Why have I decided to write this?
It came to my attention that there is very little autistic representation in creative media from actual autistic individuals. And the representation that there is in mainstream media tends to be heavily stereotyped. I don't blame people. If you want to make a story many autistic people can relate to, without being autistic yourself, naturally you're going to focus on the main things you've heard about autism- because if you've heard it a lot, more autistic individuals must have those traits and are going to relate more, right?
Well, not quite.
And that's why this story matters to me. As an autistic individual, I aim to portray autism mostly as I've experienced it (as well as some of my friends.) Not because I want other people with autism to feel like the characters are "like them" but because I want to tell something truthful- fictional, yet truthful. And in that, I hope other autistic individuals can relate in a way not like, "wow, that character is so much like me," but in the way of, "Those characters are so different and all have autism." Because we are all individuals.
I want to have a book that does not emphasise on autistic characters stereotyped, "super skills" but instead on one that emphasises characters as who they are. People. Not weirdos. Not genius'. Not freaks. But as people.
YOU ARE READING
Everything Wired
Fiksi UmumA new diagnosis for one girl, and an old one for another. A socially awkward boy. High school is different for each and every one of them, but they're all grouped together in the same lunch club. It's another one of those stories about autism, but...
