Diagnosis: Asperger's Syndrome
Portrayed by Mark Linn-Bake
Season 2, "Probability"; Season 6, "Endgame"
Wally Stevens is an insurance company employee who is sent to help the NY detectives with a case involving fourteen murdered homeless people in an insurance fraud scheme. The
detectives quickly notice his repetitive movements, including rhythmically tapping his
fingers on the desk to remain focused and calm. Mr. Stevens doesn’t share personal information except that he plays the piano very well.
After their first interaction, one detectives calls him "geeky". He admits early in the episode that he has trouble making eye contact and says “If I look at people for more than 2/3 of the time I seem aggressive. If I look at someone for less than 1/3 of the time he seems dishonest.” He says he is working on more appropriate nonverbal practices. When the detectives start to notice several small patterns within the case, they realize that Stevens must have something to do with the deaths. One detective makes the connection and informs his colleagues of his suspicion that Wally has Asperger's; “symptoms include the need to create and duplicate patters, impairment of nonverbal behavior such as eye to eye gaze, flexible adherence to routines, often coupled with high intelligence and the tendency to become preoccupied with a particular subject…. It’s a high functioning form of Autism. It’s why Wally Stevens can’t empathize, it’s why he can’t connect…” They trick Mr. Stevens into freely marking two locations on a map, which happen to coincide with the patterns emerging from the previous murders. During the confrontation, the detectives tell Mr. Stevens that he is making these patters, has lost his wife and has social trouble because he has Asperger's. He was previously undiagnosed, but there is a sense of relief because he now knows why his wife and children left him, why he needs certain routines and why acts the way he does. It becomes a scapegoat for him, something that he can blame his actions on.
Beside the serial killer aspect of Wally's character, the representation follows the stereotypical, focusing on repetitive patterns, difficulty with eye contact, and high intelligence. I thought it was a mediocre, generic representation. For someone who has no other exposure to ASD, making this character a serial killer is a slippery slope for misrepresentations. While I'm sure the show portrays many different types of murderers, labeling someone with a social disorder a killer can only perpetrate negative stereotypes.
Like I've mentioned before, I would really stress the importance of writing characters who are more varied in their actions and behaviors. Since most of the shows are just focusing on the disorder for one to three episodes, it is hard to include a great deal of information, different types of characters with Autism or provide glimpses of one's personality over a longer period of time. Instead they cram many behaviors into a very short timeframe and for them, it's easier to choose the commonly known behaviors. I applaud all the shows for trying, but I do wish they really looked at how these portrayals affected their audience.
** I could not find any videos for your connivence, but the episodes are available through iTunes and Amazon.
After their first interaction, one detectives calls him "geeky". He admits early in the episode that he has trouble making eye contact and says “If I look at people for more than 2/3 of the time I seem aggressive. If I look at someone for less than 1/3 of the time he seems dishonest.” He says he is working on more appropriate nonverbal practices. When the detectives start to notice several small patterns within the case, they realize that Stevens must have something to do with the deaths. One detective makes the connection and informs his colleagues of his suspicion that Wally has Asperger's; “symptoms include the need to create and duplicate patters, impairment of nonverbal behavior such as eye to eye gaze, flexible adherence to routines, often coupled with high intelligence and the tendency to become preoccupied with a particular subject…. It’s a high functioning form of Autism. It’s why Wally Stevens can’t empathize, it’s why he can’t connect…” They trick Mr. Stevens into freely marking two locations on a map, which happen to coincide with the patterns emerging from the previous murders. During the confrontation, the detectives tell Mr. Stevens that he is making these patters, has lost his wife and has social trouble because he has Asperger's. He was previously undiagnosed, but there is a sense of relief because he now knows why his wife and children left him, why he needs certain routines and why acts the way he does. It becomes a scapegoat for him, something that he can blame his actions on.
Beside the serial killer aspect of Wally's character, the representation follows the stereotypical, focusing on repetitive patterns, difficulty with eye contact, and high intelligence. I thought it was a mediocre, generic representation. For someone who has no other exposure to ASD, making this character a serial killer is a slippery slope for misrepresentations. While I'm sure the show portrays many different types of murderers, labeling someone with a social disorder a killer can only perpetrate negative stereotypes.
Like I've mentioned before, I would really stress the importance of writing characters who are more varied in their actions and behaviors. Since most of the shows are just focusing on the disorder for one to three episodes, it is hard to include a great deal of information, different types of characters with Autism or provide glimpses of one's personality over a longer period of time. Instead they cram many behaviors into a very short timeframe and for them, it's easier to choose the commonly known behaviors. I applaud all the shows for trying, but I do wish they really looked at how these portrayals affected their audience.
** I could not find any videos for your connivence, but the episodes are available through iTunes and Amazon.
