Faking Normal is a series written by guest blogger, J, an adult on the autism spectrum. 

Increased autism awareness has brought about the interesting development of an increase in autistic characters in movies and tv shows. When I was first diagnosed, there was really just Rain Man, which was a fairly extreme example of autism, but nevertheless the yardstick by which autism was measured by the general public for many years.

Fortunately, today we have a variety of autistic characters with varying levels of functioning. Watching tv shows and movies, three general conclusions can be drawn: 1) We are all stubborn and literal (fair enough), 2) We are all hilarious (well, I’d like to think so), and 3) We are all male (wait… what?).

Statistically, boys are about five times more likely than girls to be autistic. Or rather, five times more likely to be diagnosed. My theory (based on experience, not scientific data) is that the prevalence of autism among boys as opposed to girls is due more to the difficulty in recognizing the symptoms in girls, as the manifestations tend to be much more subtle. The more dramatic signs of autism in boys, and the perception that girls are less affected, likely accounts for the  almost total lack of autistic female characters in television and movies.

Yes, I know that there are a few female characters (Dr. Temperance Brennan of Bones or Dr. Virginia Dixon of Grey’s Anatomy, for example) who have autism or are presumed to have it. They’re adults with successful careers. Also, frankly, they come across as jerks. They are difficult for a lot of autistic girls to identify with and even harder to like.

I would love to see a female child or teenager with autism on television. One with a diagnosis and behavioral patterns that don’t fit the autistic behavior we’ve come to associate with autistic boys. Someone parents can watch and say, “Whoa… That’s just like my daughter!” Such a character would help parents of girls with ASD diagnoses feel included in culture. A character like that could help parents of undiagnosed girls discuss autism with a therapist, and lead to appropriate treatment for those girls.

Deliberately, I am not accounting for Julia on Sesame Street. While I applaud the inclusion efforts of the show, I thought the presentation actually advanced prejudices against autistic people. When Elmo explained that because Julia has autism, “sometimes it takes her a little longer to do things,” I was done. Thanks for letting future prospective employers of people with autism know that we’re not as efficient as neurotypicals (untrue). Bye, Julia.

I know I’m coming across as picky, so let me give a specific example of what I want. I’ve just been watching the Netflix show Atypical (which is terrific, though not appropriate for children) and I feel like Sam’s (the main character, an autistic teenage boy) sister Casey could very well be autistic. She often behaves in ways with which I identify, and there’s a scene in the very first episode that came across to me as pure autism. I want female characters like that; smart, talented, basically kind-hearted, and autistic. It would be a terrific direction for the show to take if Casey attended some therapy (she definitely needs it for a variety of reasons) and ended up being diagnosed with ASD. Her parents would feel dense for not seeing it, since they have another child who is autistic and they know a lot about autism, but that’s the point; symptoms among girls can be so subtle, they’re easy to miss. Especially in comparison with a child like Sam. There is nothing subtle about Sam’s autism.

So to all the television producers who are reading this (I kid… I don’t even think my mom reads this), take note: You’ve proven that you can present the world with thoughtful portrayals of autism in Max Braverman (Parenthood), Jerry Espenson (Boston Legal), and Abed Nadir (Community), to name a few. Now’s the time to show the world what autism looks like for girls.