sherlockirl:

autism and sherlock holmes

- Coming off as rude, cold, even cruel because he (a) does not understand social customs (b) usually has very low empathy and can’t understand why/how/when people are uncomfortable or offended © flat effect

- Being able to notice every detail about everything but not always understanding the bigger picture (he falls back on John for this, who can make some of the connections he sometimes misses)

- Needing people to remind him to eat, drink, and sleep — sometimes even needing meals made for him and other chores done on his behalf

- Not being able to identify what he’s feeling or why he’s feeling it and instead saying he feels nothing at all

- Falling into drug addiction as a way of coping with sensory overload and social isolation

- Talking out loud to himself to overcome executive dysfunction and brain fog

- His special interests being chemistry and crime; he doesn’t understand why it’s inappropriate to info dump about crime or why no one else can keep up when he talks about chemistry

- He uses deduction as a way to understand body language and people’s intentions

- STIMS: playing his violin, smoking (he mostly vapes these days), flapping his hands, pacing, tapping his fingers, rocking, spinning, etc.

- Bonus stim is chewing on his antique pipe even when he isn’t smoking

- He goes non-verbal for “days on end”, only occasionally communicating through grunts and hand gestures

- Having selective memory bc the things he’s not interested in just don’t stick

- Hyper-focusing on cases, sometimes to an unhealthy degree and needing reminders to slow down and take care of himself

- Having meltdowns when he can’t understand things/is overwhelmed/pushes himself too far

- Shutting down after the euphoria of solving a case

- His coat is a comfort item, he relies on the soft interior, the warmth, and the weight across his shoulders (plus, pockets filled with stim toys and case (special interest) notes!)