Star Trek (Dis): Context Is for Kings

[unknownsample]

Autism is horrible developmental disability. Just because it doesn't have outward effects on appearance doesn't change that. The Federation would be morally obligated to cure it. Also: Saru is a cow.

They used to say that about homosexuality.

[Durandal_1707]

The biggest problem with an autistic character in Star Trek is that autism seems like something that Federation's medicine would have cured by now.

I'm going to get some flack for this but, "Like blindness?"

Functional autism is being just considered neuro-atypical which is to say, they have personality issues that aren't by any stretch of the means a disadvantage save socially. To which quite a few autistic people do not consider a disadvantage or disability. In that case, the Federation may not touch them.

As for Tilly, she's certainly not disadvantaged by any stretch of the imagination other than being simultaneously shy and a motormouth.

I'm with you, I like Tilly as she is. She's competent, she's likable, she's a bit of a dork. She certainly doesn't need to be Stepforded into being "normal", whatever the hell that even means.

[TGLS]

Autism is horrible developmental disability. Just because it doesn't have outward effects on appearance doesn't change that. The Federation would be morally obligated to cure it. Also: Saru is a cow.

In one of the Star Trek: Titan books, I think Troi of all people brings up that Vulcans would be considered in the standards of most other races in the Galaxy to have some form of autism.

Just to test the idea being quoted - if by the standards of nearly all other Federation species, the Vulcans were considered autistic, would the Federation be morally obligated to "cure" them? If so, what form would it take? And, would it really be "curing" at all, or something more sinister in reality?

Let's suppose a child was born in the Federation without hands. The Federation would be morally obligated to give them prosthetic hands. Now, if the child were a lobster-person, then there's no problem, because lobster-people don't have hands, they have claws.

Autism is believed to be caused by some form of brain abnormality (I don't know the specifics). Provided that in the future, the Federation understands the mechanism sufficiently well, they can cure it.

Autism is horrible developmental disability. Just because it doesn't have outward effects on appearance doesn't change that. The Federation would be morally obligated to cure it. Also: Saru is a cow.

They used to say that about homosexuality.

Maybe it's my biases showing, but when I think Autism, I think Tommy Westphall staring at that hospital snowglobe and the guy from Rain Man being scared out of his wits by a fire alarm. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

[CharlesPhipps]

Yeah, but there's shades of autism

Functional vs. nonfunctional.

Let's suppose a child was born in the Federation without hands. The Federation would be morally obligated to give them prosthetic hands. Now, if the child were a lobster-person, then there's no problem, because lobster-people don't have hands, they have claws.

Oddly, this conversation happened on the Orville.

"If a human was born with a third leg and we cut it off, what would a three legged species think?"

[unknownsample]

Maybe it's my biases showing, but when I think Autism, I think Tommy Westphall staring at that hospital snowglobe and the guy from Rain Man being scared out of his wits. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

You do realise that not everyone with autism is like that do you?

[CharlesPhipps]

Maybe it's my biases showing, but when I think Autism, I think Tommy Westphall staring at that hospital snowglobe and the guy from Rain Man being scared out of his wits. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

You do realise that not everyone with autism is like that do you?

Arguably, Barclay could have been diagnosed with the functional kind.

[Asvarduil]

The biggest problem with an autistic character in Star Trek is that autism seems like something that Federation's medicine would have cured by now.

I'm going to get some flack for this but, "Like blindness?"

Functional autism is being just considered neuro-atypical which is to say, they have personality issues that aren't by any stretch of the means a disadvantage save socially. To which quite a few autistic people do not consider a disadvantage or disability. In that case, the Federation may not touch them.

As for Tilly, she's certainly not disadvantaged by any stretch of the imagination other than being simultaneously shy and a motormouth.

I'm with you, I like Tilly as she is. She's competent, she's likable, she's a bit of a dork. She certainly doesn't need to be Stepforded into being "normal", whatever the hell that even means.

I've said it before: she's a spaz, but a lovable spaz. I think Tilly remaining both adorable and spazzy, but while growing more confident and getting a few badass moments, is an ideal direction for her character arc to take.

[TGLS]

Maybe it's my biases showing, but when I think Autism, I think Tommy Westphall staring at that hospital snowglobe and the guy from Rain Man being scared out of his wits. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

You do realise that not everyone with autism is like that do you?

Yes, but unless the functional and non-functional forms of Autism in fact have different mechanisms or something, it could be impossible to tell whether it will develop in to a functional or nonfunctional form. If this is true, it is better to prevent the worse case scenario.

[unknownsample]

Maybe it's my biases showing, but when I think Autism, I think Tommy Westphall staring at that hospital snowglobe and the guy from Rain Man being scared out of his wits. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

You do realise that not everyone with autism is like that do you?

Yes, but unless the functional and non-functional forms of Autism in fact have different mechanisms or something, it could be impossible to tell whether it will develop in to a functional or nonfunctional form. If this is true, it is better to prevent the worse case scenario.

Yeah let's go and lobotomise the bastards. Oh and try and base your in depth of knowledge of autism on tv characters from this century there's a good fellow.

[J!!]

Can we dial back the emotions please? This is starting to get a bit hyperbolic and strawmanny.

Maybe go back and re-read what Chuck just said?