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Questions to ask yourself when writing an Autistic character

In media, canonically autistic characters are commonly portrayed as false stereotypes about autism, or they convey false/outdated information.

For anyone writing an autistic character, there should be many questions to ask about that character. As someone who has ASD, I really like to see well written autistic characters. Here I have compiled some questions that I use when starting a new character. I have also included links on terms that may be unfamiliar for those just starting out. This list is just a handful of questions, so make sure to continue researching.

General

1. How and/or when were they diagnosed as Autistic?

2. Do they view their autism as a disability? Why or why not?

3. What are some things they like and/or dislike about being autistic?

Support Needs

4. What are their support needs?

5. Do they struggle with executive dysfunction?

6. What kind of tasks are difficult for them?

7. What kind of tasks are they really good at?

8. What kind of accommodations do they have? (Specifically in a school or work environment)

Communication

9. What are their speech habits? Are they fully-verbal, semi-verbal, non-verbal, or does it vary?

10. Do they use echolalia and/or palilalia to communicate?

11. Do they use echopraxia to communicate?

12. Do they use AAC to communicate? If so, which type(s)?

Associated Conditions

13. Do they have/struggle with any kind of agnosia(s)?

14. Do they have/struggle with Alexithymia?

15. Do they have any other common or associated conditions?

Sensory and Stimming

16. Are they a sensory-seeker or sensory-avoidant?

17. What sensations do they like?

18. What sensations do they hate?

19. Describe a place that would be sensory-heaven for this character

20. Describe a place that would be sensory-hell for this character

21. What do they do to stim? Favorite stims? Least favorite stims?

22. Do they use echolalia, echopraxia, etc. for stimming?

Overload, Meltdown, Shutdown & Burnout

23. What puts this character into sensory overload?

24. What are meltdowns like for them? (What are signs a meltdown is starting? Do they seek or avoid comfort? How do they recover?)

25. What are shutdowns* like for them? (What are signs a shutdown is starting? Do they seek or avoid comfort? How do they recover?)

26. What is autistic burnout like for them? (What are signs burnout is coming? How long does it last? What kinds of support do they need? How do they recover?)

Special Interests

27. What are their special interests?

28. What kinds of topics can they infodump about?

Social

29. Does their family know? Are they supportive?

30. Do their friends know? Are they supportive?

31. What aspects of socializing are hard for them?

32. Are they very aware of their social difficulties (i.e. anxious and shy about socializing in fear of messing up) or are they less sensitive to their difficulties (i.e. unafraid/unaware of social mistakes, feels no anxiety to socialize)

*This link should take you to a playlist of videos that covers a lot of the topics talked about in this list. I highly recommend watching them!

Thank you for sticking it out to the end. I hope this helps!

SOUTH ASIAN RESOURCES

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

South Asia is an Asian region that constitutes the Indian subcontinent and adjacent areas. South Asian cultures have cultural similarities to India.

AYYAVAZHI ─ “Ayyavazhi is an Indian religion. It originates in South India.” ─ Ayyavazhi Information ─ Ayyavazhi Teachings

BUDDHISM ─ “Buddhism, or Dharmavinaya, is a South Asian religion. It originates in India.” ─ Encyclopedia of Buddhism ─ Buddhist Sacred Texts ─ History of Theraveda Buddhism

HINDU ─ “Hinduism is a South Asian religion. It originates in India.” ─ Encyclopedia of Hinduism ─ Hindu Philosophy ─ The Rigveda

INDIA ─ “The Indian people are a South Asian people that share the Indian culture. They are native to India.” ─ Indian Culture & History ─ India in 1901 ─ Hindi Language

JAIN ─ “Jainism, or Jain Dharma, is a South Asian religion. It originates in India.” ─ Jain Sacred Texts ─ Jain Philosophy ─ Jain History

MEITEI ─ “The Meitei, or Manipuri, people are a South Asian people. They are native to the Manipur state of India.” ─ Meitei Religion ─ Meitei Mythology ─ Meetei-Mayek Script

SRI LANKA ─ “The Sri Lankan people are a South Asian people that share the Sri Lankan culture. They are native to Sri Lanka.” ─ Ceylon Information ─ Sri Lankan History ─ Sinhalese Dictionary

TAMIL ─ “The Tamil, or Tamilar, people are a Dravidian people. They are native to Tamil Nadu in India.” ─ Tamil Culture

Art Prints / Stickers

Raylee Art on Etsy

Tips for working with children?

1. Don't lie to them if you can avoid it. Water down truths at your discretion, but if you try to lie outright, a good number of them are probably going to pick up on your weird energy and figure you're hiding something. This will very likely come off as "adult who doesn't think we're real people", which is how you promote rebellion.

2. Listen to the problems they come to you with. Imagine they were your problems. If Brůnden at work stole all your pens and ignored your requests to leave you be, you'd be pretty pissed if your manager told you to "just use your nice words" or "let him get bored". Decide what you would want an adult to do, and form a reasonable response.

3. Let some of your weird (child appropriate) interests show. Odds are, when they see your passion, they'll take interest. I accidentally wound up teaching an intro to animal biology to a group of first graders in my after school program this way, and it became what they knew me for. Great for bonding, teaching, and bartering for completed chores.

4. Learn about things they're interested in, but don't force it into things. It'll help you understand what you overhear, and pitch in at the right moment.

5. Treats and stickers. They work on adults, and they work on kids. Make them take a little bit of effort to earn, but also pick special occasions where everyone gets one free. Once you get a better idea of their personalities, lives, strengths, and weaknesses, you can tailor this for personal growth.

6. Acknowledge their feelings. Verbally affirm that they are upset, they are frustrated, they are angry or sad, and encourage them to explain why, and work to find acceptable solutions. Staying perfectly calm and happy while they're angry might help to a point, but ignoring their obvious feelings will make them feel that you don't care or understand, which will make things worse. A lot of kids have a hard time figuring out how adults feel, and why, so empathy will need to be clearer.

7. Play with them on their own level. When you play a game they started on their own, follow their rules, and if you can't, explain why. Expect a few of them to try and mess with you. You're not as distant or alien if you can fall for the same things they do, or admit when you've been outsmarted or outclassed. Be aware that some rules may change at random, and don't go all out on winning.

8. Be honest in ways other adults won't be. When telling a personal story, mention offhand that you didn't like someone, or someone was mean for no reason, or another adult was rude or broke rules, they'll see that you think and feel in similar ways as them, and it can reinforce that yeah, sometimes life is unfair, no, growing up doesn't numb your personality, and no, you don't have to feel happy and positive and pleasant all the time. Sometimes things just suck, and you need to handle it maturely. It's acting on bad feelings that's bad, not the bad feelings themselves. And hey, sometimes adults ARE mean or rude or wrong! They're not crazy or dumb when they notice!

9. Literally just be yourself. Curb any cursing or inappropriate subject matter, but otherwise, they'll recognize that you're an individual with your own personality, and either they'll like you or they won't. Either way, they'll decide how to act from there. Kids are mostly just distilled adults with social restrictions, they can adapt to a lot.

Botanical Bears // Ash Elizabeth on Etsy

The Author Speaks:  All My Original Writing Content

For your convenience, a masterpost of all (or most) of my original posts so far.  It will obviously be updated as I create and add more!

Enjoy, and thank you for reading!  <3

The Basics:  Plotting, Descriptions, and More

The Dos and Don’ts of Beginning a Novel

How to Write Good Dialogue

Notes on Chapters

My Top Tips for Sticking to That Damn WIP

How to Avoid Purple Prose

The Objective Correlative

Tips for Visual Thinkers

5 Ways to Name Your Novel

Romance

How to Write a Kiss Scene

How to Write a (Healthy) Romance

Mythology 

Angelic Cheat Sheet

Irish Mythology Resources

Academia

Masterpost for Writing Academic Essays

Horror

My #1 Tip For Writing Horror

Monster of the Week

Werewolves

Vampires

Zombies

Characterization

How to Get to Know Your Characters

Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

More Female Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing

The Importance of Antiheroes

How to Write Strong Female Characters 

The Many Faces of the Strong Female Character

The Traits of a Likable Hero

The Secret to a Relatable Villain

Types of Unreliable Narrators

How to Write (or Avoid) Abusive Parents

The Dos and Don’ts of Writing Smart Characters

Reference Masterposts

Depicting Deaf, Blind, or Mute Characters

Depicting Amputees

Depicting Wheelchair Users

Depicting Jewish Characters

Depicting Black Characters

Depicting ADHD

Depicting Autism

Depicting Trans Women

Depicting Trans Men

Depicting Nonbinary and Genderfluid Characters

Depicting Asexual Characters

Depicting Drug Addiction

Depicting Eating Disorders

Depicting Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Depicting Schizophrenia

Worldbuilding Masterpost

Publishing Resources:

Places to Post Original Fiction

Marketing Masterpost

My Published Fiction:

Gentlefolk - A timid woman faces her deepest fears in order to try and reclaim her stolen child from charismatic local Nature Gods. Only to discover that everything she’s been taught about them might be wrong. 

The New Gods - Society is populated by gods, new and old. Some are more frightening than others.

Gunpowder Sigil - In a windblown Western town, a young girl conducts a summoning ritual for a spectral gunslinger. Magical realism meets the Western.

The Undertaker’s Apprentice - A lovesick undertaker in training goes on a disastrous first date, with a corpse as a third wheel. 

The Young Immortal - A relatively youthful member of the immortal community reflects on his first century of life and his relationship with his oft-reincarnated soulmate. 

The Bear - An anxiety-ridden young man with a talent for avoiding his problems decides not to acknowledge the grizzly bear trapped in his bedroom during a busy a day.

Strange New Worlds Anthology - A compilation of my short fiction, including previously published and previously unseen works.  Set to release in 2022.

Happy writing, everybody!

frog machine

Storage Chest and Boxes

Moon Dome on Etsy

“Birds Nest Fungi” Dress // alicenightingale