#neurodivergence representation

[tallysgreatestfan-art]

Disabled4Disabled ships spotlight for Disability Pride Month: Tally Youngblood and Shay from Scott Westerfelds Uglies Series.

As much as I love them and as much as their stories helped me accept my own neurodivergence, I was hesitant to include them here and can only recommend Uglies with a huge caveat.

First reason: Unlike the other ships I include in this, Tally/Shay is not canon, it is just the relationship the series focuses on the most and has a fairly strong subtext.

Second reason: While the way the series portrays both Tally and Shays increasingly intense, for the lack of better words, general neurodiversity, and especially Tallys choice at the end, was groundbreaking for this time period and is even now much braver than what most novels would do – the way the series portrays their self-harming and Tallys and her boyfriend Zanes eating disorders is not good to say it friendly.

I don’t think the whole series is irredeemable, because everything else about it is just so good, but it is something you have to be aware of going in.

The issue lies not so much in the characters glorifying both as ways to escape their dystopian brainwashing, dystopias are famous for unreliable narrators, but that the disconnect between them doing this and the narrative and the author knowing that this is not a healthy way to deal with this is not better established.

It is also described not just fairly explicit, but also in a way that made readers who actually dealt with these issues feel alienated, since the self-harm is first described in a fairly antagonistic cult-like clique, and Tally and Zanes clique amicably mock them for loosing weight and becoming bony and haggard.

Why was this still so healing for me as a queer autistic woman with bipolar disorder?

Close to every book says that being different is okay and you should not conform to societal ideals. Uglies actually shows how insidious societal expectations are, how you still believe them even when they harm you, and how much it hurts to be lonely and different. With Uglies, you can believe it when it says being different (neurodivergent, queer) is okay, because it feels like it understands how hard it is.

In the first book, their neurodivergence is only hinted at, if anything. Tally doesn’t has many friends and all of them already were made into the older societal caste aka Pretties. She is lonely, and she desperately wants to be like them too, normal, how she should be. She meets Shay, who doesn’t fit in either, but takes the opposite route, rebelling against the system and being just so angry. It feels like the two extremes neurodivergent people can deal with their differences.

Their friendship made me feel so seen. It was deep and close, but also so jealous and it becomes increasingly more toxic and complex, as their dystopian system pushes them against each other again and again. It felt like all these messed up, failed female friendships I had. Even with how homoerotic it is, but both of them are too trapped in their other relationships and their past to ever act on it.

In the second book, without spoilering too much, their neurodivergent behaviors become so much more clear and also self-destructive due to the golden-cage like environment they find themselves in.

And in the third book, it is explicitly mentioned that the way their brains work is very different from the norm in a mental illness way. Even if, spoilers for the rest of this paragraph, their neurodivergence is artificially altered to make them more effective (read: self-destructive) super soldiers. As their allies come up with a way to undo this, Shay choses to do it. But Tally refuses. This blew my mind as a teen. That you could actually see your neurodivergence as a part of yourself. Even if it’s seen as bad, or destructive, or inconvenient for yourself and others.

There also is a third disabled character, Tallys boyfriend Zane, who already from the first time we meet him has an eating disorder, and also later acquires brain damage that causes him problems with motor skills. Tally at this point is horrible ableist to him about the physical disability, being programmed to by her dystopian society, but both her and the narrative also very firmly know that this is bigoted and something she needs to overcome. It is uncomfortable and harrowing and tragic to watch, but IMO it is respectful even if the characters are not.

Ultimately, it depends on what you search for if this would be a good read for you. Are you searching for accurate, healing self-harm and eating disorder representation? Then this is absolutely the wrong book. Are you searching for a touching, thought-provoking story about beauty culture, societal pressure and human nature, told through the toxic friendship between two teenage girls in a dystopian society? Then I can only recommend it.

A movie of the first book will come out 13.September this year on Netflix, hope it’s as good as the book. Sadly, in the book racially ambiguous Tally is white in it though, but Shay stays a WOC.

[tallysgreatestfan]

Because the movie will come out at 13th September this year, I wanted to talk about an underrated detail of Scott Westerfelds Uglies series.

Just for clarification: I am delighted about Tally in the end choosing to stay neurodivergent. She and Shay absolutely understand by this time just harmful for them their self harm (and in Tallys case eating disorder) were and unlearn these, even if its very unrealistic how easily and fast they do that.

If this series feels healing for you or harmful will ultimately depend on what you're searching for. If you're searching for good self harm and/or eating disorder rep, it will not be good, but if you're searching for a complex female friendship with queer subtext, amazing futuristic worldbuilding, critique of beauty culture and increasingly more neurodivergence themes, you could like it.

Drawing is how I imagine them looking as Specials, a few years after the series. They are sadly not a canonical couple, but oh boy is there subtext.

And yeah, while this idea is even right now very rare and radical, and was even more so back then, it is not the only book to show it - "The Speed of Dark" by Elizabeth Moon even focused its whole dystopia on it. But Uglies just touched me more.

[moonlit-typewriter]

Percy’s face when Sally mentioned Grover playing a role in getting him kicked out of school…

The way his face scrunches up really tight before relaxing? That’s anger.

But not the kind of anger we see in him in the last episode.

This is the kind of anger that makes you cry. The kind that’s underpinned by embarrassment and hurt and feeling like you’ve been treated unfairly.

Percy knows he didn’t push Nancy into the fountain and he thought that, if anyone would have his back, it was going to be Grover. And then he didn’t. And it’s unfair to Percy. It’s Wrong. Because no one believes him, apparently not even his best friend.

And the way he closes his eyes and takes a really deep breath? That’s a tactic that’s literally recommended to stop yourself from crying when you’re angry. It allows your body to “catch up” with your mind.

What do you wanna bet that Percy learned that from a school counselor?

[macdenlover]

i really can not stand the “fandom is so fun we’re all just projecting and making shit up” thing. because no i actually deeply admire the canon of my favorite media and all the intention and care and craft put into it. we are not the same.

[dissonantpapersouls]

@disabled.daisy

I've noticed that abled people (NT's included) call "innovative" and "efficient" things lazy. If I can do things an easier way in a shorter amount of time while expending less energy, it's working smarter, not harder. Are they insecure because of their antiquated attitudes and lack of ingenuity? Why waste time, money and energy? They love menial unnecessary tasks that don't matter and when there's a faster/better way they think they're better than us for unnecessarily taking longer. Do they just want to feel better about their inadequacies by degrading and belittling others?

[brandyschillace]

Hey everyone! I’m featured in this @washingtonpost.com story!! For FRAMED WOMEN and #autism #disabilityrepresentation

Quoting me in the article;

“Women, even at a very early age, are taught to subjugate their needs in favor of others. They are taught to ‘behave’ and to take up less space, to not be a burden but to help support others — the men and boys or other children in their lives,” Schillace said in an interview. “What this means for autistic girls is that they learn to mask early, to hide their true natures and to ‘not be a problem.’”

In creating Jo, Schillace said she aimed to create a protagonist who “isn’t treated like a savant, and her autism — though present — does not become the most interesting thing about her. … Jo isn’t the mystery; she helps to solve one. Likewise, I (and other autistic women) are not enigmas. We are people, fellow human beings, with intrinsic value.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/04/01/autistic-women-mystery-fiction/

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autism Representation in Films and TV Shows

Neurodivergent_lou

[nostalgiclittlespace]

Age Regression takes many forms.

Extra big shoutout and lots of love to my regressors who don’t have ’typical, active’ pastimes while regressed.

The regressors who don’t crawl on the floor with their toys because they have chronic pain

The trauma regressors who are burnt out by their regression

Littles with sleep disorders, disabilities, or other circumstances that leave them always too tired to play

Littles who live in hostile situations that prevent them from feeling safe enough to enjoy activities

Regressors who have allergies, autoimmune, ED, digestive problems, or other conditions that prevent them from having typical ‘kid snacks’

Littles with depression, primarily impure regression, have tantrums, or other emotional dysregulation that makes them unhappy when regressed

Physically disabled regressors who can’t run around outside and/or don’t have accessible park equipment

Neurodivergent Littles who find certain play and activities uncomfortable for whatever reason

Regressors who struggle with psychosis, delusions, or intrusive thoughts—especially scary ones

Littles who are frequently hospitalized, have to undergo procedures, and/or take medications that make regression difficult

Regressors who can’t afford to buy gear

Littled with disabilities, chronic pain or illness, and autoimmune disorders that leave them constantly feeling sick

Whether it’s due to a disability, chronic pain, depression, living situations, etc, regression is different for everyone, and that should be recognized. Whatever it is, your regression is valid and important. You are welcome here and you are a valued me ever of the community, even if your little space doesn’t look the same as someone else’s. So much of agere is advertised around things like playing with toys, going to the park, having snacks, etc. But that’s not how regression works for everyone, and their experiences shouldn’t be erased because they aren’t a certain ‘aesthetic.’

In fact, you’re really awesome, brave, and strong—and I’m proud of you! Keep on regressing, everyone!

-Marty ❤️

[knuckie-head]

This is them. It’s canon.

[ancient-depressed-druid]

Sometimes a crime fighting duo is an autistic highly intelligent single mom and a grumpy textbook OCD detective.

[wyvrin]

happy birthday to abed nadir! my most favorite guy ever

[moonlit-typewriter]

There’s an underlying bitterness in Percy’s tone in this scene, despite the fact that he’s making a “joke,” that couples with the way he doesn’t look at his mom while he says it but kind of just stares distantly. And also the way his eyebrows go up and down in a quick, wry — and almost judgmental, even — way.

This one singular line hit me so hard as a neurodivergent person because it’s all you need to see the way that Percy feels about his own inability to do “basic” things, like pay attention. He’s making a joke that’s also a dig at himself for “screwing up” in some way and it felt so relatable.

And the fact that it’s basically setting up him the next scene when he tells his mom that he thinks there’s something “broken” in his brain?

It hurt in all the best ways that seeing an accurate representation of yourself in a series that’s been your comfort series since the moment you picked it up 🥲

[spherarium]

You can ask for more diverse autistic representation in media and criticize the current without making fun of the "stereotypical" traits autistic characters show because, you know, many of us do have these traits. And we're not faking it, and we are not stereotypes, and our traits and interest are not something to be ashamed of.

[ferryfoam]

Would you guys burn me at the stake if I say that I think Chrysalis is actually a really important insight into Julian's character and his view on his own life and the people around him at the time it takes place. It's an episode that doesn't hold up today cause of the very ableist writing and kind of shitty moral but I think it's necessary that it's there and also occurs at the time it does in the show

I'll have a more insightful analysis on it one day cause I really want to talk about it (I want to make better researched ds9 analyses with actual clips from the show and whatnot instead of just vaguely referencing events from memory that could be completely wrong but unfortunately I do not have the time to be doing all of that. I would really like to in the future though)

[defectivegembrain]

Average show involving a character who is neurodivergent in a highly stigmatised way that people tend to see as "unreachable": This character is not a character they are a mere plot device at best

Crazy Ex Girlfriend 🤝 Certain episodes of Community: You will be literally forced by the show's format to see things from the neurodivergent character's perspective

Some people still somehow: These characters are simply evil and Too Much or perhaps sometimes Not Enough (in Abed's case)

[suzypfonne]

DW representing NDs and queers in the same episode? Hell yeah!