Should All Writers Have Neurodivergent Characters?

I’d argue that since life is full of neurodivergent people, fiction ought to be as well.

We seem to be in a transitional time in the literary world: in the last 10-15 years, an increasing number of neurodivergent and disabled authors have written characters with the same conditions or differences that they have. Alongside this boom in fiction, we have countless YouTubers, podcasters, bloggers, and more who describe their own experiences of being neurodivergent. With so many people providing free information, surely writers have the resources and motivation they need to create NCs (neurodivergent characters).

Don’t they?

To test my hypothesis, I do a bit of research, and come across the article Common Portrayals of Persons with Disabilities (from Media Smarts). It reminded me how neurodivergence is usually depicted: badly.

I have to remind myself that my passions (a.k.a. special interests) often revolve around things that aren’t well known by the rest of the world. I’ve read most of Disability in KidLit’s reviews; many other people learn about neurodivergence through TV shows, which milk stereotypes for our amusement. (I’m not bragging about this, just trying to explain that my niche interests give me very different points of reference).

I also understand that neurodivergence can seem too overwhelming to write about in depth, especially from viewpoints that aren’t your own. In addition, learning about the abuse and neglect many neurodivergent people experience can be upsetting. If you find that learning about these things has a negative impact on your mental health, you have a right to step away.

In the end, it’s up to you whether you want to include neurodivergent characters in your fiction or not. While I can’t give you a definitive answer, I can describe the pros and cons as I see them. I hope that you’ll find some new perspectives here, and maybe share your own to the comments.

Reasons You Might Avoid Neurodivergent Characters

The research: Where do you start, and who can you trust?

When I began learning about my own neurodivergence 15 years ago, the resources I found were not the same as the ones I have access to now. Several of the things I read about then have since been expanded on, contradicted by new research, or criticized for omitting the views of neurodivergent people. Who knows what will change in another 15 years?

Furthermore, opinions differ widely about what sort of treatments work best and what should (or shouldn’t) be expected of neurodivergent people. It’s difficult to know whom to trust when two equally prestigious experts disagree – or, as I’ve often seen, when neurodivergent people and medical-based businesses ( pharmaceutical companies, types of therapy) give contradictory evidence. Between this and the fact that some people style themselves as experts to make money, it’s no wonder that many writers are overwhelmed.

You can’t fit a neurodivergent character into the story you already have

I was lucky – my interest in neurodivergence developed alongside my novel-in-progress. Between drafts, many elements of the story were in flux, and making one of the protagonists neurodivergent was an easy decision (probably because he already resembled me).

But for other writers, altering a character’s neurotype would mean altering their motivation, behaviour, and relationships – and therefore the plot. I know how frustrating it is to have to make significant changes to a story that you’ve worked on for years, and I don’t believe it would be fair to make someone do a major rewrite for the sake of representation alone. If you’re interested in writing NCs, then by all means do some research and write some drafts. Just don’t feel obliged to overhaul a pre-existing project unless it actually feels natural to you and to the story.

You’re worried the character might offend people

Let’s say you’ve taken loads of notes, created a neurodivergent character, and you now want to write a story including them. How do you ensure that their strengths and challenges are believable? What aspects of the story might be seen as condoning abusive behaviours, either from a neurodivergent or neurotypical character? How much and what kind of material is appropriate for your intended audience?

As I wrote earlier in this post, I cannot give you foolproof answers. I’m of the opinion that we can and should write about the abuses neurodivergent people face; other people believe that including these things is milking them for profit. I dislike stories in which the only NCs are non-human; other writers seem to delight in exploring neurodivergence through aliens or mythological creatures instead of humans.

You might decide that if there’s no way to write NCs “properly,” then you should save your energy for topics you’re more familiar with. Or you might just wait until you feel more comfortable with the details of neurodivergence, learning at your own pace and following your own interests. These both seem like fair choices to me.

But there’s another side to this argument. Stay tuned for “Should All Writers Have Neurodivergent Characters? Part 2,” which will argue that all writers can, maybe even should, include NCs in their work.