Autistic Traits are Human Traits

Autistic people and characters are interesting. We love a character who hyper-fixates and is ambitious like Emily Wilde in Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. A character who struggles with socializing is not only relatable but easy to root for like the main character of the Spell shop by Sarah Beth Durst. In the book, Hollowthorn by Kalyn Josephson, the main character Anna is blunt and very honest. When you first meet her, she can be startling but the people around her adapt and find her lovable for it.

The truth is in books and TV shows we like people who are different, who are sometimes seen as outcasts. Maybe this is why autistic traits are so often key components of stories. It's important to know that these traits alone don't make the autistic but they make them relatable and dear to me.

I read books, watch movies and talk to new people often. Sometimes I notice an autistic trait or two. Some people think I am trying to tell you that everyone is autistic, but I am not on a mission to diagnose everyone(especially not real people). I love autism and that's why I always think about it but I am hyper aware of the ways I am different and this is probably why I am constantly looking for ways we are similar.

Even without the label autism, autistic people exist and authors write about them without even knowing it. You probably know autistic people and might not know it. Often the autism in books, TV or even real life may appear subtle but in real life autism is not usually subtle to the autistic person. At least not for those with medium and high support needs who deserve representation as well.

Anyway that's it from me. What other characters remind you of autism?

Amaara Samji, May 17, 2025