#adhd dirk gently headcanon

[summery-captain]

AuDHD traits Dirk Gently Displays - S1E5: Very Erectus

- You may follow the google docs file I'm writing everything down in, also! If you haven't read them yet, links to the first four episodes:

S1E1 - Horizons / S1E2 - Lost and Found / S1E3 - Rogue Wall Enthusiasts / S1E4 - Watkin

Click read more to read the analysis of the fifth episode! Tagging: @clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @generalized-incompetence @amber-angel @goatygoat @frenchfriedgiraffe

> In the scene in the dinner, after they start driving to go look for the 'treasure' based on the map, Todd starts insisting that Dirk has a power and he immediately deflects and shuts down, avoiding eye contact completely, looking around. > The second Todd says "It's you. It's something about you", he goes "I'm not psychic, drop it." - of course this enters the parallel of the whole show being about the holistics having their ties to the universe in different ways, but I've had moments where people know I'm autistic and they start insisting on either me being actually "normal" and it being a superpower, trying to single me or sus me out, and I react similarly to Dirk in this scene > "No!! We are having this conversation", discomfort, "Here, let's do an experiment" EXTREME discomfort - sometimes you're just existing and people want a) an explanation of your whole life and b) for you to prove to be what you say you are > "Look, I can't explain it, ok? I learned a long time ago things don't always make sense the way people want them to" - AuDhd to its barest components– > "You're going to have to accept that too. To. Too. To. Too? Two?" - very common to lose a bit of sense of words both in autism (overwhelmed) and plus ADHD having the common comorbidity of dyslexia 

> Trading the Corvette for the beat down jeep, and when Todd goes "???" he says "It's just a rental!" - he makes decisions and when people express concern assumes it's based on something else, even if it doesn't make sense. So he just says it. I usually know for a fact I won't figure out what they're ACTUALLY judging me for - general inaptitude to read between the lines or figure out social situations 

> Martin tells Amanda, about Dirk, "He's got gourmet panic!" - he just like us, he just like us fr 

> "Don't start with the zen master thing, ok? It worked out a lot better before I figured out you were a mess, too" - people tend to assume we're more put together than they are because we showcase emotions differently 

> When Todd says he's gonna give up on digging, he just goes "Wouldn't this be just one more thing you walked away from, though" - not the sincerautistic murder-- Sometimes I also blurt out things and accidentally read people to filth without fully realizing. 

> He puts clues together and recognizes patterns then blurts it out, classic AuDHD style

 > "(...) I think life is like that too, just an endless series of room with puzzles and eventually one of them kills you" / "That's dark and depressing" - my fellow AuDHD ambassador just drops bombs and doesn't even realize 

> "What is it?" / "A thing" - stating the obvious shouldn't be as funny as it is but it never gets old 

> "You brought the cat?" / "Of course I did" - just. Very cute honestly but also, I too make decisions without fully realizing what it would entail, like bringing a kitten around with you while digging shit up 

> Todd starts venting to him and he's like. Confused - but yet again he tries his very best to support him, saying "When I look behind me, I can't see ahead of me" / "Are you saying dwelling on my past is holding me back?" / "No. I mean I literally can't see what's back there when I'm looking forward" - general literal thinking

> "You know what I was thinking about? When I was staring down at the barrel of that gun?" "...bullets?" - literal thinking part 321 electric boogaloo

> “Everything is connected. But only I can see it… I’m not.. Psychic. But I am something” yeah. Autistic-

> “The hunches don’t help me, ever” - we tend to figure stuff out based on our general understanding of them, trying to consciously clock things others don’t have to think twice about, but the same is true in reverse, where things that may seem impossible for neurotypicals to figure out, we see immediately. Although we may know these things, we’re usually not taken seriously enough or don’t have the bandwidth to actually prevent some things from happening to us or around us.

> “I don’t have any friends, I am always surrounded by bizarre and frightening states of disaster, and I am always alone” - sad part hours, but it’s unfortunately true: we’re always overwhelmed, surrounded by input we can’t filter out, and it is extremely hard to make and maintain friends. But Dirk has found his people and so will all of us, eventually!!

> When Todd says “And Dirk? I am your friend.” - immediate hope, bright red eyes, furrowed eyebrows, then IMMEDIATELY he schools his expression out to nonchalant, so yet again his big reactions don’t push people around him away (both true for Dirk and in our general experience, having had to tone yourself down your whole life does NUMBERS on you)

[urlocallesbiab]

tags via @rouge-wall-enthusiast:

#noooooo too cute

#whenever Dirk and Todd are next to each other #and Tina's in the room she goes up to them and picks up the pendants and starts clicking them together

#the conversation is still happening

#at this point Todd just rolls his eyes and Dirk has never minded

canon: dirk buys him and todd one of those magnetic best friend necklaces that join together and every so often he’ll walk up to him and just, click

[coreofgold]

Was that [OSRIC CHAU]? Oh no no, that was just [JACOB VOGEL], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY]. They are [TWENTY-NINE] years old, use [HE/THEY], and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

How long has your character been here Vogel has been here for a few days, close to a week

What is your character’s job They are a delinquent right now; Maybe a guitarist or rock singer.

Where has your character been pulled from in their fandom End of season 2

Has any magic affected your character It didn't affect them a lot. Just brought Vogel to D.C and away from his Rowdy family.

And any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know!! Wiki Here Wiki 2 HereBirthday: Unknown Siblings: None Zodiac: Unknown Species: Human (psychic/energy vampire) Eye Color: Dark Brown Hair Color: Dark Brown/Black Scars: various ones Personality: manic, loyal, childish, rowdy, loud, chaotic, destructive Romantic Orientation: unsure Sexual Orientation: asexual

Headcanons ! Vogel is dyslexic; Words and sentences get mixed and matched and messed up in his head even before he was taken by Project Blackwing. Vogel was taken by Project Blackwing at 5 years old so they didn't have a formal education to begin with so he had to learn a lot of things from the others and even then he still doesn't know and is constantly learning. Probably has ADHD but is undiagnosed since the main focus of Project Blackwing was to experiment and test them. He doesn't remember much of his family; To them, the Rowdy 3, all 5 of them, are his family and that's all that matters Suffers nightmares from their time separated from the others and from Mr. Priest but refuses to mention it to others because they aren't their family

I am open to plots so please don’t hesitate to message me for plots and to know about his past!

[autistically-zoinked]

*sees a character I relate to on a personal level* they're autistic now

[casual-eumetazoa]

do you think it’s possible that Dirk is not psychic at all, not even a little bit, but just has a killer combination of autism and ADHD that makes him essentially unstoppable 

[dirkgentle]

seamworn replied to your photo: [ I love every single part of this description....

( this is literally the most apt description of adhd i have ever heard )

[ Oh my GOD. You made it so much better and more accurate. ]

[urfavehasadhd]

Your fave has ADHD: Vogel from Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency!

[transsexualcoriolanus]

yes you are absolutely right none of them are cis or nt

reggie was my first trans hc because i've got a bit of a soft spot for him but also my name is luke?? hmm wonder what that's about

and obviously reggie and luke give off big adhd vibes but also flynn??

"i drank 7 energy drinks in an hour and spent all night making this speech about why you need to stay in the music programme" flynn??

"i thought of a name for your band while i was supposed to be doing french and then immediately registered it on every social media platform known to man" flynn??

flynn has adhd and that is the hill i will die on

what other shows do you watch??

YES also Willie definitely has adhd. Also the entire Molina family. Every time we see Carlos after Bright, he’s trying to find the ghosts, that is a hyperfixation. And Ray is always losing things and near the end of Edge of Great when Julie asks him about the cameras and he starts talking and you can tell from Flynn and Julie’s expressions that he’s going to talk for A While? Yeah. Also I refuse to believe that Julie is neurotypical after I Got The Music and Perfect Harmony. And we barely saw Rose, so while there’s no evidence that she has adhd, there’s also no evidence that she doesn’t.

My first gender headcanons were Luke (he is transmasc non binary) and Reggie (they are agender). At first the non binary Luke headcanon was just because the lighting in one scene made it look like his black, white and yellow bracelet was also purple and therefore the non binary flag, but now I’m super attached to that hc. Also Nick and Julie are trans and Flynn and Willie are non binary

At the moment I’m just watching jatp over and over, but I also really like The Umbrella Academy, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Bbc Merlin, and Bbc Ghosts. What about you?

[dirkgentlyyyy]

headcanon #1

dirk has adhd and anxiety - his hyperactive ramblings are partially a result of both - amanda buys him little fidgety trinkets she finds in random stores and he keeps them in his top drawer - he has a sensory aversion to damp clothes, even if it's just a spot, and todd has to run the dryer twice sometimes to stop him from complaining about it - calming phrases in the mirror ("this is real" "you're a real detective" "you have friends" "i'm not with them anymore") - he's secretly terrified of the dark ever since his blackwing cell and has extreme insomnia without a nightlight - hyperfocusing on a task to the point of exhaustion: AKA Todd Finds Dirk Asleep In The Middle Of 3 Jigsaw Puzzles - he suddenly remembers an important case detail in the middle of eating and wonders why he wakes up starving in the middle of the night

[lokis-knives]

MasterList

*All Y/N is described as Black. As a black woman, I was having trouble finding good fanfics with Black readers. You can change the descriptions to fit your own characteristics.*

Stranger Things:

Series:

Screwed Part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/lokis-knives/698535943321370624/screwed-part-1

Screwed Part 2:

Miscellaneous:

Fluff:

Headcanons:

Requests:

Umbrella Academy:

Series:

Miscellaneous:

Fluff:

Headcanons:

Requests:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency:

Series:

Miscellaneous:

Fluff:

Headcanons:

Requests:

Lost Boys:

Series:

Birds Vampires of a Feather Stay Together part 1: https://at.tumblr.com/lokis-knives/birds-vampires-of-a-feather-stay-together/72s1b5dlrrwu

Birds Vampires of a Feather Stay Together part 2:

Miscellaneous:

Fluff:

Headcanons:

How the Lost Boys Would React to Having a S/O With ADHD:

Requests:

Marko one-shots:

Paul one-shots:

David one-shots:

Dwayne one-shots:

Marvel:

Series:

Miscellaneous:

Fluff:

Headcanons:

Requests:

[summery-captain]

AuADHD Traits in Dirk Gently - S1E3 - Rogue Walls Enthusiasts

Hold on thight, this is a much longer one!

S1E1: Horizons

S1E2: Lost and Found

- Farah looks around the “room” she was stuck in previously and looks around intently, then says: “Take me to the house” in a very serious tone. Dirk then looks at Todd and does a thumbs up very enthusiastically while smiling really widely, meanwhile Todd and Farah look very defeated - he has a hard time “reading the room” and reacting “appropriately” due to the misread of tone/situations

 - “I spoke to the police!” (in a tone indicating enthusiasm and importance), “What did they say?”, “...go away.” - trouble with intonation/expressing himself in a way that implies something else.

- “I gave the bad guys my number” “You gave them your number?” “In self defense!” - same as before, his tone indicates purpose to Farah and Todd, and then he explains what he meant and they’re confused. In the same scene, Rimmer’s number is saved as “bad gun man”, which is both funny but also very relatable, because of the hard time we have remembering things, it’s very common for us to save numbers as name + where we know the person from to facilitate identification

*- Farah says in a very stressed out tone, “Everything I own is there [Spring’s mansion], my clothes, my gun-”, giving examples of why it’s important to her to go back there. Dirk immediately replies: “You look good” smiling and in a reassuring tone, misreading Farah’s concern to be about her appearance (more obvious) VS what she means subtextually (her life is in the mansion)

- When Todd freaks out unexpectedly, Dirk gets very startled and looks from Todd to the way Farah went back and forth about four times very quickly - unexpected changes can be very confusing / hard to process 

*-  Right after that, Dirk and Todd have the following dialogue: “Wait a moment!” / “What?” / “Are you… mad at me?” - it’s incredibly hard to read other’s emotions, especially when in relation to us. Dirk takes a moment to check in to clear things up because he isn’t sure where Todd stands about him.

 Then, when Todd answers “Yes– No– I don’t know. I don’t know what I am at you”, Dirk reacts very positively, saying “Good” and patting Todd’s shoulder, immediately running away to Farah after “resolving” the situation and taking Todd’s confusion to be best than a very certain “I’m mad at you” - It can be reassuring to be told someone isn’t angry at us when reading other’s tone and intentions/reactions is so hard, especially from someone who means a lot to us.

  Not a Dirk scene, but something I find important to mention. In between Dirk scenes, we get to see a conversation between Col. Riggins and Friedkin where Riggins says: “Blackwing had one mission: to seek out, codify and collect individuals with sensory perceptive abilities beyond the normal human range”. Meanwhile, Dirk repeatedly states throughout the show and especially to B.W. agents that “This isn’t how it works, this isn’t how I work!” and they never ever take him seriously, believing themselves to know better than the subjects do about themselves and their abilities.

 With that in mind, I draw an important parallel between how Black Wing works and how the ableist medical community works, specially in the timeframe where Dirk would have been in when he was in being held by them - With blackwing being created in 1988, the general belief that Dirk is in his 30s, and Dirk being one of the original subjects, that places his captivity in the 80s-00s, being there from about age 5 until 12 years old and getting out in 2000, because with the show happening in 2016, and when Riggins confronts him at the Ridgley Dirk says: It’s been 16 years, that’s a general timeline. 

 TRIGGER WARNING FOR FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH: ABLEISM, THERAPY TO “CURE” US

xxxxxx

 All of this to say that the way Black Wing is shown to operate both in S1 and S2, with tests, general subhuman conditions, “exposure” therapy, electric shocks, cruel testing and impossible standards, I see a very big connection with how some facilities and programs conduct behavioral “therapy” towards autistics, now too but even more so in the timeframe Dirk was a subject originally. The similarities, albeit in a very sci-fi esque aesthetic so to speak, are clear between black wing’s “program” and ABA “therapies”/Experiments/”Research”.

xxxxxx

Continuing on, Farah and Dirk going to the Spring mansion:

- Dirk doesn’t swing his arms when he’s walking, very common in autistic people and neurodivergent people in general because of our commonly comorbid lack of motor skills + different center of balance from neurotypicals which means we don’t usually need to move our arms when walking to “balance out” our leg movements because we also tend to walk differently.

*- “You’ve never met him” / “Yes, he seems like someone I’ve never met” - Very funny line but also very relatable when you realize Dirk constantly makes “small talk” by stating the obvious.

- “Isn’t that… Interesting”, Says Spring’s lawyer, to which Dirk promptly replies: “I get that a lot” - I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told the exact same thing or similar stuff, whether neurotypicals consciously realize this or not they seem to pick up very quickly we’re not like them on a very fundamental basis and WILL give backhanded compliments such as saying we’re interesting or quirky or anything like that. It took me a WHILE to realize this is what was happening and that they usually never mean it in a positive way.

*- When Spring’s lawyer gives Farah the letter saying that Spring instructed him to only give it to Farah when in the presence of someone named Dirk Gently, he says “Well it’s lucky I’m here then!” in a very chipper tone.

 Then, when Farah is having a breakdown and tell him she didn’t think he was still in the room, he says “Why would I leave the room? All of the good stuff is happening in here!”, and only THEN does he pay closer attention to how Farah is and asks “Were you and Patrick… close?” - He has a really hard time “reading the room” as I’ve said, and specially in relation to things that he considers more “obvious” like the case he’s working on. 

 AND THEN, when Farah says she is a bunch of negative things, Dirk goes, tentatively, “No, no, listen, you’re only SOME of those things” and she reacts by letting out a scream and sitting down forcefully, and he becomes even more unsure of how to act, starts trembling and pats Farah’s shoulder and then pokes it, gives up and sits down next to her. - It’s very hard to comfort people when you have a hard time reading other’s emotions, and I think that although Dirk didn’t do a very good job on comforting Farah he did try his best in a confusing situation to him, and ended up helping her nonetheless, taking us to:

*- “I don’t know anything, ever. It’s really quite relaxing. It’s how I work, I..follow fate around. It’s how I found you.” - there is a LOT of freedom in accepting you’ll most likely never have the in’s and out’s of reading others and that you can really only try your best in navigating life without having all the pieces other’s seem to have access to.

- When Farah opens the envelope Spring left her Dirk YOINKS it from her, then when he reads the “You” says “This doesn’t look like you, he’s got the hair all wrong!” - very funny moment and also shows two traits: impulsivity and literal thinking.

*- When they’re trying to follow the map, he nervously follows Farah around in the most autistic way of walking ever, it’s so relatable it’s comical honestly, the slight tip toeing, swinging side to side, just !!! he’s just like us fr

*- Farah starts analyzing the wall and he goes on a rant trying to figure out what she’s doing, interpreting the way she’s acting very literally, “It’s a wall.. Did he enjoy walls? Did ever mention a LOVE for walls-” and immediately SCREAMS and jumps backwards when Farah makes a loud noise by breaking the fake wall down with the iron, trembling the whole time - sound seems to be one of his most intense sensory triggers.

*- “How… did you do that?” / “With my hand!” - He’s SO literal I love him

*- “Dirk? I’m starting to think you’re actually a pretty good detective” - his face goes, rapidly: happy, proud, he shakes his head, aloof, uncaring.   Dirk frequently schools his expressions out, trying to make the “correct” face in regards to the situation at hand, which shows two different things: he has a hard time figuring out right away which one is the “correct” expression AND he has been conditioned to think his initial reactions are always wrong/unnaceptable.

*- When Todd reaches Amanda after running to her house, he says “Dirk doesn’t know anything. In fact, the amount of things he doesn’t know are stupefying” - slightly ableist although it makes sense within context where Dirk knows a lot of things about “random” or seemingly (to others) unimportant stuff but has a hard time with “simple” (to others) concepts/things

- Autistic funny AND sarcastisc moment when Dirk goes “Oh.. is that why you’re here?” when Todd states that this is MY apartment.

- Amanda says, “I don’t go out much”, and Dirk says: “Me neither!” - it’s common for us to not really go out that much because going out can be very overwhelming in many many ways

- When he and Todd have the discussion on the hallway, he’s very direct and vulnerable with Todd, even if he doesn’t know him THAT well, saying “I want your help”, for example, instead of just hinting at it or dancing around the subject just because it’s a hard one - we’re often direct with our intentions/feelings

- As he goes downstairs after convincing Todd to help him and to get the everbulb from his car, he does a little celebration by jumping a bit and pumping his fists, which isn’t NECESSARILY a stim but could be read as one! - stim: from “stimulation”, when we do repetitive things based on the major five senses to express happiness and also regulate our emotions, like jumping or singing for example.

- When confronted by Riggins and Friedkin he has a ‘slight’ meltdown and after getting tackled holds onto the stairwell’s bars, shaking. - I do know it’s a common reaction given the situation but also fits pretty well with mine and other autistic people’s experience in regards to what our specific reactions to overwhelming situations can look like.

As always thank you for reading and let me know if you want to be tagged in future posts/When I make the masterpost after finishing all of the episodes! I took a long time from E2 to this one because I changed jobs and had a really hard time adapting but am now more stable and have a bit more of free time!

 Tagging: @clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @generalized-incompetence @amber-angel @silverhardt @weiwuxiankinnie

[thatfaerieprincess]

Dirk and/or Amanda

Dirk Gently headcanons:Realistic: ADHD express, also a great huggerFunny: is always the one in the conversation to bring up the 100 duck sized horses or 1 horse size duck debate…. also the sandwich alignment chart… (he is about total radical sandwich anarchy and would fight 100 duck sized horses but would try to befriend them first.)Angst: he has PTSD from Blackwing and it takes a while before he can be convinced by Todd and Farrah to see a therapist bc doctors of all forms remind him of BlackwingUnrealistic: Dirk Gently the tall gnome

Amanda Brotzman headcanons:Realistic: favorite fruit is nectarine. No that’s not based on anything, I’ve just been craving nectarines and thought “why not?” Funny: has the best comebacks to everything except when she doesn’tAngst: she was alone for so long and thought she was okay with it, but now that she has the Rowdies and knows what it is to really be cared for and appreciated, she hates being aloneUnrealistic: the only human in a pack of rowdy werewolves.

[charlieism]

dirk gently

is dirk being extremely gay even a headcanon or is it just canon

otHER than that though i hc he has a leather jacket of like,,, literally every colour ever. he has a collection. he could start his own leather jacket line. he loves them all so much (but the yellow one is his fav)

(also i like to imagine he has adhd tbh!) 

[johnemillaisarchive]

Here’s an easy to understand ‘ADHD for dummies’ because I made gifsets about it and people either think 'this must be an autistic thing' or say it’s not true and boy am I bothered.

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. And it’s a bad name. It’s a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism and dyslexia. They share overlapping symptoms and some people even have two or more disorders. But they’re not the same. But they have similar symptoms. But they’re not the same.

There’s three types: 1. Inattentive 2. Hyperactive 3. Combined.

Everyone can relate to some traits and symptoms. Not everyone has it. No, just because you like to run or forget something from time to time or get distracted once doesn’t mean you have it. [Girls are under-diagnosed, it in general is over-diagnosed, especially with boys.]

What ADHD is/affects: - Impaired cognitive control/executive functions. It affects: Attentional control/cognitive inhibition (attention), inhibitory control (impulsivity), working memory (forgetfulness/remembering), cognitive flexibility (thinking). - Dopamine deficit. We don’t have enough receptors (the things that receive the message that you’re having fun) which means we have to do at least twice the fun to get a reward. That’s why we really really like this thing this month (special interests). This is also why we procrastinate a lot. Doing that thing isn’t exciting, so we do another thing instead. - Emotional Regulation/Dysregulation: We don’t know how to process and regulate that feeling we’re having. Calming down is hard when you’re impulsive your attentional control is all over the place. It’s like having the emotions from Inside Out in your brain except they’re always on a lunch break. - Emotional impulsivity: We didn’t mean to get angry or say that thing or do that thing. Our Anterior Cingulate Cortex doesn’t work very well. (That’s what allows you to “think before you act” and is kind of connected to the part in charge of emotions and cognition. You know, the things we have trouble with.) - Social everything!: We have trouble keeping friendships, relationships, we develop social anxiety, don’t know when the right time is which can ruin everything. And sometimes difficulty reading social cues. All of this can lead to Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria which is the perspective (not always reality, not always imaginative) of rejection and sometimes failure. RSD can lead to depression. - Circadian rhythm: That’s the internal clock that tells you when it’s time to go to sleep with the help of melatonin (what makes you sleepy). Our clocks have a different rhythm than others which is why we tend to be more awake and active at night.  - Time Perception (blindness): Because of low dopamine levels and the internal clock being off, we have trouble perceiving time passing. Time is either very slow (when we’re bored) or very quick (during hyperfocus). 

Fidget Spinners: They’re important for some of us. It’s not a toy, it helps. The class bans on fidget spinners made me so upset for kids who actually need them to get through a class. It’s not a trend. Stop it.

Representation: In the media: I hate Dr Phil and Dr. Oz. I hate it when most talk shows talk about it. 99% of the time they’re wrong and reduce us to stereotypes and/or violent and mean creatures. Don’t trust them. On screen and literature: A lot of people on this website relate to characters from YA books I haven’t read so I can’t speak for them. I haven’t read Percy Jackson & Co and it doesn’t interest me but a lot of people seem to think it’s good rep. You do you. The TV shows/Films that I know have some characters (the ones in this list) are, in my opinion, badly written. It’s lazy to say your character has ADHD then only give them stereotypical symptoms to then forget about the illness. It’s bad to not give us proper representation of what we actually go through because sure, we get distracted, we need to move, we fidget, but it’s so much more than that. Those things don’t even cover a fraction of it.  - Here’s a list of my personal favourite characters I think are good representation of the daily struggle and don’t canonly have ADHD: Dirk Gently (BBCA’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency), Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern [the two combined] (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Hamlet), Spongebob (Spongebob Squarepants), Rudge (The History Boys), Nikolai Rostov (War & Peace), Henry (The Book of Henry), Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), Charlie Dalton (Dead Poets Society) - Here’s a list of characters I’ve heard people headcanon as ADHD because I know my faves won’t do for everyone: Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Belle (Beauty & the Beast), Tony Stark & Pietro Maximoff (Marvel), Richie Tozier (It 2017), Harry Potter, all or most of the Marauders (Harry Potter), Fox Mulder (The X Files), Grantaire (Les Miserables)

What this all means: It’s not because of bad parenting, it’s not because we’re lazy or mean, it’s not because we want to procrastinate it’s just that we don’t find the task interesting enough to pay attention to it. We either think about too many things at once or only focus on one thing (hyperfocus). Having ADHD feels like your brain never stops running and there’s no off button. We’re simultaneously fast and poor thinkers; we can connect things easily, sometimes we can’t see any connection at all. I’ve probably forgotten so many things in this post but you can ask me questions or tell me if I’ve forgotten anything.

[summery-captain]

AuDHD traits Dirk Gently Displays - S1E4: Watkin

Hello friends!! It's been a WHILE but I'm back with this series - You may follow the google docs file I'm writing everything down in, also! If you haven't yet, links to the first three episodes:

S1E1 - Horizons / S1E2 - Lost and Found / S1E3 - Rogue Wall Enthusiasts

Click read more to read the analysis of the fourth episode! Tagging: @clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @generalized-incompetence @amber-angel @goatygoat @frenchfriedgiraffe

 > When Todd catches up with him and Farah, he schools his expressions from excited to have seen him to bored/uninterested, both to show that he isn’t THAT excited he’s there - he seems to think having a bigger reaction to things he likes may cause unwanted reactions from those around him, so he constantly tones himself down

> When they get to the powerhouse, he’s SOOO excited about climbing the fence - I headcanon Dirk as a mix of sensory avoidant and sensory seeking, and his impulsivity is also very relatable

> “Push my bum!! Make me go up!!!” - I might die of second hand embarrassment everytime I watch this scene, but it’s so relatable! I, too, say things without noticing it might have double meaning and it doesn’t dawn on me until hours or years later

> When he isn’t able to climb up and then sees Farah just. Break the locks. It’s SO funny how he hadn’t even considered trying the more obvious steps first before just throwing himself onto the chain link fence, I love him!! Yes impulsive with no common sense king!!!

> As soon as they’re in he just grabs the map from Todd’s hand without even glancing at him - impulsivity but also hyperfocus on the task overriding the conscious effort to show courtesy by asking for things before taking them

> After he falls inside the maze, he tells Todd “Which was unsafe to do unsupervised, now that I think about it” - hard time thinking things through before doing it because, again, the hyperfocus ends up overriding common sense

> “Where are we?” / “Underground!” - WELL YES. Literal thinking icon

> Todd calls out to him, “Hey! Don’t wander off!” - elopping, we tend to wander off without noticing or letting others know, or stay behind because we stopped to look at something, often also involves not noticing danger

> “I think the message is… you’re going to die” - no filter, absolutely first thing that comes to mind is already halfway out his mouth, ADHD ambassador

> “You can’t just walk in blindly? You’re saying that to ME?” - Same trait as before, elopping all the way

> Todd goes, “When shit hits the fan, you fall apart!” - EXTREMELY common for us to not see the consequences or effects coming up until we have to deal with it, especially in situations we’ve never been through before, which is a constant

> *smiling * “...I hope you’re not smiling” DEEP frown - my beautiful son who has cartoonish expressions and can’t hide his emotions very well, we are one and the same

> In the strip down scene we see he wears a white undershirt, which could be providing deep pressure which is great for sensory seeking autistic people!! Also goes in hand with me headcanoning him as trans, double up tight shirt as a binder AND sensory stim

>  “Hope you’re not claustrophobic” / “No, I don’t even like coffee” - two things: he has audio processing issues and misunderstood what was said, AND he responded based on what he understood even if it didn’t make sense for the context of the situation at hand

[summery-captain]

This is gonna be a long one: a total of 18 posts following Dirk's actions, behaviours and phrases that are indicative of him being autistic and also kinetic (having ADHD). Disclaimer that I'm AuADHD and that's how/why I've come to analyse him like this, the devil works hard but my special interest in him and the show works harder

I'll divide it up by episode so it's a bit easier! I'll link the next ones here as I make them, let me know if you want me to tag you in the next ones. There won't be images, just descriptions of the general scenes. I'll make a post later on of the main scenes/moments that make me see him as AuADHD, if you see a "*" next to any of these it means it's going in the TL:DR post later.

S1E1 - "Horizons"

> The episode opens with Dirk being extremely off put by the phone ringing and he repeats himself when answering ("Awake, yes I'm awake, I've been awake"). He then realizes he's late and that sends him into panic. - Has trouble organizing and keeping track of time/significant dates and tasks

> In the murder scene at the hotel, right before he picks up the shark kitten his hands tremble slightly and he seems hesitant for a second to take it. - has to mentally prepare when touching a new/different texture, in this case the kitten's fur

> When Zimmerfield and Estevez are analysing the footage of the day the murder happened, Dirk is seen (in the gorilla mask) looking around as if lost/confused of his whereabouts, even if he's been told (by himself) where he needs to go/be. - Has trouble with directions and verbal instructions, gets lost easily

> *"Pfft, time! I laugh at the concept, I can spend a whole day without even trying" - time blindness/hyperfixation/"daydreaming"

> "How did you get in here?!" Todd says. "Through the window, obviously", he answers. Then, later in the same scene, Todd says "You can't just break into my apartment!", "Clearly I can, I just did" - takes questions/statements literally, answering exactly what is being asked/said

> When he gives his speech of interconnectedness Todd looks more confused and annoyed by the second, he doesn't want to hear any of it. Dirk doesn't seem to realize this and just goes on and on, taking Todd's initial silence as confirmation that he can keep talking, interrupts Todd every time he tries to answer/say anything - has trouble with social cues and with when/how to stop talking

> "No one watches the news, except for old people. And me- occasionally" - is immediatelly defensive of interests/habits that may seem odd to others

> "None of your business" Todd says when he tries to offer him a ride "You don't even know my business!!" - again, takes things literally. I also think he is fully aware that Todd doesn't mean that literally but feels compelled to answer nonetheless

> In these next scenes they're already at Amanda's. "You said you were gonna stay in the car." "I lied though." - is blunt/direct - "Did you see how I snuck up on you? I was trained as a ninja by the CIA- Sorry, that's a lie too", he looks pained and his eyes focus on a random point, he's clearly mentally scolding himself, he finds it hard to filter out thoughts before saying them out loud

> "What's wrong with you exactly?" - is blunt/direct and without much tact when talking to Amanda about pararibulitis

> "Is it THAT important that you're not to be identified as my friend that you felt the need to argue about it?" - he's hurt and needs specific clarifications for previous social interactions and demonstrates rejection sensitive dysphoria (panic/meltdown/overload due to perceived social rejection) when Todd keeps rejecting him every time he tries to connect with him. It's hard not to spiral, especially because he's been told by himself that Todd is his best friend. He knows it didn't happen overnight but he was so excited about the prospect that being met with a very different reality is really staggering for him)

> When watching Todd and Amanda jam, he daydreams, imagining himself jamming with them, interacting and belonging - it's hard for us to feel like we're part of a group/that we belong, so it's common for neurodivergent people to imagine ourselves in different scenarios being able to fully interact and integrate with our peers

> Later in the same scene when Amanda gets an attack, he immediately rushes over and is only stopped by Todd pushing him off from him and Amanda. His eyes go unfocused and they get red. - rejection sensitive dysphoria (although it's understandable why he was pushed off.

> Later, back at Todd's apartment, he goes on and on about past cases until Todd snaps, he has a hard time recognizing the social cues Todd is giving him. "A thing with Thor- he's not nearly as good looking as people say. Actually, it's kind of a funny story-", looks extremely pained when cut off too, it's hard to stop in our tracks when we start something.

> When the Rowdy 3 get into the apartment building he immediately tries to hide under a bed that is clearly far too small for him - lacks spatial awareness, having trouble with knowing wheter or not he fits somewhere before trying to do so

> "I'm a person or varied intuitions, I have a lot of feelings about a lot of things. They're rarely ever wrong, but rarely completely right" - he's highly sensitive. Of course this plays into the whole show's themes, this part specifically for him being holistic. In my view though, whether the writers and actor meant to or not, holisticness greatly mirrors/parallels neurodivergency, even Blackwing is shown to use similar "tactics" as ABA.

> Moving along, when the Rowdy 3 enter Todd's apartment, before they even actually use their powers on Dirk, the camera/sounds focuses greatly on how loud and chaotic everything is. Dirk immediately drops to the ground in a fetal position, trying to cover his eyes and ears, and shuts down due to the sensory overload.

> Later, Dorian enters the house pointing his gun at Dirk and and Todd, who questions him as to how they're gonna get out of this. "I'm very good at getting into situations, I have more trouble getting out of them" - I can't count how many times I got myself into a dangerous situation because I didn't notice the clues/atmosphere, or in relationships/social gatherings in general. It's hard parsing out what is and isn't safe, and even harder to get out of it when it finally clicks you're not safe.

> Later Todd and Dirk are having a discussion/fight after the police let's them go, and Todd questions him as to why he isn't more distraught due to what just happened. "I think it might bother me more later, when I'm less... Something" - everything is overwhelming, so it's common for autistic people to take much longer to fully process how we feel/how to react than neurotypicals. We mostly can only fully face/process stressfull situations when we're somewhere safe and quiet.

> Todd starts screaming about everything that is happening, and Dirk gets more overwhelmed by the second. He enters a brief ecolalia loop, going STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP!!

Second episode analysis

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