Most of these authors do not flat out give a character that type of diagnosis. They may write their characters with some characteristics that are viewed similarly or can be viewed as relating to such things, per personal observations by readers but other than that, you’re not gonna get very far with them.
So no, the author probably wasn’t aiming for that since the only diagnosis within this story was a doctor telling him he has selective memory and some face blindness. A lot of people think he has it cause they relate it to their own experiences or interactions with people within that circle but that falls within a matter of personal perception.
im autistic and i see so much of myself in sangwoo lol its kind of refreshing seeing “austistic” traits in media pieces without being a big deal
How did you come to the conclusion that the author wasn’t aiming for this? They spent months sometimes even years creating characters and you think it was unintentional??
I believe that these authors would rather give the character a completely different diagnosis than one most of the public would prefer yes.
CHAPTER 46:
Sangwoo remembers a time he couldn’t remember a family member’s name. His parents talk about finding him counseling cause they are worried it’s a developmental problem. Later in the flashback, he’s witnessing a girl crying cause she’s been his classmate for awhile and he doesn’t remember her name.
Cut to him with his doctor. The medical professional tells him that they ran some tests. He has no problems with his frontal lobe. Which is what affects his memory. That the symptoms he has, she noted to be similar to face blindness, but in his case it is not a cognitive disorder. His doctor concluded that he has selective memory loss caused by social disassociation. She remarked that she didn’t want to tell him cause a lot of kids gain attitude problems from learning that. Then she finished with that his memory is superb, it is within the range of what most people would call gifted.
You can have social disassociation without being autistic. You can have selective memory loss without being autistic. And regarding her stating he has memory within the gifted range, a lot of people use the word interchangeably with autism but that’s not what that word implies. It means he’s really smart, more so than the average human. NOW, are there people on the spectrum with these three traits just mentioned by the doctor? YES. Him displaying other traits within the story that people associate with it, further adds onto the personal perceptions of readers that he is autistic. HOWEVER, within the parameters of the story, based on the medical diagnosis given for the plot, the author never stated he has autism. A lot of these authors just add extra things to their characters, to make them appear different either without much thought or they give simple reasonings. His very strict schedule for instance, Sangwoo follows a routine so he can study properly. Which involves arriving at specific times, sitting in specific places and eating the same thing on the daily. (Is it ever medically explained in the story? No. Sangwoo just states it’s optimal and comforting. Reader’s perspective? Oh he’s autistic. Which was never stated in the story.)
Don’t get me wrong, you can believe he has it, many people do. Will the author ever agree with you? Highly unlikely. Now why do I believe they’re unlikely to flat out state a character is on the spectrum, instead of just giving them traits associated with it and diagnosing the character with something else? Simple reasoning.
I’m unsure how aware you are when it comes to the type of countries that Manhwa, Manga, and Manhua come from but autism within those places is considered deeply shameful. It’s misdiagnosed and the stigma is so bad that they only view children with the behavioral and apparent neurological problems to have anything to do with it. Many view it as an illness, they demonize it. So as I stated prior, yes I believe that these authors would rather give their character a completely different diagnosis, rather than one many readers would prefer.
Right? I also think it's nice that it isn't shown to be a big deal, I'm glad you like it too >_<
Not explicitly stating something in a story does not mean it’s unintentional. First of all mental health, neurodivergence and disabilities in general have been taboo topics in Korea for centuries and discussion on such topics aren’t as common in mainstream media as in some countries in the west. Even so regardless of the authors origin many authors refuse to explicitly state a diagnosis such as autism if they feel it could receive backlash from said community, which can easily happen even if they had tried to positively represent it. I think you just taking the black and white has little to do with the authors intention and just like everybody else it’s simply your interpretation. Don’t think you should talk on what someone intended when you actually do not know.
Other readers feeling represented do not need your comments about an authors intention when you are also just interpreting their work.
I'm like so sure that Sangwoo is autistic. I know it's never stated and the author probably didn't mean it either but i still read this thinking that he is autistic coz it makes so much sense.