I was recently approached by a member of the site with an inquiry as to how to properly play a character with Asperger's Syndrome, and after writing my response to that person, decided to reconstruct it as an article for all of y'all to use for reference. I have Asperger's myself, as some of you in the community may be aware, and in addition, I actually spoke at a recent Asperger's conference. One of the things I stressed (as did another speaker at the same conference) as very important in understanding folks on the spectrum is this: "If you've met on person on the spectrum, you've met one person on the spectrum." This is an adage that has been repeated again and again, but it rings true.

No two people with Asperger's will have the same sort of triggers - sensory or otherwise - or react in the exact same way in various situations. Of course, the causes and manifestations of their reactions may be similar, as the nature of Asperger's is the same in everyone. How it chooses to express itself will differ. Thus, any character with Asperger's - or with any other mental disorder, intellectual disability, or disability - will be a unique creation, just as will any character without such a 'disability'. This, of course, only means to include well-developed characters, and not Mary Sues.

No two characters on the spectrum will be alike, and so no two characters will be played in an identical manner. There is no one right way to play a character with Asperger's. That being said, there are a few wrong ways:

1.) Playing exclusively into stereotypes or exaggerating stereotypes, especially negative ones. This is the same when playing characters who are specifically of a certain race or religion (i.e. playing a Black American character in a modern realistic roleplay; or playing a Muslim, Jewish, or Christian character in the same setting; or playing a young wizard or witch character in a fantastical roleplay).

2.) Not doing any research, or playing the character with very little already existing knowledge of the condition. This will result in a very inaccurate portrayal, I guarantee you. You do not need to become an expert on the topic to write well for a character with Asperger's, but you should have at least a basic knowledge to work with.

3.) Doing it to annoy someone, or to purposefully offend someone. This has as much to do with the fact of deciding your character has Asperger's as the manner in which you portray that character.

Returning to the point that each character with Asperger's will be different from one another, I have written for several characters on the spectrum. They are each created with different premises, and they each have a unique behavioral and psychological profile from one another. Here are some brief overviews of some of these characters:

Natalie Schultz, who is a forty year old woman, constantly stims with a pen in her hand, avoids eye contact, speaks very fast, and makes blunt, tactless statements at the worst possible times. She reacts weirdly to certain types of light, and to excessive blasts of noise - such as numerous explosions - as well as to developing anxiety attacks in the face of sudden changes happening all at once. She is an FBI agent in the Counterterrorism Division.

Fatin Farah, a thirty-eight year old woman, stims when anxious or uncertain by flicking her fingers against her leg, tends to avoid eye contact, and stammers or repeats herself several times when in a stressful encounter - such as when being shouted at constantly, dragged into a new and unexpected situation, or in a coercive environment. She reacts strongly to sudden or loud noise, or to things like a pen clicking or a ventilator humming. She cannot stand to be in a crowd of people. She is a computer hacker working with a terrorist organization.

Marwan Zahir, a twenty-four old man, flaps his hands when in a new situation or when he is experiencing anxiety. He has trouble with crowds of people, sudden change and stressful situations, and may lash out. Like the other two, he has trouble with relationships, but has two close friends who are his age. He is a law student in his third year.

Emily Jamison, a nineteen year old woman, has trouble responding appropriately in conversation, making eye contact, and interacting with her peers. She reacts badly to the feeling of being cornered or attacked, and can hyperfocus to the point of excluding anything else that is happening around her. She is a molecular biology student at MIT.

Tobias Halbertsma, a man in his forties or fifties, rocks when alone, and has the opposite problem of the others - he makes too much eye contact, often staring into people's eyes for too long and without blinking. He speaks in a modulated monotone voice, and in an overly pedantic and formal manner. He tends to avoid people, though he he dedicated to his work and does a thorough job. He is he Grand Inquisitor of the Church - medieval setting.

With any luck, those examples will help guide you on your way to developing a believable character with Asperger's. Now, for a more concrete, direct approach, I have included the following questions which may aid you in the process of coming to understand your character. These questions are also applicable for characters with other disorders, and some terms may be substituted for others, where appropriate, or questions revised.

1.) What sensory issues does she have? Tactile (touch), olfactory (smell, taste), auditory (sound), visual? (Examples - the smell of orange peels, air conditioners humming, the feel of velvet, neon colors, etc.) How severe are they? How does she react to them? How does she cope with them?

2.) What stims, if any, does she have? Examples - rocking back and forth or side to side, hand flapping, etc. How often does she stim, and in what kinds of situations? Is she aware of her stimming? Does she let herself stim or does she surpress it?

3.) What are her relationships with others like? Does she make friends? Are they her age, older, or younger? How many does she have? Has she ever had a romantic relationship? Do any of her friends or partners have an Asperger's diagnosis, Aspie-like traits, or a relative on the spectrum?

4.) How open is she about her diagnosis? Who knows about it, when and why did she tell them, and how does she discuss it? When was she diagnosed, and how did it come about?

5.) Conversely, is she in denial or not diagnosed? Why?

6.) Does she have any particular fixations or obsessions, usually known as special interests? Examples - trains, Broadway actors, Sufism, Medieval Europe, Swahili, computers, etc. How does she pursue them?

7.) Does she have any other diagnoses or disorders? Examples - ADD, bipolar, OCD, Tourette's, etc. Are any of these misdiagnoses, and if so, why were they made and when?

8.) When she was in school, did she receive special education services? (In the United States, did she have a 504 or an IEP?) What services did she receive? How did she feel about this?

9.) What sorts of therapy does she receive? Examples - psychologist for counseling or psychotherapy, occupational therapy, social skills therapy, psychiatric medication. How does she feel about receiving these services, if any?

10.) How strictly to routine and expectation does she adhere? Basically, how does she deal with change, and what sorts of change become unbearable - and then, how does she respond?

11.) Is she part of the neurodiversity movement - which embraces autism - or is she a supporter of finding a cure?

If you would like to hear more on a specific aspect of this topic, please share your questions, comments, experiences, and such below. I would be happy to address other concerns.

Exactly, Sato. The most important aspect of any character is to remember that art imitates life. So must all characters be fully 'human' in that respect (I don't mean human literally, for characters of other species or races), with a profile of fears, hopes, dreams, strengths, talents, weaknesses, and such unique to him or herself. And the reasons for one's fears and hopes provide great insight into who that character is.

The same is true of characters with a disorder or disability. Yes, that will be a defining part of their character, and likely, their identity as well. But how precisely does this fit in? As another aspect of their development. It should neither be mentioned in an offhand way as an extra detail, nor should it - generally - dominate the entire character development process, or all of the posts related to that character in the roleplay.

Thank you Sato, both for your compliment and your feedback. I would share links to posts with these characters, but lacking the mental faculties, the will, and the time, will have to defer sharing those til a later date.

Village Alchemist wrote:Other than y'all's insistance on refering to Asperger's Syndrom as a disorder/disability, this was a very informative guide, thanks.

I don't believe Asperger's is a disability, but I usually use the word 'disorder' because it is the most commonly accepted word. I am a part of the neurodiversity movement which believes that autism spectrum disorders are not diseases or something that needs to be fixed, and we vehemently oppose curing autistic people - instead, we encourage therapies and strategies intended to help autistic people cope with a neurotypical world, while remaining who they are. We believe autism is part of our identity.

But as regards this article, and Draconic's conclusion in his (her?! I need to learn the gender of folks on the site, especially other staff!) post, not every person on the autism spectrum is a proponent of neurodiversity - I've met a number of autistic folk who want to be cured (like Winter Tail, who posted earlier in this thread), as well as some autistic people who are completely in denial of being on the spectrum. Those are three fair extremes, but a character on the autism spectrum can be played in many different ways, just as a detective character, a terrorist character, a sorceress character, an orc character, an android character, or a high school student character can all be portrayed in thousands of varying ways.

The personality and history of the character remain of penultimate importance in the development of the character, and will be unique to that character. Your personality was developed in part by your history, which shaped your cognitive bias, worldview, and personal psychology. This is true for any well-developed character as well.

As for my own experiences? My mental processes are pretty much entirely visual, as Temple Grandin explains in Thinking in Pictures. I sometimes have delayed responses in conversation, especially over the phone or when in an otherwise stressful situation. I have extremely auditory, visual, tactitle, and olfactory sensory issues - light touch is experienced as physical pain; I cannot be too close to other people physically speaking; the most quiet or innocuous of noise are impossible to drown out - and sudden or loud noises are physically painful; I cannot look at neon or fluorescent colors or certain color combinations (as some folks from the Chat know); being in a supermarket with too many items for dozens and dozens of rows is visually overstimulating; oranges, coffee, and most cleaning chemicals, air fresheners, and cosmetic products give me a migraine within twenty feet.

I was never in a special education classroom, and only received services briefly. I'm what is often called a twice exceptional - someone who is considered gifted while also having something usually considered a disability or a disorder (you can't completely escape terminology, Village Alchemist), which means that my learning profile is different not only from neurotypicals, but also from typical gifted students and students with Asperger's Syndrome alone.

And Winter Tail - I completely agree with your other point. Being schizophrenic doesn't mean you are a serial killer waiting to happen. I know a few schizophrenic folks, and they're great people to be around. Similarly, folks with Asperger's Syndrome aren't psychopathic murderers either - John Odgren is the exception, not the rule. Aspies are far more likely to be victimized by crime than to perpetrate it, but negative stereotypes and some completely false ones abound as well.