Sherlock, and how he doesn't have Asperger's, even if Cumberbatch said he did.

[laurajv]

movies_michelle was talking about Sherlock (check out the post, there are some awesome fic recs in it!!), and reminded me of something beatrice_otter said about Sherlock not having an autism spectrum disorder, so I went to look up that post while my kid was napping and it was about something else, really, but it did remind me of a book I got on beatrice_otter's recommendation -- So Odd A Mixture-- which contains a really good overview of autism spectrum disorders for laypersons. So I looked that up, too. And then my response got really long and obnoxious, so I moved it over here.

Sherlock certainly has things that could be superficially viewed as Asperger's, but what strikes me about the portrayal (and about the character in general, from Doyle onwards) is that -- ok, so I think, when most people think about the Sherlock portrayal as one of Asperger's, they are thinking of what movies_michelle talks about: "social isolation, acute focus on specific things at a time, and inability to socialize on what is generally considered a normal level". While those certainly exist (in all versions of the character, I think), they exist in plenty of people who don't have Asperger's, too, but have completely different issues, or no diagnosable issues at all. It's *how* those things fit into something that makes them an autism spectrum disorder.

Anyway, "So Odd a Mixture" has a handy-dandy list of 9 areas of difficulty that you tend to see, to one degree or another, in people on the autism spectrum: theory of mind (understanding that others think differently from oneself, understanding motives of others, etc), central coherence (understanding what details are important and how they impact the whole), executive function (complex planning), cognitive shifting (ability to shift focus), language processing, dyspraxia (motor impairments), awareness of the unwritten rules of conversation, interpretaton of non-verbal cues from facial expression and gestures, and sensory sensitivities.

Of those, I can only really see Sherlock (in any incarnation, not just this one) of having issues with cognitive shifting (he tends to focus intently and may not pay attention to peripheral information, though "The Great Game" in BBC Sherlock might argue against difficulty in this area for that particular version of Sherlock Holmes) and sensory sensitivities (it's certainly one plausible explanation for the character's ongoing physical disdain for women, though of course homosexuality or asexuality are alternate explanations).

Of the others -- if he had serious difficulties in any of them, he couldn't do what he does. What he does displays a deep, well-managed, coherent understanding of human motivations and of how details impact the whole.

He's bad with certain emotions (not understanding how someone could still be upset about a death that occurred years ago), but he does understand emotions in general. Even if he doesn't experience certain emotions himself, which he might not, he is clearly aware that other people have them and what effects different emotions might be expected to have upon those people's behavior.

Mostly, how he reads to me is as a bright, callous individual who really doesn't care much about other people. He does not read to me as a sociopath, though sociopathy I'm more willing to buy for the length of a story than I am an autism spectrum disorder.

Comments

*barges in via Delicious linkage and dumps a truckload of tl;dr*

[anglepoiselamp]

Since Sherlock is a fictional character, it's clear that he's a pick-and-mix of different character traits that might not constitute a viable diagnosis of any sort. But for the same reason it's possible to build all sorts of different interpretations of his personality (and presumed disorders, or lack thereof). And that's what's so awesome about it all, right?

I love reading about an autistic spectrum Sherlock or an asexual!Sherlock, because I find them personally empowering. I suppose others might love a predominantly bipolar or antisocial or choose-your-disorder-du-jour Sherlock for the same reason. Or just because it feels right. Your interpretation is equally valid and I can totally see where you're coming from with it - it's just not one that personally appeals to me at all.

That said, a textbook or even the official diagnostic criteria won't tell you much about autistic or Aspergic people and how they function in day to day life. Spectrum is the preferred term for a reason. And I don't read the 'OMG Sherlock totes has Aspergers!' posts in communities for the same reasons that beatrice_otter talks about in the post you linked to. That stuff tends to be superficial at best and hurtfully ignorant at its worst. So my personal mantra is something like "It's nice to have someone to identify with on tv, I love how Sherlock can be read as Aspergic... but not like the interwebs reads it."


And because tl;dr is the way I roll, I jotted down some points that I find interesting re: the autistic spectrum discussion. Feel free to ignore - just seems like I had a lot of this stuff on my brain, waiting to be released into the wild. :3

in well-rehearsed social situations (like shopping or going to the bank) I can easily pass for a neurotypical person, although I've had to put a lot of effort into learning to smile and greet and make eye contact and avoid saying things that are 'a bit not good'. This is one of the dealbreakers between aspergic / sociopathic, IMO - a sociopath would also learn to do these things by rote, but would be very good at faking them, whereas an Aspie would remain a little awkward while going through the motions. I see that awkwardness in Sherlock, but maybe that's just me.

Someone already mentioned sensory overload in the going-to-the-bank scene, it's interesting that someone else interpreted it like that too. There's a lot of that elsewhere in the cinematography as well, the sounds and colours and overwhelmingness of London traffic etc.

When it comes to "understanding that others think differently from oneself", high-functioning Aspies most probably reach a state where they *do* understand that others think differently, but they may not understand how or why and may be constantly exasperated by neurotypical thought processes. I think that's definitely present in Sherlock, although it's mixed with his annoyance when others aren't clever enough to follow his thinking.

I'd say Sherlock also has difficulties with the unwritten rules of conversation (at the first morgue scene he doesn't understand Molly is asking him out; occasionally he'll just turn away or even walk away from the person he's been talking to). Of course you can just as well interpret those as signs of the 'Sherlock's just a jerk on purpose' theory, but I tend to disagree because he seems so genuinely baffled at times. Also in The Great Game it seems like he almost has to do a double-take and verbally verify that John's angry at him, which I instinctively read as a difficulty in seeing nonverbal cues, but again, that might just be me projecting my own issues.

Come to think of it, AS people are also capable of learning what the necessary social conventions for a situation are - and then ignoring them on purpose because they're not important. I've seen this more with male Aspies. That's kind of an amalgamation of the 'being an ass on purpose' and 'being Aspergic' theories, although I think Aspies aren't usually rude to be hurtful, it's more about painful levels of honesty and impatience with norms.

one more little thing: Sherlock's tone of voice when speaking is fairly monotonous. A monotonous or unusual tone and inflection + fast or unusual pacing in conversation + use of extensive or strange vocabulary are pretty common with Aspies, although it doesn't always get mentioned in diagnostic overviews.

Re: *barges in via Delicious linkage and dumps a truckload of tl;dr*

[laurajv]

I don't mind a heapin' heap of tl;dr. I can't promise to respond with the same, as my online life mostly fits around childrearing these days. Anyway, thank you for the additional perspective; it's interesting. I mostly disagree with you, but I have no allergy to being disagreed with. :)

The one that really strikes me is that you hear Sherlock's tone as fairly monotonous; to me he doesn't sound monotonous at all, nor particularly unusually inflected. I do wonder what British folks hear when they hear him; to my ear he sounds like they intend the character to have a slightly posh background (but I'm American and am therefore stabbing in the dark re: British class/regional distinctions of accent).