#adam is definitely autistic
I want to write an essay about why Caleb and Chloe both have ADHD. I don’t know if Lauren intended to write them with ADHD but they both summarize the ADHD experience so well.
I had never seen or heard characters deal with sensory issues/overstimulation before TBS so listening to Caleb dealing with being bombarded by everyone’s emotions at the same time and Chloe having to deal with dozens of unorganized thoughts made me feel really seen in a way I had never experienced from a piece of media.
I always assumed that my brain was broken in some hellish unique way. I thought I was weak because I couldn’t handle the same things as “”“"normal”“”“ people. I didn’t fit the ADHD stereotype so spent years hating myself and beating myself up for not being ”“"normal”“”“. I didn’t realize it was ADHD because I had only ever seen it portrayed by neurotypical people who focus on how ADHD impacts and inconveniences neurotypical people so hearing characters deal with how it impacts them internally was really important for me. I wasn’t broken, my brain was just constructed differently.
I think atypicals bring me a lot of comfort because they aren’t normal and they never will be. They will always have to deal with shit non-atypical people don’t have to deal with. They’re not weaker for breaking because they’re already carrying so much more than the average person (sometimes literally).
They’re weird, they’re abnormal, they’re atypical and that’s fine. The solution to their problems is never to stop being atypical but rather to learn how to cope and regain control over their life. They bond over their abnormality and most of them wouldn’t change it because it’s who they are. I find there is a certain familiarity in that kind of weirdness.
I honestly don’t know where I’m going with this but Chloe and Caleb both resonate a lot with me as a neurodivergent person and I love them a lot. I have an easier time processing my own emotions and experiences through fictional characters and being able to project onto them has brought me a lot of comfort.
Tldr: representation is important and I have too many emotions rn
