Dream Discussions

Exploring Neurodiverse Representation in Literature

Welcome back to another month of Bookish Debates! Did you know that April is Autism Acceptance Month? That's why for this month's debate prompts, we've extended the topic to one that encompasses, supports, accepts, and celebrates neurodiversity in all its forms!

We asked our dreamers to share their struggles, experiences and thoughts on neurodiverse representation in literature. Read on to hear that they hand to say! 

Note #1: As always, we welcome everyone to share additional thoughts in the comments! Hearing everyone's perspectives is a wonderful thing! However, we kindly ask that everyone maintain respect and patience as opinions may differ, and not everyone may be fully familiar with this topic. Please also be mindful that some of the responses shared below contain personal experiences.

Note #2: There was so much fantastic conversation for this debate that we felt that it would only be appropriate if people could also vote for a reply to someone else! The only criteria was to vote for a comment that broadened your understanding, resonated with you, or was just a reply from someone who thought contributed great things to the discussion! Some of the reply winner's responses are also posted in this chapter! 

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Questions posted on the 13th April 2024

Question for our writers: How can you make sure that the way you represent neurodiversity in your story is respectful and educated? If you are a neurodiverse writer, do you have any experiences or struggles to share about your writing journey? Do you have any representation in your stories? We'd love to hear about them!

Questions for our readers: What kind of neurodiverse representation do you see in stories? Good or harmful, how does it impact those in the community? Do you wish there was more neurodiverse representation in stories, and what could writers do to better represent it accurately?

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All answers are slightly modified for grammar and structure.

Winning response by Cerowolf

How can you make sure that the way you represent neurodiversity in your story is respectful and educated?

Personally, I look in a mirror and ask myself, "What's it like being autistic?"

But for real, you should really approach it in the same way you would approach any topic you don't know about: research. There's probably some research papers out there about whatever neurodiverse topic your heart desires. This would be good for the cold, hard facts. It provides you with an unbiased, impersonal way of looking at it. For the more human element, talk to people who are neurodiverse. What is it like to actually live with a so-and-so condition? After that, try to mix the two together to create a more complete depiction than each alone could provide.

I think the best thing to do is remember that neurodiverse people are human. This means we have the same capacity for good as anyone else, but that also means we have the same capacity for bad. I'm not infallible for being autistic; I might just make different mistakes. Don't think you have to make a neurodiverse character a perfect person in order to be respectful. If you do that, no one will be able to relate to the character, not even people who are neurodiverse. We, by nature, are imperfect. Don't be afraid to show the messier side of things. Have that character make mistakes and learn from them. Maybe someone will relate to the position that the character is in and be inspired by what that character has learned. That isn't something you can get with a flat character. Make them human.