REGARDING THE PUZZLE PIECES: It has come to my attention that the use of the puzzle pieces as a symbol for autism has become outdated and is now considered offensive. I’m using the thumbnail test feature, meaning that the video has 3 different thumbnails that display at random. All 3 feature the puzzle pieces. When I get the chance (hopefully later today) I’ll stop the test, take whatever thumbnail is currently winning and incorporate the infinity symbol instead. As for the beginning of the video, I can’t really change that, I apologize. Thank you all for bringing this to my attention, and I am deeply sorry for anyone I may have offended with the outdated symbol.
Weird, as autistic myself i never found it to be offensive nor thought it could be viewed as such thing. What's next? The infinity symbol becoming "outdated and offensive" too? Edit: Hey everyone, thanks for clarifying, i always viewed the puzzle thing as meaning "our brains are pieced differently", not really in a "missing piece" sense BUT i understand now why some can see it as offensive. Also yeah Autism Speaks is shit, i completely forgot about them when making this reply
The personalities of the characters help too. Sonic isn't very serious, and himself has a short attention span for things that he doesn't care for. Sonic, in his own words; is just a guy on an adventure.
@@Yimika777 My autistic son is 8 and he's obsessed with sonic and thomas the train lol. But I noticed he doesn't mind red and blue because he is also obsessed with mario and spiderman.
People with autism work in IT fields sometimes and it's annoying because some keep talking about sonic and pokemon 😂 I understand now I still love y'all
@@JayGettinBread what would you rather they talk about? "The game"? That "chick" they banged last thursday? Some music genre you're probably not interested in? If people talking bout what they are interested in is annoying to you, that seems like a you problem
I would argue that the autistic infatuation w/ Sonic is linked with a specific generation who were exposed to Sonic at a particular age. The autistic children I work with have a thing for Cars and Paw Patrol which has similar themes in it's character designs.
Anecdotally, I've noticed a really strong link between autistic, currently tween/teen age kids (10-17yo) kids and really liking Undertale and Five Nights at Freddy's. Plus there's all of those miscellaneous cartoons from the 80's-00's whose only surviving fanbase is autistic fanartists drawing SFW paraphilia art (I say this as neutrally as possible; the correlation between autism and non-normative sexual expression is both substantiated and only a negative if you think non-normative sexuality is negative). I would say autistic folks generally gravitate to cartoons (or cartoony media properties) with bold, colorful character designs, often featuring nonhuman characters. Sonic just happened to have the right amount of reach at the right time for a generation of autistic kids to collectively imprint on it.
Yeah I think you could say sonic was one of the 2000s go-tos. It is a big franchise and the reason I think it feels so strange or noticeable is because autism really only came to be seen as relatively normal or easily recognized in the 2010s, so it still always came across as more of an an oddity Sonic having such an "eclectic" fanbase.
There's also the fact that a hyperfixation can only last so long after all the content of a subject is dug up. With sonic, the IP has been around so long and with so many creative fans, there is a steady influx of content to feed the obssesion CONSTANTLY. Ive noticed when i get bored of an obsession, its not because i actually grew bored of it. I just grew tired of looking at the same content with nothing new. And if that subject gets more content in the future, i find myself going through the rabbit hole of obsession all over again.
this is exactly why my sonic fixation has lasted YEARS no other interest of mine has stuck for so long, but with sonic, the content just... keeps on coming. its endless lol
Now this is absolutely fascinating. When I think about all of my autistic special interests, the common denominator is that they each contain a metric fuck ton/almost endless collection of discoverable information. The convoluted Kingdom Hearts lore, the 800 episodes of Naruto I watched, the multi-book length explanations I could give about music theory. Sonic has games, comics, merchandise, fanfiction, and movies. It's a franchise that has spanned 30+ years. It makes so much sense that so many autistic people love it because there's enough content to fuel years of obsession and special interest.
I worked in a group home for young adults with severe mental disabilities. One of the guys there LOVED Sonic. He would always watch Sonic X and I’d watch it with him, I actually enjoyed it for what it was. He was such a sweet guy and I hope he’s doing well.
@@ccelite3782 I feel like Knuckles gets a pass in the same way Piccolo from DBZ does, and Shadow could because of his fur color, and even then I don't see either of them saying it, just out of principle
4:57 If you're autistic, you're either "I need quiet all the time because I'll freak out" or "I need loud all the time because I'm freaking out internally and I need the outside to match the inside" in my experience.
@@iiisaac1312 you fool. im an autistic whos entirely free from inhibitions caused by wanting to be understood or liked by neurotypicals. with me at vanguard, our armies will scourge the earth.
I had a friend with autism, and who loved sonic, he would wear sonic shoes, have sonic merchandise, had all the sonic games, at my worst point in my life where I was losing every friend this guy was the only Person still there for me, maybe it’s because he couldn’t understand how bad of a person I was, maybe it’s cuz he didn’t really care, but he was a great, we slowly stopped talking because of life, he was always older than me so he just got caught up with life, but I’ll never forget him for how amazing he was… how amazing he is…
Autistic people are fiercely loyal. If they see any point in having a friend at all, they're going to value that friend. It takes so much effort to start and maintain a friendship. Social norms don't matter much to many autists, so they're likely to be a lot less judgy.
I was a kid 20 years ago in the Netherlands and I couldn't find Sonic figures at the local toy stores nor on internet at that time. I drew Sonic on paper, colored him, snipped him out and just played with the paper Sonic. And yes I'm autistic af.
I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at a younger age. My struggles were typically with social cues and self expression. Those being mentioned, Sonic the Hedgehog was absolutely a focus of my childhood. I can't place a particular point on why it was so fun to play those games, but nowadays it comes to me in scratching a mental itch. Gaming for me typically boils down to two goals, completing a plan/project that benefits other ones, or death march challenges that take hours of practice to accomplish. Sonic Rush, with a higher frame rate (therefore the game runs faster), with frame skip enabled, is addictingly fun. I love playing that game and it was a massive part of my childhood. Now when I play it there's barely any coherency. It took years of playing those levels to get to a point where I could do that, and it feels like natural mastery to beat those stages with the game basically running double time. I also love the music. Planet Wisp Act 1 brings me a peace similar to the warm embrace of loved ones. That song raised me and still gives me a calm mind in difficult moments. The same can be said for other tracks and games as well. This franchise has been great for me and my own growth. I've been working with pixel art and code bases for quite some time and my goal is to someday make a faithful and polished recreation of the Rush games, either as a fan made project or a directly new title that uses similar/inspired mechanics (like how pizza tower was to the warioware titles). Thank you for this video! Your points are extremely well thought and you did an excellent job describing some things I really did struggle with. Take care!
As a certified Sonic autist, I think the game design of Sonic also speaks to the optimization people with autism try to achieve in their daily life. Optimizing simple tasks to get them done as fast as possible and planning out a path through them. Recognising certain features of the task coming up and already thinking about how to use them to progress faster. This is not only the way autistic people go through many tasks in life, it's literally THE basis of Sonic game design. So Sonic as a game basically rewards people for thinking like an autistic person.
@@hylus5d10To be fair. Speedrunning means playing a game over and over. So you kinda need a hyper fixation on a game to be able to do that and keep having fun. So it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of top runners are on the spectrum.
More true than you think. Sonic as a character is openminded and accepting of just about anyone. He'll always give his friends, old and new, the chance to show the best sides of themselves. Some take a little more time and effort than others, but he won't think poorly of someone unless they give him a good reason.
I think the reason sonic resonates with so many people with autism is because sonic as a character helps them feel validated as human beings. Sonic as a character, regardless of who you are or what you are dealing with will always treat you like a real person and make you feel validated. He doesn't undermine you for having a disability but he also doesn't give you special treatment by calling you things like "special" or things of that nature. He speaks to you as if you were any other person he met in the world. People with autism want to be treated as human and sonic satisfies that craving for authentic human relationships. Something that sadly a lot of people seem to not comprehend. Edit: wow, i never got this many likes before. Didn't expect this many people to respond to my comment. Edit 2: I will need to clarify more on my point because people seem to not realise that I am specifically talking about how people with autism respond to sonic' character and the series as a whole. I am not saying that its only in sonic that people can become more attached to fictional characters, I never said that. That was never the focus and point of this comment. But the fact of the matter is there is a relationship between the sonic franchise and people with autism really liking sonic. I am expressing my thoughts as why people with autism in particular are so strongly attracted to sonic the hedgehog. I am not sure why people seem to miss the point, I am just talking about sonic the character and autism because that is what the video is trying to address. This comment is just me responding to the video as well as sharing my own understanding of the phenomenon since I noticed it myself as well in the fanbase.
True,I just want to ponit out autistic people moslty perfer perfer first person language because "people with austim" has been used in arrogant ways and it can sound like austim is separate when we ARE austistic.
This was very interesting for me to watch. My daughter has autism and she LOVES sonic. Especially Shadow, she's gonna love the new movie coming out. I've also been suspecting for a while that i have undiagnosed autism, and being a lifelong gamer a lot of the things you mentioned resonated with me too
a LOT of adults get diagnosed later in life specifically because of their kids.. If you can afford the testing it doesn't hurt to check (: It really saved my life learning about it and changing how I view myself and the world around me
This was legitimately a fantastic video. As an autistic black girl, Sonic and Kingdom Hearts provided me an escape from the stress, abuse, and bullying I faced as a child (which was caused by an intersection of all of those identities combined). I was part of the generation of people that were bullied for liking video games, anime, manga, etc., but all of these mediums were instrumental in getting me through those years. Since this video is particularly about Sonic, I’ll share this: going on adventures with the colorful cast of Sonic characters made me feel like I was part of their team. They made me feel belonged when no one else did. Especially because I was regarded as the “nerdy” black girl that didn’t like stereotypically “black” things (which is really fucked up, someone’s race should not come in to question if they like a particular thing). JRPGs and J-Platformers grew to become my special interest, to the point where I am now majoring in Japanese and minoring in Music and Computer Science to prepare me to join the Japanese gaming industry. Sonic was so influential to my life, and I’m so happy you did this video justice. Thank you! :)
Not me wearing my Golu v. Grieza hoodie right this very moment 😫😭@@mkg1097 but yeah these characters, they just speak to us like no other. Which is why I never much cared for this "representation" nonsense. If I can look at a strong alien monkey boy, or a fast blue hedgehog and say "I want to be more like HIM", then we already are winning for characters that motivate us and show that we have a place in a world, and hidden power within a structure that sees us as outsiders.
DUDE YES, I used to play sonic generations and unleashed a lot when I was a kid, then I got off of it for awhile, now this year it all came back as I finished SA, SU, SG, SG 100%, like WHAT THE HELL STOP IT!!!
this entire video essay is literally ironic. he thinks "why are so many people obsessed with this?", then proceeds to obsess with it. Im loving it thank you this is exactly what i wanted after going on my yearly sonic stim session
as someone with ASD with a special interest in Sonic, I like how cool and fast he is, and the soundtrack of Sonic games influenced my music taste. I used to be a lot shyer about sharing my interest but nowadays I have to physically stop myself from talking about it. Another factor of the appeal of Sonic to autistic ppl is that multiple characters can be headcanonned as Neurodivergent, such as Sonic having ADHD or Silver having ASD.
@@RainbowSwiftie13 While it's not confirmed, Silver is shown to take things literally (TSR) and be pretty gullible and naive (Sonic 06) which are traits that many people with ASD share. He's actually my favourite character along with Blaze which is quite funny
@@thelobsterlover9449 Holy crap! I never knew, and yet I myself have autism. I'll definitely be watching the TSR cutscenes later just for Silver's (possible) ASD moments. XD
Sonic was one of my earliest obsessions when I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome; I remember consuming whatever Sonic media I could find back when I was in kindergarten and first grade whether it was playing Sonic flash games on my family computer, watching full episodes of Sonic X, or just drawing pictures of Sonic and his friends at school; I even dressed up as Sonic for my second grade Halloween. To this day I still enjoy Sonic just as much as I enjoy all my other interests.
My mom works at a regional center, she says people with autism are attracted to the color blue. Also people with autism have a wild imagination, just like Sonic they imagine showing off their coolness
I like blue, although I wonder how much of that has to do with blue being a kind of color for safety and security along with the tendency to not properly identify people that aren't boys ad being autistic when they are.
On one of our first dates, my boyfriend (has high functioning ASD) talked about Sonic for like two hours after we got dinner. I loved how passionate he was about the subject. Unfortunately... you could say that Sonic made me more into my boyfriend... lol
I love it when autistic people have special interests. It makes me so happy to see people enjoy things with so much passion, and it’s so fascinating how they become so weathly with information regarding it. I wonder how many things have survived intellectual extinction because it was an autistic persons special interest.
I ask the same questions myself. I like to believe that it is normal within human society to have a few select individuals that obsess over learning particular niches, and throughout history these are the people that have become respected elders or griots that passed down culture, language, and traditions to the next generation. A lot of African and Indigenous societies functioned like this. Today, we label this trait as autistic, but before we had modern psychology give us these terms, could many of these elders have been considered "autistic"?
Autistic sonic fanboy speaking. For me i believe its the replayability of sonic games which make them so appealing. As you said with the special interests, it can often go further for me with hyperfixating on getting the highest score i can in any given level or doing all i can to chop off just a second of time from a run. Everything you said in the video is true for me, (ESPECIALLY WITH THE SOUNDTRACKS) real good video dude!!💙
Yes! This exactly. I love improving on my times in Sonic games. Riders, Generations, Unleashed, the Cyberspace levels... Can't explain how many hours I've spent trying to get down every second. And don't even get me started on the fan games 😅
I find this is especially true with me and Sonic CD, I always like challenging myself to get more and more creative with how I time travel while simultaneously trying to beat my previous record time.
@@HollowLeif for sure. sonic cd is one of my personal favourites. unleashed is my #1 and its in part because of all the alternative paths you can take. cd takes that to a whole different level. (aswell as having a top 5 ost even today) cd is so underrated and im glad to see people still appreciate it because a lot of the comments are very negative :)
Truuueee Sonic 2 was the first game I ever remember playing, and ever since I have gotten a copy of it on every platform it's available on and finish it again atleast a couple times a year Safe to say Sonic Mania was an absolute treat for me, as someone who specifically obsesses over Sonic 2 haha
i have autism and ADHD, and when i saw this video title i was scared you would fall into many of the pitfalls that other creators do, where they fall victim to misinformation or jump to conclusions. this was handled extremely well, and explains a lot i struggle to put into words. thank you.
@KingC89 I was diagnosed when I was 9. It's very rare that people self diagnose in general, the internet amplifies it by giving everyone a platform. If they think they have it because they fit the criteria they are more than welcome in our community. If they struggle with life it is our job to be supportive, not turn away because, "your disability isn't as bad as ours." If someone suspects they are autistic then we should be here for them to help them figure it out. Then they can decide if they want to go to a doctor for a diagnosis. Being critical about someone you dont know is pretty melty behaviour, and I'd prefer to see someone get assistance from the people they reach out to than be turned away for almost no reason.
@lceniceros359 you clearly didn't read the message properly, mate. I said I am glad they didn't do those things. Plus it's normal to be suspicious when my disability is compared to a blue hedgehog and a pink what ever the fuck Amy is. 😂 All I was saying is that I am glad they used actual sources instead of biased one infantilise us.
@lewalterdesclarmont-ferran4970 dude. I am proud of myself and never claimed to not be, but I am not saying something that cheesy, it's nice to hear, but I just can't bring myself to. (I am only being half serious, I appreciate the sentiment, dw.) You seem like a nice guy, I'd have a crack with ye, but the way I see it saying I have it works hand in hand with saying I am it. Because I am autistic, but its kinda one of those moments where we are agreeing on the same thing for different reasons. So yeah, I am proud of who I am, never claimed to not be, but I appreciate the sentiment and effort you put into trying to cheer a stranger up, it shows real character and growth from experience, and that's something you should be proud of yourself for. I am just happy that we exist in a world where we can talk openly and not have to worry about being sent to asylums. Like, not even 30 years prior to 2002, and I would have been born in a hellish time for autism. But it's relatively safe. I live in a small village, so my role is forever changing. I am either the local recluse or a regular at the pub. 😅😂 I am sure I'd be the village idiot if I wasn't such a smart-ass. 😂 Life is going good, though. Moving in with my boyfriend soon, so that's something to look forward to. Have a nice evening, it's been a pleasure chatting.
Autistic person here. We wouldn't need escape if the world wasn't so hostile to autism. We avoid the world because of how incredibly unfair it is. Video games offer an escape from a world that rejects us.
don't get me started on the people who will treat a grown man like a toddler simply because he has autism (or any other disability). i despise that kind of treatment. it's disrespectful to that person.
I greatly respect the approach you are taking here, but I feel like this rabbit hole goes a lot deeper. The bright colors is one thing, sure. But on top of that you also have other factors that are tangent to that. The cartoony aesthetic, along with the animal characters, provides a disconnect to reality and thus a form of escapism. The long-running nature of the series provides a high volume of content to ingest. The multi-media aspect provides a lot of different avenues that could appeal to someone; perhaps they gravitate more to cartoons and anime, or perhaps more toward comics and manga, or perhaps more toward video games, (and even within video games there are a wide variety of different games that could appeal to someone and thus open the gateway,) and all roads lead back to interest in the core franchise. I think there is also something gained just from its popularity. There are lots of things that someone could gain a special interest from, but when an autistic person finds another person sharing an interest, their focus on said interest will magnify, because now they are able to get something out of it that they have struggled to obtain: social nutrition. Honestly, every single explanation one could devise is something that could also apply to another franchise. (Look at how much of this applies to Mario, for example.) So why does Sonic get the attention for being favored by autistic people? Perhaps it just became a perfect storm of content that appealed to people, but I also wonder if there is just more to it than we thought.
I honestly always linked it with the "flow" state that Sonic games induce and naturally encourage through their gameplay. Much moreso than other platformers and much more overtly, Sonic games want you to move fluidly through a stage. This is encouraged through the gain of momentum through fluid and "mistakeless" platforming, though I think it's best seen through the way the game "punishes" you. Hitting a wall, spikes (or another hazard) or even a steep hill all kill that sweet dopamine rush you just had from zooming on by. Another example I'd point out would be the series' general encouragement for you to learn and perfect a stage to "speedrun" through it. This is not only encouraged by the mechanics mentioned above but by time bonuses and unclockables otherwise unavailable except through meeting certain time requirements. This I believe caters to the uniquely autistic ability to hyper focus on something until it is "mastered" or some standard of satisfaction is reached.
That's def part of the appeal for me. The flow state I enter when playing a Sonic game I'm really into is super similar to the flow I feel when playing rhythm games
@@SmallSpoonBrigade What i don't like about 2D sonic is the lack of headroom for viewing levels and the game scrolls so fast that you need like a CRT or the best of the best for gaming monitors. To solve the issue is cool to play on a superultrawide monitor. I always liked Sonic Adventure 1/2 more or true 3D because finally i can see where i'm going and the screen isn't a blurry mess. There's nothing more annoying like in 2D Sonic clashing against a wall or losing rings because of an enemy that came out of nowhere. Sonic 3&K has too many annoying enemies, i still like that game that much but Sonic Mania is just better to play than it.
I don’t have autism myself but I have really liked Sonic from a young age. I was one of the only people in my school to like Sonic so there wasn’t really anyone to talk to about this except for my friend Cryptal. There’s so much you can relate to with some of the characters, like tails who was bullied for his intelligence. Plus, some of the personalities of the sonic characters help too. The games are vibrant and engage action and overall really colourful. Sonic’s character empowers people with autism by portraying traits such as bravery resilience, confidence helping them to overcome obstacles. Sonic games enhance social interactions and communication. Sonic’s adventures are an escape for people and go far more than entertainment, making you forget about your troubles and have comfort. (Its so ironic that I literally wrote a whole essay for this when I’m supposed to be multitasking and finishing my geography essay which is due tomorrow…)
Sorry tism kicking in but tails was bullied for his two tails, in the classic games he was just a tinkerer but that trait was exaggerated for the adventure games which then stuck for the rest of the franchise (whether for better or for worse) Sorry for the ☝️🤓 moment lmao
im autistic and as a kid i was obsessed with sonic, kids in my street where playing all kinds of snes, genesis complicated games, like street fighter with all those complicated commands for special attacks, and understanding all those complicated lore in final fantasy iii, or thorwing fatalities in mortal kombat and not knowing how to do those things made anxious then i friend introduced me to sonic 2, the emerald him zone had such beautyful colors and in the game play i just need go fast and react to what happens, i noticed it was a rythim (probabilly product of the game play design), that relaxed me so much, running through those diverse scenaries, the feeling of having tails along made me feel secure, i dont know why my mother said that when i was playing sonic i was so focused into with that my whole body frozes and just my eyes and fingers moved i friend said "sonic can turn super sayan" and i fight him saying it was a lie, then he challenge me to get all the chaos emeralds, and when i tried and turned super sonic i was like "HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY FUCKING SHIT", the way he change from bright blue to a shining yellow pulverized my brain, i dreamed about that shit ahahhaha it was the only thing i could talk, and think for months then i got sonic 3, and knew knucles, so interesting theres i shop in my town that had all video games and games and kids paid a small amount to play for a hour, all the kids already moved to playstation and nintendo 64, but i just wanted to play sonic, this alinated me from the kids a little, the clerk of the shop, a late teenager, noticed how isolated from the other kids i was and i felt a little alone, and one day he came to me all enthusiastic and said "hey, sonic kid...we have something knew.. :)" and it was a dream cast with sonic adventure 2 (i never even knew there was an one, it wasnt like today where people know all game news), and HOLY SHIT, SONIC ADVENTURE 2 COMPLETELY MELT MY BRAIN, i was completely addicted to it ahahahah i think i had 10 years at the time ahahah Dont need to be worry, i had a pretty supportive family, and made friends as a teenager so i overcame all my difficulties with authism, and barely remember im in the spectrum today, but i had these memories of when i was such and weird kid ahahahha
There was a guy in my school who was diagnosed with autism but he always seemed like he was happy around people and constantly hugged them. He left my school because of therapy or something.
aversion to people is not a symptom, its usually a learned behavior, you know as a reaction to rejection or bullying we are literally social animals, its as normal as it gets
I am an adult with ASD. What drew me into the Sonic franchise is mostly the amount of content there is. There is a huge amount of video games to play. There are multiple cartoons and 3 comic book serializations spanning multiple decades. Aside from official content, Sonic and his friends are flexible characters and the world he lives in is not super well defined, which made it possible for fans to create a mountain of fan content. This makes it possible for someone with ASD like me to do exactly what I like most: Fully immerse myself in and hyperfocus on this one thing that I like. Get carried away in a fantasy world that is so simple and different from the real world that I can be completely detached from it and don’t have to exert mental effort. Consume all kinds of entertaining media but still have it center around this one thing I like.
Great video, very high quality, accurate and succinct. Very compassionate and well-thought-out. Definite sub! Primary/vivid colours definitely help, not just the characters but all the environments/levels too. The colour thing is the same with the whole Mario series as well tbf. Mainline sonic/mario series being single-player also helps. Also lends to completionism (relates to special interest)
I'll just confess this, as someone with ASD, good lord, this is *legitimately* well researched; I'm actually surprised you went out of your way to explain this in what I consider to be a great effort, which all I can say is *kudos to you!* It's funny how I was introduced to Sonic as my first experience with gaming as a 4-year-old and now I'm sitting hearing someone discuss the link between my *brain farts* and a *blue rodent.*
I have ASD. You forgot to mention repetitive behavior. The 2 main criteria for ASD are social issues and repetitive behavior. Check out the DSM 5. The ICD 10 is very similar. I got hooked on Sonic due to the fast-paced repetitive nature of the game.
I don't have autism, but I can say that as a Sonic fan, I think the reason why a lot of people (myself included) resonate with Sonic as a character is because he's not scared or ashamed of being himself; he's confident and free. In fact, he even encourages his friends to be their authentic selves, and I think that's beautiful. In a way, he's kind of like a safe space for anyone! As many have pointed out, he's a friend that we all want to have :))
It's not just autistic people who love Sonic because of that, but LGBT people too! Sonic is about freedom and being yourself, it's no wonder that this has attracted communities that feel alone and misunderstood in the world. And I say this as an autistic and LGBT person!
As an autistic person and Sonic fan myself a lot of this is true tho there are a lot of other interests I'm into like drawing, comics and animating (which I'm officially going to college for) I still find a way to bring those things together for passion and love which I do well on thanks for explaining the link ❤️
The Chaos Emeralds a metaphor for the special interests of autistic individuals-rare, powerful, and often misunderstood by those who don’t see their value
@@RealRedB Ah, the classic dismissal of depth in favor of surface-level observations! How delightfully predictable. But let’s unpack this, shall we? The Chaos Emeralds, much like the neurodiverse mind, are not merely about turning one into a flashy yellow character; they symbolize the multifaceted nature of existence that often eludes those who prefer their realities neatly packaged. To reduce them to ‘just making you yellow’ is akin to saying a black hole is merely a vacuum cleaner for stars-oversimplified and utterly missing the cosmic significance. The true power of these emeralds lies in their rarity and the unique abilities they bestow upon those who possess them, much like the extraordinary insights that autistic individuals contribute to our understanding of the world. So, while you may find comfort in dismissing complexity, I invite you to embrace the chaos. After all, isn’t it in the swirling unpredictability of life that we discover the most profound truths? Let’s celebrate the brilliance hidden beneath layers of misunderstanding-because sometimes, it’s the ‘chaos’ that holds the key to unlocking a universe far richer than mere color.
@@matt-dr4fkI had a lot of the comics, but I got into it late so I did the exact same. There's a particular emotion I feel listening to that bgm to this day.
Me: *drawing Tails while listening to a Sonic playlist and wearing my Knuckles shirt, absolutely thriving in my hyperfixation* UA-cam: *recommends this video* I- I feel so called out.
As someone who isn't confirmed to be autistic but most probably has ADHD (yeah, they're not the same) I've seen a lot of "my kind" around also being a somewhat sort of fan of sonic
If you haven’t looked into it much, you should. Autism and adhd are legit like 2 sides of the same coin and can be straight up similar and overlap in some areas
@@ci825 yup, the connection is still being studied, but the idea of relating them or folding them together have been floating around the more we learn
I'm autistic and I'm just now getting into Sonic after getting hyped by the trailer of Sonic 3. I can definitely say that I'm very new to the world of Sonic the Hedgehog but I've become really drawn to the series and can say that it draws me in as I've begun watching videos about it, downloading the mobile games, and wanting to get the video games for my console. Definitely a new "fixation"
you are spot on with the observation that the stimuli oversensitivity or under-sensitivity contributes to what character is the favorite! I didn't realize it before but it makes complete sense! (for me I am very sensitive to sound and Shadow's lower and quieter tone makes him more appealing than other major characters!)
Look up AUhd because ive been wondering if my adhd is almost kinda like autism. Im here all the way like everyone else but some things that bother a autstic kid more than likely bother me to. Shit sucks @Psydkik
As an autistic girl, I love any kind of media that makes me feel welcomed, not just Sonic X-Men, Monster High; these were the kind of things that helped me through the particular rough patches of my childhood Anything where differences weren’t shunned but celebrated sounded like a dream to me when the rest of the world made me feel like a huge freak, and still do nowadays I’m a college student now, but sometimes, when the world around me just becomes too much, I like to play my favorite Sonic games and just relive my childhood
I am not diagnosed nor am I able to get, also I dont really play sonic games as I dont enjoy the gameplay loop. I just enjoy the sonic franchise through art style, world building, idw comics and sonic x. It probably partly comes from my deep love for art but the sonic artstyles alone (esp from the 2000s) just draws me in so much. Characters are quite loose, they all have their obvious personality traits and roles, never being over complicated to understand, also makes them easy to be used in so many stories and with other characters, theres quite literally unlimited potential which I just love more than anything
Idk i don’t think there is anything special about sonic specifically that attracts people with autism to it but more over that sonic’s reputation over the years lost a-lot of casual fan base leaving only the more devoted which was predominantly autistic. Which is where we get the correlation. There are a-lot of ips that people with autism hyper fixate on but keep their neurotypical audience at the same time and we just don’t see it as much.
True, though this video makes some good points about Sonic specifically. I'm not formally diagnosed but most likely am somewhere on the spectrum and while Sonic is not as much of a special interest to me, I am really interested in Metal Gear Solid, Dead Space, and NieR for similar reasons as it (the immense amount of material and re-view/watch/read/etc-ability of those). There are other things but I'm too lazy to get into it now and that's the main one lol.
This was a really well presented and thought-out explanation. Your breakdown on how the color pallette and exaggerated facial expressions of the characters influencing those on the spectrum was such a great point!
This video is very spot on, as an individual who has autism, I can easily relate to all the symptoms you listed in the video, even if I didn't get to experience much Sonic until recent years. I didn't have much social interaction as a kid and didn't many long-term friends and was bullied alot until I was much older and met people who were alot like me. I for the longest time thought something was wrong with me, until I learned it was part of my autism that defined how I was growing up, keeping a passion for videogames and few friends. I even dedicate every April to spreading awareness of Autism, since in 2022, I learned that April is Autism Awareness month.
Before even jumping in I have to say I think the existence of this video is hilarious because I've always brought this up with my friends as a "chicken or egg" type of question, over whether autistic gay people just really like Sonic or if liking Sonic makes you gay and autistic
Thank you for referencing an actual term im aware of, it makes sense to current topics as well as just plain life, thank you for being understanding on a video that could of easily been a joke
I do think the furry aspect of it plays into things as well. Autistic people tend to have a big connection to animals due to our sense of alienation from people, and expressing oneself through an anthropomorphic character can feel comforting due to that. Obviously, most of the characters in sonic are anthro and were likely many autistic kids introduction into that kinda space.
I think its just Nintendo and fandoms in general that attract autistic people. As you said, the sense of belonging attracts them. Also the cool, quirky, colorful characters give a sense of belonging. I often find myself getting attached to characters in media because I feel seen.
I haven't watched yet. But I never clicked on a video so fast. I am a Sonic fanatic. My levels of autism are off the charts. Sonic is my soul. He was released into the world June 23, 1991. I was born one day later. My little brother was named Myles and often acted as my Tails when we were kids. I look forward to this watch.
My problem with this video is all points drawn to support its thesis can't conclusively provide a contrast between neurodivergent & neurotypical people engaing in the qualities of Sonic stereotypically associated with autistic individuals. It comes off as either pandering or patronizing to autistic people like me over citing the symptoms without a probable cause.
Indeed, it simply assumes far too much. The simple answer is sonic was big when many autistic millennials and zoomers were kids, and so they enjoy it well into adulthood while neurotypicals simply moved on but still enjoyed it
Just fyi you won't find any credible scientific literature making contrasts between "neurodivergent & neurotypical people" because those terms are social media terms not medical ones, there is no such things medically as being neurodivergent/neurotypical, you either have one of a vast number of different conditions that involve cognitive or behavioural symptoms, the vast majority of which are completely unrelated, or you don't.
I was recently (at the age of 30) diagnosed as level 1 autistic, which I’m assuming is the new designation for what was considered Asperger’s before. I also have ADHD, and I have ALWAYS loved Sonic. As a kid I played the games on GameCube and carried around the manuals with me in my backpack so that I could reference them to draw the characters… which I did A LOT. I think for me it comes from the care free nature and sense of freedom that the games provide. I think a lot of us feel so much overwhelm due to life’s demands, and Sonic represents what we wish we could do… he gives us a sense of freedom. I think the music in the games, too, is made in a way which is extremely satisfying for a neurodivergent mind. I wish I could explain it more, but something about the music in Sonic games just… fills me with energy and is like crack for my brain. Especially the Sonic R soundtrack.
Honestly my first year of Spotify wrapped was dominated by Sonic OST haha I also started drawing with Sonic, I made fully coloured binders with character descriptions and everything Good times
@@sherbetron I wish I was so organized. I just stuffed everything in my backpack and a lot of my old drawings were lost to time. 😭 I started drawing with Sonic, DBZ, and TMNT, and Spider-Man. All of which I am still obsessed with to this day and flow through hyperfixating on them all individually from time to time. Good times indeed.
Today on my school a girl brought a amy plush to school People were talking about it and i recognized it was an amy plush When i said i knew it cuz im a sonic fan They called me a virgin... for liking sonic I just really needed to vent that EDIT :i really did not thought this commenr would get any replies at all Thank you all 💙
those people are truly outdated in mentality, liking something doesn't make you a virgin, besides, not being a virgin doesn't make you "cool" it just means you fcked someone, wow, SUCH a big deal! 🙄 Truly i'll never uderstand people who think fcking others makes you cool, like you're IN SCHOOL YOU SHOULDN'T BE LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY ALREADY WTF i blame shows like Riverdale and Euphoria for that mentality... You and that girl keep liking Sonic! Don't listen to others! They just don't understand you have sane interests snd mindsets. Keep being yourself bud ;)
Sonic is literally the coolest thing ever 😂 I was also made fun of for liking Sonic. But we all know those same people eat up the new fifa every year and buy vbucks lmao
When I was a kid I formed a huge emotional attachment to sonic because I wanted to be just like him, I wanted to be in his world, I wanted to be fast and do cool parkour. I think it was escapism for me as I didn’t grow up in the most ideal childhood conditions. I never cry, but songs like endless possibilities brings a tear to my eye. And because I love music so much the soundtracks of the games influenced the way I produce
maybe you could try being more like Sonic in a more realistic sort of way. He has a pretty healthy message of not being extremely bothered (anxious) by the outside world and being yourself
As a huge Sonic fan, I wasn’t sure why I liked Sonic in the first place aside from being colorful and vibrant. That’s what grabbed me initially. But then I realized it’s because of the strong, contrasting personalities of the characters, their unique designs, some well-developed lore, and especially the catchy, upbeat music. Plus, there's so much media in the franchise to dive into and talk about it. I think I may be undiagnosed autistic.
I love how you say Sonic is colorful then you have a washed out edgy shadow profile picture and admittedly that game isn’t really colorful the shadow game itself.
@@joshshrum2764 Oh, you're talking about my Shadow profile picture? Well, I'm actually the artist behind that. I get it, the Shadow game isn't as colorful, but I was referring to the entire Sonic franchise with its variety of characters and settings, not just one game. Shadow is part of that colorful world, even if his design is a bit darker.
This is a really interesting video! I'm autistic and love sonic and this is something I've been thinking about lately in connection with a lot of my other interests. It's really nice to find a video like this that is actually really informative and doesn't feel like it's talking down on autistic traits. This feels like a very well-intentioned video so I feel like I need yo mention that a lot of autistic people find the "puzzle piece" symbol a bit uncomfortable as it suggests a kind of incompleteness and was created by a non-autistic person. The rainbow infinity symbol is a more widely accepted symbol :)
As someone with autism, for similar reasons I got into Power Rangers as a kid. The combination of clearly defined colours and flashy special effects made it the first thing I really got hooked on.
Honestly if you liked Power Rangers as a kid and still enjoy a bit of camp and don't mind budget effects, give Kamen Rider a try! It's not precisely "power rangers for grownups" but it's in the same genre, has a huge adult fanbase, and isn't afraid to indulge in some character drama
As a fellow massive fan of Super Sentai and general tokusatsu, the whole "colourful cast" point/explanation hit me like a truck and made so much sense lmao
When I was a little autist, I was massively obsess with a variety of pop cultural media, such as: Toy Story, A bugs Life, The Yellow Submarine, The Beatles, E.L.O, Dexter's Laboratory,The Powerpuff Girls, The Iron Giant, Space Invaders, Star Wars, Metal Slug, Final Fantasy 7, The Legend Of Zelda and Resident Evil. Only a short period of my youngest years i too was into the whole Sonic mania from 3 to 6 years of age including Pokemon.
idk if im autistic but I have severe adhd and everything you said was spot on and resonates with me, especially about honing in on key interests, getting lost in the lore, and the community.
LMAO I always knew this. It’s just funny to see someone finally publicly talk about it. You’re brave. Any time I’d make the connection online they’d crucify me. I’m literally autistic 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Autistic guy who loves Sonic here. Great video! I can tell you from my personal experience music was a huge part of what I loved about Sonic but the biggest thing that drew me in initially were the characters. Growing up video game characters did little for me outside of their flashy designs. Mario looked bright and fun but he didn’t have much personality. Sonic characters weren’t just bright and colorful but they were EXPLODING with personality. The millisecond I saw Sonic leaping through station square and quipping as he fought an ancient god monster I was hooked. As I got older I started to appreciate other game franchises and characters like Mario and Zelda but no other game character ever came close to how much Sonic initially hooked me
Personality matters, absolutely. I wasn't exactly able to fill that void that Mario and Luigi and Peach had in them. I always prefered to have things spelled out to me. So I do really appreciate how "flashy" and how unnecessarilly story-driven much of Sonic has been, and there's always a big effort from the visual, writing, and music teams to deliver on all fronts. That's why I always get the sense many Sonic fans are driven to learn a creative craft themselves.
I'm so glad that they didn't bring Chris Chan up. As a Sonic fan with ASD, the thought of Chris Chan genuinely depresses and stresses me out like nothing else can. Going by what's said at 11:03, I think I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I actually have ADHD though i have both friends and family members who are autistic, but this video has brought a lot of joy and understanding of both myself and those around me. It's very well done and perfect, and the addressing of the puzzle symbolism is very important too, thank you. Anyways I have to give this video a 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 out of 10 🎉 Thank you. P.s., my favorite characters are Shadow and Blaze. What about yall?
You know, you made a lot of good points of why Autistic people connect to the Sonic franchise, and I’m glad that you’re trying to fix your mistakes of the video! Despite that I’m not really offended of the puzzle piece, I can understand why other people aren’t fans of the puzzle piece (for instance, it symbolizes something like “a mystery that can’t be solved”). Around the time when I was a little girl (who’s diagnosed with Autism at an early age), besides of me thinking “Wow, that blue hedgehog looks so cool when he’s running fast!”, I think what got me into Sonic is the colorful characters since my introduction is well… Sonic Colors. Sure, it’s the first Sonic game that focuses on a goofier approach than a serious approach, but playing the DS port and watching the Wii version of Sonic Colors on UA-cam is the start of me getting hooked to the Sonic franchise (as a hyper fixation nonetheless). Throughout the years, I’ve been drawing Sonic characters, watching Sonic Tv shows, watching a lot of Sonic related videos on YT, and been mostly eager to play more Sonic games. I even remembered feeling guilty whenever I see someone on the internet making fun of something I enjoy so much. But no matter what, there would be another way for me to come back to the stuff I love. Aside of Undertale, Sonic the Hedgehog is clearly one of my favorite video game franchises of all time and it genuinely means a lot to me since I currently consider Sonic and Undertale to be “life changing”. Heck, I think Sonic is what actually got me interested of video games overall since I probably discovered more video games because of Sonic. Sorry for the long rambling, it’s what I sorta do when I’m texting about something I’m deep onto. Anyways, kudos for making this video! 💚💜🧡
You're pretty much spot on when it comes to sonic being just the right blend of stimuly. I feel like there are thoses types of games or licenses that aren't good "games" but great aesthetic pieces, like a painting you can explore, and with sonic being the most concrete example for me. Maybe he fucks up the gameplay, the story, the quantifiable things that makes media "good" but it's still attracts the artistically minded and people on the spectrum because it is a project of artists before being a project of computer engineers. Sonic whole appeal is in his character, not his games I'd say.
I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD when I was around 3 years old. When I first started playing video games, I originally played Mario, but I had heard of Sonic vaguely. The first game I played was Sonic 2 on my old phone around 2015. Ever since then, Sonic has become my main interest. I feel like all of your points resonate with me. Hell, in school, I often listen to music from the games when working on assignments or I even get sidetracked by making whole video scripts or essays about certain elements of this franchise, much to the dismay of my teacher lol. My girlfriend who's also on the spectrum likes Sonic too, and I feel like that has strengthened our relationship over the past 3 years we've been together, which is my longest relationship. Usually, I'm not too keen on opening up to strangers, but I felt like just this once it was acceptable. I've been thinking of reading the IDW comics, I'm excited as hell for the third movie, and Frontiers imo is the best game in the franchise. All I can really say is thank you for making this videio because I honestly wanna engage with the community more, but I haven't due to multiple instances of me getting shat on or arguments starting solely because I have an opinion. This video gives me hope.
The answer is quite simple in all actuality. Sonic The Hedgehog is the single most complex, polarizing, and fascinating intellectual property known to man. I think I speak for the majority of autistic people when I say that the more multifaceted the subject matter, the more likely it is to become a long-term narrow interest; and Sonic The Hedgehog’s numerous revolutionary historic milestones throughout the past half century of real world history, infinitely interpretable lore, and most of all the fact that the series is ostracized by mainstream culture as “weird furry stuff” and/or “a bunch of bad games that were probably never good to begin with”; making the franchise as a whole extremely relatable to neurodivergent individuals who identify with Sonic because they know what it’s like to be misunderstood due to involuntary circumstances outside of their control. I’ve studied this franchise like the back of my hand daily since I was eleven years old over a decade ago, so I’ve come to understand the appeal of this particular IP better than most.
@@joshshrum2764 everything has serious themes if you look. Even Mario could be about how being the hero in a tough situation is always right. that doesn't mean its a master piece.
I'm autistic, a sonic fan, and a furry. I've always found myself more drawn to bright, funny cartoons. I like silly characters doing silly things that I would be made fun of for doing in real life. Cartoons can exhibit autistic traits and not be ridiculed for it. I relate to these characters and wish I could be in their world. Also, I just like running aimlessly. I really like Frontiers and Unleashed for their open world aspects. Mindlessly tilting the joystick is my favorite pastime.
REGARDING THE PUZZLE PIECES: It has come to my attention that the use of the puzzle pieces as a symbol for autism has become outdated and is now considered offensive.
I’m using the thumbnail test feature, meaning that the video has 3 different thumbnails that display at random. All 3 feature the puzzle pieces. When I get the chance (hopefully later today) I’ll stop the test, take whatever thumbnail is currently winning and incorporate the infinity symbol instead.
As for the beginning of the video, I can’t really change that, I apologize.
Thank you all for bringing this to my attention, and I am deeply sorry for anyone I may have offended with the outdated symbol.
No worries UA-cam guy, it’s a good video
thanks a lot!
Thanks
But why are the puzzle pieces seen as offensive? And why are they outdated? What was the need to change them?
Weird, as autistic myself i never found it to be offensive nor thought it could be viewed as such thing.
What's next? The infinity symbol becoming "outdated and offensive" too?
Edit: Hey everyone, thanks for clarifying, i always viewed the puzzle thing as meaning "our brains are pieced differently", not really in a "missing piece" sense BUT i understand now why some can see it as offensive. Also yeah Autism Speaks is shit, i completely forgot about them when making this reply
Vaccines didn't make me autistic, Sonic did.
❤
🙄🤦♂
@@JackMoorings ever heard of a joke big dawg
u shouldnt be proud of it
The sonic vaccine
The personalities of the characters help too. Sonic isn't very serious, and himself has a short attention span for things that he doesn't care for. Sonic, in his own words; is just a guy on an adventure.
ADHD PLUS AUSTIM SONIC!?
@@thevioletskull8158And tails too!!
A Sonic Adventure.
what abt Shadow though
Very epic
Bruh my autistic nephew just had his 5th birthday party. The theme was Sonic
my cousin is too and his past three birthdays have been sonic and train themed LOL
@JustinValle-u8u may I ask exactly why you feel this way? They aren’t inherently bad, and I’m just politely asking. Nothing more, nothing less
@JustinValle-u8u ?¿?
@@Yimika777 My autistic son is 8 and he's obsessed with sonic and thomas the train lol. But I noticed he doesn't mind red and blue because he is also obsessed with mario and spiderman.
When I was 15 or smth my birthday was also Sonic themed
Lmao stop saying 'they' when you mean 'we'. If you know this much about Sonic you're one of us bruh.
💀
real
People with autism work in IT fields sometimes and it's annoying because some keep talking about sonic and pokemon 😂 I understand now I still love y'all
You tell by his voice too, the autismo dialect
@@JayGettinBread what would you rather they talk about? "The game"? That "chick" they banged last thursday? Some music genre you're probably not interested in? If people talking bout what they are interested in is annoying to you, that seems like a you problem
Man, I just think it’s cool when he go zoom
valid
@@pieofchartyou are valid
@@RoseihDBTB who me?
@@pieofchart yes
Vrooom
I would argue that the autistic infatuation w/ Sonic is linked with a specific generation who were exposed to Sonic at a particular age. The autistic children I work with have a thing for Cars and Paw Patrol which has similar themes in it's character designs.
Anecdotally, I've noticed a really strong link between autistic, currently tween/teen age kids (10-17yo) kids and really liking Undertale and Five Nights at Freddy's. Plus there's all of those miscellaneous cartoons from the 80's-00's whose only surviving fanbase is autistic fanartists drawing SFW paraphilia art (I say this as neutrally as possible; the correlation between autism and non-normative sexual expression is both substantiated and only a negative if you think non-normative sexuality is negative).
I would say autistic folks generally gravitate to cartoons (or cartoony media properties) with bold, colorful character designs, often featuring nonhuman characters. Sonic just happened to have the right amount of reach at the right time for a generation of autistic kids to collectively imprint on it.
I didnt have to be attacked like that @@youraftermyrobotbee
@@youraftermyrobotbee The same was the case when I worked with this demographic 8 years ago.
Yeah I think you could say sonic was one of the 2000s go-tos. It is a big franchise and the reason I think it feels so strange or noticeable is because autism really only came to be seen as relatively normal or easily recognized in the 2010s, so it still always came across as more of an an oddity Sonic having such an "eclectic" fanbase.
@@youraftermyrobotbee Why’d you call me out like that 💀
There's also the fact that a hyperfixation can only last so long after all the content of a subject is dug up. With sonic, the IP has been around so long and with so many creative fans, there is a steady influx of content to feed the obssesion CONSTANTLY. Ive noticed when i get bored of an obsession, its not because i actually grew bored of it. I just grew tired of looking at the same content with nothing new. And if that subject gets more content in the future, i find myself going through the rabbit hole of obsession all over again.
this is exactly why my sonic fixation has lasted YEARS
no other interest of mine has stuck for so long, but with sonic, the content just... keeps on coming. its endless lol
my two main fandom hyperfixations are bungo stray dogs and sonic the hedgehog; this make a LOT of sense.
This is the explanation I need to start giving people
Now this is absolutely fascinating. When I think about all of my autistic special interests, the common denominator is that they each contain a metric fuck ton/almost endless collection of discoverable information. The convoluted Kingdom Hearts lore, the 800 episodes of Naruto I watched, the multi-book length explanations I could give about music theory. Sonic has games, comics, merchandise, fanfiction, and movies. It's a franchise that has spanned 30+ years. It makes so much sense that so many autistic people love it because there's enough content to fuel years of obsession and special interest.
Oh yeah that happens with me
I worked in a group home for young adults with severe mental disabilities. One of the guys there LOVED Sonic. He would always watch Sonic X and I’d watch it with him, I actually enjoyed it for what it was. He was such a sweet guy and I hope he’s doing well.
The theme song is now stuck in your head 😂
@@PsRohrbaugh gotta go faster faster fafafafafafaster
Average Sonic fan
@@kookerbridge-p1oGo GA gogogo
I've lived in those kinds of homes before, they're usually awful.
3:28 "Shadow is black"
well said
I'd trust Shadow with the pass.
@@ccelite3782 I feel like Knuckles gets a pass in the same way Piccolo from DBZ does, and Shadow could because of his fur color, and even then I don't see either of them saying it, just out of principle
That black hedgehog?
@@TheSutanianBlue if you’re Amy.
@@saveriocarro9399
tails: krillin
knuckles: piccolo
shadow: vegeta
4:57 If you're autistic, you're either "I need quiet all the time because I'll freak out" or "I need loud all the time because I'm freaking out internally and I need the outside to match the inside" in my experience.
And then those of us who have ASD and ADHD just suffer between the two
@@charcharieAAAUUUUGHHHH
there must be noise to quiet the demons
@@charcharie Take my upvote
@@charcharieI, too, have double A’s. ADHD and ASD (also have asthma and arthritis).
Hello fellow sonic fans diagnosed with autism. The algorithm has gathered us together, and we are now unstoppable.
You're the autism chaos emeralds,
Now, if we can all agree on the perfect spoon, we'd really be cooking. (pun not intended)
Also, trains ARE awesome.
You will be stopped by the first social interaction with a stranger outside of your house.
@@iiisaac1312 you fool. im an autistic whos entirely free from inhibitions caused by wanting to be understood or liked by neurotypicals. with me at vanguard, our armies will scourge the earth.
bet
it all started when their parents chose to buy a sega instead of a nintendo, it certainly runs in the family.
I had a friend with autism, and who loved sonic, he would wear sonic shoes, have sonic merchandise, had all the sonic games, at my worst point in my life where I was losing every friend this guy was the only
Person still there for me, maybe it’s because he couldn’t understand how bad of a person I was, maybe it’s cuz he didn’t really care, but he was a great, we slowly stopped talking because of life, he was always older than me so he just got caught up with life, but I’ll never forget him for how amazing he was… how amazing he is…
Autistic people are fiercely loyal. If they see any point in having a friend at all, they're going to value that friend. It takes so much effort to start and maintain a friendship. Social norms don't matter much to many autists, so they're likely to be a lot less judgy.
@@questionmark576 Which also has it's downsides as appearing clingy or attention seeking, which pushes friends away.
Sorry to hear he hung around such an awful person. Hopefully he's doing better now
Im sorry to hear that i hope you do it alright.
sounds like someone should catch up
Chris Chan was patient zero of sonic autism
We don't associate with them. They do not represent the autistic fans in the sonic community!
CURSEYEHAMEHAAAAAAA
😂😂😂
DO YOU REALIZE
He was the worst case.
I was a kid 20 years ago in the Netherlands and I couldn't find Sonic figures at the local toy stores nor on internet at that time. I drew Sonic on paper, colored him, snipped him out and just played with the paper Sonic.
And yes I'm autistic af.
Ik ook :)
Same
dude fr i feel that pain i used to pretend my mickey mouse plush was sonic wth
Creative!
Dude!!! I did the same thing with my Mixels autism 😭
(Yes, that one CN short show that’s now considered obscure)
I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at a younger age. My struggles were typically with social cues and self expression. Those being mentioned, Sonic the Hedgehog was absolutely a focus of my childhood.
I can't place a particular point on why it was so fun to play those games, but nowadays it comes to me in scratching a mental itch. Gaming for me typically boils down to two goals, completing a plan/project that benefits other ones, or death march challenges that take hours of practice to accomplish.
Sonic Rush, with a higher frame rate (therefore the game runs faster), with frame skip enabled, is addictingly fun. I love playing that game and it was a massive part of my childhood. Now when I play it there's barely any coherency. It took years of playing those levels to get to a point where I could do that, and it feels like natural mastery to beat those stages with the game basically running double time.
I also love the music. Planet Wisp Act 1 brings me a peace similar to the warm embrace of loved ones. That song raised me and still gives me a calm mind in difficult moments. The same can be said for other tracks and games as well.
This franchise has been great for me and my own growth. I've been working with pixel art and code bases for quite some time and my goal is to someday make a faithful and polished recreation of the Rush games, either as a fan made project or a directly new title that uses similar/inspired mechanics (like how pizza tower was to the warioware titles).
Thank you for this video! Your points are extremely well thought and you did an excellent job describing some things I really did struggle with. Take care!
See you, space cowboy.
As a certified Sonic autist, I think the game design of Sonic also speaks to the optimization people with autism try to achieve in their daily life.
Optimizing simple tasks to get them done as fast as possible and planning out a path through them. Recognising certain features of the task coming up and already thinking about how to use them to progress faster. This is not only the way autistic people go through many tasks in life, it's literally THE basis of Sonic game design.
So Sonic as a game basically rewards people for thinking like an autistic person.
@@JeliLiam that actually very funny to thing about.
Wait, that's just speedrunning
@@hylus5d10To be fair. Speedrunning means playing a game over and over. So you kinda need a hyper fixation on a game to be able to do that and keep having fun.
So it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of top runners are on the spectrum.
@@hylus5d10 I mean, a lot of speedrunners are on the spectrum
@@_Orafu_I just like listening to Knight of The wind too much 😂
Sonic rock music defined my music gates 😂😂😂
sonic is the best friend for autism ppl
As an autistic kid, I am agree
More true than you think. Sonic as a character is openminded and accepting of just about anyone. He'll always give his friends, old and new, the chance to show the best sides of themselves. Some take a little more time and effort than others, but he won't think poorly of someone unless they give him a good reason.
FACTS
@@Mahier_theguy”I am agree”
@@FinkuhWinkuh it was on purpose
I think the reason sonic resonates with so many people with autism is because sonic as a character helps them feel validated as human beings.
Sonic as a character, regardless of who you are or what you are dealing with will always treat you like a real person and make you feel validated.
He doesn't undermine you for having a disability but he also doesn't give you special treatment by calling you things like "special" or things of that nature. He speaks to you as if you were any other person he met in the world.
People with autism want to be treated as human and sonic satisfies that craving for authentic human relationships. Something that sadly a lot of people seem to not comprehend.
Edit: wow, i never got this many likes before. Didn't expect this many people to respond to my comment.
Edit 2: I will need to clarify more on my point because people seem to not realise that I am specifically talking about how people with autism respond to sonic' character and the series as a whole.
I am not saying that its only in sonic that people can become more attached to fictional characters, I never said that. That was never the focus and point of this comment. But the fact of the matter is there is a relationship between the sonic franchise and people with autism really liking sonic.
I am expressing my thoughts as why people with autism in particular are so strongly attracted to sonic the hedgehog. I am not sure why people seem to miss the point, I am just talking about sonic the character and autism because that is what the video is trying to address.
This comment is just me responding to the video as well as sharing my own understanding of the phenomenon since I noticed it myself as well in the fanbase.
True,I just want to ponit out autistic people moslty perfer perfer first person language because "people with austim" has been used in arrogant ways and it can sound like austim is separate when we ARE austistic.
true
I'm autistic and I just like sonic idk
It makes much sense. And I love it
I don’t think any fictional character made by a corporation would want their mascot to discriminate against people lmao
This was very interesting for me to watch. My daughter has autism and she LOVES sonic. Especially Shadow, she's gonna love the new movie coming out. I've also been suspecting for a while that i have undiagnosed autism, and being a lifelong gamer a lot of the things you mentioned resonated with me too
Indeed🎉🎉🎉😊
a LOT of adults get diagnosed later in life specifically because of their kids.. If you can afford the testing it doesn't hurt to check (: It really saved my life learning about it and changing how I view myself and the world around me
This was legitimately a fantastic video. As an autistic black girl, Sonic and Kingdom Hearts provided me an escape from the stress, abuse, and bullying I faced as a child (which was caused by an intersection of all of those identities combined). I was part of the generation of people that were bullied for liking video games, anime, manga, etc., but all of these mediums were instrumental in getting me through those years. Since this video is particularly about Sonic, I’ll share this: going on adventures with the colorful cast of Sonic characters made me feel like I was part of their team. They made me feel belonged when no one else did. Especially because I was regarded as the “nerdy” black girl that didn’t like stereotypically “black” things (which is really fucked up, someone’s race should not come in to question if they like a particular thing).
JRPGs and J-Platformers grew to become my special interest, to the point where I am now majoring in Japanese and minoring in Music and Computer Science to prepare me to join the Japanese gaming industry.
Sonic was so influential to my life, and I’m so happy you did this video justice. Thank you! :)
You're 10000% valid.
sora the goat
I think a lot of us are undiagnosed, for black ppl if its not sonic its either goku or naruto fr
@@itaraaah High Five girl!
Not me wearing my Golu v. Grieza hoodie right this very moment 😫😭@@mkg1097 but yeah these characters, they just speak to us like no other. Which is why I never much cared for this "representation" nonsense. If I can look at a strong alien monkey boy, or a fast blue hedgehog and say "I want to be more like HIM", then we already are winning for characters that motivate us and show that we have a place in a world, and hidden power within a structure that sees us as outsiders.
Love how this comes out as my yearly sonic hyperfix is happening 😭
Oh thank God I'm not the only one. I'm living my life normally until SUDDENLY
Sonic Mode™
I love you sonic freaks
DUDE YES, I used to play sonic generations and unleashed a lot when I was a kid, then I got off of it for awhile, now this year it all came back as I finished SA, SU, SG, SG 100%, like WHAT THE HELL STOP IT!!!
omg fellow kirby (and magolor!!) and sonic fan
REAL
this entire video essay is literally ironic. he thinks "why are so many people obsessed with this?", then proceeds to obsess with it. Im loving it thank you this is exactly what i wanted after going on my yearly sonic stim session
as someone with ASD with a special interest in Sonic, I like how cool and fast he is, and the soundtrack of Sonic games influenced my music taste. I used to be a lot shyer about sharing my interest but nowadays I have to physically stop myself from talking about it. Another factor of the appeal of Sonic to autistic ppl is that multiple characters can be headcanonned as Neurodivergent, such as Sonic having ADHD or Silver having ASD.
not to mention that according to the takeovers Tails is canonically dyslexic!
Wait. You’re telling me that I might relate to Silver so much because he might also have ASD?
@@RainbowSwiftie13 While it's not confirmed, Silver is shown to take things literally (TSR) and be pretty gullible and naive (Sonic 06) which are traits that many people with ASD share. He's actually my favourite character along with Blaze which is quite funny
@@thelobsterlover9449 Holy crap! I never knew, and yet I myself have autism. I'll definitely be watching the TSR cutscenes later just for Silver's (possible) ASD moments. XD
this explains everything.
3:06 missed opportunity to use shadow saying “you’re a colorful bunch”
Enjoy your 69th like 😉
Ironically proven with statistics.
I said that while watching
as a Sonic fan, i think youtube is tryna tell me something? XD
I'm asking myself the same, though I've never played any Sonic game, I do have the autism!
if you have access to healthcare, getting neuro testing earlier can help so so much in navigating yourself and others for many years to come.
join us
baby boy, you already knew ^_~
🎶 ONE OF US, ONE OF US 🎶
Sonic was one of my earliest obsessions when I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome; I remember consuming whatever Sonic media I could find back when I was in kindergarten and first grade whether it was playing Sonic flash games on my family computer, watching full episodes of Sonic X, or just drawing pictures of Sonic and his friends at school; I even dressed up as Sonic for my second grade Halloween.
To this day I still enjoy Sonic just as much as I enjoy all my other interests.
Indeed he is so cool😊
I'm not autistic but, LIVE N LEAAAAAAAARN HANGIN ON THE EDGE OF TOMORROW
get tested (JOKE)
@@ratcola6011If I hate a thing about the internet, it's the fact that sometimes it's pretty hard to know if someone is joking xd
YES BANGER
I get it, it's kind of like- SONICCCCCC HEREEEEEOOOOOOSSSSSSSS AWOOH WOOOOOOHHHHH
SHUT UP I DID THE SAME THING AHAHBASHGFBAHJS
My mom works at a regional center, she says people with autism are attracted to the color blue. Also people with autism have a wild imagination, just like Sonic they imagine showing off their coolness
I like blue, although I wonder how much of that has to do with blue being a kind of color for safety and security along with the tendency to not properly identify people that aren't boys ad being autistic when they are.
A deep shade of blue used to be my favorite color! now my favorite colors are violet (not purple) and lavender, but it still holds second place!
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Bot
Blue is calming and is easy to look at.
Blue is the most popular color in the world...
On one of our first dates, my boyfriend (has high functioning ASD) talked about Sonic for like two hours after we got dinner. I loved how passionate he was about the subject. Unfortunately... you could say that Sonic made me more into my boyfriend... lol
What's unfortunate?
Holy shit i think that proves i don’t have it since i don’t talk about Sonic like that.
Might be a dealbreaker if he "gotta go fast" in the bedroom.
😂@@cattysplat
@@cattysplatThat's gotta be one of the most clever jokes I've ever heard.
I love it when autistic people have special interests. It makes me so happy to see people enjoy things with so much passion, and it’s so fascinating how they become so weathly with information regarding it. I wonder how many things have survived intellectual extinction because it was an autistic persons special interest.
wish we didn't since it's a cope. would rather be normal instead.
I ask the same questions myself. I like to believe that it is normal within human society to have a few select individuals that obsess over learning particular niches, and throughout history these are the people that have become respected elders or griots that passed down culture, language, and traditions to the next generation. A lot of African and Indigenous societies functioned like this. Today, we label this trait as autistic, but before we had modern psychology give us these terms, could many of these elders have been considered "autistic"?
@@catalysts94 Please define "normal".
Autistic sonic fanboy speaking. For me i believe its the replayability of sonic games which make them so appealing. As you said with the special interests, it can often go further for me with hyperfixating on getting the highest score i can in any given level or doing all i can to chop off just a second of time from a run.
Everything you said in the video is true for me, (ESPECIALLY WITH THE SOUNDTRACKS) real good video dude!!💙
Yes! This exactly.
I love improving on my times in Sonic games.
Riders, Generations, Unleashed, the Cyberspace levels... Can't explain how many hours I've spent trying to get down every second.
And don't even get me started on the fan games 😅
I find this is especially true with me and Sonic CD, I always like challenging myself to get more and more creative with how I time travel while simultaneously trying to beat my previous record time.
@@HollowLeif for sure. sonic cd is one of my personal favourites. unleashed is my #1 and its in part because of all the alternative paths you can take. cd takes that to a whole different level. (aswell as having a top 5 ost even today) cd is so underrated and im glad to see people still appreciate it because a lot of the comments are very negative :)
Truuueee
Sonic 2 was the first game I ever remember playing, and ever since I have gotten a copy of it on every platform it's available on and finish it again atleast a couple times a year
Safe to say Sonic Mania was an absolute treat for me, as someone who specifically obsesses over Sonic 2 haha
@@sherbetronegg revire goes crazy.
i have autism and ADHD, and when i saw this video title i was scared you would fall into many of the pitfalls that other creators do, where they fall victim to misinformation or jump to conclusions. this was handled extremely well, and explains a lot i struggle to put into words. thank you.
@KingC89 I was diagnosed when I was 9.
It's very rare that people self diagnose in general, the internet amplifies it by giving everyone a platform. If they think they have it because they fit the criteria they are more than welcome in our community. If they struggle with life it is our job to be supportive, not turn away because, "your disability isn't as bad as ours."
If someone suspects they are autistic then we should be here for them to help them figure it out. Then they can decide if they want to go to a doctor for a diagnosis.
Being critical about someone you dont know is pretty melty behaviour, and I'd prefer to see someone get assistance from the people they reach out to than be turned away for almost no reason.
Dawg its just autism relating to sonic, how can that be a serious problem to misinformation or jumping to conclusions😭😭
@lceniceros359 you clearly didn't read the message properly, mate. I said I am glad they didn't do those things.
Plus it's normal to be suspicious when my disability is compared to a blue hedgehog and a pink what ever the fuck Amy is. 😂
All I was saying is that I am glad they used actual sources instead of biased one infantilise us.
Then stop saying "I HAVE autism", and say "I AM autist", autism is not a disease, be proud of yourself brother. (I'm to)
@lewalterdesclarmont-ferran4970 dude. I am proud of myself and never claimed to not be, but I am not saying something that cheesy, it's nice to hear, but I just can't bring myself to. (I am only being half serious, I appreciate the sentiment, dw.)
You seem like a nice guy, I'd have a crack with ye, but the way I see it saying I have it works hand in hand with saying I am it. Because I am autistic, but its kinda one of those moments where we are agreeing on the same thing for different reasons.
So yeah, I am proud of who I am, never claimed to not be, but I appreciate the sentiment and effort you put into trying to cheer a stranger up, it shows real character and growth from experience, and that's something you should be proud of yourself for.
I am just happy that we exist in a world where we can talk openly and not have to worry about being sent to asylums. Like, not even 30 years prior to 2002, and I would have been born in a hellish time for autism.
But it's relatively safe. I live in a small village, so my role is forever changing. I am either the local recluse or a regular at the pub. 😅😂
I am sure I'd be the village idiot if I wasn't such a smart-ass. 😂
Life is going good, though. Moving in with my boyfriend soon, so that's something to look forward to.
Have a nice evening, it's been a pleasure chatting.
Autistic person here.
We wouldn't need escape if the world wasn't so hostile to autism. We avoid the world because of how incredibly unfair it is.
Video games offer an escape from a world that rejects us.
Just that the world also has a lot of people with ASD.
You're part of the world, too!
As another autistic person, I agree
don't get me started on the people who will treat a grown man like a toddler simply because he has autism (or any other disability). i despise that kind of treatment. it's disrespectful to that person.
so true, was about to comment that too
@@Dante82301 Thanks Agent Horrigan, you're my hero
I greatly respect the approach you are taking here, but I feel like this rabbit hole goes a lot deeper.
The bright colors is one thing, sure. But on top of that you also have other factors that are tangent to that. The cartoony aesthetic, along with the animal characters, provides a disconnect to reality and thus a form of escapism. The long-running nature of the series provides a high volume of content to ingest. The multi-media aspect provides a lot of different avenues that could appeal to someone; perhaps they gravitate more to cartoons and anime, or perhaps more toward comics and manga, or perhaps more toward video games, (and even within video games there are a wide variety of different games that could appeal to someone and thus open the gateway,) and all roads lead back to interest in the core franchise.
I think there is also something gained just from its popularity. There are lots of things that someone could gain a special interest from, but when an autistic person finds another person sharing an interest, their focus on said interest will magnify, because now they are able to get something out of it that they have struggled to obtain: social nutrition.
Honestly, every single explanation one could devise is something that could also apply to another franchise. (Look at how much of this applies to Mario, for example.) So why does Sonic get the attention for being favored by autistic people? Perhaps it just became a perfect storm of content that appealed to people, but I also wonder if there is just more to it than we thought.
I honestly always linked it with the "flow" state that Sonic games induce and naturally encourage through their gameplay. Much moreso than other platformers and much more overtly, Sonic games want you to move fluidly through a stage. This is encouraged through the gain of momentum through fluid and "mistakeless" platforming, though I think it's best seen through the way the game "punishes" you. Hitting a wall, spikes (or another hazard) or even a steep hill all kill that sweet dopamine rush you just had from zooming on by. Another example I'd point out would be the series' general encouragement for you to learn and perfect a stage to "speedrun" through it. This is not only encouraged by the mechanics mentioned above but by time bonuses and unclockables otherwise unavailable except through meeting certain time requirements. This I believe caters to the uniquely autistic ability to hyper focus on something until it is "mastered" or some standard of satisfaction is reached.
That's def part of the appeal for me. The flow state I enter when playing a Sonic game I'm really into is super similar to the flow I feel when playing rhythm games
@icecreamisgoodtbh It's clear reading comprehension isn't one of your strong suits..
IMHO, the classic 2d sonic games are more stimmy than the 2d Mario games. But, that's just me.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade What i don't like about 2D sonic is the lack of headroom for viewing levels and the game scrolls so fast that you need like a CRT or the best of the best for gaming monitors. To solve the issue is cool to play on a superultrawide monitor.
I always liked Sonic Adventure 1/2 more or true 3D because finally i can see where i'm going and the screen isn't a blurry mess.
There's nothing more annoying like in 2D Sonic clashing against a wall or losing rings because of an enemy that came out of nowhere.
Sonic 3&K has too many annoying enemies, i still like that game that much but Sonic Mania is just better to play than it.
I don’t have autism myself but I have really liked Sonic from a young age. I was one of the only people in my school to like Sonic so there wasn’t really anyone to talk to about this except for my friend Cryptal. There’s so much you can relate to with some of the characters, like tails who was bullied for his intelligence. Plus, some of the personalities of the sonic characters help too. The games are vibrant and engage action and overall really colourful. Sonic’s character empowers people with autism by portraying traits such as bravery resilience, confidence helping them to overcome obstacles. Sonic games enhance social interactions and communication. Sonic’s adventures are an escape for people and go far more than entertainment, making you forget about your troubles and have comfort. (Its so ironic that I literally wrote a whole essay for this when I’m supposed to be multitasking and finishing my geography essay which is due tomorrow…)
Sorry tism kicking in but tails was bullied for his two tails, in the classic games he was just a tinkerer but that trait was exaggerated for the adventure games which then stuck for the rest of the franchise (whether for better or for worse)
Sorry for the ☝️🤓 moment lmao
@@responsibilitiesbegone1130technically still for his intelligence.
@@responsibilitiesbegone1130 If you look in Sonic X, Tails tells Sonic he gets made fun of because he likes to build and repair stuff.
im autistic and as a kid i was obsessed with sonic,
kids in my street where playing all kinds of snes, genesis complicated games, like street fighter with all those complicated commands for special attacks, and understanding all those complicated lore in final fantasy iii, or thorwing fatalities in mortal kombat and not knowing how to do those things made anxious
then i friend introduced me to sonic 2, the emerald him zone had such beautyful colors and in the game play i just need go fast and react to what happens, i noticed it was a rythim (probabilly product of the game play design), that relaxed me so much, running through those diverse scenaries, the feeling of having tails along made me feel secure, i dont know why
my mother said that when i was playing sonic i was so focused into with that my whole body frozes and just my eyes and fingers moved
i friend said "sonic can turn super sayan" and i fight him saying it was a lie, then he challenge me to get all the chaos emeralds, and when i tried and turned super sonic i was like
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY FUCKING SHIT", the way he change from bright blue to a shining yellow pulverized my brain, i dreamed about that shit ahahhaha it was the only thing i could talk, and think for months
then i got sonic 3, and knew knucles, so interesting
theres i shop in my town that had all video games and games and kids paid a small amount to play for a hour, all the kids already moved to playstation and nintendo 64, but i just wanted to play sonic, this alinated me from the kids a little, the clerk of the shop, a late teenager, noticed how isolated from the other kids i was and i felt a little alone, and one day he came to me all enthusiastic and said "hey, sonic kid...we have something knew.. :)" and it was a dream cast with sonic adventure 2 (i never even knew there was an one, it wasnt like today where people know all game news), and HOLY SHIT, SONIC ADVENTURE 2 COMPLETELY MELT MY BRAIN, i was completely addicted to it ahahahah i think i had 10 years at the time ahahah
Dont need to be worry, i had a pretty supportive family, and made friends as a teenager so i overcame all my difficulties with authism, and barely remember im in the spectrum today, but i had these memories of when i was such and weird kid ahahahha
This is funny bc in elementary school my friend group and I would roleplay sonic at recess and no wonder we would get judged lmao
damn that's the kind of thing you lose with growing up🫂
same here, good old times
i still do this today!
@@TheRandom1212Channel you're happy
There was a guy in my school who was diagnosed with autism but he always seemed like he was happy around people and constantly hugged them. He left my school because of therapy or something.
there are DIFFRIENT types of asd
@@blabolik That’s honestly news to me :O
His name wasn’t Christian Weston Chandler by any chance, was it?
@@GabyGeorge1996 no, it wasn’t.
aversion to people is not a symptom, its usually a learned behavior, you know as a reaction to rejection or bullying
we are literally social animals, its as normal as it gets
I am an adult with ASD. What drew me into the Sonic franchise is mostly the amount of content there is.
There is a huge amount of video games to play. There are multiple cartoons and 3 comic book serializations spanning multiple decades. Aside from official content, Sonic and his friends are flexible characters and the world he lives in is not super well defined, which made it possible for fans to create a mountain of fan content.
This makes it possible for someone with ASD like me to do exactly what I like most: Fully immerse myself in and hyperfocus on this one thing that I like. Get carried away in a fantasy world that is so simple and different from the real world that I can be completely detached from it and don’t have to exert mental effort. Consume all kinds of entertaining media but still have it center around this one thing I like.
This is the most passionate description I’ve ever heard of the sonic series ❤
yes!!! this is why my interests are always from the early 2000s or older!
That’s essentially what I’m finding as I delve more into it.
Realest comment on this vid hands down. 100% !!!
I love Zelda for the same reason.
Great video, very high quality, accurate and succinct. Very compassionate and well-thought-out. Definite sub!
Primary/vivid colours definitely help, not just the characters but all the environments/levels too. The colour thing is the same with the whole Mario series as well tbf. Mainline sonic/mario series being single-player also helps. Also lends to completionism (relates to special interest)
People on the Autism Spectrum when Blue Bastard:
Real lmao
Bro imagine sonic and pikachu combined into one, totally unique character and its own IP
@@DIE2dayORelse Oh no
@@DIE2dayORelseNOOOOOOO
awooogaaa
I'll just confess this, as someone with ASD, good lord, this is *legitimately* well researched; I'm actually surprised you went out of your way to explain this in what I consider to be a great effort, which all I can say is *kudos to you!*
It's funny how I was introduced to Sonic as my first experience with gaming as a 4-year-old and now I'm sitting hearing someone discuss the link between my *brain farts* and a *blue rodent.*
PLSSSSSSS BRAIN FARTS
Is that pfp Sonic as Jotaro? That’s so cool
As an autistic guy myself thank you for explaining autism in simple terms. I hope the general audience can now fully understand people like me.
I have ASD. You forgot to mention repetitive behavior. The 2 main criteria for ASD are social issues and repetitive behavior. Check out the DSM 5. The ICD 10 is very similar. I got hooked on Sonic due to the fast-paced repetitive nature of the game.
I don't have autism, but I can say that as a Sonic fan, I think the reason why a lot of people (myself included) resonate with Sonic as a character is because he's not scared or ashamed of being himself; he's confident and free. In fact, he even encourages his friends to be their authentic selves, and I think that's beautiful. In a way, he's kind of like a safe space for anyone! As many have pointed out, he's a friend that we all want to have :))
hell yeah
that sounded pretty autistic honestly.
It's not just autistic people who love Sonic because of that, but LGBT people too! Sonic is about freedom and being yourself, it's no wonder that this has attracted communities that feel alone and misunderstood in the world. And I say this as an autistic and LGBT person!
Are you suuuure you’re not autistic
i don't know. That was pretty autistic
As an autistic person and Sonic fan myself a lot of this is true tho there are a lot of other interests I'm into like drawing, comics and animating (which I'm officially going to college for) I still find a way to bring those things together for passion and love which I do well on thanks for explaining the link ❤️
Yeah, it’s true! (I’m autistic as well :p)
Same bro we are the autistic squad.
Same here too, I'm autistic.
Not autistic but I have ADHD and other neurodiverse disorders.
me and my siblings are autistic
also wanna say Shadow is like the depression said of ASD and Sonic is like the happy side positive side. why i love both
I wish shadow could be happy it’s not fair.
Depression is not fair.
i'm not autistic nor a sonic fan but i always thought there was a link between , this is interesting.
To all people who like Sonic
EVEN IF YOU AREN'T AUTISTIC, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO ENJOY WHAT YOU LOVE.
Bro get out of here
The Chaos Emeralds a metaphor for the special interests of autistic individuals-rare, powerful, and often misunderstood by those who don’t see their value
WRONG!! IF YOU'RE NOT AUTISTIC AND LIKE SONIC YOU WILL EXPLODE!!!
@@Bobby_T_ they just make you yellow its not that deep
@@RealRedB Ah, the classic dismissal of depth in favor of surface-level observations! How delightfully predictable. But let’s unpack this, shall we? The Chaos Emeralds, much like the neurodiverse mind, are not merely about turning one into a flashy yellow character; they symbolize the multifaceted nature of existence that often eludes those who prefer their realities neatly packaged.
To reduce them to ‘just making you yellow’ is akin to saying a black hole is merely a vacuum cleaner for stars-oversimplified and utterly missing the cosmic significance. The true power of these emeralds lies in their rarity and the unique abilities they bestow upon those who possess them, much like the extraordinary insights that autistic individuals contribute to our understanding of the world.
So, while you may find comfort in dismissing complexity, I invite you to embrace the chaos. After all, isn’t it in the swirling unpredictability of life that we discover the most profound truths? Let’s celebrate the brilliance hidden beneath layers of misunderstanding-because sometimes, it’s the ‘chaos’ that holds the key to unlocking a universe far richer than mere color.
The use of the sonic mega collections gallery music is pristine. That song gets me so emotional.
I absolutely adored that song growing up. I would find myself just hanging out in the menu just to have it replay as my BG music. Such a great track
@TheDreInDaHouse I never had the comics as a kid so I'd stare at them and imagine what stories they could possibly be telling
@@matt-dr4fkI had a lot of the comics, but I got into it late so I did the exact same. There's a particular emotion I feel listening to that bgm to this day.
Meanwhile Sonic Chronicles music 💀
2:08 "he and his friends don't need an introduction" *_proceeds to do an introduction_*
I was just thinking that
Gotta run up that run time
I’ve seen so many UA-camrs do this, it’s like an epidemic.
I mean it was very short
@@mjrhmekssh true dat
Me: *drawing Tails while listening to a Sonic playlist and wearing my Knuckles shirt, absolutely thriving in my hyperfixation*
UA-cam: *recommends this video*
I- I feel so called out.
I just bought a shadow shirt.
@@joshshrum2764 Me too 😭
ME SPOTTED AT 9:44
Autists and Pokémon are a match made in heaven
Sonichu
Sonichu
@@enkayromelmao
What have you done.
I mean the creator of pokemon is autistic himself
As someone who isn't confirmed to be autistic but most probably has ADHD (yeah, they're not the same) I've seen a lot of "my kind" around also being a somewhat sort of fan of sonic
me too
Sam
If you haven’t looked into it much, you should. Autism and adhd are legit like 2 sides of the same coin and can be straight up similar and overlap in some areas
@@ci825 yup, the connection is still being studied, but the idea of relating them or folding them together have been floating around the more we learn
@@jaceybella1267 study me I guess, I have both :3
I'm autistic and I'm just now getting into Sonic after getting hyped by the trailer of Sonic 3. I can definitely say that I'm very new to the world of Sonic the Hedgehog but I've become really drawn to the series and can say that it draws me in as I've begun watching videos about it, downloading the mobile games, and wanting to get the video games for my console. Definitely a new "fixation"
Welcome to the club, there's like 10 billion years worth of content to consume so I hope you have fun browsing! lol
you are spot on with the observation that the stimuli oversensitivity or under-sensitivity contributes to what character is the favorite! I didn't realize it before but it makes complete sense! (for me I am very sensitive to sound and Shadow's lower and quieter tone makes him more appealing than other major characters!)
that was a WILD title to see on the reccommended but also true,, saying this as an autistic person
no it's not.
Me2😊
As someone who has been diagnosed with adhd and dealt with a lot of toxicity because of my disability
This felt really validating😊
Same
Don’t let autism define you
I have ADHD and may have some autistic traits
Look up AUhd because ive been wondering if my adhd is almost kinda like autism. Im here all the way like everyone else but some things that bother a autstic kid more than likely bother me to. Shit sucks @Psydkik
As an autistic girl, I love any kind of media that makes me feel welcomed, not just Sonic
X-Men, Monster High; these were the kind of things that helped me through the particular rough patches of my childhood
Anything where differences weren’t shunned but celebrated sounded like a dream to me when the rest of the world made me feel like a huge freak, and still do nowadays
I’m a college student now, but sometimes, when the world around me just becomes too much, I like to play my favorite Sonic games and just relive my childhood
I'm autistic and personally I like sonic because of the fast paced gameplay (extremely satisfying) and the cool character designs
I am not diagnosed nor am I able to get, also I dont really play sonic games as I dont enjoy the gameplay loop. I just enjoy the sonic franchise through art style, world building, idw comics and sonic x. It probably partly comes from my deep love for art but the sonic artstyles alone (esp from the 2000s) just draws me in so much. Characters are quite loose, they all have their obvious personality traits and roles, never being over complicated to understand, also makes them easy to be used in so many stories and with other characters, theres quite literally unlimited potential which I just love more than anything
One could say... the possibilities... are neverending.
Endless, perhaps?
me but with metal gear solid
I don’t know the 3
@@Nugget111uh1and they open your heart so you can feel all of them emotions.
Idk i don’t think there is anything special about sonic specifically that attracts people with autism to it but more over that sonic’s reputation over the years lost a-lot of casual fan base leaving only the more devoted which was predominantly autistic. Which is where we get the correlation. There are a-lot of ips that people with autism hyper fixate on but keep their neurotypical audience at the same time and we just don’t see it as much.
this should be pinned
True, though this video makes some good points about Sonic specifically. I'm not formally diagnosed but most likely am somewhere on the spectrum and while Sonic is not as much of a special interest to me, I am really interested in Metal Gear Solid, Dead Space, and NieR for similar reasons as it (the immense amount of material and re-view/watch/read/etc-ability of those). There are other things but I'm too lazy to get into it now and that's the main one lol.
maybe you are right because why i don't care about sonic i do get ultra nostalgic .
This was a really well presented and thought-out explanation. Your breakdown on how the color pallette and exaggerated facial expressions of the characters influencing those on the spectrum was such a great point!
This video is very spot on, as an individual who has autism, I can easily relate to all the symptoms you listed in the video, even if I didn't get to experience much Sonic until recent years. I didn't have much social interaction as a kid and didn't many long-term friends and was bullied alot until I was much older and met people who were alot like me. I for the longest time thought something was wrong with me, until I learned it was part of my autism that defined how I was growing up, keeping a passion for videogames and few friends.
I even dedicate every April to spreading awareness of Autism, since in 2022, I learned that April is Autism Awareness month.
You call it autism….. I call it having that dawg in me 💯💯💯
We can say we're built different and mean it.
🐺🐺🐺
Before even jumping in I have to say I think the existence of this video is hilarious because I've always brought this up with my friends as a "chicken or egg" type of question, over whether autistic gay people just really like Sonic or if liking Sonic makes you gay and autistic
Lmao same here.
Thank you for referencing an actual term im aware of, it makes sense to current topics as well as just plain life, thank you for being understanding on a video that could of easily been a joke
you WILL wear the Sonichu Medallion
I about died when I saw the newest trailer started with a Pikachu joke. Too close for comfort.
I do think the furry aspect of it plays into things as well. Autistic people tend to have a big connection to animals due to our sense of alienation from people, and expressing oneself through an anthropomorphic character can feel comforting due to that. Obviously, most of the characters in sonic are anthro and were likely many autistic kids introduction into that kinda space.
I think its just Nintendo and fandoms in general that attract autistic people. As you said, the sense of belonging attracts them. Also the cool, quirky, colorful characters give a sense of belonging. I often find myself getting attached to characters in media because I feel seen.
As someone with autism, I agree with everything here. We just love sonic. Who’s with me gang?
Me 🫡
He's cool and blue and it's just perfect.
I haven't watched yet. But I never clicked on a video so fast. I am a Sonic fanatic. My levels of autism are off the charts. Sonic is my soul. He was released into the world June 23, 1991. I was born one day later. My little brother was named Myles and often acted as my Tails when we were kids. I look forward to this watch.
how was it?
@@supperxpl2506 wonderful. Very to the point and positive.
So you clicked on this video at super Sonic speeds.
OMG!!!!!!!!!! THAT1SN SO COOL RRRAHHHHHHHHHH
@@snazzydrewSAVE SOME COOLNESS FOR THE REST OF US RAAAAAH
(You are cool mweheheh)
My problem with this video is all points drawn to support its thesis can't conclusively provide a contrast between neurodivergent & neurotypical people engaing in the qualities of Sonic stereotypically associated with autistic individuals. It comes off as either pandering or patronizing to autistic people like me over citing the symptoms without a probable cause.
Indeed, it simply assumes far too much. The simple answer is sonic was big when many autistic millennials and zoomers were kids, and so they enjoy it well into adulthood while neurotypicals simply moved on but still enjoyed it
Just fyi you won't find any credible scientific literature making contrasts between "neurodivergent & neurotypical people" because those terms are social media terms not medical ones, there is no such things medically as being neurodivergent/neurotypical, you either have one of a vast number of different conditions that involve cognitive or behavioural symptoms, the vast majority of which are completely unrelated, or you don't.
yeah and theres plenty of other media that has these exact qualities but you dont see it as much of a focus with autistic people as sonic
I was recently (at the age of 30) diagnosed as level 1 autistic, which I’m assuming is the new designation for what was considered Asperger’s before. I also have ADHD, and I have ALWAYS loved Sonic. As a kid I played the games on GameCube and carried around the manuals with me in my backpack so that I could reference them to draw the characters… which I did A LOT.
I think for me it comes from the care free nature and sense of freedom that the games provide. I think a lot of us feel so much overwhelm due to life’s demands, and Sonic represents what we wish we could do… he gives us a sense of freedom. I think the music in the games, too, is made in a way which is extremely satisfying for a neurodivergent mind.
I wish I could explain it more, but something about the music in Sonic games just… fills me with energy and is like crack for my brain. Especially the Sonic R soundtrack.
Honestly my first year of Spotify wrapped was dominated by Sonic OST haha
I also started drawing with Sonic, I made fully coloured binders with character descriptions and everything
Good times
@@sherbetron I wish I was so organized. I just stuffed everything in my backpack and a lot of my old drawings were lost to time. 😭
I started drawing with Sonic, DBZ, and TMNT, and Spider-Man. All of which I am still obsessed with to this day and flow through hyperfixating on them all individually from time to time. Good times indeed.
But yes, totally agree with my exprience. Sonic music pretty much got me into music.
Today on my school a girl brought a amy plush to school
People were talking about it and i recognized it was an amy plush
When i said i knew it cuz im a sonic fan
They called me a virgin... for liking sonic
I just really needed to vent that
EDIT :i really did not thought this commenr would get any replies at all
Thank you all 💙
those people are truly outdated in mentality, liking something doesn't make you a virgin, besides, not being a virgin doesn't make you "cool" it just means you fcked someone, wow, SUCH a big deal! 🙄 Truly i'll never uderstand people who think fcking others makes you cool, like you're IN SCHOOL YOU SHOULDN'T BE LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY ALREADY WTF i blame shows like Riverdale and Euphoria for that mentality...
You and that girl keep liking Sonic! Don't listen to others! They just don't understand you have sane interests snd mindsets. Keep being yourself bud ;)
Bro they called you a virgin because you like sonic damn that's just stupid
@@Speedgamerpro69 it truly is.
Sonic is literally the coolest thing ever 😂
I was also made fun of for liking Sonic. But we all know those same people eat up the new fifa every year and buy vbucks lmao
Those who use virgin as an insult are the same people hooking up with half the school by the age of 13 which is arguably way worse
When I was a kid I formed a huge emotional attachment to sonic because I wanted to be just like him, I wanted to be in his world, I wanted to be fast and do cool parkour. I think it was escapism for me as I didn’t grow up in the most ideal childhood conditions. I never cry, but songs like endless possibilities brings a tear to my eye. And because I love music so much the soundtracks of the games influenced the way I produce
maybe you could try being more like Sonic in a more realistic sort of way. He has a pretty healthy message of not being extremely bothered (anxious) by the outside world and being yourself
why are his arms not blue
As a huge Sonic fan, I wasn’t sure why I liked Sonic in the first place aside from being colorful and vibrant. That’s what grabbed me initially. But then I realized it’s because of the strong, contrasting personalities of the characters, their unique designs, some well-developed lore, and especially the catchy, upbeat music. Plus, there's so much media in the franchise to dive into and talk about it.
I think I may be undiagnosed autistic.
I love how you say Sonic is colorful then you have a washed out edgy shadow profile picture and admittedly that game isn’t really colorful the shadow game itself.
@@joshshrum2764 Oh, you're talking about my Shadow profile picture? Well, I'm actually the artist behind that. I get it, the Shadow game isn't as colorful, but I was referring to the entire Sonic franchise with its variety of characters and settings, not just one game. Shadow is part of that colorful world, even if his design is a bit darker.
This is a really interesting video! I'm autistic and love sonic and this is something I've been thinking about lately in connection with a lot of my other interests. It's really nice to find a video like this that is actually really informative and doesn't feel like it's talking down on autistic traits. This feels like a very well-intentioned video so I feel like I need yo mention that a lot of autistic people find the "puzzle piece" symbol a bit uncomfortable as it suggests a kind of incompleteness and was created by a non-autistic person. The rainbow infinity symbol is a more widely accepted symbol :)
As someone with autism, for similar reasons I got into Power Rangers as a kid. The combination of clearly defined colours and flashy special effects made it the first thing I really got hooked on.
Honestly if you liked Power Rangers as a kid and still enjoy a bit of camp and don't mind budget effects, give Kamen Rider a try!
It's not precisely "power rangers for grownups" but it's in the same genre, has a huge adult fanbase, and isn't afraid to indulge in some character drama
@@jaceybella1267 Already watched Kamen Rider
@@Aperson-62 sorry about that then, nice!
As a fellow massive fan of Super Sentai and general tokusatsu, the whole "colourful cast" point/explanation hit me like a truck and made so much sense lmao
When I was a little autist, I was massively obsess with a variety of pop cultural media, such as: Toy Story, A bugs Life, The Yellow Submarine, The Beatles, E.L.O, Dexter's Laboratory,The Powerpuff Girls, The Iron Giant, Space Invaders, Star Wars, Metal Slug, Final Fantasy 7, The Legend Of Zelda and Resident Evil. Only a short period of my youngest years i too was into the whole Sonic mania from 3 to 6 years of age including Pokemon.
idk if im autistic but I have severe adhd and everything you said was spot on and resonates with me, especially about honing in on key interests, getting lost in the lore, and the community.
LMAO I always knew this. It’s just funny to see someone finally publicly talk about it. You’re brave. Any time I’d make the connection online they’d crucify me. I’m literally autistic 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Autistic guy who loves Sonic here. Great video! I can tell you from my personal experience music was a huge part of what I loved about Sonic but the biggest thing that drew me in initially were the characters. Growing up video game characters did little for me outside of their flashy designs. Mario looked bright and fun but he didn’t have much personality. Sonic characters weren’t just bright and colorful but they were EXPLODING with personality. The millisecond I saw Sonic leaping through station square and quipping as he fought an ancient god monster I was hooked. As I got older I started to appreciate other game franchises and characters like Mario and Zelda but no other game character ever came close to how much Sonic initially hooked me
Personality matters, absolutely. I wasn't exactly able to fill that void that Mario and Luigi and Peach had in them. I always prefered to have things spelled out to me. So I do really appreciate how "flashy" and how unnecessarilly story-driven much of Sonic has been, and there's always a big effort from the visual, writing, and music teams to deliver on all fronts. That's why I always get the sense many Sonic fans are driven to learn a creative craft themselves.
Dude I was so ready for this guy to mention Chris Chan lmao
Huuuuuuhhhh.
I'm so glad that they didn't bring Chris Chan up. As a Sonic fan with ASD, the thought of Chris Chan genuinely depresses and stresses me out like nothing else can.
Going by what's said at 11:03, I think I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I actually have ADHD though i have both friends and family members who are autistic, but this video has brought a lot of joy and understanding of both myself and those around me. It's very well done and perfect, and the addressing of the puzzle symbolism is very important too, thank you.
Anyways I have to give this video a 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 out of 10 🎉
Thank you.
P.s., my favorite characters are Shadow and Blaze. What about yall?
You know, you made a lot of good points of why Autistic people connect to the Sonic franchise, and I’m glad that you’re trying to fix your mistakes of the video! Despite that I’m not really offended of the puzzle piece, I can understand why other people aren’t fans of the puzzle piece (for instance, it symbolizes something like “a mystery that can’t be solved”).
Around the time when I was a little girl (who’s diagnosed with Autism at an early age), besides of me thinking “Wow, that blue hedgehog looks so cool when he’s running fast!”, I think what got me into Sonic is the colorful characters since my introduction is well… Sonic Colors. Sure, it’s the first Sonic game that focuses on a goofier approach than a serious approach, but playing the DS port and watching the Wii version of Sonic Colors on UA-cam is the start of me getting hooked to the Sonic franchise (as a hyper fixation nonetheless). Throughout the years, I’ve been drawing Sonic characters, watching Sonic Tv shows, watching a lot of Sonic related videos on YT, and been mostly eager to play more Sonic games. I even remembered feeling guilty whenever I see someone on the internet making fun of something I enjoy so much. But no matter what, there would be another way for me to come back to the stuff I love.
Aside of Undertale, Sonic the Hedgehog is clearly one of my favorite video game franchises of all time and it genuinely means a lot to me since I currently consider Sonic and Undertale to be “life changing”. Heck, I think Sonic is what actually got me interested of video games overall since I probably discovered more video games because of Sonic.
Sorry for the long rambling, it’s what I sorta do when I’m texting about something I’m deep onto. Anyways, kudos for making this video!
💚💜🧡
You don't have to apologize, half of the people who read these comments are also autistic, so feel at home.
You're pretty much spot on when it comes to sonic being just the right blend of stimuly. I feel like there are thoses types of games or licenses that aren't good "games" but great aesthetic pieces, like a painting you can explore, and with sonic being the most concrete example for me. Maybe he fucks up the gameplay, the story, the quantifiable things that makes media "good" but it's still attracts the artistically minded and people on the spectrum because it is a project of artists before being a project of computer engineers. Sonic whole appeal is in his character, not his games I'd say.
What other IPs are like this?
I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD when I was around 3 years old. When I first started playing video games, I originally played Mario, but I had heard of Sonic vaguely. The first game I played was Sonic 2 on my old phone around 2015. Ever since then, Sonic has become my main interest. I feel like all of your points resonate with me. Hell, in school, I often listen to music from the games when working on assignments or I even get sidetracked by making whole video scripts or essays about certain elements of this franchise, much to the dismay of my teacher lol. My girlfriend who's also on the spectrum likes Sonic too, and I feel like that has strengthened our relationship over the past 3 years we've been together, which is my longest relationship. Usually, I'm not too keen on opening up to strangers, but I felt like just this once it was acceptable.
I've been thinking of reading the IDW comics, I'm excited as hell for the third movie, and Frontiers imo is the best game in the franchise.
All I can really say is thank you for making this videio because I honestly wanna engage with the community more, but I haven't due to multiple instances of me getting shat on or arguments starting solely because I have an opinion. This video gives me hope.
Bro i can’t stop listening to the boss themes in Sonic frontiers.
@@joshshrum2764 SAME
2:08
"He needs no introduction"
*introduction*
The answer is quite simple in all actuality. Sonic The Hedgehog is the single most complex, polarizing, and fascinating intellectual property known to man.
I think I speak for the majority of autistic people when I say that the more multifaceted the subject matter, the more likely it is to become a long-term narrow interest; and Sonic The Hedgehog’s numerous revolutionary historic milestones throughout the past half century of real world history, infinitely interpretable lore, and most of all the fact that the series is ostracized by mainstream culture as “weird furry stuff” and/or “a bunch of bad games that were probably never good to begin with”; making the franchise as a whole extremely relatable to neurodivergent individuals who identify with Sonic because they know what it’s like to be misunderstood due to involuntary circumstances outside of their control.
I’ve studied this franchise like the back of my hand daily since I was eleven years old over a decade ago, so I’ve come to understand the appeal of this particular IP better than most.
Sontorian huh.
You explained it perfectly wtf
its literally a blue hedgehog running calm down bro
@@melon-qm7ed but it’s honestly much more than that there’s serious themes though maybe final fantasy or souls games are obviously more complex
@@joshshrum2764 everything has serious themes if you look. Even Mario could be about how being the hero in a tough situation is always right. that doesn't mean its a master piece.
He needs no introduction. *proceeds to give an introduction*
Just because you don't need it, doesn't mean you're not gonna get it
I'm autistic, a sonic fan, and a furry. I've always found myself more drawn to bright, funny cartoons. I like silly characters doing silly things that I would be made fun of for doing in real life. Cartoons can exhibit autistic traits and not be ridiculed for it. I relate to these characters and wish I could be in their world.
Also, I just like running aimlessly. I really like Frontiers and Unleashed for their open world aspects. Mindlessly tilting the joystick is my favorite pastime.
me too bro
Running around in games is my favourite thing
My maaan!!! * high five paws*
@@ArquaticDreamer1994 owo
As someone with autism, I can confidently say that Sonic the Hedgehog fucking rocks.
As another person with autism, I too can confirm that
A.S.I here, and I can confirm you that he's far from it lol
True that CHAOS CONTROL OUT.
As one of you guys I agree
You are the first person o actually explain and treat that topic in a serious way, not just a joke. Great job, this is a fantastic video.
2:08 - "You're a colorful bunch"
As a Sonic fan myself, I was *never* thankfully born with ASD, I just play the games because they’re cool
Never thought my Reddit post from 3 years ago would make it into a video essay 😂 this was a fascinating watch, good job.
What is your opinion on splash mountain being torn down?
@@Davaroni Heartbroken. :(