Hiya, I'm hoping you guys can help me with something.
As you probably guessed, I'm writing a novel. It's my third novel so far, and it features four main characters, one of whom is autistic. I can't tell you how severely autistic or even be that specific on his condition - in fact, that's why I want your help.
I don't want to give away the plot - though I will try to be more specific on it if you need me to - but this is what you need to know if you want to help. My main character is a boy about to start high school. He loved his primary school and he isn't too fond of change, so he isn't looking forward to secondary school. He doesn't know this, of course, but he is going to be bullied and contemplate suicide. He is one of four characters who will go through some kind of issue when going to high school - we will also hear from the perspective of his bully.
I want to be accurate, true and fair to the autistic community, which is why I want your help. The book will be written, in part, from his point of view, kind of like a diary, so I want to make sure I get his voice right. If I do get it right, then I'm hoping that it will help to raise awareness of what autistic teens go through at high school (I have read that a high proportion of those on the autistic spectrum have a terrible time at high school and go through bullying).
So I guess the questions I have are...
Were you bullied at high school? Can you tell me about how you reacted to it? If you had to write a diary about what happened at the time, what would you have written?
Have you contemplated suicide? (I know this is very personal so feel free to totally not answer this one.) Can you tell me more about what you went through?
I have read that some people on the autistic spectrum have very detailed knowledge on niche interests. I wonder if you have any input on what kind of interest I could give to my main character?
I don't want to be completely stereotypical and give my main character a talent in maths, so I was thinking of making him an exceptionally talented artist. I wonder what your thoughts are on this?
And really, what general help can you give me with the way in which he should communicate? I'm thinking I need to avoid making him use sarcasm and figurative language - would that be an accurate reflection of how many or most of those on the autistic spectrum communicate?
Really, anything you can tell me that will help me make this kid a believable character and avoid hitting too many cliches or coming across like an incredibly stupid person who has no idea about autism, that would be great.
Thank you!
