Does Maud Pie have Aspergers?

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Well, it's never explicitly stated in the show, so I don't think so. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has never brought up real-life things like that. Even then, I still don't think she has Aspergers; I'm pretty sure the writers just wrote her that way for comic effect and nothing more.

[Booh 18]

I admit I'm going only on what Wikipedia says. I don't know anyone with it (that I'm aware of). Still, I think Maud is just Maud.

Maud IS just maud! That's what I'm getting at! But why is it that having aspergers changes a thing? her aspergers is her. My damaged shin nerves are just me! Her body created aspergers, so it's her. And not something that should be treated as a disease that has to be severed from the body.

[child of the night 271]

I feel that she is just antisocial and has trouble with common interactions.

[Astral Blitzen 469]

Sure, but not every character in the show needs to have some real world psychological reason for being like they are. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Some shows are geared towards teaching children in this way, but Friendship is Magic isn't one of them. It teaches lessons about friendship, not psychology.

 

And really, I don't have a problem with fans speculating, I just notice that many fans feel a need to project real life problems onto the characters, and I sometimes wonder why.

In a way, when you learn about friendship, you are learning in someway about psychology.

[Booh 18]

In a way, when you learn about friendship, you are learning in someway about psychology.

Friendship is actually studied in psychology because friendship is part of the mind.

So you're 100% correct!

[Shanks 10,811]

As someone who is on the Autism spectrum myself I would not be the least bit surprised if Maud turned out to be an aspie, it dosen't mean she is one as it is possible to have traits of a particular neurological condition without necessarily having it. Twilight and Fluttershy are speculated by some to have it and I think Maud is more likely to have it then both of them put together of course there are also many autistic people who have personalities that don't exactly line up with Maud's either so I advise a bit of caution before making too many assumptions. I have some things in common with Maud but I am more of an Applejack and Twilight Sparkle mix myself. If they did make her one though so long as they handled it well I would be 100% in favor of it, since it is such a complicated topic  though they would really need to do their homework first.

[Jammo 986]

I have Asperger's and no I just thing she's very reserved and to herself.

Just a very calm, direct, humourless pony. She doesn't have to have a disorder she probably just doesn't feel upbeat at all, with most of her excitement and emotions going on in her head.

[Shanks 10,811]

she probably just doesn't feel upbeat at all, with most of her excitement and emotions going on in her head.

Or feels upbeat but just expresses it in a different way, toward the end of the episode Pinkie Pie said that Maud was the most excited she has seen her in a long time. She of course didn't look the part but Pinkie knows her sister and probably knows her subtle cues. There are some times when in my head I am jumping for joy like Pinkie Pie but it dosen't show in my face or actions so I can relate to Maud on that one big time even if it dosen't happen to me quite as often.

Edited March 16, 2014 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Scootalove 10,684]

I wouldn't say that she does. Sure she doesn't convey her enthusiasm to other ponies, but it's hard to tell if she has the symptoms that Aspergers have. So, it could be hard to know for sure.

 

I'd say that she isn't really accustom to being social or interacting with others, she is probably shy.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Scootalove

[Malinter 3,064]

Maud is a result of the equation balancing out. Her stoic-ness balances of Pinkie's hyperness.

 

I wonder if Maud also possesses super memory like Pinkie. considering how she can nearly name and describe every type of rock its a possibility.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Malinter

[Rarity Paige Belle 1,853]

Maud is a result of the equation balancing out. Her stoic-ness balances of Pinkie's hyperness.

 

I wonder if Maud also possesses super memory like Pinkie. considering how she can nearly name and describe every type of rock its a possibility.

Or maybe she has OCD as well. Aspergers and OCD do go hand in hand!

[Skye 463]

No. You're all thinking too deep into this.

She's just a pony that acts different and is a weirdo. K thx.

[Radiance64 7,051]

I feel that she is just antisocial and has trouble with common interactions.

Yeah this.

I think if the showrunners wanted us to know if she had any specific mental quirks, they would tell us- that goes not for just Maud, but all the characters who are speculated upon this way I think. So, I don't think there's meant to be anything specifically wrong with her that would explain why likes rocks and whatnot so much, she's just written that way.

[Andaasonsan 3,205]

When a writer is creating a character, they're most likely channeling the personalities of people they've met before. So I  think it's likely that Noelle Benvenuti applied the personality and quirks of a person or people she knows that are the way they are because of aspergers.

 

I doubt we'll ever get an official confirmation on this one way or another, but it's interesting to speculate on.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

No.

 

This kind of topic is why people can't analyze and discuss the show without someone running in, flailing their arms like Kermit the Frog, screaming "HEYTHISISJUSTAKIDSSHOWSTOPOVERTHINKINGIT!!!1" -_-

 

She strikes me as being a bit of an artistic type, despite her passion being rocks. She's, according to Pinkie, into fashion, and she writes poetry.

 

She's just bohemian; she's a free thinker, that's her personality.

 

And as for the other part of that, the general dullness and what not seems to just be a major part of who she is; it can be chalked up to being her natural personality or the fact she was raised on a rock farm, which isn't too exciting of a place, either or.

 

Just because she's not a very sociable pony doesn't mean she has a psychological disorder

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

I didn't really get that impression but maybe.

[Nikkers 29]

I love mud. i think she is just suppose to show the dramatic difference bewteen them. I think she likes rocks because she grew up on a rock farm.  But can you imagine if she had her own verison on a party cannon? hi. i brought my rock cannon. ... 

[inactive lol get mem 123]

When ever someone starts a question like this it makes me facepalm. No offence but we have to remember that its a god damn cartoon, why would they bring real world problems into a cartoon!? If that was the case why haven't we had stuff like "The plane M.AIR.LARSON which is a 747 jet has gone missing" (I know that plane thing may upset some people but its an example)

 

...I think I should support the other side of a debate more often XD

[Infinity 103]

Assumptions like this irritate me. Maud's "symptoms" are incredibly vague and could be attributed to a large number of psychological disorders, if one were to be the cause. She could be showing symptoms of depression for all we know. But, and let's face it, the brony fandom has a very large autistic/asperger portion, and so are undoubtedly biased in labelling character with what they themselves understand.

 

This is by no means an attack on autism/asperger's. I personally do not care if someone is autistic in the same way that I do not care of someone's sexuality or whathaveyou. However, I feel that many people want a character to relate to, a character they can say "hey, (s)he's just like me!" And thus end up projecting their situations onto characters where there is no evidence.

 

Character is quiet and introverted? Must be asperger's!

 

Character has short attention span? You got ADHD, buddy!

 

Character likes neatness? OCD, here we come!

 

While these are traits of said disorders, they are by no means exclusive. A quiet, smart person does not equal asperger's. As someone said above, Maud was quite aware of her social situation and standing within the mane 6. She simply said nothing to avoid upsetting Pinkie. Social awareness is key in diagnosing Asperger's. After all, it is on the same spectrum as Autism and the 'aut' in that comes from auto; pertaining to themselves, hence why the whole spectrum is universally defined as having lacking social skills/awareness. This is unrelated to intelligence, before anyone accuses me of calling those with Asperger's stupid, which is not the case.

 

I suppose it can be an interesting fanon, but it is certainly not serious within the show. If it were, it would be front and centre, as her syndrome would have been the whole reason she wasn't bonding well the with the mane 5. Think Flight to the Finish.

[Argumedies 1,748]

When ever someone starts a question like this it makes me facepalm. No offence but we have to remember that its a god damn cartoon, why would they bring real world problems into a cartoon!? If that was the case why haven't we had stuff like "The plane M.AIR.LARSON which is a 747 jet has gone missing" (I know that plane thing may upset some people but its an example)

 

...I think I should support the other side of a debate more often XD

I agree, this obsession with aspergers is getting annoying.

 

Does adding a lable make it any different.

 

Aspergers is defined as:

 

: a developmental disorder resembling autism that is characterized by impaired social interaction, by repetitive patterns of behavior and restricted interests, by normal language and cognitive development, and often by above average performance in a narrow field against a general background of deficient functioning.

 

I got news for y'all... if we look hard enough... we ALL have Aspergers in some form or another.

 

So what if she does, people are who they are and ponies are who they are. Maud likes rocks (and in the right industry, that's one hell of a career) I applaud her obsession with rocks, much like AJs obsession with the apple farm, Twilights book nerdyness, Rarity's business ownership and all the others.

 

Does Maud need a thousand friends on her Facebook? No, excitement for her is defined in other ways.

 

As one who has spent many a day around rocks. Moving them from one place to another, I can say this... although she will never replace Rarity and Luna in my heart... Maud Rocked

[Carolina 212]

I kind of thought she did because of this exchange:

 

Rarity: I didn't know you were funny.

Maud:...What do you mean?

[Shanks 10,811]

When ever someone starts a question like this it makes me facepalm. No offence but we have to remember that its a god damn cartoon, why would they bring real world problems into a cartoon!?

It is not like it is entirely unprecedented to bring "real world problems" into a cartoon even one geared toward young children the show itself may not cover things like sex, drugs, death or complex neurological disorders/differences but it has covered many other "real world problems" like bullying, romance, honesty, compromise, fear, prejudice and many many other issues. Despite this for the most part the show still has a light hearted tone except for the occasional darker moment like Pinkie Pie going Pinkamena in Party of One but has done this without being sickeningly saccharine as to insult the intelligence of even the young children who watch it. And other cartoons have covered some of those and other issues as well, Rugrats dealt with the death of Chuckies mother and Hey Arnold though it never confirmed if his parents were alive or dead did say they were missing and it was very likely they were dead in one very emotional episode where Arnolds Grandpa tells him about them.

 

I would of course agree that Maud being a bit different dosen't automatically make her have Aspergers and as I have said before we should be careful about jumping to conclusions but as others have asked would it really be so horrible if that did in fact turn out to be the case so long as they handled it properly? It is not her having it would be like she had cancer or something, it would just mean her brains works a bit differently which is honestly something we already know with her quirks even if she didn't have any sort of neurological condition. I find it very insulting when people treat matters like that as if they were a fate worse than death, it scares parents and creates all sorts of misconceptions that are very damaging, misconceptions I and many others are working to dispel.

[Booh 18]

When ever someone starts a question like this it makes me facepalm. No offence but we have to remember that its a god damn cartoon, why would they bring real world problems into a cartoon!? If that was the case why haven't we had stuff like "The plane M.AIR.LARSON which is a 747 jet has gone missing" (I know that plane thing may upset some people but its an example)

 

...I think I should support the other side of a debate more often XD

People bring real world problems situations (aspergers is not a problem) so younger people can better understand and deal with situations, it's a fantastic learning tool.

[Guest90210 3,567]

No. She just expresses herself in an unusual way.

 

Why do fans constantly have to try to project real world psychological problems onto characters in this show?

 

This type if behavior is not simply "expressing herself". Maybe in the context of the pony world if in which you believe mental health issues don't exist, but otherwise she clearly has some serious symptoms of Aspergers, Severe depression, and Apathy. Anyone like this in real life would be admitted into a mental health facility in no time

Edited March 17, 2014 by Rivendare

[Gary S. 102]

I don't know about aspergers, but she's a bit crazy with her rock obsession.

 

Applejack was scared.