I've re-written this because the last version was convoluted and rambling. It's not a story, I'm afraid, but I'm leaving it here because I think it's important.
Sherlock is autistic.
I see people online saying he isn't---but he is.
He just is.
It's actually canon. John---a doctor who has lived with him for an extended period of time---says he has Aspergers (an old term for autism that means language and motor skills are not affected). I'll include a link in the comments to the clip.
To anyone who still doesn't believe me...why? I see a few people say 'I don't want to label him' and, to that, I say again: why?
A fish is still a fish whether you say so or not.
A tree does not stop being a tree just because there's no one around to call it so.
Anyway, this is what this whole thing is about.
Autism, Sherlock, and clearing up some nonsense.
An autistic person is someone whose brainâor some parts of the brainâis formed differently because of a genetic mutation. It's a developmental disability that affects how someone communicates, learns, behaves and experiences the world around them.
It is NOT the same as mental disorders like ADHD. ADHD does share a few symptoms---but on a much more mild, low-level scale. It actually annoys me that autism and ADHD are lumped together so often because they're so drastically different---and I should know; I have both.
ADHD: A chemical imbalance. Can be treated with medication. Mild in comparison.
AUTISM: A physical deformity at a genetic level. Untreatable with medication. Affects EVERY second of our lives. The way we hear, smell, taste, see, feel the world around us is drastically different in every way.
Autism is natural, has been around since the dawn of time, and is not caused by vaccinations (the man who made this claim was found to be fraudulent in his data and was stripped of his medical licence).
A lot of crazy people out there want to find a way to 'cure' us of our autism.
Autism is NOT like cancer---you can't chop it off us, or shrink it with drugs. We do not 'have autism'---we do not carry it around with us. We are autistic, the same way someone 'is human' or has XX or XY chromosomes. It is unchangeable and it is inside us---inside every single strand of our DNA.
And I'd like to keep mine there, thank you very much.
The only way to 'cure' us would be to alter our DNA before we develop in the womb---or kill us when we are already born. But then you would be robbing the world of so many unique and beautiful minds. Some autistic people you can thank for making the world a better, more interesting place:
Einstein, Greta Thunberg, Emily Dickinson, Alan Turing, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Nikola Tessla, Elon Musk, Tim Burton, Bill Gates, Michelangelo, the inventor of Pokemon---the list goes on.
One of my favourite quotes is:
"Autistic minds make NASA possible".
Of course, not all autistics change history on such a large scale. I didn't invent the computer, or paint masterpieces, but I still think I'm a pretty decent person and deserve to exist :-)
The world needs autistic people, is what I'm saying, even if we only spice up your lives in small ways. Sure, living with autism can be quite difficult, so I see why a few uneducated people might think we want to be cured---but I like who I am, and we have a lot to offer the world and the people we love.
For example, my autism helps me to write these stories; the part of my brain that houses 'imagination' is deformed; it is physically larger than normal people. My mind's eye is very vivid, and I use that in my job, my free time, and to feel empathy for those around me by putting myself in their shoes.
If you're interested in our brains and how brain structure affects a working mind, I'll leave a link in the comments to the research done on Temple Grandin---she was the first autistic person to have a brain scan. In short, they found that her brain had several unusually weak connections when it came to language, memory, and recognising faces---
But the parts of her brain linked to visual processing (imagination) and emotion were larger than usual, and the links were stronger than those found in the control study.
I imagine that's the sort of autism Sherlock has---he's very emotional, and his imagination is extremely powerful.
Some of us are good at visualising, whereas others can memorise languages, or are incredible at maths. Usually, if you can do one really well, you can't do the others that great ð . The part of the brain that grew larger than normal squashes or shoves aside the less developed parts.
So, Sherlock and I are creative and good at imagining things, but we struggle with maths, or socialising, or learning another language.
As a side note, Mycroft is definitely autistic too (it's genetic, FYI), but he's more of a language person. He can remember facts, and learn languages in days---but his creativity and imagination probably aren't as strong as Sherlock's. He's also much less emotional---if I'm remembering the show correctly.
And now to address this:
"I'M NOT A PSYCHOPATH, I'M A HIGH FUNCTIONING SOCIOPATH"
Or whatever that fucking cringe, inaccurate line was ð
Let me explain ya a thing:
You may have heard of the phrases "high functioning" and "low functioning" when talking about disabled people, but we don't really use them much anymore because they're just inaccurate.
"High functioning" means 'Disabled but able to look after themself'
"Low functioning" means 'disabled and unable to look after themself'.
You can probably already see how that's illogical. What if someone can dress themself but can't cook a meal without burning themself? Would they be high or low-functioning? And what if someone can't speak at all, but can write pi to a thousand places? High or low functioning?
Plus, calling someone 'low functioning' discredits the things they're good at, and calling someone 'high functioning' ignores the things they struggle with.
Rather than a line with 'capable' and 'not capable' on each end, think of the disability spectrum like the colour wheel.
So less like this:
And more like this:
So when Sherlock said 'I'm a high-functioning sociopath' he is actually saying:
'I have a mental disorder, but I can dress myself'.
I think a lot of people seemed to think that 'high functioning' meant 'smarter than other people' or 'my brain is more powerful than yours'Â . Nope. Don't you look silly now? ð
He also isn't a sociopath. A sociopath is someone like Ted Bundy, the guy from Silence Of The Lambs, or a terrorist. Sherlock regularly exhibits care, generosity, and a full range of emotions throughout the show---he is emotionally immature, yes, but he absolutely feels emotion.
So, basically, people have been walking around with offensive, inaccurate shirts that tell the world nothing apart from the fact that they don't understand basic psychology, but they can tie their own shoes.
Ha sorry I'm just mad at the writers for making me see offensive/dumb ass slogans around my home town for years. Now to clear up some other nonsense:
Here are some things that are NOT true:
- Autistic people are asexual and hate to be touched
- they don't feel emotions
- they lack empathy
- they're loners
- they're all introverts and don't like parties
- they don't get sarcasm, jokes and have no sense of humour
Here are some things that are TRUE:
- Autistic people have different sexualities just like everyone else---some of us love sex and have one-night stands all the time, others are asexual for life. Like everything else, it's a spectrum.
- We DO have emotions. Some of us have loads, others not so much---just like everyone else.
- We DO have empathy, compassion all that jazz. Some of us have lots, others not so much---just like everyone else. Recent studies have shown that most autistic people actually experience MORE empathy than non-autistic people.
- Some of us are introverted. Some are extroverted and love parties. Some are in the middle--just like everyone else.
- Don't have a sense of humour? Don't get jokes? Don't get sarcasm? Bitch, I'm doing all three right now.
My point is, autistic people are varied and nuanced and different, just like everyone else.  I mean, look at my stories. It sure seems like we understand love and compassion and humour, doesn't it? I mean---I hope it does ð
So, why do TV shows keep making us out to be emotionless weirdos? That, I couldn't tell you. I have a theory that it's all a male fantasy. They use their characters as a way to live out their dreams of being a dick without consequences. And, not only that, but silly teenage women look up to those characters like "Oooh he's so cool and mysterious!" Even though he's literally just a white guy being an arsehole. Because of the popularity they get, though, the writers keep giving us more of this crap, and the cycle continues.
Here's an important thing:
Being antisocial and rude is not a symptom of autism.
Sherlock walking around being moody all the time, and treating people without respect---those are signs of depression and just generally being an awful person.
To all you non-autistic people: please do not judge us by the uneducated representation the media has given us.
And to all my autistic peeps out there: Your autism is not a free pass to be an arsehole.
You CAN NOT be a dick and then say 'Soz, I'm autistic so I didn't know I was doing it ð¥º.' Work hard to learn social queues. Teach yourself to read emotions. If you make a mistake, learn from it. Treat people kindly, even if life has been cruel to you---even if you have been treated poorly. Do not add to the evil in the world, he part of the cure.
Sherlock is not a role model, he's an off-putting, two-dimensional male fantasy. If I wanted to watch a hormonal white man be moody and depressed for several hours, I'd just talk to my dad ð The writers of Sherlock, House, Big Bang Theory etc really trapped themselves in a box by going down the usual 'emotionless' route. The BBC wrote Sherlock as a cold, heartless, boring man---
They completely forget all the quirky, unique, fascinating, sorta cute things that come with an autistic brain. Like, we are so fuckin' weird. This is why I like Sherlock's character so much---there's also so much material to work with. He's curious and different and strange.
"High functioning sociopath" my arse. Try "unique, childish, creative genius".
I could go on about Sherlock and what parts of his personality and the show are a product of autism, but you don't wanna read that.
And you don't need to---you'll see it scattered in these stories. I hope you enjoy my Sherlock. He's a healthy, realistic autistic, written by a healthy, realistic autistic. He has a sense of humour, emotions, and a soul.
Well, that's all for now. Sorry if I bored you (I did say you didn't have to read this if you didn't want to). You can ask questions about what you've just read, or anything I didn't mention if you want, or tell me your own Sherlock headcanons. I'll leave some interesting books and my source materials at the bottom and in the comments.
Anyway, I hope you learnt something from this lil' rant. With social media as crazy as it is these days, I just wanted you to get some solid facts from a reliable source.
_______
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA.
Autism is SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED than this. I keep getting people comment: 'wow maybe I'm autistic'.
People, this is NOT a list of symptoms, and I am NOT a doctor.
A lot of non-autistic people can relate to autistic experiences on the surface level. Non-autistic people can often relate to paraphrased, simplified experiences of autistic people---especially those with depression, ADHD, and anxiety.
Being a young person also makes people more likely to confuse 'autistic symptoms' because their empathy, socialising skills, etc are not fully developed yet.
If you genuinely think you might be autistic, talk to your healthcare professional.
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SOURCES AND SOME COOL MATIERL TO CHECK OUT IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE:
The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin (an autistic woman)
NeuroTribes: The Legacy Of Autism And How To Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently by Steve Silberman
NHS Autism page
The National Autism Society website (run by autistic people)
US National Library Of Medicine
Inside Our Autistic Minds (a TV show made/hosted by one of my fav autistic men)
(and, of course, my own and other autistic people's experiences)
THINGS TO AVOID:
Anything said by Autism Speaks
Anything that uses a puzzle piece as a logo. We are not puzzles to be solved, we are not missing any pieces---we are complete human beings with our own lives, personalities, and souls.
Thank you for your time.