How authentic is neurodivergent media representation?
Neurodivergent representation in media is something that has often been historically misrepresented. There is however, an abundance of characters that can be described as ‘neurodivergent coded’; characters that are given ND (neurodivergent) traits and characteristics but are never confirmed by the writers as being ND, which leads to their characterisation feeling tokenised, or that the traits that we experience are seen as something ‘trendy’.
Many characters within anime, comics and animated media are pretty often coded (i.e. are given traits) as either autistic, an ADHDer, dyslexic etc, but the writers will never explicitly make it canon (i.e. officialising) that said character is autistic, has ADHD, is dyslexic, etc.
I hold many headcanons (i.e. an idea an individual believes to be true) for an array of characters who I believe are neurodivergent. Many online articles written by neurodivergent folk break down and analyse these characters, discussing their neurodivergent identity. It's both insightful and educational. Because writers do not explicitly state ND-coded characters to be neurodivergent, we, the neurodivergent folk, through character analysis and relatable connections made with them, can confidently conclude which characters are ND-coded.
There are two issues present here, however:
Often, media industries, especially the anime industry, will fall into the stereotypical loophole, i.e. they will associate potential neurodivergent characters with stereotypical traits.
The writers never officialise these neurodivergent identities. It feels as if our traits are treated as a "trend" and something that's "quirky", often tokenising our experiences.
As mentioned above, a large issue exists around centring stereotypical traits on neurodivergent identities. It's important to remember that no neurodivergent identity is a monolith.
We are as diverse as our traits. Autistic people, ADHDers, dyslexics, every single neurodivergent identity diversifies within their traits and personality.
It's important to understand that not every single potential neurodivergent character will have the same traits. Not every single "anti-social but highly intelligent" character is autistic, and not every "hyperactive and impulsive" character has ADHD, for example. Headcanons about a character created by people of said community, however, should always be respected. For instance, a person with ADHD discusses why they think a potential character may have ADHD. When the discussion comes from someone in that community, it provides us with a better perspective and understanding of neurodivergence. We want to be seen and represented too.
Writers need to take the initiative to legitimise these claims, especially when a large sum of a community agrees with the same thing. If a writer is going to code a character to be neurodivergent, actually make them neurodivergent. Legitimise the representation you code into characters rather than tokenising it for the sake of "trends". Validate neurodivergent folk in your character creation. Don't water us down to something that's "quirky and trendsetting".
When these writers do decide to write neurodivergent characters, they should also take the initiative to talk to people from the communities they may intend to write about if they are trying to write a canon neurodivergent character.
Much of modern autistic representation for example lacks the correct knowledge on the neurodivergency due to the lack of interaction with people from that community, and I’ve found this is quite the trend. Such can be said for shows such as ‘The Good Doctor’ and ‘Atypical’, where there are little to no autistic writers present on the board, nor did they consolidate autistic people to write their autistic characters.
Neurodivergent creators such as myself thus take it upon ourselves to deliver authentic neurodivergent representation into our stories. They're not just "coded", their neurodivergence is explicitly part of their identity. It's necessary. Character building requires a lot of TLC, and that includes how writers depict their personality, traits and characteristics as.
All of this inevitably boils down to how much representation matters and why. The feeling of being able to resonate with characters on a personal level is what results in communities creating these headcanons; we want to feel seen and heard in the media we consume without the fear of being tokenised and misrepresented.
Representation is so important, and it's pivotal that it's done right, listening to the right voices and amplifying voices of the ND community.
Word Bank
Canon—Refers to what is considered to be official/legitimized/part of the main storyline.
Headcanon—Ideas or theories held by fans interpreted from the canon material (Essentially, a canon that exists to the person creating it).
