Wednesday Addams is the BEST autistic character on TV

Netflix's new series Wednesday is gaining a lot of attention, but nobody seems to be talking about how Wednesday is coded as autistic. Let's explore Wednesday Addams' traits of autism spectrum disorder, and how her neurodiversity impacts her strengths and weaknesses on the show.

00:00 Intro
00:47 Autistic Representation in Media
03:43 Overview of Wednesday
05:25 Sensory sensitivities
06:45 Deep interests
07:34 Pattern recognition
08:01 Social Relationships
11:18 Double-empathy problem
11:45 Masking
12:30 Musical aptitude
13:30 Social Motivation
15:05 Eye contact and emotion
15:48 "An" autistic experience
16:13 Character influences
18:39 Final thoughts and fun stuff

Further Reading:

Jaswal VK, Akhtar N. (2019) Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 42, e82: 1–73. doi:10.1017/ S0140525X18001826
Mazurek, M. O. (2014). Loneliness, friendship, and well-being in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 18(3), 223-232. DOI: 10.1177/1362361312474121

[rynbliss]

when tyler went "i feel like ur giving me mixed signals" and wednesday said "i literally have no idea what ur talking about" that was the moment that really did it for me and made me realize how nd she is

[AkiraLionPilot]

She seems to get along with Eugene just fine (well, better than the other characters anyway). She stands up for him when he's bullied, even cleans him up and shows great concern for him when he's hospitalized. It also stuck out to me that when he tells her "this might surprise you, but I don't have any friends", she doesn't follow that up with some snarky remark like "Trust me, it doesn't" like any other character typically would, because she herself doesn't have any either (whether by choice or not).

[HopeGardneramed]

If you know DSM5 criteria of ASD, Robin in Stranger Things literally tells you she is on the spectrum. (Lack of social cues, sensitivity to clothing, late walking, her ease in learning Russian can be perceived as pattern recognition)

[glanni]

I'm not diagnosed but have a strong suspicion, and I can relate to being disturbed when others realize the "mask falling off" when playing music. Tragically I've kept myself from doing it because I was so ashamed of people thinking or saying anything about it, but not because they say it's good or bad, but because I hate being perceived.

[steveconnor]

As for dropping the piranha fish in the pool, I felt sorry for the fish. The chlorine in the water would kill them.

[anawieder]

As someone neurodiverse and disabled and queer I have to say I’m rather tired of the whole head canon thing whether it’s “autistic coding” or “queer coding”. I just wish they would make characters actually diagnosed and out of the closet (whatever closet that may be) let’s have more actually autistic (or whatever other representation) characters.

[emb]

I relate to her character so much. I really like the mention of her therapist can't understand how she doesn't have much social motivation that is exactly the hang up my mother has always had with me. I am rejection sensitive but I really don't seek being around people that aren't for me. I love the organization in this video- it was a series of jarring points that are screaming at me to seek diagnosis already.

[floofymuffin]

The part that confused me is that Wednesday has a strong sense of justice, but she didn't care that Tyler had bullied Xavier! She said something like, "You thought I would care about some stupid prank?" But she didn't tolerate bullying when it happened to her brother! Do you think this was just a slip-up on the writers' part? I feel like it almost plays into the negative stereotypes about autistic people being unfeeling or uncaring (when Wednesday clearly cares for Eugene and others).

[Wombatmetal]

I can identify with Wednesday. I am over 40 and have long suspected I would be diagnosed on the spectrum if I were a kid today. I would like some more ASD canon.

[dischorddynne]

She is really a perfect demonstration of Autism, SzPD, and Conduct disorder. I love how well they demonstrated these disorders while bringing light to them as humans, with the empathy towards her.

[ellioni]

I feel a sense of comfortability with her character that I don't usually. She doesn't show loads of emotions that tv characters tend to- for me that is nice to see. I'm not autistic but this is a cool video

[annikogaming]

No wonder why I relate so much with Wednesday. I'm not necessarily autistic but I have ADHD. Like Wednesday I'm not normal either.

[sirensong]

I doubt that adding supernatural powers has ruined the Addams Family aspect, as the family alone is believed to be barely human. (Aka Fester, Cousin It, Thing, Lurch, etc). Wednesday having visions, actually aligns with her diagnosis, as she’s very logical and observant. Her being Psychometric, adds to the “not liking being touched” aspect of having Asperger’s, as I, too, do not like people touching me. Having stronger senses to sights, sounds, and touch, makes sense. Her being psychic is part of her neurodivergence, as it shows her being sensitive to external sensory, without explicitly giving away her diagnosis.

[mirjamenny]

Wednesday and her school are an inclusivity metaphor for the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) neurotype, so I think a lot of the characters are coded in ways that are designed to make them inclusive/representational for a lot of neurodivergent people who feel marginalised. As a Bipolar II, I can also see a lot of "myself" in Wednesday and Enid's characters because I sometimes flip between those two polarities of behaviours/thinking, although I spend a lot more time in "Wednesday" mode.

[Rosebloom]

I've one episode left but I really liked Wednesday's character. I like how she's her 'authentic' self so much of the time and I relate to her picking up patterns that others don't and her blunt analysis of situations.

I'd love a video on Sherlock Holmes as an autistic character, if that's something you're interested in making.

[EnglishMuffin]

This was really interesting. I’ve been seeing a lot of comments about Wednesday being Autistic coded but had yet to see anyone break down exactly why. I don’t think I’m on the spectrum but I am introverted and have a lot of social anxiety so I still found myself relating to her character and Eugene’s more than anyone else. I also found the sensory sensitivity really fascinating, as I definitely experience that, as well. Whether I’m spectrum or not, I find it fascinating how so many diagnoses and traits intersect. Thank you for the video!

[erinbathie-moore]

One of the Autistic Headcannons that I'd like to point out is Hiccup from Httyd, which is a headcannon I've had since the first movie came out (which I saw in cinema). It didn't help that Hiccup's relationship with his dad, is the same as mine (without the happy acceptance storyline). (I find it cool that I look like Astrid. I need to find a Hiccup looking Astris for my Astrid looking Hiccup)

[EmilyFPC]

More Auti Head Cannon, plz!
I love this vid; I knew someone would pick this opportunity up quickly. I'm a 33yo woman struggling to get a diagnosis, so I immediately picked up on the obvious theme with all the nonstop auti research I've done over the last year!
I'm glad it lead me to your channel - I'm subscribed w/ notifications on 😁 - keep up the good work!!

[Savvy]

This is awesome! I love and appreciate that you include the sources because learning about the expanding nuances of asd is one of my big interests right now and being able to read more about it is so great!! I also enjoy the way you explain things and pack this so full of examples, it makes the discussion more concrete to follow and it is super helpful (esp since this show is my 'reward' for finishing my school semester soon). Thanks for this video and how you set it up!

[louisnemzer]

I really liked the show. Normally, when a show tries to portray an existing historical person or fictional character as neurodiverse, it makes them flatter or more caricatured. On Wednesday, the opposite happened. It made her a much more complex and understandable character .