For people with little exposure to neurodivergence in their day-to-day lives, the media plays an important role in filling in gaps of knowledge of what exactly it ‘means’ to experience it.
You ask someone what ‘autism’ looks like, for example, and for those without autistic people around them, characters like ‘Raymond’ from Rain Man (1988), ‘Sheldon’ from The Big Bang Theory (2008-2021), and ‘Dr Shaun’ from The Good Doctor (2017-) provide frames of reference for what autism means, and may affect how someone interacts with an autistic individual.
But do, for example, these depictions of extraordinary autists lead audiences to expect these savant abilities from all autistic individuals they meet in the real world? Multiple studies seem to think so.
Media is a powerful tool in this sense: it can, and does, perpetuate harmful misconceptions about what it means to be neurodivergent, but it also gives us the opportunity to dispel stereotypes and humanise neurodivergence in compelling ways. All of this is dependent on how it is represented on screen.
Too often, one-dimensional storytelling misrepresents the real experience of neurodivergent people - either infantilising us as a group that should be pitied or, worse, feared - or as ‘superheroes’, inspirations, triumphs, that should be revered.
Disability doesn't look like one thing. Not the superhero or tragedy narrative. Nothing sensational. Just me as I live my life.
- Tiffany Yu, Valuable 500 focus group participant (2023)
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Neither sufficiently takes into account who we are - individuals, with unique strengths and challenges, navigating a world not built for us in the best way we can. Reducing us to stereotypes shapes how we are perceived by others, and by ourselves - leading to feelings of isolation, and experiences of discrimination, in social and working worlds.
How can I ensure authenticity in my representation of neurodivergence?
Consult with lived-experience experts and communities. You’re not getting to be able to communicate everyone’s experience, but rooting your characters and dialogue in realism is only achieved by working with people who have lived it.
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Think about the significance of being overt in your portrayals. If a character has ADHD - is there a place in the story for them to actually reveal their diagnosis, and what it means to and for them? More subtle and indirect portrayals of neurodivergence can be successful, too, particularly around normalising differences in behaviour or communication on screen.
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Depict the good, the bad and the ugly: capture the reality of neurodivergence as it exists on a day-to-day basis, not the watered-down or exaggerated version you think audiences want. It’s important that people see themselves represented.
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Consider intersectionality, always. Someone’s experience of neurodivergence is also dependent on their gender, physical health, ethnicity, socio-economic background, age, and any other characteristic.
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Avoid stereotypes. Many unrealistic depictions of neurodivergent people in media stem from the writer’s reliance on their own assumptions.
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Round your neurodivergent characters - give them passions and fears, hobbies and relationships, established back stories - don’t define them by their diagnosis alone.
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Show neurodivergence, even (and preferably) subtly: consider earplugs or headphones worn by a character to help with auditory processing, or a character stemming (repetitive behaviours that reduce anxiety, relieve discomfort, and avoid sensory overload)
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Consider ‘special interests’ for your characters outside of stereotypes: some of us like trains. We don’t all like trains.
We are going to be your audience. Our families are going to be coming to watch your movies. There is money there, but it’s bigger than that. You’re creating awareness and making new role models.
- Emma McKinney, Valuable 500 focus group participant (2023)