User blog comment:SpartHawg948/An Open Letter Regarding Mass Effect: Deception/@comment-217.120.178.21-20120201151707/@comment-217.120.178.21-20120201213928

(I'm the original comment-poster.)

I have autism, myself. I agree it's not something you grow out of, and hence it should have been mentioned in the book, but I think the comments on this wiki are wrong too, if in the opposite direction. Making a blanket claim about autism being some terrible disability is incredibly stigmatizing to those of us who have autism but do not have any problems, and I get discriminated against because of things like that.

Some people with autism are disabled, and others are not. Anyone who doesn't recognize both those points is doing a disservice to the other group. Autism in the Mass Effect universe has been treated pretty badly in general, as David (from Project Overlord) is a major stereotype.

Not mentioning Gillian's autism is certainly poor writing, but calling everyone with autism disabled is offensive to many *non*-fictional people, including myself. That doesn't seem right to me.