Twilight And Fluttershy Have Aspergers?

[Caesar2013 22]

After watching the show, I've come to an idea that two of the Mane 6 (Twilight and Fluttershy may have Aspergers Syndrome or at the very least, are on the spectrum.)


For those of you who don't know what Aspergers is, it is a form of autism with peculiar patterns of symptoms. Most involve: lack of demonstrated empathy, inability to understand social cues and others' emotions and intentions, restricted and narrow interests and repitive behavior. People with the disorder usually collect vast amounts of information on a specific topic (as as for myself: military history). Physical clumsiness and motor skills are also identified in some with aspergers (however, I haven't had a problem with that in wrestling). Some people with aspergers also demonstrate higher levels of intelligence, though not always the social ability to make that intelligence useful.


As a person with Aspergers, I decided to study up on what the syndrome is. In comparing it with Fluttershy and Twilight from MLP, I've noticed that both ponies fit for several criteria. Here are some reasons why:


Twilight:

1. Is obsessed with studying magic, and is highly knowlegable in that area.

2. Is socially awkward

3. She also has some inability to interpret other's emotions



Fluttershy- Personally I think that Fluttershy is more likely to be on the spectrum herself. She seems to be more comfortable around animals than ponies, that I think is fairly normal for persons with Aspergers as there's almost no fear of rejection (except for "The best night ever" where the animals kept running away)

1. Physical clumsiness- Fluttershy was a very poor flier during her time at a Pegasi school, where bullies made fun of her for not being able to fly welll

2. Inability to express emotions. However, persons with Aspergers also tend to have a very low temper, and as Fluttershy shows, can erupt.

3. Naive

4. Inability to understand others (except animals).


As I am not a trained psychologist, I unfortunately do not have the ability to explain everything in full. However, I hope that you might understand what I mean about these two characters having Asperger's Syndrome based on this information.         

[Shanks 10,811]

I have Aspergers as well and have noticed some of these traits however I am a bit reluctant to say definitively that either one of them is on the spectrum because other than these traits which may or may not be coincidences there is no confirmation one way or the other that either Twilight Sparkle or Fluttershy are on the Autism spectrum. Much of Twilight's social awkwardness is due to the fact that until recently she hasn't really had much interaction with other ponies aside from Celestia, Cadence her brother or her parents I think a lot of people or in this case ponies whether they are on the spectrum or not would be slightly socially awkward given the circumstances. If I had to guess which of the two was most likely though I would say Twilight Sparkle but maybe that is because she reminds me so much of myself particularly during my younger years.

[Moog the Kvlt 1,460]

I wouldn't be too surprised if some of the MLP characters

Did resemble any sort of mental health disorder

Since there are many other shows that have characters

That could easily be diagnosed with some form of mental health disorder

[Caesar2013 22]

I honestly suspect that Fluttershy is on the Spectrum more so than our dear friend, Twilight. However, Twilight also shows symptoms as well. But in the meantime I'll just examine them further without any psychology experience (except I took a semester of it in high school)

[Spartan 433]

Twilight is a bookworm.. thats not a disease, as for Fluttershy, she was almost like Scootaloo, in terms of flying, when she was younger and she was bullied for it.. so that explains her.

 

So no, i dont their any of them, including all six, have a disease..

[Caesar2013 22]

Twilight is a bookworm.. thats not a disease, as for Fluttershy, she was almost like Scootaloo, in terms of flying, when she was younger and she was bullied for it.. so that explains her.

 

So no, i dont their any of them, including all six, have a disease..

 

Aspergers isn't a disease. It's a neurological Disorder.A disease is detrimental, Aspergers has some defects (inability to communicate effectively and other things) but people with Aspergers tend to me more intelligent than others.

[Spartan 433]

Ok fine, i used the wrong word. My point is, they dont have anything wrong with them. Hell, Rainbow Dash must have it too than, since she cant take defeat well or Pinkie Pie for not knowing when to stop talking, or take a hint.

 

What i said above in my other post still stands

[AnonBrony 1,467]

No. They are not. Its called Introversion and shyness. Twilight being smart is a result cuz well, shes smart. Shes is socially awkward but so are many people without Aspergers. And Fluttershy can understand others. Shes just shy. Its called personality traits. Just because someone is like that doesn't mean they have the disorder.

[sampsoninc916 27]

Yeah, having asperger's, well, I have asperger's as well, that why I like both characters so much, yet Fluttershy is my favorite.

[Betez 1,734]

Eh, maybe. I don't think Fluttershy's antisocial as much as she is just shy. Pinkie Pie, well she's friends with everyone. She seems really outgoing, and interested in everything.

[Shanks 10,811]

Ok fine, i used the wrong word. My point is, they dont have anything wrong with them. Hell, Rainbow Dash must have it too than, since she cant take defeat well or Pinkie Pie for not knowing when to stop talking, or take a hint.

 

What i said above in my other post still stands

Yes and that is part of the reason why I am reluctant to say definitively one way or the other that either of them has Aspergers though for reasons that were stated by Caesar2013 and some other I think they are the most likely if any of the Mane 6 were to have it. I don't think he made this topic to say there was anything "wrong" with them, but that Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy exhibit traits commonly found in people that have Aspergers. Traits which can be a bit of a double edged sword, obsessions for example can be all consuming and impede with certain functions and responsibilities but can also lead to fulfilling hobbies and passion which could turn into careers.

 

And some have exhibited certain savant like traits though because the brain is an extremely complicated matter it can be hard to tell in a lot of cases. I don't know how much of my Autism plays into my musical talent but even if it has nothing to do with it I am still glad to be able to be blessed with that gift.

[Inactive01 5,298]

Twilight's leans towards autism. Fluttershy is a form of induced shyness as a result of a bad experience. I made a thread about Twilight and autism. Here it is.

 

http://mlpforums.com/topic/37451-twilight-sparkle-a-role-model-autist/

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I tink your spot on with your character analysis. I to have aspergers and before you even posted this question I kinda figured Twilight had some symptoms of aspergers. Not so much of Fluttershy, but you get the idea

[Caesar2013 22]

Fluttershy is more of a suspicion, but I can agree with everyone else's statements about her just being well... shy. I was just pointing out that they do exhibit traits of the syndrome, but that is not a bad or detrimental at all. Rather the contrary.

[Wingnut 6,725]

They can both be said to show symptoms of Aspergers.  But only a psychiatrist can make a diagnosis.  Even a person who has Aspergers themselves isn't qualified to say that someone else has it.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

I don't think that Fluttershy has any aspergers signs. One could even argue that the reason why she shies away from other ponies is because she is extremely empathetic and doesn't want to get too caught up in being emotional over other people unless she is more comfortable with them. Also anyone who has been bullied a lot as a child will naturally be more reluctant to being outgoing.

 

Twilight is an interesting one. Anyone who watched the Brony Documentary will remember the British kid with aspergers who became a brony. His mother watched the show with him and she said that Twilight's neuroticism was very similar to aspergers, particularly during the episode where she was super concerned about being tardy with her friendship lesson.

 

That being said, I don't think that Twilight actually has aspergers, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't share any similar traits.

[poniesforfun 716]

All of the ponies have some sort of psychological disorder and I usually don't like to get into what they are. To me some psychological disorders are over diagnosed.

 

I feel like Fluttershy could have a bit of Aspergers but not to a major extent. After all she is much too aware of social norms and pressures as she is always careful on what to say which people with Aspergers do not have.

 

I do feel like Twilight Sparkle does have a bit of Aspergers more so than Fluttershy. She treats everything like an experiment, she cares on order and organization yet she can become scatterbrained at times. She prefers to do what she enjoys most than other activities and she doesn't seem to be aware of how others think of her. It's strange but I always admired that part of her personality.

Edited February 9, 2013 by poniesforfun

[An Old Head 4,815]

There is an enormous line between simple introversion and passion about a certain subject, and Asperger's syndrome. The guy from Manchester in the Brony documentary had Asperger's, and it was explained pretty well there.

 

Asperger's is nothing more than a preference for things to be neat and tidy, a preference for routines, a preference for staying interested in one thing alone and not trying many new things, and people with Asperger's often have very enhanced senses. And, as people above rightly said, enhanced intelligence.

 

My point is that the above traits can be present in people without Asperger's - which means that diagnosing someone with it is on the basis that all of the traits are present at once. Twilight only has a select few of all the different characteristics, Fluttershy is the same. It would be a very long stretch to say they have Asperger's.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

My brother has Aspergers and I can definitely say that Twilight and Fluttershy do not express any of it's symptoms, like, I mean, absolutely none at all.

[Circadian 1,273]

No they don't. My little brother has it and they're not even close. They don't have disorders, they just have exaggerated personalities to make them more interesting.

[Soundgarden 2,757]

It's called personality. Both of them are more than capable of understanding other ponies emotions. Fluttershy is simply not showing it because she is shy, and many people are socially awkward or obsessed with books, but that doesn't mean that they got Aspergers

[RockinRarity 1,605]

My brother has Aspergers and I can definitely say that Twilight and Fluttershy do not express any of it's symptoms, like, I mean, absolutely none at all.

My brother has aspergers too. My brother definitely doesn't act anything like Fluttershy, and only has a couple of similar traits to Twilight. Actually he shares more traits with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but that is more of a straight-up personality thing rather than aspergers.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

My brother has aspergers too. My brother definitely doesn't act anything like Fluttershy, and only has a couple of similar traits to Twilight. Actually he shares more traits with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but that is more of a straight-up personality thing rather than aspergers.

True, my brother takes things too literally and has problems seeing things from other peoples' perspectives, that's about as far as his Aspergers goes. Even so, Aspergers doesn't have the communication of learning delays associated with the other forms of Autism, ruling out Fluttershy having it.

[Rainbow Dash 1,471]

I would expect Pinkie Pie to have Aspergers Twilight and Fluttershy no. Twilight is obsessed with magic because thats what her cutie mark signifies, the same goes with Fluttershy and her cutiemark. If anything F.S. has a personality disorder called social anxiety. As with Twilight her social skills werent enforced when she was younger.

[Spinelspike 78]

Well, as a fellow Aspie myself, I can very be intrigued as to why you may think this. It is a very interesting idea, and I do see why you may see some of the symptoms within the characters, but whether they do actually have it in the context of the show I doubt very highly. Let's remember that this is a cartoon, where emotions and actions are going to be exaggerated for the sake of humour and clearance. Aspergers has many many many different symptoms, and not every Aspie follows each one, but we are likely to share some of the primary symptoms that defines the syndrome for what it is, so trying to assume whether a fictional character has the syndrome or not is very difficult. Never the less, it is still a very interesting idea that I have to appreciate