RE: [RFC] Is Nanoha Takamachi on the Autism Spectrum?
08-29-2021, 06:10 PM (This post was last modified: 08-29-2021, 06:21 PM by GethN7.)
08-29-2021, 06:10 PM (This post was last modified: 08-29-2021, 06:21 PM by GethN7.)
As someone who is on the autism spectrum (specifically Aspergers), I concur it would likely be a worthy character analysis for the All The Tropes page on that media property.
As for your presumptions, it's certainly possible her character was written in such a manner that she would be, for all intents and purposes, autistic. That is not necessarily a negative, provided that is channeled in a positive direction that is of benefit to themselves and others and any detrimental behavior comorbid with autism is appropriately blunted and minimized via appropriate treatment and direction.
Obsessive compulsion to perform certain types of behavior is certainly something I would, as an autistic person myself, consider an autistic behavior. I find unless I sleep in a position where light is not in my eyes and I am comfortably warm without being overly hot it will drive me to madness trying to find a perfect sleeping position because I just cannot get a good sleep in any other fashion. Ritualistic compulsions in behavior in general, as you described, certainly fit the pattern of autism as well.
You noted how Nanoha has certain feelings of inadequacy and feels driven to compensate for them to obsessive degrees. That would indicate Nanoha's character would not only be autistic but would also have some degree of an anxiety disorder, which, as I know from personal experience, is often comorbid with autism and would fit the description of what you observed of her character.
Autistics who have anxiety disorders are even more married to the idea of making up for inadequacies because their anxiety issues make any autism driven compulsion that much more magnified in emotional scope and importance, at least as far as they are emotionally concerned, which again would mesh with a lot of what you have described.
And yes, autistic people do have a lot of hand-eye coordination issues, which are often compensated for by ritualistic attempts to rectify said coordination issues. Nanoha's single-minded devotion to physical training makes sense as a coping mechanism for this. Me, I've always found it helps to keep my hands busy with some sort of task requiring intense concentration, like using a keyboard, building something like a toy model, molding with clay or Play-Doh, or something else to keep my hands occupied.
And yes, autistics often develop in maturity in some ways far faster than others, but as you put it, often lack adult wisdom to apply to it for context, so they come off as awkward mini adults who lack the wisdom of the same, hence they can be socially off as regards their peers without proper direction.
As for your presumptions, it's certainly possible her character was written in such a manner that she would be, for all intents and purposes, autistic. That is not necessarily a negative, provided that is channeled in a positive direction that is of benefit to themselves and others and any detrimental behavior comorbid with autism is appropriately blunted and minimized via appropriate treatment and direction.
Obsessive compulsion to perform certain types of behavior is certainly something I would, as an autistic person myself, consider an autistic behavior. I find unless I sleep in a position where light is not in my eyes and I am comfortably warm without being overly hot it will drive me to madness trying to find a perfect sleeping position because I just cannot get a good sleep in any other fashion. Ritualistic compulsions in behavior in general, as you described, certainly fit the pattern of autism as well.
You noted how Nanoha has certain feelings of inadequacy and feels driven to compensate for them to obsessive degrees. That would indicate Nanoha's character would not only be autistic but would also have some degree of an anxiety disorder, which, as I know from personal experience, is often comorbid with autism and would fit the description of what you observed of her character.
Autistics who have anxiety disorders are even more married to the idea of making up for inadequacies because their anxiety issues make any autism driven compulsion that much more magnified in emotional scope and importance, at least as far as they are emotionally concerned, which again would mesh with a lot of what you have described.
And yes, autistic people do have a lot of hand-eye coordination issues, which are often compensated for by ritualistic attempts to rectify said coordination issues. Nanoha's single-minded devotion to physical training makes sense as a coping mechanism for this. Me, I've always found it helps to keep my hands busy with some sort of task requiring intense concentration, like using a keyboard, building something like a toy model, molding with clay or Play-Doh, or something else to keep my hands occupied.
And yes, autistics often develop in maturity in some ways far faster than others, but as you put it, often lack adult wisdom to apply to it for context, so they come off as awkward mini adults who lack the wisdom of the same, hence they can be socially off as regards their peers without proper direction.