heroines of my dreams
Me: Undergrad with BA in Sociology and Creative Writing. Midwestern urban gal. Animal lover; fond of both dogs and cats. Writer, reader, artist experimenting in a variety of forms. Self-admitted resident of fandom and fanfiction addict. G33k and G4m3r girl.
Currently: Grad student at UMN-Twin Cities, first apartment in Minneapolis, and pursuing MA in adult education with a focus on English language learners.
See my arts/creative journal at Enchanting Muse.
“Last night’s post about what’s in your personal “headcanon” (love that phrase and totally stealing it) made me think of something that’s a perpetual source of botheration to me.
Last week I read a blurb in the media about CM (don’t remember where, some sunday-supplement disposable outlet) in which, yet again, the person summarizing the show described Reid as being kinda Asperger’s-ish. I’ve seen this before when a journalist needs a quick description for each character and they go yet again to the autism spectrum disorders to describe Reid.
Um…no. I know from autism spectrum disorders, and Reid does not have any manner of one. Just because he can rattle off facts he read years ago doesn’t make him autistic or Aspie.
One of the most fundamental aspects of autism spectrum disorders is a lack of empathy and the inability to interpret and respond to nonverbal cues, like body language and facial expression. That is Reid’s entire job, and he’s often utilized by the team to do just that. He would not be a very good profiler, which is entirely about other people’s emotions and responses, if he had any autistic leanings at all.
So…rant over. But cut it out, lazy journalists. Say he’s geeky, say he’s a child prodigy or a genius or recovering addict or a bookworm or whatever else. Those things are all true. But he ain’t autistic or any variation thereof.”
This is a post by madlori on criminalxminds which brings up a good point. The comments are insightful, thus far, and I think worth a peek.
As I mention in my own comment, if you want to see a character on the autism spectrum, cheek out Temperance Brennan on Bones. My mom loves that show (I totally agree) and one of the many reasons she enjoys is because of Brennan’s Asperger’s characteristics.
