An Anti Social Person Is Not A Bad Person

>:3

I've seen some posts about neurodivergent Anakin, and I think they're great!! So I wanted to make one specifically about autistic Anakin, since me being me with ASD, I needed this. Also this is ✨pure projection✨ on my part, so ofc everyone can have their own headcanons and interpretations of his character, and people can have different experiences with ASD!! These are simply a few of my thoughts just for fun 😊

Anakin might come across to many people as brash and confident or even flippant, when those who really know him (who are actually very few) know he is always self-conscious and considerate, and worries about how he presents himself to others. 

It's often hard to quiet all the noise in his head, and during the war it's even harder when he can't have space and time to himself to decompress at the end of a hard day of fighting or after a long meeting. But making sure he has a place where he's comfortable enough, like the cabin of his ship, enables him to recuperate wherever he happens to be.

It's very easy for him to get distracted or anxious with too much stimulation going on around him, and he can be prone to outbursts or breaking down because of a sensory overload, which can make using the Force dangerous for him and others around him. But he's gotten better at controlling it with Obi-Wan's support over the years, and Obi-Wan can still help with calming himself down if needed.

He can't sit still or concentrate on much for very long, and he's always fidgeting, which is why his mother encouraged him to start fixing things in order to have him do something with his hands, and why Obi-Wan let him tinker with spare parts all the time when he was a Padawan, even during lessons. Thus he always has some little project on hand, even if it is just taking something apart and putting it back together again, anything that is repetitive and satisfying.

He likes to wrap himself up in his robe or hide his hands in his big sleeves especially when anxious, because COMFY :D

His living spaces may come across as untidy or cluttered to others, but to him it's organized and he knows exactly where everything is and doesn't like when things are moved without him knowing. There's probably a specific reason for why that broken droid is in the middle of the floor... but there's honestly also a chance he may have forgotten about it and has already moved on to a new project.

Even if from an outside view it could seem the opposite, he is very competent in what he does and puts so much energy into everything, even to the point of pushing and overworking himself. Obi-Wan or Ahsoka often have to pull him away from something, because it's obvious that he's stressed and tired but won't allow himself to quit yet.

He is very passionate about certain things and loves talking about them, even if others don't care to pay attention all the time. His friends always try to truly listen though :)

He may come across as emotionless and uncaring in both tone of voice and expression, but really he is feeling so much and doesn't know the right way to portray himself, so instead he wears a mask of what he thinks people want him to behave and look like. Thus his emotions might come out strong and intense when he is around people he's comfortable with, because he's been keeping them inside for so long.

Sometimes he prefers the company of droids because their reactions are logical and predictable and he doesn't have to be so self-aware of how he comes across to them, because he knows they like him regardless (as long as they're not seppie droids of course). 

When he is especially confident and flirty or suave, he is probably copying what he's seen Obi-Wan do and putting on an act, and when he actually tries to flirt or impress someone who actually means something to him, it can turn out very awkward. Good thing Obi-Wan and Padmé have found it endearing. 😌

He keeps to himself often and only likes physical contact from those he truly trusts, and he doesn't trust easily. But to those he does trust, physical contact is sometimes the only way he knows how best to express his affection for them, and he likes to give it to them when he thinks they need it, too.

He doesn't mind conversation but he doesn't seek it constantly or need it all the time, and sometimes he's seen as rude for not wanting to talk for long right then. Sometimes it's easier to just talk to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka through their Force bonds, because he can express how he's feeling more easily that way without having to find the right words.

He can be very impulsive and prone to depressive episodes and quick to change emotion, as well as get frustrated or angry easily. His form being Djem So is a reflection of him being able to release those strong emotions from within him and putting them into use.

But he's also empathetic and sensitive, and very attuned to the Force and emotions because of that; he thinks of things or sees patterns others might have missed and pays attention to the little details. This is extremely valuable to him as a Jedi, especially since he's so powerful within the Force, that being able to feel so deeply and pick individual things out helps him navigate through how chaotic and loud the Force can often feel around him.

Please keep in mind that my interpretations of the scenes I used as evidence are probably affected by my own personal biases and the fact that I have autism too, so I’m not claiming that any of this is how the stories/dialogue were meant to be interpreted. It’s just for fun! In fact, if anyone interpreted these things differently I would love to know!

Anakin’s results:

Total score: 188 Language: 17 Social relatedness: 83 Sensory/motor: 51 Circumscribed interests: 37

Language

I based my interpretation of Anakin’s language almost entirely on his speech patterns in the prequel trilogy. Anakin’s tone and cadence are uneven unless he’s repeating back something someone else has said. He often has trouble controlling his volume or the speed of his talking. In Rogue Planet, Obi-Wan thinks “Anakin could become both expressive and imitative whenever he felt excited or ill at ease." 

His manner of communicating is up-front and honest, even when others don’t want to hear it. In the beginning of Attack of the Clones, he makes Padmé uncomfortable with his advances and does not notice until she comments on it. When she makes it clear that she is uncomfortable, he still wants to understand why. 

Social relatedness

Anakin has the ability to work well in groups when he is in control, but ultimately, he is an outsider aside from a few special people. Even then, his interest in the people who he chooses to spend his time with is specific and possessive. In the beginning of Jedi Quest, Obi-Wan worries that fourteen year old Anakin has no friends. He has trouble relating to others his age at the temple. Obi-Wan spends the rest of the series worrying about the ways Anakin interacts with the friends he makes and ultimately loses. 

Anakin’s concept of relationships is self-serving and one sided. He pined for Padmé for ten years without seeing her, obsessed with a concept of her in his mind that he formed when he was nine years old. He sees himself in others, but has trouble relating to how they feel unless he can put their feelings into his own perspective. In Rogue Planet, he has several moments of extreme empathy for both Ke Daiv and Sekot when he realizes that their experiences have been similar to his. Even if their similarities aren’t exact, when he’s able to project his own trauma onto theirs he’s able to relate to them and interact with them more easily.

Sensory/motor

Anakin has excellent fine motor skills, shown by his mastery of mechanics. Both his motor skills and sensory perceptions are intensified by his connection to the Force. 

“Is it possible you see nothing more than the tensions of approaching adulthood?” Mace asked. “No!” Anakin cried. “I see… too much, too much.” “Too much what?” “I burn like a sun inside!” The boy’s voice rang out in the chamber like a bell.

Particularly in Clone Wars Gambit and Rogue Planet, Anakin is thrown off and frustrated when his surroundings are too loud and too bright if they’re outside of a controlled environment that he enjoys. He is easily overwhelmed, but in battle, especially in a ship, he’s able to zero in his focus on the aspects of the scenario that he enjoys to overcome it. 

He frequently exhibits stimming (the repetitive performance of certain physical movements or vocalizations, as a form of behavior by persons with autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions) behaviors. Throughout Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith he can be seen picking objects up to turn over in his hands, tinkering with electronics, and rocking when sitting and standing in situations that are distressing to him. 

He’s described stimming in Rogue Planet as he’s taking in the sights and sounds of the new environment around him, often holding his hands out in front of himself and turning them over. 

He gave a small shiver, then he, also, rubbed his palms on his tunic, held them out, and looked around. 

One of Anakin’s most iconic and most heavily criticized lines in Attack of the Clones is his description of how he understands the world through sensory details: “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth.”

Circumscribed interests

Anakin has intense defined interests in mechanics, often stating that he relates to machines and understands them better than he does with other people. In Clone Wars Gambit: Siege, he uses his special knowledge and connection to machines to rework a storm shield into one that can keep out battle droids. As early as nine years old, in The Phantom Menace, he was already building a podracer of his own, and by age twelve in Rogue Planet he still had that knack for machines and racing, which he used to modify a pair of racing wings to participate in a garbage pit race. In Attack of the Clones, after the death of his mother, he immediately goes back to working with machines to cope. When Padmé tries to talk to him he gets upset and sidetracks back to that interest.

“I brought you something. Are you hungry?” "The shifter broke. Life seems so much simpler when you’re fixing things. I’m good at fixing things. Always was. But I couldn’t… Why’d she have to die? Why couldn’t I save her? I know I could have!”

His interests are zeroed in, and when he wants to talk about them, he has trouble sensing that others don’t want to hear it. 

Obi-Wan let these words sit between them for some seconds before asking, blandly enough, “What does the ship mean to you?” “A ship that tunes itself to a need for speed… Wow!” Anakin said. “For me, that would be the perfect friend.” “That’s what I thought,” Obi-Wan said.

When he’s fixated on one point, it’s hard for him to see the bigger picture, no matter how many times those round him try to remind him of it. This is a trait that follows him throughout the entirety of his life. 

Total score

With a total score of 188, Anakin falls between "very strong evidence for autism” and the maximum possible score an autistic person can quire on the RAADS-R scale. For comparison, the mean score of autistic people is 130, and the minimum score at which autism is considered is 65. At 90, autism is considered highly likely. I also took the assessment with Obi-Wan in mind, drawing from the same sources as well as Jedi Apprentice, and scored 74, with the most focus in his results being in circumscribed interests and social relatedness. 

Marcy: Lady Olivia? Lady Olivia? Lady Olivia?

Olivia: Hmm? *opens her eyes and sees Marcy with her legs crossed* *yawns* Yes?

Marcy: I need to go!

Olvia: Go? Go where?

Marcy: You know, go-Bad!

Olivia: Oh ‘go’. Why didn’t you say so? Let’s go! *jumps out of bed and leads Marcy down the hall* When you gotta go, you gotta go!

For instance, here are some symptoms I found online that I feel Damian had displayed previously or I think it would be in-character for him to have (P.S: I only found these online so I may not be 100% sure if they’re correct):

Inability to relate to other children or adults

Lack of awareness of danger

Difficulty dealing with changes to routine (you can clearly see that in the Nobody arc from TheNew52)

Having a speech pattern (ex: calling most people including his family members by their last names or his famous “T.t”)

Having a decent rote memory

Being bluntly honest

Responding adversely to physical affection (this one is more fanon but I can still see canon Damian being like this too)

Frequent temper tantrums 

Improper/insensitive questions or statements (ex: telling his father that honoring his dead parents is a waste of time)

Being preoccupied with a few narrow interests (aside from Vigilantism I can only think of him drawing and taking care of his pets? and that’s it?)

Wrecker, turning to Crosshair: what it the matter with you?

Tech: No. Fennec and Boba.

Wrecker: Hey Tech.

Tech: Hello people who do not live here.

Crosshair: You’re the one who gave us a key.

Tech: That key was for EMERGENCIES!

Crosshair: There was an emergency.

Vader: light saber, check. Cape, check. Force to blow my cape for maximum dramaticness, check. Obnoxiously breathing machine, check