Could Baby Bear be autistic?

[ssetta]

This is something I've been wondering about lately. Here's a few reasons why:

He is very strange in a lot of ways, and is not like other bears, or even people. For one thing, he only ever eats one type of food: porridge. I honestly have never met anyone out there who loves porridge. Most people I know probably don't even know what it is. And I doubt there are many real restaurants out there that serve porridge. How many people here have actually eaten porridge?

Secondly, he always overanalyzes everything he's interested in. He is heavily obsessed with art, and remember that Hero Guy character he created awhile back? That definitely sounds like an autistic thing. And if you'll notice, he says a lot of things that are more adult-like than kid-like. It seems like in a lot of ways, he's more like an adult than like a kid. And he has that babyish lisp, even though I think he's supposed to represent a 6-year-old. (Not sure on the age, though...)

But also, remember back in the early days when he would be seen with Goldilocks? And he would VERY EASILY get mad at her, and have zero patience for her. Even if she only did the tiniest thing to offend him. That is something that ONLY autistic people do. In fact, I can be that way sometimes, too. Like if someone says or does something I don't agree with. He's always been a very unique character, though I don't think he's as appreciated as some others.

So...do you think Baby Bear is autistic?

 

[Oscarfan]

I don't think kids with autism have as a large a vocabulary as Baby Bear does.

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

I don't think kids with autism have as a large a vocabulary as Baby Bear does.

It depends on the type of autism... and the level. I have worked with many autistic kids that have amazing vocabularies.

Kids with a type of autism called aspergers, are often not badly intellectually disabled.

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

This is something I've been wondering about lately. Here's a few reasons why:

He is very strange in a lot of ways, and is not like other bears, or even people. For one thing, he only ever eats one type of food: porridge. I honestly have never met anyone out there who loves porridge. Most people I know probably don't even know what it is. And I doubt there are many real restaurants out there that serve porridge. How many people here have actually eaten porridge?

Secondly, he always overanalyzes everything he's interested in. He is heavily obsessed with art, and remember that Hero Guy character he created awhile back? That definitely sounds like an autistic thing. And if you'll notice, he says a lot of things that are more adult-like than kid-like. It seems like in a lot of ways, he's more like an adult than like a kid. And he has that babyish lisp, even though I think he's supposed to represent a 6-year-old. (Not sure on the age, though...)

But also, remember back in the early days when he would be seen with Goldilocks? And he would VERY EASILY get mad at her, and have zero patience for her. Even if she only did the tiniest thing to offend him. That is something that ONLY autistic people do. In fact, I can be that way sometimes, too. Like if someone says or does something I don't agree with. He's always been a very unique character, though I don't think he's as appreciated as some others.

So...do you think Baby Bear is autistic?

While I know alot about autism, I cant really address this since, I dont know alot about the character. However, your first point... porridge is pretty much the same as grits... which you find all the over in the south. It is also obscenely popular in Europe. So while many people many not think they know about it... they prolly do.

And while most people with autism do have autistic rage, it is not something unique to people with autism. There are many people out there with very very short fuses.

My guess.. and as I said, I dont know anything about the character, is that the similarities are coincidence.

 

[D'Snowth]

This is something I've been wondering about lately. Here's a few reasons why:

He is very strange in a lot of ways, and is not like other bears, or even people. For one thing, he only ever eats one type of food: porridge. I honestly have never met anyone out there who loves porridge. Most people I know probably don't even know what it is. And I doubt there are many real restaurants out there that serve porridge. How many people here have actually eaten porridge?

Secondly, he always overanalyzes everything he's interested in. He is heavily obsessed with art, and remember that Hero Guy character he created awhile back? That definitely sounds like an autistic thing. And if you'll notice, he says a lot of things that are more adult-like than kid-like. It seems like in a lot of ways, he's more like an adult than like a kid. And he has that babyish lisp, even though I think he's supposed to represent a 6-year-old. (Not sure on the age, though...)

But also, remember back in the early days when he would be seen with Goldilocks? And he would VERY EASILY get mad at her, and have zero patience for her. Even if she only did the tiniest thing to offend him. That is something that ONLY autistic people do. In fact, I can be that way sometimes, too. Like if someone says or does something I don't agree with. He's always been a very unique character, though I don't think he's as appreciated as some others.

So...do you think Baby Bear is autistic?

Well, you have to keep in mind that Baby Bear (and the Bear family in general) is directly from the classic fairy tale about Goldilocks and the three bears - what did the bears like to eat in that story? Porridge. So, that probably serves as a backdrop for Baby Bear's favorite food, now that's not to say it's what he'll completely eat ALL the time, as I think I can recall a couple of occasions where Alan had him try something different to eat because he was out of porridge. I'm kind of the same with homemade macaroni and cheese, but again, I don't eat it ALL the time.

As for his love for art... um yeah, a lot of people out there are very artistic, so yeah. Matter of fact, when it comes to those "there's two kinds of people in the world" quotes, I had a teacher who told me that she sees the two kinds of people in the world are artistic people and mathematic people... which makes COMPLETE sense to me, as I've always sucked at math, but I'm always creative and artistic. As for his vocabulary, I honestly don't know of any three-and-a-half year olds with vocabularies as extensive as Elmo's, so I wouldn't really worry about that too much.

As for the Goldilocks thing, again, it's based on the story really. But another thing too, is that EVERYBODY in reality has one particular person in their lives that they absolutely cannot stand and it's easy to lose your cool with their annoying antics; I remember in Grade 6 we had a guy in school who was so annoying and obnoxious that practically everybody who knew him (including myself) were always ready to just lay into him if it would get him to shut the heck up! You know that Lamb Chop song "This is the Song that Never Ends"? That song is twice as annoying in real life when you've got a guy like him singing it over and over and over and over again.

Like DrmaticEmphasis said, there's different levels of autism; I have a nephew with autism, and really, the only unusual quirk about him is his hyper activity, but other than that, he's pretty much like any other little kid his age.

No offense, but ssetta, this is a prime example of how autism is often misdiagnosed - not everybody in the world is "normal", and several people out there have unusual quirks or eccentricities, but because of that, most doctors these days would say "Oh, well then, you must be autistic", even though it isn't necessarily true. I KNOW for a fact that I'm eccentric, even at an early age, and you can ask anyone else here how eccentric I am, but in all honesty, I like the fact that I'm so eccentric, because I honestly can't see myself coming up with half of my puppet (and cartoon) characters and whatnot if I was SANE, lol.

And slightly off-topic, you're right DrmaticEmphasis; I'm in Tennessee, and you go to like Waffle House or IHOP and grits are like a signature at breakfast as much as bacon or sausage is with your eggs (kinda the same with hashbrowns), so people are always surprised to hear that I don't care for grits myself... I guess that'd be like a Texan who doesn't like chili, lol.

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

No offense, but ssetta, this is a prime example of how autism is often misdiagnosed - not everybody in the world is "normal", and several people out there have unusual quirks or eccentricities, but because of that, most doctors these days would say "Oh, well then, you must be autistic", even though it isn't necessarily true. I KNOW for a fact that I'm eccentric, even at an early age, and you can ask anyone else here how eccentric I am, but in all honesty, I like the fact that I'm so eccentric, because I honestly can't see myself coming up with half of my puppet (and cartoon) characters and whatnot if I was SANE, lol.

Thank you for saying it...I didnt have the guts.

 

[APRena]

Um, no. As has been said before, some people really DO like porridge, it's part of the story. Even kids can have a passion for art, and I think Hero Guy was more about using your imagination. Some other posts have mentioned that he's 3 and a half, and a lot of characters supposedly written to be young are really precocious. Lisps are common, especially at that age. EVERYONE can have a very short temper sometimes, regardless of age. There's nothing that *only* or *all* autistic kids have. What's next, Elmo has ADHD?

Okay, I'm stopping myself short of going on a 5 page rant by simply saying: People with autism are great human beings, and my life wouldn't be the same without my brother.

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

Okay, I'm stopping myself short of going on a 5 page rant by simply saying: People with autism are great human beings, and my life wouldn't be the same without my brother.

I dont think this is necessary... no one said anything to the contrary.

 

[D'Snowth]

Some other posts have mentioned that he's 3 and a half, and a lot of characters supposedly written to be young are really precocious.

Actually, for the three-and-a-half comment, I was refering to Elmo and comparing his vocabulary to those of your average three-and-a-half year old child in our reality world as an example.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm sorry... but this really is over thinking a character. You do bring up interesting points and you really thought this out, but I completely disagree.

To me, Baby Bear came out of a Looney Toons style of character, his anger at Goldilocks is basically Yosemite Sam's anger at Bugs. There's such a history of stress with that character, even mentioning the name of Goldilocks ticks Baby Bear off. And when you look at how she's portrayed in the show, it's no wonder... very much like Heckle and Jeckle/ Bugs Bunny/ Woody Woodpecker... she's an instigator and sometimes, she's so careless she doesn't even know she's doing the wrong thing.

Lessee... the porridge is just a joke on the old fairy tale... and really, this and hating Goldilocks was all the character was about when he was first introduced. The art thing came later, and I think that helped expand the character. As for the lisp... again, a classic cartoon standby... Elmer Fudd, Homestar Runner... even that guy on Big Bang Theory. It's also the age old kiddy voice cliche for them to tawk wike dis too.

So, again, not bashing you're theory... just not thinking that was the intent.