I Can't Believe Its Not Autism! - Laios, Sheldon and Brian Lane

 

I Can't Believe Its Not Autism! - Laios (Delicious in Dungeon), Sheldon (Big Bang Theory) and Brian Lane (New Tricks)

Recently the fandom of Delicious in Dungeon, aka Dungeon Meshi, has spontaneously erupted into flames over an interview with the author of the original manga who claims that a specific character - Laois Touden - isn't autistic. I probably fanned the flames myself personally while trying to bring some nuance - but more because I see Laios as indicative of a larger occurrence in media, the I Can't Believe It's Not Autism! character.

Now relax into your psycho-analysis armchair and lets take a trip through my mind.

Do We Have to Talk About Sheldon? 

But first I want to ignore Laios and focus on a much more famous, or infamous, character - Sheldon Cooper. Just in case you have returned to our crumbling society after a blissful few decades of living as a hermit in the wilderness (Go back! There is nothing for you here!); Sheldon Cooper is a character from the show The Big Bang Theory - a comedy show about a bunch of young adults rooming together. Sheldon is described as;

Originally from Galveston, Texas, Sheldon was a child prodigy with an eidetic memory who began college at the age of eleven and earned a Ph.D. at age sixteen. He is a theoretical physicist researching quantum mechanics and string theory, and, despite his IQ of 187, he finds many routine aspects of social situations difficult to grasp. He is determined to have his own way, continually boasts of his intelligence, and has an extremely ritualized way of living. Despite these quirks, he begins a relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler, and they eventually marry.

Wikipedia

Sheldon's behaviour is the butt of many jokes, which is a point I want you to keep in mind for later.

My knowledge of Sheldon is largely through cultural osmosis and clips, but even in said clips he was obviously the autistic one - the one like myself. But people far more dedicated than me have already compiled evidence using clips from the show that demonstrtae that Sheldon is an autistic adult but also clips from Young Sheldon that demonstrate that he was an autistic child also.

 But this is all just fan-theories according to the show's writers and actors who say;

"We write the character as the character. A lot of people see various things in him and make the connections. Our feeling is that Sheldon's mother never got a diagnosis, so we don't have one."

 Bill Prady  [Closest Secondary Source] [Wikipedia] - Writer

"All of our characters are in theory on the neuropsychiatric spectrum, I would say, [...]  I think what's interesting and kind of sweet and what should not be lost on people is we don't pathologise our characters. We don't talk about medicating them or even really changing them."

Mayim Bialik - Actress

In the writers' minds, calling it Asperger's creates too much of a burden to get the details right. [...] In general, it's more responsibility than they feel a relatively light comedy can handle.

Journalist Alan Spinwall who had a conversation with the co-writer.

Mayim Bialik's response is interesting as not wanting to pathologise him seems to imply a diagnosis would be bad. Hold onto that thought.

Many a key has been clattered back and forth on the matter, a statement which again I am adding to - but Spinwall's comments tug at the heart of the matter - the responsibility that representation brings is heavy and if Sheldon Cooper is autistic then is it okay to laugh at him?

But more to the point the show's creators seem very focused on a diagnosis. So... what is autism? And do Sheldon, and the others, technically have it?

ASD, DSM, ICD, FCC and QCS - Acronym Bingo Anyone?

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a global standard for diagnosing and recording a range of illnesses, conditions, diseases, syndromes and disabilities. There is also the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which is used in some parts of the world such as America - but broadly these two books line up.

• ICD-11 Entry on Autism Spectrum Disorder

• DSM-5-TR PDF 

The DSM-5-TR is slightly easier to quote - so here it is in full - with must read sections underlined;

Diagnostic Criteria    -    Autism Spectrum Disorder

A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple
contexts, as manifested by all of the following, currently or by history (examples
are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1.  Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
2.  Deficits in non-verbal communicative behaviours used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and non-verbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and non-verbal communication. 
3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behaviour to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities, as manifested
by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative,
not exhaustive; see text):

1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or non-verbal behaviour (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat same food every day).
2.  Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
3.  Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).

C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not
become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be
masked by learned strategies in later life).

D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of current functioning.

E. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual developmental
disorder (intellectual disability) or global developmental delay. Intellectual
developmental disorder and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur; to
make comorbid diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual
developmental disorder, social communication should be below that expected for
general developmental level. 

 

Not every one of these traits / symptoms is needed - but the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed with them. Specifically it it is diagnosed symptomatically based on the assessment of a professional - rather than by any form of objective screening. 

Furthermore - ASD is split into 3 levels from low support needs (1) to high support needs (3) - with level 1 being roughly equivalent to old diagnoses of Asperger's.

There are criticisms of medical models, with the primary other one being the neurodiversity model - but I don't want to get too bogged down with that discussion. Please note that I do generally agree with the neurodiversity model but am using the medical model because it is clear and useful.

 So does Sheldon, or the other characters, technically have ASD? The videos at the top of the blog seem to identify all of these traits but the show's creators say that he doesn't have a diagnosis in universe so technically not. But more to the point - Sheldon cannot have autism spectrum disorder - because he is a fictional character - he can only have Fictional Character Condition.

What is that? Well here is a handy Diagnostic criteria;

Diagnostic Criteria    -    Fictional Character Condition

A. Persistent or intermittent symptoms of whatever the plot needs the character to have in order to make an interesting plot.

B. Onset occurs at the most interesting time - sometimes during the backstory, and occasionally during the main plot.

C. Is sometimes permanent, but can also be temporary.

D. Treatment includes any medical treatment deemed interesting, a random form of medicine OR character growth.

 

More to the point ANY illness, disorder, disability or condition is a FCC, even if identified by name. Say a character has a "cold". In real life a cold progresses through the life cycle of a virus as your immune system fights it. It has pretty much a random chance of having a range of symptoms normal to a cold. But a fictional cold will only have the symptoms that the author deems relevant to the plot and will only last as long as it remains interesting. It will only spread if that is entertaining for it to do so - but more often the person with the cold will recover and be back to normal just as quickly as they got sick.

But our titular characters don't just have any FCC, they have QCS - Quirky Character Syndrome. You may be getting tired of Diagnostic Criteria but I am enjoying myself so here it is;

 

Diagnostic Criteria    -    Quirky Character Syndrome

A. Persistent behaviours comparatively abnormal to others within the work of fiction.

B. Identification of said character as abnormal by themselves or others in such a way that isolates them from others.

C. Difficulty integrating with others, regardless of attempt to do so.

D. Abnormal social approach - often paired with difficulties adjusting behaviour to suit different or new social context.

E. Abnormalities in body language.

F. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus.

G. Themes of suspiciousness or paranoia - especially with respect to others’ doubts about the individual’s capacities, accomplishments, and so forth OR delusions / very unusual beliefs.

E. Anxiety, worry, that causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

 Not all characters who have QCS have overlap with autism, especially if they only have A, B and C of the criteria - but D, E and F are taken directly from the ASD and G and E are taken from other illnesses altogether such as Bipolar and Anxiety. Not because there is anything special about these - but because it makes an entertaining characters to sprinkle these symptoms in. 

When a character has flaws like these they feel true to life as almost everyone has known someone with at least a mild mood disorder, anxiety or placement on the spectrum.

"Brian Lane - UCOS"

Brian Lane (also here and here) is a character from the British police procedural show New Tricks. The show focuses on a team of ex-retiree detectives solving cold cases in the Unsolved Crimes and Open-case Squad (UCOS). 

 I usually despise all police procedurals as they are either miserable or copaganda... or worse, both - but New Tricks is the exception for me. It is genuinely funny, interesting and at times quite camp.

 Short of watching a full episode - I can recommend this 10 Minute Clip, (or at least the start of it) to get a feel for the character.

Brian is stated to have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) (not to be confused with Obessive Compulsive Disorder - OCD) and his peculiarities are very often very key character points. He often finds breakthroughs using them, puts himself into dangerous / dramatic situations and at the start of many episodes rattles off facts about cases before they delve into it because of his voluminous memory. He was also a former alcoholic - which is partially explained to be a coping mechanism.

But while it makes sense that he has a diagnosis of OCPD, it is clear his symptoms go beyond that.

For one he takes medications, which seem to suppress an extreme paranoia and delusions. This suggests a more complex diagnosis that could dip into schizophrenia (minus hallucinations). But more than that he clearly has abnormal social approach as well as fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (though his fixations do change quite regularly, which is a hallmark of ADHD), adverse response to specific sounds or textures and difficulties adjusting behaviour to suit various social contexts - all of which are hallmarks of autism but absent from OCPD. But co-morbidity of OCPD and autism (as well as ADHD and schizophrenia) are very possible / common - so I'd argue Brian Lane likely has a concoction of them rather than being a simple one.

 Of course this is just because he has QCS, not ASD, OCPD or ADHD - even if one of them is named. He has what traits are relevant to the plot. But as New Tricks is a show that is supposed to be true to life - pointing out what diagnosis he could have in the real world is a part of understanding the media.

But I think Brian Lane's case is interesting because his life and diagnosis (or lack thereof) is indicative of his age and background. Even when the show aired, he was indicated to be an old man - previously a detective / policeman in the 1980s. At that time mental health and neurodiversity were even less well known about than today.

Remember earlier when the actress from Big Bang Theory suggested a diagnosis would be a negative? Well this was the prevailing thought for most of the 20th century also, so a lot of shoving it down and pretending it wasn't there occurred The harm this caused is immeasurable - but in the case of Brian Lane it seems to result in; a wife who understands he is how he is but seems to be very snappy with him all the time, and friends who insult him on a daily basis. He has built a thick skin to it but it still seems mean - though Brian himself is not the nicest person at all times.

 I think a true understanding of autism would help Brian and those around him. Yes his diagnosis of OCPD does that to an extent - but it seems to stop halfway. However - sadly - it is all too realistic for someone of his age to be in his situation. When viewed from this lens it is an amazing character study of an imperfect character in an imperfect situation.

 

Laios - Monster Chef

And finally we pivot  back to Laios from Delicious in Dungeon. D-in-D is, as the name suggests, based on Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) - and Laios is the fighter / paladin of the group. He is the one kitted out in armour who does most of the fighting. But his real passion is cooking and eating monsters - which, luckily for him, is the central premise of the show.

 Here are some clips that highlight his character;

• collection of clips

• single clip

• backstory

• fight with another character

But for full context watch this video; Dungeon Meshi - Spelunking On the Spectrum - it says everything perfectly in a way I feel down to my bones... except it assumes that you can spot Laios' autistic qualities. So let me take a crack at diagnosing him;

Diagnostic Criteria    -    Autism Spectrum Disorder    -    Laios

A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction.✅ - 3/3 (all required)

• A1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity ✅
• Abnormal social approach✅- this is pivotal to a scene where it is shown his social approach is far too forward, as well as many others.
• Failure of normal back-and-forth conversation❌ - he mostly maintains conversations
• Reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; ❌ - he is hyper-emotive
• A2. Deficits in non-verbal communicative behaviours used for social interaction ✅ - it is more his reception of them that is at issue, he seems to be able to perform well enough
• Failure to initiate or respond to social interactions❔ - his responses to what characters say is usually not appropriate - but he does respond.
• Poorly integrated verbal and non-verbal communication ❌ - he seems to be pretty communicative
• Abnormalities in eye contact ❔ and body language ✅ - it is hard to know precisely how much he maintains eye contact in animated media but his body-language is notably abnormal.
• Deficits in understanding and use of gestures ✅ - his lack of understanding of a character's cues is a pivotal moment
• Total lack of facial expressions and non-verbal communication ❌ - again, he is hyper-emotive and gesticulatory
• A3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships ✅ - again, key scene - but also it is revealed that he has struggled to make and maintain relationships in many situations repeatedly.
• Difficulties adjusting behaviour to suit various social contexts ✅❔ - it is implied to be the case when joining the army but its hard to tell, and he also doesn't adjust his behaviour well to suit any situation, but the show is relatively limited in terms of different environments it presents.
• Difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends ❔ - this is pretty much only applicable to children, so its impossible to know
• Absence of interest in peers ❔ - while not an absence of interest, he does often show an absence of interest in what they are saying - preferring to pivot to his own fixation

B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities ✅- 2/4 (two required)

• B1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech ❌ - overall no strong indication of this
• Simple motor stereotypies❔ - assuming this is at least partially referring to stimming, there is this one moment where Laois seems to stim to calm himself down but it isn't something that is repeated much
• Lining up toys or flipping objects ❌❔ - not really applicable to any scenes
• Echolalia ❌- he does not seem to express echolalia
• Idiosyncratic phrases ❌ - none that I picked up on at least

• B2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or non-verbal behaviour ❔

• Extreme distress at small changes ❌ - I do not recall a scene with this
• Difficulties with transitions ❔ - it is implied this could be the case with his struggles in adjusting to the island, but its hard to judge how much that struggle is typical
• Rigid thinking patterns ✅ - taking this a bit wider, while he has an amount of flexibility - he is extremely analytical but also opinionated, which could qualify
• Greeting rituals ❌- no 
• Need to take same route or eat same food every day ❌ - no, as per the point of the show

• B3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus ✅ - this is a clear main point in the show

• strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects ✅ - his sword and other monster related items
• excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests ✅ - monster cuisine

• B4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment ✅ - despite being not very strong in two aspects, I will tick this one because he has a clear sensory interest in monster cuisine

• apparent indifference to pain/temperature ❌
• adverse response to specific sounds or textures ❌
• excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement  ✅ - the stimming could likewise be counted in here, but more to the point he has a clear fascination with the visual and tactile experience of monsters and consuming them.

C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not
become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be
masked by learned strategies in later life). ✅ - it doesn't seem like this is recently developed, and seems like he was this way in childhood.

D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of current functioning. ❔ - its... on the edge but does seem to cause him not to be able to be social in the ways are which is significant.

 
E. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual developmental
disorder (intellectual disability) or global developmental delay. Intellectual
developmental disorder and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur; to
make comorbid diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual
developmental disorder, social communication should be below that expected for
general developmental level. ❌ - he is clearly intellectually capable.

 Overall this means that Laios WOULD qualify for a diagnosis of ASD.

But many of the judgements above are somewhat circumstantial and arguable. He seems level 1 or the old diagnosis of Asperger's at most - although perhaps Broad Autistic Phenotype where people have some but not all traits of autism and are likely carriers of autistic genes.

So what does the author have to say?

 Well in an interview with the Anime News Network (ANN) the author was asked;

 

Did you envision Laios as autistic when conceiving his character? How would you describe the friction between Laios and Toshiro?

KUI: So my understanding is Laios is a really normal person; there's nothing special, and everyone can relate [to a person like him]. I also relate to him, so I don't think I'm writing anything special [regarding Laios]. That's why I think people can relate to or appreciate him. Some people might say Laios is a little bit autistic, but Shuro has his own difficulties.

Everyone has their individual problems. It's not just Laios or Shuro; the problems are mutual. We always need to try to understand and learn from each other. Sometimes, you might hurt another person, but that's the process we need to understand other people.

Ryōko Kui

First off - I can't find any information as to whether this interview was in Japanese or English, nor how well Ryoko speaks English. I am not sure if something is being lost in translation or whether there is a second language effect going on here. But some parts of this strike me as odd, namely;

"Laios is a really normal person; there's nothing special, and everyone can relate"

In the nicest possible sense this seems like bullshit to me.

Laios is a main character. That by default makes him special because you don't write stories like this about normal people. The normal people in the stories remain in their homes, get a safe job, etc. etc. etc. Everyone in the Dungeon is special - a group of misfits.

But more than that - even by the show's standard, Laois is not normal. He is clearly juxtaposed with every single other character who is able to master social etiquette better than him. That's the whole point.

While I can fully believe he was written for everyone to be able to relate to him - people relate to him because he is special, not because he is normal. They see themselves in his eccentricities.

But perhaps "special" here means "specific". So instead of writing something specific, she is writing something more general rather than autism specifically. And that is... totally valid. In fact she wrote a bog standard character with Quirky Character Syndrome!

Furthermore she leaves it open to interpretation, recognising the interpretation;

"Some people might say Laios is a little bit autistic"

I think "a little bit" is key here - it indicates that he could in-fact be level 1 / Asperger's / Broad Autistic Phenotype at most (rather than anything more concrete) but that it isn't confirmed. Which makes sense if we look at his placement into a (fictional) medieval setting, which more than likely would not have any notion of autism.

Conclusions - Autism Coding and Interpretation

So to come to something of a conclusion I want to state the actual thing we have learnt. None of these characters are autistic but they all could be. However the writing for them to be was likely unintentional with traits of autism being used without autism itself. This is sometimes called coding - or in this cause autism coding. All of these characters have Autism Coded Quirky Character Syndrome.

But the thing about coding is that it is subtextual, not textual. That means that it is open to interpretation. Even if the authors had come out and said it - if the text (the media itself) does not.

Alternative interpretations are valid and discussion about them can be satisfying - but I hope I have put forward a compelling argument as to why understanding Laios in particular (but also Brian Lane and Sheldon) is very compelling.