Autism, Trek, author intent and perception

[F. King Daniel]

Thanks to Tumblr and Twitter, I've seen lots of fans on the autistic spectrum hold up characters like Data, Spock, Seven of Nine and Tilly as being either alien austism expys or on the spectrum. And I'm wondering, was that the intent? Were the characters deliberately patterned this way or is it a coincidence that has resonated with fans decades later?

 

[at Quark's]

Just a feeling, no facts from my side. Obviously the decision to show characters that had difficulty fitting in such as Data or Spock was conscious but I don't think there was an explicit intention to have them represent people on the autism spectrum. With Barclay and some of the characters in the newer series, perhaps.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I think most people are seeing these characters as examples of people who make valuable intellectual contributions but lack the ability fully to understand social situations and human behavior.

One the other hand, there are those people who go the death of the author route: the story is out of the author’s hands, their intent is unimportant, and the reader is free to interpret the characters, their behaviors and actions however they want.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks to Tumblr and Twitter, I've seen lots of fans on the autistic spectrum hold up characters like Data, Spock, Seven of Nine and Tilly as being either alien austism expys or on the spectrum. And I'm wondering, was that the intent? Were the characters deliberately patterned this way or is it a coincidence that has resonated with fans decades later?

It certainly wasn't the intent, because autism was seen back then as an extreme behavioral disorder that rendered people unable to function at all -- since the consequences of institutionalization and harmful "treatments" for the condition were mistaken for its usual effects. Back then, people like Spock or Sherlock Holmes or, say, my grandfather were just seen as cool, reserved, intellectual, eccentric, exceedingly shy, etc. The modern idea of the autistic or neurodivergent spectrum is a 21st-century development, pretty much.

Indeed, the way Data in particular was written shows a gross neurotypical bias, in that his behavior is constantly described as "not human" because he behaves like a neurodivergent human. Clearly the writers didn't understand that behavior like Data's or Spock's is very much a part of the human behavioral spectrum. TNG has really aged quite badly in that regard.

The 1993 TNG novel Grounded by David Bischoff, based on an unused TNG episode pitch, features an autistic guest character, and I found the book's portrayal of her autism to be inaccurate. IIRC, it showed her entering fugue states where she was unaware of outside events or the passage of time, which isn't how autism works at all. Some "classically" autistic people might close off from communicating or expressing themselves, but they're fully aware of their surroundings.

 

[Qonundrum]

Thanks to Tumblr and Twitter, I've seen lots of fans on the autistic spectrum hold up characters like Data, Spock, Seven of Nine and Tilly as being either alien austism expys or on the spectrum. And I'm wondering, was that the intent? Were the characters deliberately patterned this way or is it a coincidence that has resonated with fans decades later?

Back in the day, Spock was always said to be popular and Data as "the Spock trope" and Star Trek isn't Star Trek with a comparable trope on board. Like how Argyle was the Scotty clone (having the accent but lacking the alcoholism routine), and - to a longer extent - how Riker was the Kirk trope... and nobody did to Riker what everybody berated hapless Pulaski about, either (yet didn't bat an eye twice on when the EMH ripped off McCoy's lines in ways Pulaski never did...)

Also, am seconding what @at Quark's said. Sci-fi characters from many shows have been patterned on basic archetypes; with luck the actor can take the base ideas and have a field day with it to make it more than the sum of the script... and I doubly agree that Barclay was the first conscious attempt to show characters "not in the clique" to try to work alongside. Barclay, Ro, even Guinan (who is the perfect foil for these two, especially Ro.)

 

[Kor]

Thanks to Tumblr and Twitter, I've seen lots of fans on the autistic spectrum hold up characters like Data, Spock, Seven of Nine and Tilly as being either alien austism expys or on the spectrum. And I'm wondering, was that the intent? Were the characters deliberately patterned this way or is it a coincidence that has resonated with fans decades later?

I'd have to go dig up the info, but I distinctly recall that with Tilly it was not writers' intent.

Kor

 

[Oddish]

I can say that in the 70's and 80's, when I was growing up, autism was not known to be a spectrum disorder. If you shrieked and rocked and beat your head against things, you were autistic. If you couldn't socialize, didn't make eye contact, and were heavy into the Smurfs (I wasn't, but the other ASD kid I knew was), you were just weird. Spectrum autism didn't really become widely recognized by the US educational system until well after TNG was over. Despite being a textbook case, I wasn't diagnosed until 2000.

 

[Admiral Archer]

I don't see any of those characters as being autistic, because they are all explained as being androids/vulcans/borg, WITH THE EXCEPTION of Tilly who is not only human, but definitely is on the spectrum, whether it was intentional or not. I myself am on the spectrum, and of all the dozens of main characters in Trek, she is the one I am most like. Tilly and I are both examples of high functioning extroverted people with autism, which is tough to diagnose because most people think autism means being an introverted savant. If you need proof that Tilly is on the spectrum, look no further than me. We are, personality wise, identical.

Edit: Savant is the wrong word, but I can't think of the correct word for it. Basically someone who is a genius in one area but super awkward at the same time. What ever the word is for that. LOL

 

[Christopher]

I don't see any of those characters as being autistic, because they are all explained as being androids/vulcans/borg...

In-universe, obviously. But the question was about whether they were meant to be analogies for autistic-spectrum people in real life. Science fictional aliens, robots, etc. are almost always allegories for real people and real issues.

The reason Spock was such a breakout character was, in large part, because he was presented as an outsider, and thus viewers who saw themselves as outsiders struggling to fit in or to define their identity were able to empathize with Spock, to see him as a mirror to themselves. These days, we would understand that a lot of the social outsiders who identified with Spock or Data or whoever were on the neurodiversity spectrum. But at the time, that understanding wouldn't have existed, as Oddish explained quite well.

 

[Admiral Archer]

In-universe, obviously. But the question was about whether they were meant to be analogies for autistic-spectrum people in real life. Science fictional aliens, robots, etc. are almost always allegories for real people and real issues.

The reason Spock was such a breakout character was, in large part, because he was presented as an outsider, and thus viewers who saw themselves as outsiders struggling to fit in or to define their identity were able to empathize with Spock, to see him as a mirror to themselves. These days, we would understand that a lot of the social outsiders who identified with Spock or Data or whoever were on the neurodiversity spectrum. But at the time, that understanding wouldn't have existed, as Oddish explained quite well.

To be fair, when I showed my high school English class 'Star Trek Nemesis', the ONLY good thing they had to say about the whole situation was that Data reminded them of me. So if it's analogies we are talking about then I can totally see it.

 

[NCC-73515]

Great article from one of us:

https://www.startrek.com/news/spock-is-just-one-piece-of-a-vast-spectrum

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I don't think that the species of the characters or their being analogues is as important as the series showing another way that diversity works to help people in an organization complete missions.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

But at the time, that understanding wouldn't have existed, as Oddish explained quite well.

Thanks for taking the time to explain something that someone had already explained.

 

[Oddish]

Savant is the wrong word, but I can't think of the correct word for it. Basically someone who is a genius in one area but super awkward at the same time. What ever the word is for that. LOL

When I was in school, we studied multiple intelligences, which overall really explains a lot, on and off the autism spectrum. It basically theorizes that intelligence is rated on seven axes:
Mathematical
Verbal
Spatial
Athletic
Musical
Interpersonal
Intra-personal

I would score high on mathematical, verbal, and intra-personal, average on musical, low on spatial and athletic, and very low on interpersonal. Some autistic people would be off the charts in another discipline: verbal, mathematical, musical, etc. I didn't get such a gift, but I wasn't that far down the spectrum, either.

 

[NCC-73515]

Athletic intelligence makes little sense to me.

 

[Christopher]

Athletic intelligence makes little sense to me.

I guess it means being good at sports and physical activities.

 

[Oddish]

It means being well coordinated: physical agility, gymnastic skill, the ability to throw and hit a baseball, shoot a basketball, stuff like that. Some people do it well, others are athletically hopeless.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Athletic intelligence is definitely a thing. Having physical strength and knowing how to fully capitalize on your physical strength are two different things.

From my experience in obstacle course racing and rock climbing, a physically intelligent person can outperform stronger people by knowing how to fully utilize the strength you have.

Diagnosing fictional characters is a dicey subject because not everyone with social problems is on the spectrum and having a predisposition for logic over emotion is not inherently on the spectrum either. Some symptoms of autism look pretty similar to just being scientific or mathematically minded or having social anxiety or not fully understanding social norms due to experience.

 

[NCC-73515]

Then what's the difference between intelligence and ability? Intelligence seems to be a brain, mind, thinking, processing thing.

 

[Oddish]

Intelligence is the capacity to gain ability. I might have average musical intelligence, but I sing very well, because I had years of voice training. A naturally talented vocalist would still be better.