higher end of the autism spectrum.

Reference

1. King, Michael. Wrestling with the Angel: A Life of Janet Frame. Penguin (NZ), 2000.