#autistic jessica drew

[punkeropercyjackson]

Hobie and Jessica core

[ashleywool]

Possible fanfiction prompt:

A reboot of Gilligan's Island, but the seven castaways are the Spectrum Club 7 from How to Dance in Ohio.

Gilligan = Tommy (friendly, means well, tries hard, but kind of chaotic and likely to ruin things, usually seen in red)

Skipper = Drew (charismatic, good leader, but knows how to delegate when necessary, usually seen in blue, also I just like the idea of him clonking Tommy on the head a lot)

Professor = Marideth (more intellectual than emotional, has a vast knowledge of facts about pretty much everything, most likely to figure out how to do anything...except fix the boat)

Thurston Howell III = Remy (highly influential and well-connected, could be morally corrupt but chooses not to be, the most likely to pack an absurd amount of "necessary" possessions to keep with them on a three-hour tour)

Eunice Howell = Mel (stronger than they seem, wiser than you expect, protective maternal energy, also I just like the idea of Mel and Remy being married because probably what happened is Remy got rich and famous from influencer income and married Mel so that they could afford to leave Paws & Claws and have a better life with adequate healthcare and that's the wholesome queer aro/ace love story we deserve)

Ginger Grant = Jessica (is a star, knows she's a star, knows that you know she's a star, acts accordingly)

Mary Ann = Caroline (sweet, wholesome, has a toxic ex, bffs with Jessica, and people totally like her better than Jessica, but don't tell Jessica)

cc: @traderjoesfan2008 @indigogirl420 @wakanda-never

[de-lyc-ful]

And just like that, the Broadway run of How To Dance In Ohio has come to a close.

I don’t particularly know what to say, I’ve never been very good at explaining my emotions. I see parts of myself in parts of almost every show I watch, but Ohio is special in the way that I have seen myself in all of the show. Every character, every beat, every song, felt like looking in a mirror. My Ohio art journey started with a (mostly) full cast drawing, so it’s only fair that I close this chapter with another, better one.

Is it perfect? No. Is it accurate? Also no, I drew the characters as werewolves, in what world is that accurate? (I also didn’t draw the stripes on Caroline’s sweater but you’d have to actually pay me to do that) But this is my send off to a wonderful show.

How To Dance In Ohio has brought me so much, even though I only saw it once. It brought me community, it brought me confidence in my work, and it brought me confidence in myself. Ohio has told me that “yes, I can make it, whatever that means to me.”

As a surprise to absolutely nobody because I’m very open about this, I am autistic. And while I am studying to become a concept artist, acting is a dream of mine as well. I’ve been told by my family that I will never be able to do theatre professionally due to my sensory issues, my stubbornness, everything about myself. The Ohio community welcomed me with open arms, told me to dust myself off, and keep going.

I’d like to specifically thank a few people who I’ve had lovely interactions with.

Ashley Wool- You were the one who encouraged me to keep going, to not doubt myself, and to take pride in my work. You were the first person to actually enjoy my art so much that you wanted a print of it, and I am so incredibly grateful for all you’ve done, intentionally or not, to push me to make more art.

Desmond Luis Edwards- You are incredibly funny and I have so much respect for you. I’ve enjoyed our interactions and watching your livestreams and all the delightful people I’ve gotten to meet through them.

Madison Kopec- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am mildly frightened by you and I will see every show that I possibly can where you’re in it. Like, holy shit, I can’t begin to explain how in awe I am of your performance. Also your tumblr username makes me laugh.

Imani Russell- Pretty much the same as like I’ve said about Madison, I’m amazed by your performance and I will try to see or at least listen to as many shows that you’re in as I can. However you don’t scare me nearly as much because anyone with an orange cat can’t be scary to me. Your username also makes me laugh. (This paragraph has been edited for spell checking)

Nicole D’Angelo- This dude responded to my tiktok comment right after MIDNIGHT to read a random essay I had written THE DAY BEFORE CLOSING and then had a delightful conversation with me about why Marideth is such a good character. Endless respect and love for them.

Thank you, How To Dance In Ohio. Thank you for everything.

[jewish-fanboy]

something i really really love about htdio is how the members of spectrum club 7 cope with thoughts/feelings/situations with their special interests cuz hey i do that too! and i feel like it reflects a part of the autistic experience that is ignored a lot

marideth (my favorite!!) deals with the questions from her dad that she doesn’t want to answer about the dance and the uncomfortable situation in the diner by reciting facts about australia (leading into the song unlikely animals). she also thinks about her feelings for drew through the lens of continents and geography (in the song drift) which makes it easier for her to deal with. AND the way that she ends up talking to drew about her feelings for him is also through facts, when she talks about the history behind formal dances

caroline thinks a lot about her relationship with her boyfriend in terms of her interest in royalty and historical figures (like how all the costumes in the song slow dance are very historical)

jessica plans her conversations with tommy to be about dragons, instead of directly having to talk about her feelings, and she spends a lot of time thinking about dragons and fantasy (“don’t get me started on dragons,” and the way she gets a sword as her prize for being the intergalactic superhero of the formal)

drew talks about his feelings about change and marideth and social situations through the lens of engineering (in the song waves and wires) and especially his thoughts about emotions (“light is made of waves, sound is made of waves, feelings come in waves)”

remy talks a lot about their feelings about identity through his cosplays (especially in the song nothing at all) and how they express all the different facets of their identity and feelings as other people (“when i am sherlock the world makes perfect sense”)

tommy talks about independence and what he wants through his focus on driving (in the song chevy silverado)

mel uses their interest in reptiles to get a promotion in their job and their interest in quotes and literature to make friends (during their conversations with ashley)

i just think it’s really cool to see this kind of thing represented!!

[thesquirrelqueer]

What is HTDIO?

How to Dance in Ohio or HTDIO is a musical about 7 autistic young adults in a counseling group getting ready for a spring formal. All 7 of them are played by autistic actors. It is based off of a documentary of the same name. The show focuses on the relationships between characters as they prepare for the formal as well as face some of their biggest social fears.

The show had a short run at Syracuse Stage back in 2022 and started previews on Broadway on November 15th, 2023. It is set to officially open at the Belasco Theatre on December 10th, 2023.

Who are the characters?

Remy (played by Desmond Edwards) - The youngest of the group, a genderqueer cosplayer with a budding TikTok channel and a love of fashion. 16, any pronouns.

Caroline (played by Amelia Fei) - A bubbly college freshman who is just getting into her first real relationship. Best friend of Jessica. 19, she/her.

Marideth (played by Madison Kopec) - The newest member to the group, very shy but loves geography and Australia. Oh and just like fun facts in general. 18, she/her.

Drew (played by Liam Pearce) - A senior in high school preparing for college. Loves electricity and electrical grids. 18, he/him.

Tommy (played by Conor Tague) - The "class clown" of the group. Uses humor to cope with being self-conscious. Wants to get his drivers license. 22, he/him.

Jessica (played by Ashley Wool) - The confident best friend of Caroline. Loves fantasy stories, especially ones with dragons in them. 20, she/her.

Mel (played by Imani Russell) - The oldest of the group and the one who has been there the longest. Works at a local pet shop and loves reptiles and self-help books. 24, they/them.

Dr. Emilio Amigo (played by Caesar Samayoa) - The therapist in charge of the group, trying his best to get his clients to break out of their shells. he/him

Ashley Amigo (played by Cristina Sastre) - Dr. Amigo's daughter. Used to be a dancer but due to an injury is back in Ohio helping out with the group. she/her

Johanna (played by Darlesia Cearcy) - Caroline's mother. she/her

Terry (played by Haven Burton) - Jessica's mother. she/her

Where can I listen to/watch it?

Currently there are no video recordings of the show available (yet), but they did release an EP with 4 of the songs on it on Spotify which you can check out here

[hoescarer]

dooing a lil get to know me thing for my mutuals and stuff because uh! i dont rlly talk abt myself a lot on here! and i think thats a teeny bit important maybe

☆☆☆

name: Leon!! i also like the names noel, leo, leonii, and link! i obviously go by hoe scarer on here (cuz i scare the hoes) (or hoes carer? i care for the hoes too yk)

pronouns: he/him!!

interests: insects, spiderman: across the spider verse, lomando/fancy island, wendell and wild, pro-wrestling, howls moving castle, toilet bound hanako kun, alien stage, five nights at freddys, adventure time (not fionna and cake!! i havent seen it and kinda dont plan on it), abbott elementary, imaginary (2024)

fav characters: jessica drew (sm:atsv), sister helley (w&w), raul (w&w), chaori (lomando), kuroageha (lomando), leshawna (tdi), calcifer (howls moving castle), till (alien stage), hyuna (alnst), frylock (athf), yuri (ddlc), video girl barbie (barbie 2023), ava coleman (abbott elementary)

kins (characters i heavily relate to): gin ibushi (yttd), miles morales (i/atsv), jessica drew (atsv), harold mcgrady (tdi), howl pendragon (hmc), raul (w&w), hanako (tbhk)

fav ships! (multishipper btw): motorfang/fangbike, spidermoms (jessica drew x rio morales), bookitty/natsuri, raul x kat, ivantill, sister helley x buffalo belzer, mitsukou, hananene, lesharold/leharold, avanine

misc: i draw sometimez. i love music!! (most genres!) i am ava colemans husband and boyfriend and fiancee

additional stuff idk: i have panic disorder and am most likely autistic..? but i dont interact with people a lot on here kinda. at least not enough for that to be relevant?

ok thhats it bai bai leave me alo ne (better edit 3/14/24)

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

I'm so sorry I've been MIA!!! for like what - 4 days ????? (time blindness be hitting)

I hit autistic burnout REALLY REALLY hard earlier this week plus I was taking my ADHD meds wrong PLUS with the strike staying in is driving me up the wall like Jessica Drew

So I spent like four days straight throwing myself into new Spidersonas and making art and daydreaming about them cause it genuinely calms me down and let's my mind idle

So now I have like 3 new full Spidersonas and a bunch of art and also a lil anxiety and also some asks and writing I REALLY Need to finish

But yeah if you're waiting for that I promise I don't hate you or anything lol I just have the processing speed of one of these with a virus called Demand Avoidance

PLUS I'M REALLY HOBIE DEPRIVED like sorry Miguel I'm back to Hobie so until my brain syncs with Hobies frequency again imma be going feral about my punk baby boy

I'm gonna be posting some of my new Sonas soon so uhhhh haha yeah if you don't wanna see that.... That's what I got

One OC which I'm REALLY excited for (and so is Hobie)

So hopefully I'll be back to being a functioning person human thing (or whatever my default state is) by today or tomorrow

BUT I'M SORRY SO SORRY ILL BE BACK

[punkeropercyjackson]

Hobie and Jessica have the same dynamic as me and my abuela who doubles as my mom since she raised me because i said so.They lean on eachother and hold hands with no prompting.He's jumped people for being too rude to her.She tells him 'Baby,please eat more!You've lost your chub!' and then Hobie's had the same exact build since he joined Spider Society.He shows her memes that she's never heard of before yet somehow completely understands.Whenever he gets in trouble for mouthing off to a shitty older person,she's like 'YOU started it,what else was he supposed to do?Learn some fucking self-control you weirdo'.She makes him cultural foods sometimes and he stuffs himself so much she has to hide some of it so he dosen't throw up.She brings up crazy ass shit that happened in her life as a kid and he's like 'WHAT THE FUCK' and she's like 'How's that thing you've working on?I hope it's been going well!' with no elaboration like he didn't even react.Hobie starts dating Gwen/Miles/Margo(or mayhaps a combo)and the only part that surprises Jessica is that she didn't think he knew what romance even is.They share jewelry and clothes despite being widely different sizes and styles.Black Spidermom and Black Spiderson.You agree.Reblog

[watsonparkers]

hi, you can call me maria!

my favorite characters:

mj watson (+ michelle jones)

miles morales

felicia hardy

gwen stacy (earth 616 + 65)

peter parker

cindy moon

kamala khan

harry osborn

ganke lee

jessica drew

hobie brown

the x-men

my favorite ships

petermj

gwenmj (616 + 65)

ghostflower (spiderverse)

peterfel

feliciamj

petergwen (616)

milesganke

samkamiles

tianamiles

spideytorch

punkflower

silkcat

glorymj

parksborn

the mary janes polycule

more: don't follow if you're proship or a reader/character blog please. basic DNI criteria + being abnoxious/mean or not having patience to deal with autistic people who are bad with social clues / rules.

psa: i'm a comics fan first and foremost, but i like everything. i'm critical of the mcu (as i am of everything) but i enjoy it too! i have no problem if we disagree with something, just please be respectful because i will always be too.

that's it 💗

[ashleywool]

For the last few days, I’ve been getting really into How To Dance In Ohio and, my goodness, I adore the cast EP and have watched and re-watched every YouTube video about it I can! But, from what I could find, there isn’t a Wiki page or anything like that with information about the characters! If you can, I would love to know some fun facts (maybe pronouns, likes, dislikes, whatever else!) about the seven lovely autistic people we follow in the show!

I’m hoping to see it sometime next year! 💛

Hey there!

The Wikipedia page does exist, although it's still pretty sparse as the show is still in previews and there are rules about what the updates are allowed to be. Everything has to be substantiated by a published article on an established platform or a first-person interview.

Here's the character breakdown from the Equity Principal Audition, with some of my own notes added for context. I've included some of the nicknames we've come up with for the characters also, some of which are canon.

Johanna: 40s-50s, she/her, powerful mezzo-soprano. Caroline’s mother, perky and positive, keeps a watchful eye over her daughter, artsy mom vibes. (Note: it's pronounced "yo-HAH-na.") Also known as: Jo-Jo (pronounced "yo-yo;" not canon) Currently: played by Darlesia Cearcy, and understudied by Marina Pires. (Note also: Darlesia's name is pronounced Dar-LEE-see-ah.) Fun fact: Darlesia isn't much of a public social media user, but when I looked her up on Twitter, this is the first thing that popped up, from her time in Shuffle Along. If I were her, I wouldn't even bother with a headshot and resume anymore, I'd just hand casting directors a copy of that tweet. It pretty much says it all.

Terry: 40s-50s, she/her, powerful mezzo-soprano. Jessica’s mother, patient, loves leopard print, gives her daughter lots of space, cool mom vibes. Also known as: Ter-Bear. (not canon) Currently: played by Haven Burton, and understudied by Marina Pires. Fun fact: Haven plays my mom but she's only seven years older than me in real life. Marina P is four years younger than me. Best of all: when we were premiering in Syracuse, this role was also covered by an SU junior (Elana Babbit). She didn't get to go on, but if she had, I would've had a mother who was almost half my age!

Michael: 40s-50s, he/him, mid to high tenor. Marideth’s father, blue-collar, doing his best, is anxious in new social settings. Also plays: "Derrick," a pharmacy technician employee at Columbus Community College, who has a brief interaction with Caroline (and may or may not be a murderer). Currently: played by Nick Gaswirth, and understudied by Martín Solá.

Amy: 40s-50s, she/her, soprano. Drew’s mother, cultured, a housewife with a master’s degree, adept at managing her husband and son’s needs. Also plays: Shauna Parks, a super hawtt reporter from the Columbus Gazette. Currently: played by Melina Kalomas and understudied by Marina Pires.

Kurt: 40s-50s, he/him, mid to high baritone. Drew’s father, white-collar, conservative, a bit formal, has high expectations for Drew. Also plays: Hawkins, Mel's manager at Paws and Claws Pet Shop, who's kind of a douchebag, and Rick Jenkins, a blogger (not a reporter) who has no idea how to write about disability with any shred of respect. Currently: played by Carlos L. Encinias--who calls his collection of roles "The Villain Track" though I assure you is an exquisitely kind and funny anti-villain in real life--and understudied by Martín Solá.

Dr. Emilio Amigo: to play 50s, he/him, high baritone, Cuban-American. A clinical psychologist, founder and director of Amigo Family Counseling, great at his job, charismatic, full of empathy, recently divorced, at a crossroads. Currently: played by Caesar Samayoa, and understudied by Martín Solá and Carlos L. Encinias.

Ashley Amigo: to play 22, she/her, mezzo-soprano with a strong mix, of Cuban-American. Amigo’s daughter, a dancer recovering from an injury, is at a crossroads. Currently: played by Cristina Sastre, and understudied by Marina Pires and Marina Jansen.

Drew: 18, he/him, mid to high tenor, autistic. He needs structure, a bit formal, knows a lot about electricity and electrical grids, is looking for deeper connections in life, possibly romantic, on track to go to his dream college. Also known as: Drewby (by his mom; canon) Currently: played by Liam Pearce and understudied by Collin Hancock, Jean Christian Barry, and Hunter Hollingsworth.

Marideth: 18, she/her, alto with a strong mix, autistic. Raised by a single dad, loves to research facts, hates shoelaces, doesn’t like to be touched, is anxious in new social settings. Also known as: Wolf (not canon) Currently: played by Madison Kopec, and understudied by Marina Jansen and Ayanna Nicole Thomas. Fun fact: Marideth isn't the first canonically autistic character originated by Madison Kopec. I first heard of them back in 2019 when they were cast as Emma in a reading of a new musical called Indigo, which eventually had its world premiere last summer in (funnily enough) Ohio.

Caroline: 19, she/her, soprano with a strong mix, autistic. Perky and positive, goes to community college, is best friends with Jessica but is obsessed with her boyfriend. Also known as: Menace (not canon) Currently: played by Amelia Fei, and understudied by Ayanna Nicole Thomas and Marina Jansen.

Jessica: 20, she/her, full-voiced mezzo-soprano, autistic. Wants to live on her own, loves fantasy but is surprisingly practical, has a flair for drama. Also known as: Rachel Berry (obviously not canon as that's copyright infringement) Currently: played by Ashley Wool (yours truly) and understudied by Ayanna Nicole Thomas and Marina Jansen. Fun fact: Lol. 20. That's adorable. I'm absolutely not 20.

Mel: 24, she/he/they, earthy alto, autistic. The oldest member of the group, a seeker into self-help and mindfulness, a natural leader, works at a pet shop. Also known as: Head of Reptiles (technically canon, but we also just like to imagine Mel as a mythical creature with a reptilian head) Currently: played by Imani Russell and understudied by Marina Jansen and Ayanna Nicole Thomas. Fun fact: way back in 2021, when they were casting the first reading of the show, my agent at the time submitted me for Mel--the character was initially conceived as a cis woman on the breakdown--but I had already gotten a callback for Jessica from my self-submission, and I had a gut feeling that there was somebody better out there for Mel. I couldn't have been more right--after Imani was cast, it was largely thanks to their creativity, insight and influence that Mel evolved into the distinctive non-binary icon (non-bicon?) we know and love today.

Remy: 18+ to play 16, he/she/they, mid to high tenor, autistic. Into cosplay, makes a How-To costume and makeup tutorial videos online. Currently: played by Desmond Luis Edwards, and understudied by Jean Christian Barry, Ayanna Nicole Thomas, and Hunter Hollingsworth. Fun fact: Dez's involvement in HTDIO is the ultimate "Cinderella story." In 2021, Jacob Yandura was running a summer camp in Florida, and Dez was a student there; upon finding out Dez was autistic, Jacob said, "hey, I think you'd be a good fit for this musical I'm writing." The first time I heard Dez sing at the rehearsals for the reading, I was like, "you're SEVENTEEN?! I quit." How many actors out there go from their third high school musical DIRECTLY to Broadway? Another fun fact: Dez created all the cosplay designs we used onstage in the Syracuse production. Check out his art account here!

Tommy: 22, he/him, mid to high baritone, autistic. Funny, self-conscious, studying to get his driver’s license. Currently: played by Conor Tague, and understudied by Hunter Hollingsworth, Collin Hancock, and Jean Christian Barry. Fun fact: In real life, Conor does not drive and is staunchly anti-driving.

Ok, I gotta shower and head to the theater for work notes, but I'll happily add more later!

[crayonverse]

megahertz headcanons?

okay dokey uhhh

he/they vibes. everyone else can see it right? obvi. the trans masc nonbinary vibes are off the charts with megahertz . i also think gay ace and autistic. why? because i am and i like megahertz.

sits in the stupidest positions while watching tv. cannot sit still for the life of them. he continuously just shuffles and annoys anyone he may be hanging out with

yells everything. thats just his natural volume. megahertz got some hearing issues with their cyborg bits so he just thinks hes talking normally.

wears "evil bond lady" dresses on nights out because its so much fun. poses like jessica rabbit before decking a man in the face

draws on stickynotes and places them everywhere. hes just looking at his plans and BAM gay ass doodle of tecton he drew months ago is sitting there.

when they were in jail with experion, he started talking about The Transgender Experience and experion went "oh. thats a thing here?" que Laura Drowning

not fully a "good guy" because robbing people is still fun to do, but more of an ... anti hero?? i guess? because he doesnt want to kill people (all the time, anyway) but like. if you asked him, they'd do it. helps kaz and oliver with other villains because "those are MY child superheroes. I'M their arch enemy now" despite megahertz not being evil anymore

throws chairs when they're mad

thats it right now ig

[dead-dog-dont-eat]

What headcanons do you have about Depressed Boyfriend/Drew and his moms? (Sorry, I already forgot their names 😓)

-🔥

Mmmm, I don't have much headcanons about Drew and his moms (their names are Dani and Michelle, btw, don't worry/apologize). And I pretty much kinda gave most info about them all. But I CAN do just his moms if that's mostly okay for you. Anyway...:

-Michelle is a Greed Shark, and her appearance is based off of a shortfin mako shark. Even though she was born in Greed, she was mainly raised in the Sloth ring. Her parents, whom I came up with the names Lotty and Larry for them, both worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Her mom, Lotty, is basically like Gloria from Bob's Burgers but she's twice more worse but her dad, who is like Al but is half of that. Even though Lotty is abrasive, unpleasant and VERY demanding/overly-critical, Michelle isn't (surprising, huh?). Michelle is a pretty sweet person who is very bright, cheery, and very positive; although, she has to put up with her mother's criticisms and constantly overbearing demands. Though, despite this, she's happily married to her wife, Dani, and love her son, Drew, very much. My VA headcanon for her would be Melissa Ivy Rauch, aka Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz from "The Big Bang Theory". Additionally, Michelle is autistic and has a special interest in flowers--which is why she owns her own flower shop.

-Dani is also a Greed Shark whose appearance is based off of a blacktip reef shark. She was also born in Greed but was raised in Envy for the majority of her life. She was a boy--but identified as a nonbinary trans woman later in life and uses they/she pronouns. Grew up in a single-parent household with her dad, Mitchell, since her mom divorced her dad to be with a richer dude and cut off contact with them; Mitchell worked odd jobs (like dishwashing and construction, plus was a cleaner for wealthy people) just to support him and Dani and earned enough money. Dani is half Spanish from her Dad, and speaks multilingual (English, Italian and Spanish). Additionally, she works as a CEO manager, and she's like Dorothy Zbornak--practical, loyal, quick-witted, sarcastic, nurturing and responsible, to which Dani gets from her dad; though, she doesn't like how her mother-in-law treats Michelle and she always points that out but knows better than to create conflict. Dani's VA headcanon is Jessica Walter (who voices Malory Sterling from "Archer")

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

HEY NOW I LOVE THIS

'im a 10/10' hell yeah I'm a 19/12 cause I can't do math!!!!

Also @breeandhermunches NAH I'm sorry I have to agree with the quiz cause tell me why we both were the ones snapping at the anti-blackness guhofovohyfhfo

You look in the notes of that post we both in there clapping back to the highest degree like

Full 'I'm not about to play these mfing games with you!!!' energy

Like preach!!! Huey P Newton did not die for y'all to drive me up the goddamn wall like Jessica Drew!!

Also: I gotta know homies 👀

@autisticarach @spidey-bie @onmyownside1

Also also: I feel like the quiz was really accurate for me but then again I got a positive one but I am choosing to accept the more cheerful option of it being right

But also - MY AUTISTIC ASS WAS CONFUSED I was looking at these questions like what the fuck are you talking about?? A giant bird? Mfer I'm running what the hell do you mean?! 🤨🤨

My best friend sent me this personality quiz. It's really cute.

Tagging: @dabislittlebeaniebaby @the-milk-anon @mossy-opal @awkward-youtube-trash @helloiamadrawer and anyone who wants to join!

[thesquirrelqueer]

one thing I love about the article in htdio is how each character reads the part that specifically hurts them the most

- jessica wants to move out of her parents house and live on her own. she reads “indeed they are unlikely to experience most of life’s many milestones like living independently” throughout the show jessica is shown to be preparing to live alone and the article implies that all her hard work is for nothing because she won’t be able to do it.

- caroline daydreams about getting married some day and having a family. adding on to jessica’s phrase she reads “or getting married and having children” caroline is a romantic, marriage is very much something she looks forward to doing. in saying that autistic people can’t get married or have children, it in a sense views us as kids who are never allowed to grow up, even if we want to.

- tommy is a character who lives in the shadow of his allistic younger brother. even as an older sibling, he still sometimes feels younger due to how autistic people are infantilized. he reads “this generous doctor has given his differently abled patients the next best thing: a spring formal” referring to jessica and caroline’s lines about autistic people not being able to grow up like “normal” people so in lieu of that they get to have a formal instead.

- mel is someone who knows who they are and their non binary identity is very important to them. they read “for one evening they will be transformed into kings and queens. for one evening they will be celebrated” mel has expressed many times in the show their discomfort with cisnormativity and heteronormativity with the formal so the article leaning into these gendered categories hits hard.

- marideth is shown to deal with a lot of sensory issues, especially with sounds. she reads “they will also face their worst fears: a nightclub full of lights and sounds that could trigger tantrums, meltdowns, or worse” it also feeds into the stereotype that all autistic people do are have tantrums and meltdowns. while these things do happen to autistic people, it’s very dehumanizing to imply.

- drew, who doesn’t want to “be the poster child for if he can then you can” reads “so when you’re feeling nervous about that tough conversation at work think of the brave boy with autism asking the girl he likes to the dance” it’s also interesting that drew has been struggling for a lot of the show to ask out marideth, so this line is an even bigger slap in the face to him.

- remy is an interesting case. he reads “these inspiring kids may be terminally human but thanks to dr. amigo they won’t let their special needs stop them. if they can do it, what’s your excuse?” remy actually gets a song in response to the article called “nothing at all” in which they talk about things such as “nothing about us without us” and how he is so much more than his disability. it’s also important to note that remy is the only character under the age of 18, so having them read the section calling the group “kids” is especially poignant.

[cryptcatz]

✨ list of disabled youtubers y’all should watch because i feel like it lmao ✨

physically disabled:

squirmy and grubs - vlogs -: a physically disabled man and his abled wife life document their life together. they are super funny and the man has written multiple books (which i also recommend)

role with cole and charisma - vlogs -: quadriplegic man and his abled wife make vlogs and discuss/answers questions on their relationship, dating in a wheelchair, etc. and they are just so so cute together i🥺🥺

wheels2walking: videos on spreading awareness and often videos with advice geared towards wheelchair users

spencer2thewest: a gay disabled man (he doesn’t have legs) makes videos on his life, he’s super funny 10/10 we stan

chronically jaquie - vlogs -: while the channel runner sadly passed away 2 years ago, she still has a plethora of content up. her channel has a special place in my heart as she introduced me to service dogs, which led me to getting the one i have today!

goodtimeswithscar - gaming -: twitch streamer who primarily plays minecraft

blind:

the tommy edison experience - comedy maybe??-: a blind man who does a variety of things, his channel self-describe itself as “using humor to answer the most popular questions about living without sight and facing challenges which test other senses”

molly burke: blind youtuber who posts a variety of content, often related to her blindness

unsightly opinions: youtuber who is blind and has albinism. does a lot of great content on blindness and disability in general

deaf:

sign duo - vlogs mostly -: a deaf man and his hearing girlfriend make videos on being deaf, sign language, their relationship, etc.

jessica kellgren-fozard: deaf disabled lesbian discussing deaf disabled lesbian things

neurodivergent:

olivia hops: autistic youtuber who discusses things related to autism, especially autism in women specifically

yo samdy sam: another autistic woman who focuses a lot on that topic! but she also discusses lots of other things on autism

misc:

all access life - gaming -: gaming videos and reviews specifically related to accessibility

wesley the service doodle: most often vlog style videos related to service dogs

special books by special kids: so, it is my understanding this could be a controversial inclusion, however as a disabled person i rlly adore this channel so i felt the need to include it. while the channel runner himself isn’t disabled, he interviews ppl with a wide range of disabilities. i find him incredibly respectful and he always gives ppl the space to say whatever they wish. he most often interviews kids but there are ppl of all ages

drew lynch: youtuber with a speech impediment and service dog (he may have other conditions but he hasn’t stated), he’s a comedian so a lot of his channel is comedy-based

more recs are always welcome!! 💖

[autisticyoungadults]

An Adult with an Autism Diagnosis: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed

Aimed at newly diagnosed adults, Drew provides her experience as a late-diagnosed autistic person so compile a handbook for those who are in the same situation. Drew explains the jargon in layman’s terms and keeps this on the absolute beginner level, making it the perfect place to start learning.

Institution: Pioneer Library System (Moore, Newcastle, Norman Central Norman East Purcell, Shawnee)

Call Number: 616.8588 DR

Shelf Location: Adult Nonfiction

Drew, G. (2017). An adult with an autism diagnosis: A guide for the newly diagnosed.  Jessica Kingsley Publishers.