The Superman on the Spectrum: Shaw’s Autistic Characters and the Neurodiversity Movement

As the autistic community searches for historical identity, it is surprising to notice that Bernard Shaw appears on almost every list of famous figures associated with the autism spectrum. The neurodiversity movement’s surprising appropriation of Shaw and his characters may seem superficially beneficial to public perceptions about autism and Asperger’s syndrome. However, proposing an autistic identity for his St. Joan and Henry Higgins, and possibly even the playwright himself, actually threatens to reaffirm damaging stereotypes of people on the spectrum, perpetuating the erroneous idea that all autistic people are geniuses and savants.