Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) describe a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the DSM-5, used by the American Psychiatric Association.[1] As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations.[2] Additionally, media about autism may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication.
Since the 1970s, fictional portrayals of people with autism, Asperger syndrome, and other ASCs have become more frequent.[3] Public perception of autism is often based on these fictional portrayals in novels, biographies, movies, and television series. These depictions of autism in media today are often made in a way that brings pity to the public and their concern of the topic, because their viewpoint is never actually shown, leaving the public without knowledge of autism and its diagnosis.[4][5] Portrayals in the media of characters with atypical abilities (for example, the ability to multiply large numbers without a calculator) may be misinterpreted by viewers as accurate portrayals of all autistic people and of autism itself.[6] James McGrath writes that the stereotype of autistic individuals as successful in math and science, along with disliking fiction, is widely overrepresented in literature.[7]