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But I do admire the vision.

like i have literal family members who play sports and their diets are very much that. structured, repetitive, a bit intense if you’re not used to it but it’s about performance and consistency more than anything else. so when i read shane it just feels familiar in that sense.

i don’t know the specifics of pro hockey diets but athletes in general tend to follow pretty strict nutrition for recovery, stamina, keeping their bodies in a certain condition. so with shane specifically it lines up with his personality too, he takes hockey seriously, he wants to be the best and he sticks to what works.

the control aspect especially just feels very him. routine, discipline, knowing exactly what he’s doing and why.

also rachel’s never said he has an eating disorder. people can interpret things however they want and i get that a lot of those takes come from personal experience, which is valid but it’s still interpretation, not something that’s actually stated.

So enjoy my yapping lol.

With the culture of the NHL and what we've seen in the show, even if Shane was diagnosed with ASD, I don't think anyone would properly attempt to accommodate him besides Hayden, Ilya, Rose and his family — even with Shane's family there is still conflict.

I could be projecting because I'm Autistic and this has happened many times. But to me, Shane's conversation with Yuna and David (it's always the Rolex Wimbledon convo >_< ) is the start of a meltdown. David and Yuna (mostly Yuna) see Shane as being combative, his feelings and opinions are dismissed as Shane just having an 'attitude' instead of them trying to actually understand why he's uncomfortable and disinterested in going which he very clearly communicated. Yuna says "this isn't like you" but that's because Shane is masking for work but also for his friends and his family.

Shane's high masking because he HAS to be. He is not allowed to be anyone else other than Shane Hollander — Asian Canadian Sports Prodigy and Generational Talent ™️.

Shane has been made into a commodity, which is just absolutely devastating. As Yuna says "we're just the parents, you're the main attraction" and again in Ep 1 "lots of kids are going to see themselves in you", "Shane is the youngest NHL Rolex ambassador".

The Metro's director also says that the Metro's are "breaking barriers" and are doing it again by having Shane on the team. Shane is supposed to be marketable and being Autistic, Asian and Queer is too overwhelming. Being Autistic could also be used as another marketing tool. "Shane Hollander — NHL's Asian Canadian Gay Autistic Sports Prodigy and Generational Talent ™️ "

If this happens it's another mold that Shane would be forced to fit into. He would also have to deal with abilist micro-agressions. As you mentioned, people viewing Autism as a superpower. But there's also the other side of that, people questioning if he should be in the NHL (because Autism is a developmental delay and developmental delays are a disability).

The Metro's already bully Shane because of his rigid lifestyle and routines. Knowing that Shane is Autistic would give them more ammunition and reasons to ostracize him. Because gay slurs have been completely normalised (and I would say encouraged), there's no way players wouldn't be calling people re*tards and sp*zes. Which would definitely reinforce the view that being Autistic (and gay) is a negative thing.

With Shane's deep internalised shame about his sexuality, the constant bullying/micro-aggressions he receives/hears and needing to be perfect for marketability, I think Shane would also feel a deep sense of shame about his Autism. It's ANOTHER thing that makes him "not normal".

I agree with all of this! (My Autism Post)

I'd go even further and say if it was known he was Autistic as a teen he would never have been allowed to captain his team in the two prospect cups. And this would probably continue into the MLH and Olympic teams.

Also, especially as a teen, other people would try to get him to purposefully meltdown. To "see him freak out." I'm pretty sure it would have gotten so bad he would have quit hockey altogether since such things would be encouraged as "chirping".

Actually learning to ignore chirping is probably a good part of how he learned to mask. Also probably another reason he picked hockey to obsess over (beyond it being his family sport), he is allowed to "meltdown" a little on ice since it is a violent sport. When, if it was off ice he would be scolded or looked down on for his emotions outbursts.

I actually think if it was known there would be no way he was draft pick number 2. I think he would be far down the list no matter how good he was. And he would definitely be far more otherized in locker rooms. Instead of the weird guy who doesn't date or go out and drink he'd be the pitiable r*tard who couldn't get a date and shouldn't even be invited out. And with how bad I've heard the Metros are in book two, if Shane did somehow draft with them in this world where it was known he was autistic he would be a complete outsider. They would still play him just as much, he really is that good, but they would consider any wins to them "handling" him and any loss (even if he barely played) to having to accommodate him.

He also wouldn't be captain or first line, he would probably be second line. And his autism would always be "playfully teased". The only "upside" I can see is they wouldn't bother trying to hook him up/ask about his hook ups or push him to come out with them. And they would probably act like he was a burden if they did take him out (groaning over having to watch over him, make sure he didn't die ect).

My little cousin is very high up on the scale (but also still high masking) but when they were little they were in a lot of behavior therapy. Some of it was necessary (forcing them to walk with flat feet instead of tippy toes with weighted vests) and some of it completely unnecessary to force them to be more "normal".

But at the same time they were never really accommodated for (noise canceling headphones, weighted blankets, ect). Though part of this could be because less was known then of how to help and by the time it was they were high masking enough that it wasn't thought to be needed.

I can see, Yuna at least, having a therapist like this hired (if they knew he was autistic) until he was as high masking as we see in the show. After my analysis of the Right Up the Butt Scene I don't think David would have willingly hired the same kind of therapist. But when Shane was growing up that was probably all there was.

As for accommodation, I do think David would do anything he thought would help but I don't think Yuna would see a need. By the time such accommodations were common knowledge he would have already learned to mask so she wouldn't think to buy things to help, especially when it would mean confronting that fact that being diagnosed would affect his public image.

I can also see an argument for the Hollanders having Shane tested and then choosing not to tell Shane (it's something that happened to a lot of kids of his age group).

I also think most of his brand deals wouldn't have signed him in the first place if it was widely known. It would make him a liability to them since Autistic people have such bad representation in the media

Also there is a good argument that Yuna would wield Shane's Autism as another thing to be visible about (like she starts to do in episode 6 with his sexuality). And she would book him with brands specifically related to autism (special toys/weighted blankets ect). And while that would help him accommodation wise it would infantilize his image. She also would likely be far more controlling. I can see her moving to whatever city Shane ended up in and living across the street and visiting all the time.

I think the only ones to accommodate him would be the Pikes and Ilya. But I think the Pikes would infantilize him a bit. Not all the time but if they thought they were helping him they would. Like, if he was overstimulated it public I can see Hayden saying, "Hey bud, you need me to pull out the noise canceling headphones?" And not realizing how degrading that would feel.

He would be doing it to help but I think it would piss off and embarrass Shane. It would probably only push him to mask harder and draw a greater wedge in their friendship.

Where I think Ilya would just pull out the headphones without a word and absently offer them. And just a shake of his head would have Ilya putting them back away. He would probably talk just as much as before but he would lower his volume. I also think Ilya would normalize such items (the headphones, stim toys, weighted blankets) by using them himself. And I don't even think using them would be performative but more to see how they would help and just finding a liking to some of them. Noise canceling headphones can be good for everyone in the right circumstances and weighted blankets are nice in general.

But that said I think it would be the Pikes who were more likely to notice his Autism. I don't think it would even occur to Ilya and any media he did see, being so over the top, he wouldn't connect to Shane's quirks. I think Hayden and Jackie would go on a reading/buying spree and just start using that knowledge on Shane without discussing it with anyone. And when Ilya does finally pull one of them to the side to ask what the fuck they are doing he finally is clued in.

I also don't think anyone would be willing to have a discussion with Shane about it, even Ilya. I think he would have to ask to be told why they are doing all this before they tell him their theory.

And as for Rose, as much as I like her I think she would accommodate him but I don't think she would have ever gone in for a romantic relationship. Well, at least not until years of friendship passed and only if Shane made the first move. Where I think even if it had been widely known during his junior years Ilya would still have gone for it with Shane. Probably still in the same way. Though I do think he probably would have treated the sex differently at first.

I'm not trying to act like Ilya would be perfect. With how little was known about autism and how mental health is treated in Russia I think he would have had hang ups. I think it would have been far more likely for Ilya to be the one always servicing Shane and acting like Shane shouldn't get him off after. I can also see him having some shame over lusting over Shane (partially because of how the media doesn't let autistic characters be sexual). I think it would take Shane basically having to punch him in the face for treating him like that in an AU where it was known for him to let Shane be the cock slut we know he is.