I was just speaking of the progression of the story.

Ivor is, say, autistic, somewhere on the spectrum. This presents problems to him in his relationships within the world, because he cannot see/understand certain patterns. Ivor has a gift, though. He sees patterns where others cannot see them. Random to the rest of the world is not random to him.

My problem as an artist is in imagining the inner state of an autistic person. I sat in that waiting room watching that autistic girl, certain that there was a lot going on in her head. She was extremely "low-functioning". What does that feel like, I wondered?

So I am on this board because I want to get that character as right as I can. I could just "lurk" on this board. But I feel that's somehow dishonest. There's plenty to read, and I could just do that, and go about my business. But that just doesn't feel right to me.

I won't lie. I do feel a need to signify my respect for folks that say "I'm just fine, thank you very much." I have a deep suspicion of normative thinking. I have issues in my life that are rooted in that kind of thing.

It boils down to this: My value system says "All of us matter equally." And "It is my joyful duty as a human being to discern the value and goodness in everyone."

I don't think nature makes mistakes. People make mistakes.