Opinions On Autism Headcanons By Someone With Asperger’s Syndrome

Opinions on Autism Headcanons by someone with Asperger’s Syndrome

I want to preface this by saying two things, first, I am Autistic, I was born with and diagnosed with Aperger’s Syndrome at a very young age; second, my opinions are my own and I do not speak for all Autistic people, this post is simply me expressing my own views on the subject of Autistic headcanons.

Ok, now what do I think of Autistic headcanons? To put it simply, I hate them with a burning passion.

But to put it more complexly, whenever I see people make posts about their Autistic headcanons of their favorite characters from their favorite books, comics, movies, or TV shows I am filled with this indescribable sense of dread and discomfort. These types of posts never fail to make flinch and grimace, and for the longest time I couldn’t understand why. But now I can finally articulate my emotions.

To me, Autistic headcanons are incredibly dehumanizing.

Most of the people who make Autistic headcanons treat it like a fun window dressing to explain why their favorite characters are so ‘wacky and weird’ instead of the disability that I and so many others are forced to live with.

My Asperger’s Syndrome is an intrinsic part of who I am, and while it does not define who I am as a person, my disability has played a critical role in shaping my worldview and many other aspects of my life.

To use an analogy, think of every human being as a cake; we’re all made of with same base ingredients of flour, water, eggs, and sugar, but unique ingredients are added in during the preparation before each person goes into the oven to bake. That’s what Autism is, an ingredient, but the people who make Autistic headcanons don’t treat like an ingredient, they treat like frosting. Autistic headcanons treat this integral part of who I am, something I was born with and will stay me for the rest of my life, as something to be added on after or on top of their favorite characters.

To see my disability and all my struggle and hardships brought on by it reduced to a ‘fun and quirky’ decoration feels incredibly insulting and dehumanizing.

Look, I know that the people making these Autistic headcanons don’t have any malicious intention, they’re just having fun. But I feel like they make these headcanons with only a cursory knowledge of what it is and without any regard for actual people, like myself, who were born with it.

They’re often made based on incredibly stereotypical and surface level elements associated with Autism that often are not actual indications of the disability. I also see them mostly being made about the ‘weird’ characters, the ones that actively act in outrageous ways. Probably the worst part is that feel like these people think we all act in exactly the same and display the same symptoms when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Every person with Autism is different, if you have met one Autistic person you have met one Autistic person, we are not a hive mind.

Again, I am just expressing my personal opinions on Autistic headcanons, I speak only for myself and no one else. I’ve met Autistic people who love them, I’ve met Autistic who feel the same as me, and I’ve met Autistic people who are completely indifferent and apathetic to them; we’re all different.

And to reiterate, I am not saying that the people who make Autistic headcanons are bad people and I’m sure they only have the best of intentions. If you have made Autistic headcanons and they make you happy, more power to you, but I only ask that you re-examine why you make them.

My Autism is a disability and an intrinsic part of who I am, not ‘fun and quirky’ window dressing.

Thank you for reading, please have a wonderful day.