Same, i dropped this a long time ago because i'm on the spectrum and reading this gave me anxiety like nothing else lmaooo. I re-read and finished it yesterday, and for me personally, it's not worth it. Maybe for neurotypical people this is fun and all but as someone autistic this just stressed the heck out of me.
(Kinda saddened me too because the author never intended to portray Sangwoo as autistic, she just wanted to make a robot-like, self centered character :/ )
of course, there are a number of traits that need to be present to be diagnosed with autism. Having one of them doesnt automatically mean you are autistic, and someone who has autism wont have all of those traits. If some autistic people perceive a character to be autistic and can relate to him, then why is it wrong for them to see them as autistic?
(just to comment on the last part of your question) It's a spectrum, meaning in can manifest in a lot of ways and intensities but what most people see as autistic are the strongest cases that are very obvious and sadly ableism is a thing. People are inherently avert to things they don't understand and that's why most react negatively.
Yea ableism is pretty horrible. Ideologies like Eugenics developed from it. Some people are even worse. Not only do they hate what they do not understand, they think that those people (and by extension their genes) should be eradicated. Ableism is also targeted at other minorities. Being gay used to be considered a mental illness for example. Japan, which was allied with Nazi germany in WW2 even sterilized disabled citizens. And on another Note, a requirement for trans people to get legal recognition is to be forcibly sterilized. Eugenicists believe that certain people should not reproduce, because they are "inferior by nature". Its unfortunate that this type of thinking is wide-spread, even if not in its most extreme form
Exactly!! You stated every point perfectly. We want to believe these things aren't part of our day to day life anymore but they definitely still are and some people end up accidentally acting in an ableist way because of ignorance and values that have been taught and still subtly remain in society. All I say is learning abt these topics is important before forming any opinion.
I just started reading and instantly noticed sangwoo is clearly autistic but it's probably unintentional, as usual.
Up until now it's funny but also kind of frustrating bc I remember being in his shoes once and it almost traumatized my kid self, I wouldn't care much nowadays but it took a lot of mental strength for me to get here.
Edit: I actually loved the story even with the rough start. It's good that the way sangwoo was at the start wasn't treated as inherently bad, just different and it's always good for yourself to be a little bit more flexible.