How to Write Autistic Characters: A Guide for Non-Autistic Authors

How do you best represent autistic characters if you are not autistic?

Let’s talk about writing autistic characters. There are many reasons to include autistic characters in your writing. Perhaps you have a family member who is on the spectrum, and you want to include representation in your book. Or maybe you wrote a character that you think is giving off autistic vibes, and you want to make sure that you are writing the character in a way that fits an autistic identity. 

Who am I?

Before we move forward, let’s talk about who I am. I am MJ James, and I write science fiction and fantasy books that feature autistic main characters. I have a unique position of understanding autism from multiple perspectives. I was diagnosed with autism over two decades ago. As well, I raised children who are autistic. Additionally, I went to school to study autism, obtaining my degree in Applied Developmental Psychology, where my focus was on autism spectrum disorders. After graduation, I worked clinically with autistic youth until turning my attention back to fiction. I have over thirteen published books, most centering on main characters who are autistic. 

Know your Why 

Why are you including autistic characters in your fiction? This is something you should ask yourself about every representation that you include. It is especially important to know when you are writing about an experience that is outside of your own. Autism is a marginalized identity. Like every marginalized identity, it is important to understand your motivation as well as how you can best uplift the community you are providing representation for.

If your reason for including autistic representation is that the representation will help with a plot point or provide some sort of comic relief, then please step back and ask yourself if you should write this character at all.  

However, if, perhaps, you have a sibling or child who is autistic and you want to provide more representation in the world, then make sure that you are providing accurate representation. There will be more about that below.

Consider amplifying autistic authors instead

An actually autistic author, or an own-voice author, is an author who is writing autistic representation and is autistic themselves. Some stories are better left to authors who are themselves autistic.

We are here writing in every genre, and often our voices are passed over for neurotypical writers who are writing about our experiences. If your intent is to have autistic representation in fiction, maybe amplify autistic authors instead. 

Knowing someone with autism does not mean you know Autism

I am semi-unique in that I am autistic, am the parent of two autistic children, and have a master’s in dev psychology, where I studied autism and worked clinically with autistic children for a short time. I can honestly tell you that each of these points of view is very different. Even as an autistic adult, I do not speak for my children’s experiences. I will often ask them for their viewpoint on what I write. If I need to be their voice (I have a kid who is not always verbal), I get confirmation that I am speaking for them correctly. It is great that you know someone with autism, but you still have an outside perspective. 

We aren’t all your neighbor’s nephew

Autistic people are diverse. We are found in every demographic. Although the young white male is the more stereotypical viewpoint, that is the model used to represent a vast spectrum of people. Be careful not to pigeonhole autistic people. Every autistic person has plenty of experiences of people comparing them to young white boys whom they may vaguely know. When I was writing In-Between, I featured a female single mother, and I still had comments from editors about how she was behaving differently from the editor’s nephew. Of course, she was. She is a grown woman with a child to take care of. 

Also, autistic children grow up to be autistic adults. We do not grow out of autism, and even if it isn’t apparent, it is because we learn as we get older. We do not become neurotypical, but we do grow up. That will look different for each autistic person.

A horrible example of autistic representation is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The author did zero research and publicly admitted that. The character was very stereotypical and made to feel bad for just being who he is—a very ableist take. You can also find this in Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson, where the autistic character breaks down, lamenting how he wishes he weren’t autistic. Being autistic is not all sunshine and roses, but it is one thing for an autistic author to write about lived experiences and another for a neurotypical writer to expect us to hate who we are.

Autism and Trauma 

How do you write about someone else’s trauma? It is very easy to either dismiss it, put it all on the autistic character to “fix,” or play to autistic stereotypes. But there can be very real trauma for autistic people just having to navigate from a neurotypical worldview. Also, autistic people are more likely to be taken advantage of and suffer from abuse. These are complex topics that should not be minimized, but also should not be exploited. 

Ninety percent of autistic females report being the victim of sexual assault. Also, autistic people are more likely to be bullied and to have childhood trauma. Autistic individuals are more likely to be transgender and queer, meaning many carry multiple identities and must navigate both ableism and queerphobia simultaneously.

Autism is more than autism

Autistic people are more likely to have sensory issues, to be genderqueer, to not blindly follow social norms, to have increased anxiety, to have CPTSD, to have aphasia, to be left-handed, etc. This partly goes back to autism being complex, as well as no two autistic people being the same. Also, being autistic, we do not think the same way as neurotypical people, and this should be reflected in your writing. 

How do You Know?

How do you know if what you have is representative or stereotypical? How do you know if it is offensive or liberating? You must absolutely have autistic sensitivity readers and should probably also seek autistic beta readers. If you only feature an autistic person in part of your book, then give that portion to sensitivity readers. If you have a main character who is autistic, then you will need to read the entire book. Also, I strongly recommend more than one sensitivity reader. We are a diverse group, and getting separate opinions will help you out in the long run. 

I used sensitivity readers in NeurodiVeRse. Yes, I am autistic, but I represented a lot of unique voices in that novel, and I wanted to make sure I was doing so appropriately. Not only did I run it by my autistic kids, but I sought autistic voices. And I paid them. I firmly believe that sensitivity readers should be paid, or they are being exploited for their identity. 

Not Naming Autism 

Just because you don’t say autism doesn’t mean we don’t know you are talking about us. It doesn’t give you a free pass. An example of this is The Maid. The outward appearance of Molly, the main character, presents as very autistic. However, the book is told from Molly’s first-person perspective, and the internal perspective is wrong. Some autistic readers like this book because we have so little representation. But when I point out that this internal voice is just a flat effect is a stereotype of how we represent to neurotypical people and not at all like the internal monologues that we have in our own brain that are often very emotional and hyperempathetic, I haven’t had an autistic reader disagree with me. It could still happen. I don’t speak for all autistic people, but who we are in our heads is not who we appear to be to others, and just ignoring the word autism doesn’t excuse bad rep.

Also, do not use the words “ Asperger’s” or “Aspie”. Some autistic people still use these terms, and if they do, that is their choice. But as a non-autistic writer, these words are not to be used. Hans Asperger was an affiliate of the Nazis in World War II and picked who he sent to be killed. He was not benevolent as history tried to make him out to be. For more information, read Asperger’s Children. A non-autistic author wrote this, and I’m not a fan of the opinions in the last chapter, but the history is well-researched and impassively presented. 

Read books written by autistic authors

This is true of any identity you write that is outside of your own. Reading how autistic authors present autistic characters, how we handle autistic emotions and empathy, and how our characters navigate the world can help you understand how to represent autism within your own book. 

If you are interested in more you can check out some of my own books, including NeurodiVeRse and Inside a Dark Space, which both include autistic main characters. In addition, I am available for sensitivity reading. You can find out more information here.

Before You Write an Autistic Character

Before you write an autistic character, keep these five things in mind.

1. Know your why. Ask yourself why you are including autistic representation and whether you are the right person to tell this story. If the character exists to serve a plot point or provide comic relief, reconsider.
2. Do your research. Read books written by autistic authors. Pay attention to how autistic characters think and feel internally, not just how they present externally to other characters.
3. Remember that autism is diverse. Autistic people exist in every demographic, every gender, every background. Resist the urge to model your character on one autistic person you know.
4. Handle trauma with care. Autistic characters can and should have complex inner lives and real experiences of trauma. Do not minimize it, exploit it, or make it the character's burden to fix.
5. Hire autistic sensitivity readers and pay them. More than one if possible. Sensitivity readers are not a checkbox — they are a necessary part of the process when writing outside your own experience.