Clint_L
Legend
My son has autism (he's the baby in my photo. He's graduating high school this week!). Playing someone with autism would have to be done very carefully, to not just become a hurtful stereotype. There's a lot of meanness in depictions of autism, and I've heard students use it as a slur ("Don't be autistic!").
It's a spectrum. It's different for everyone. It does typically create various levels of difficulty reading social situations. Often, but not always, there is increased sensitivity to external stimuli (not so much of this for my boy). Some have unusual academic strengths and weaknesses (ask my kid the birth or death date of almost any historical figure and he can tell you instantly). In general, school is a challenge. About 30% are mostly non-verbal; speech development is generally delayed and often involves significant echolalia. Some motor and fine motor impairment is common, but again not universal. Many struggle with eye contact.
People with autism typically struggle in our culture. Unemployment rates are VERY high, and many need some level of support into adulthood. But there are some who do very well, particularly in information-related jobs. Relationships are often difficult, and many have very small social circles beyond their immediate family. Anxiety disorders are common.
This biggest thing is, again, if you are going down this road, do it in a spirit of kindness and generosity. If you want to play someone on the spectrum out of a genuine interest in exploring what that might look like in the context of D&D, do a little research and make your character their own unique person, not just a collection of quirks. If you are doing it for the laughs, please make a different choice.
Edit: One thing I absolutely don't think you should do is impose mechanical penalties because a character has autism (i.e. the suggestion of giving the character a charisma penalty). Because it's a stereotype, and even if a lot of folks with autism do struggle socially, not everyone does. We are decades past D&D imposing mechanical penalties to attributes in the name of IRL stereotypes.
It's a spectrum. It's different for everyone. It does typically create various levels of difficulty reading social situations. Often, but not always, there is increased sensitivity to external stimuli (not so much of this for my boy). Some have unusual academic strengths and weaknesses (ask my kid the birth or death date of almost any historical figure and he can tell you instantly). In general, school is a challenge. About 30% are mostly non-verbal; speech development is generally delayed and often involves significant echolalia. Some motor and fine motor impairment is common, but again not universal. Many struggle with eye contact.
People with autism typically struggle in our culture. Unemployment rates are VERY high, and many need some level of support into adulthood. But there are some who do very well, particularly in information-related jobs. Relationships are often difficult, and many have very small social circles beyond their immediate family. Anxiety disorders are common.
This biggest thing is, again, if you are going down this road, do it in a spirit of kindness and generosity. If you want to play someone on the spectrum out of a genuine interest in exploring what that might look like in the context of D&D, do a little research and make your character their own unique person, not just a collection of quirks. If you are doing it for the laughs, please make a different choice.
Edit: One thing I absolutely don't think you should do is impose mechanical penalties because a character has autism (i.e. the suggestion of giving the character a charisma penalty). Because it's a stereotype, and even if a lot of folks with autism do struggle socially, not everyone does. We are decades past D&D imposing mechanical penalties to attributes in the name of IRL stereotypes.
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