Why People Think Sherlock Holmes is Autistic

These traits, such as hyperfocus and difficulties with social integration, are often linked to characteristics observed in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Holmes' ability to excel in niche areas while struggling with everyday social norms mirrors the experience of many individuals on the spectrum.

Jonny Lee Miller’s portrayal of Holmes is completely reimagined. The setting is Manhattan instead of London, with both Watson and Moriarity portrayed as female actors. Sherlock still possesses a certain lack of understanding or disregard for social cues — he’s British, surrounded by Americans, and very rich — like Doyle’s original. But while using his exceptional observational skills to aid local law enforcement, there is a certain awkwardness and impulsiveness that goes beyond merely not fitting in (or not wanting to follow law enforcement protocols), which led to problems including drug addiction and Dr. Watson is hired as his “sober companion.”

Some very similar law-breaking impulsiveness and general “not fitting in” bring Good Will Hunting's Will in front of a judge arguing obscure legal doctrines from the eighteenth century. Will solves a math problem that no one else could, is discovered as a “prodigy,” and then gets recruited by the NSA. Although the NSA only vaguely alludes to what Will would do for them, it will probably be called consulting. More and more, it becomes a common trope in fictional characters that a prodigy or genius can be put to constructive use by others, and a certain amount of social awkwardness or eccentric nature will just be part of the package.

The savant detective trope in procedural dramas

Procedural crime dramas owe even more to Doyle than dramas that overtly acknowledge their characters are neurodivergent. Shows like The Mentalist and Lie to Me feature heroes who use equally unconventional methods, such as applied psychology and the interpretation of microexpressions—techniques mentioned in Doyle’s "A Study in Scarlet." In that story, Watson reads a magazine article and states, “The writer claimed by a momentary expression, a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye, to fathom a man’s inmost thoughts.” This is exactly the method Dr. Lightman employs in Lie to Me, and also Patrick Jane’s highly developed observational skills used to “read people’s minds” in The Mentalist.

Similarly, Charlie in Numb3rs reminds us of Holmes, as he is recruited to consult and help solve crimes. While Numb3rs plays up the “let’s get the eccentric smart guy to help solve this crime” angle, it blurs the line between fact and fiction with some misconceptions about Autism.

Not all prodigies will have autistic traits, such as avoiding eye contact and having difficulties maintaining standard relationships. And not all people with autism are going to have exceptional genius abilities above and beyond the “average.” Angelina Jolie’s “stimming” on the curbside of a crime scene in 2004’s Taking Lives comes to mind, as though brilliant deductions and traits of Autism must go hand in hand.

Stimming, avoiding eye contact, and failing relationships make for great dramatic demons for a hero to overcome -- they're not exclusive to Holmes, nor are they the only arcs we see used for the savant-detective-who-might-have-ASD trope. Remember a TV series called Monk?

First, to the obvious: from the very first episode of Monk, the writers made no secret of the fact that Adrian Monk was a Holmes rendition. Sharona, his personal nurse and assistant, says, “I love this part. He does this zen Sherlock Holmes thing.” Instead of addiction, as seen in Elementary, Monk has a severe anxiety disorder brought on by trauma, which places him outside of conventional society. Each episode also leans heavily on Monk’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, showing scenes where he has difficulty resisting his disorder, almost resembling a sort of Howard Hughes-esque persona.

The role of the foil

But there is no Sherlock Holmes without Dr. Watson. Although Jude Law played the straight man to Downey Jr’s Holmes, Sharona truly embodies the foil character in Monk. She’s totally at ease, calmly explaining Monk’s social missteps when a character glibly refers to Monk as Rainman, but she’s also a silly and unorganized single mom. Calling Monk “Rainman” combines savant syndrome with Monk’s severe anxiety and OCD, which is not always the case. It’s also extremely not okay to refer to someone as Rainman these days, but for illustrative purposes, we’re comfortable with the historical analogy.

Gender and neurodiversity

Another example of the savant-turned-detective, adapted from Nancy Springer’s young adult fiction series, The Enola Holmes Mysteries, Enola is shown to have gotten most of her peculiar and independent ways from her mother, which are at odds with her place in time in the Victorian era. Enola Holmes 2 diverges from the source material, but she really connects with her older brother, Sherlock. They share a similar way: they deduce and solve the overlapping mystery in which they find themselves.

ASD generally presents differently in women and girls than in boys and men, but Enola is portrayed as having the same abilities and behaviors as Doyle’s Holmes. She is impulsive, has a disregard for social rules and norms, lacks boundaries, and possesses an air of not caring about what anyone else thinks.

In Enola Holmes 2, Enola is motivated by deep empathy for her client. At first, Henry Cavill’s Sherlock seems dispassionate and dismissive of the introduction of unwanted responsibility for this annoying younger sibling, who is a girl, no less, but he also demonstrates his deep feelings for Enola, even breaking her out of jail. Enola is so concerned about Sherlock’s overall welfare living alone at the end of the movie that she sets him up with a flatmate, Dr. Watson.

The lasting impact of Sherlock Holmes

Possessing certain traits that overlap with the Autism Spectrum, Sherlock Holmes has become a type-cast and a point of comparison to all other characters that follow with similar eccentricities and behaviors. Beyond Watson’s transcript of the dialogue between Holmes and everyone else, we never get an opportunity to see inside the mind of Sherlock. Holmes is far more complex than the label of ASD or savant syndrome, and readers must rely on Doyle’s original Dr. Watson and his study of Holmes to tell his story.