I myself struggle with Autism, so if you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to ask.

This is really well written and well researched. I think it is important to raise awareness around representation of autism on all fronts, including fiction. Though I have not encountered them myself, I too have heard about the misrepresentation and steriotypes affecting autistic characters.

I think that maybe you could continue to delve into this issue by analysing both good and bad examples in depth to show what should and shouldn't be done.

For good examples in published fiction, I can offer Max Braverman from the TV series Parenthood and Hikaru Azuma from the manga With The Light

On the fanfiction side of things, both Riko Tasogare from Twilight Pretty Cure and Chika Senri from Puzzle Hunt Precure have been praised for providing good portrayals of neurodiverse characters.

This is well-done! I think I've known I was autistic for a few years now (though good luck getting parents to believe that - when I was in middle school I had a test for that and autism was disqualified on the basis that I was capable of making jokes/conversation, which... ugh.)

The only thing I can think of that might be worth elaborating more on is the fact that being autistic and happy are not mutually exclusive (and not happy in the too-dumb-to-be-otherwise sense.) Because a lot of people seem to think that autism is a permanent misery for everyone involved, except when it's ~*INSPIRATIONAL*~.

That was a very good, on-point piece, and covers pretty much what I've heard from my (also autistic or otherwise non-neurotypical) friends already.

We're a spectrum, not a scenario!

He is all my good and bad points writ large, including my autism.

I have Asperger's, and thus Valon does as well. I'm very high-functioning, and I'm normal for the most part. The things that stick out are my lack of common sense and the fact that my mind is incredibly surreal (reread my fourth mission). Also the fact that I am very inept in social settings, and prefer to be alone, sometimes with a friend or two.

The only way I can tolerate more people is if they're all weirdos like me, or if they share one of my obsessions. Pathfinder, for instance.

Story time: my first serious boyfriend was a sweet guy. He was shy, but he loved hanging out with his friends; we and a mutual buddy got together one Halloween to dress up in menacing robes and scare little kids. ^^; Lots of fun.

He was a very talented saxophone player, and a fan of the Beatles; he drove everyone in band crazy by constantly playing "Yellow Submarine" during individual warmups (though the one time he didn't, everyone freaked out, heh heh). He was a huge Lord of the Rings fan and an avid Minecraft player. He had two dogs that he loved, a little sister (who... actually ended up dating my little brother for a few months, that was cute. But weird. But also cute.), and very nice parents.

All in all, a pretty normal guy. He is also autistic, and I didn't find out until about a year and a half after we broke up.

My brother was also tested for autism and he narrowly avoided being diagnosed with Asberger's, and he later told me he cheated because he didn't want to be labeled a 'crazy' like me. So it's very possible I have an autistic brother as well. Aside from liking to make hilariously inappropriate jokes at the worst possible times, he's also pretty normal. Very smart kid, straight As, lots and lots of Advanced Placement classes, plays tennis for the varsity team, and he's built himself a couple of robots as well. He loves to play World of Warcraft and Minecraft, and he has the D&D fourth edition Monster Manual memorized.

You wouldn't look at this stuff and say "Aha! Autistic!" You'd say "Yeah, he's a geek."

My dad has a friend whose son (a few years older than me) is also autistic, and the only clue to people who don't know is that he sometimes has to get away from a loud party by going to a separate room. And considering I'm the same way, albeit for different reasons, it's not a massive tip-off by itself.

Tl;dr, you can't always tell. :)

May I have the link?

On Writing Autistic Characters

There is now a link.