#autistic Dustin Henderson

[halfadoginatank]

Autistic eddie munson this, autistic robin Buckley that. What about autistic steve Harrington? What about the little audhd kid who wasn't in a safe place, a safe home, to unmask. To be born how you are and sniffed out that something is wrong with you, to spend hours in the bathroom, alone. Learning how to mimic tone and expressions.

To spend years masking until when the day comes where you have a best friend just like you, a boyfriend, a brother, just like you. To work that mask off of yourself, and finally see who you are. Crying in the same mirror you practiced in because you dont recognize yourself happy, safe, and loved.

[beep-beep-robin]

*raises head from chest while violently sobbing* autistic steve who‘s not accepted or accomodated by his parents and is forced to mask all the time, because harrington’s can’t be „weird“.

nancy‘s the first person who catches on and lets steve unmask around her, she knows how to help with certain things because she has experience with mike who‘s also autistic.

steve seeing dustin freely stim and infodump and realizing he‘s allowed to do that too.

robin being the person steve feels the most free around, they can communicate without using many or any words.

eddie helping him through meltdowns and cuddling him afterwards, while steve does the same for him. he encourages him to do things related to his special interests, knowing how important they are to him, and how his parents always used to keep him from them.

when steve loses most of his hearing, no one in the party needs to learn sign language because they already did - in case one of them (most often it‘s steve) goes nonverbal.

[liightsnow]

"It doesn't make sense that you headcanon that character as autistic"

Baby, I'm autistic and that bitch isn't real so I am going to do what I want

[lumaxramblings]

happy autism awareness month

be aware of them

[chopper-witch]

If you write or draw with any of these headcanons and/or ships in mind, I owe you my life:

- ADHD and/or autistic Eddie, Autistic Robin, autistic Dustin, autistic El

- trans!Eddie, trans!Steve, and/or trans!Jonathan

- deaf!Steve

- Jargyle, Ronance, Steddie

- blind and paraplegic/quadriplegic Max who is actually treated like the human she is

- im sure there are more im forgetting rn

[gremlin-bug]

Joyce Byers is an autism mom but not the type that posts “autism won today 🥺” but the kind that will absolutely rock someone’s shit for disrespecting any autistic kids (not just her own autistic kids) in her general vicinity. Also she’s autistic because I said so and it makes sense

[me-myself-and-eyes]

i see your autistic robin

and i raise you autistic eddie

AND I RAISE YOU AUTISTIC DUSTIN

[italiansteebie]

Could you write something where Steve has echolalia and he's self conscious about it? Maybe he tries to hide it somehow, but however you want to do it. I don't know if I should have been surprised to find that no one has written any, but I was, and I'd like to see it

I haven't been very inspired lately so this is kinda bad Im so sorry..

It's just a little drabble

Steve's Echo

-----------

"Welcome to Family Video!" Robin singsongs as a customer walks in. She pauses, waiting for the quiet echo, "Family Video!" There it is. When It first happened, she arched her eyebrow, but quickly eased her face as worry etched across her best friends face. "Sorry," He said, turning away, trying to mask the red brush that was creeping up his neck, blooming to the tips of his ears.

She brushed it off, it was obviously something Steve was sensitive about, why would she bring it up again? Unless he really wanted to talk about it, she considers, but he's never mentioned anything like that. So she let it go, and it became just another thing about Steve Harrington that was certainly unexpected.

Steve on the other hand, could not brush it off, and every time he echoed unconsciously, it was like the embarrassment took over his body. As a child, he often got in trouble for it, the mannerism being deemed as "mocking" or "making fun" by his teachers, and caused harsh whispers and a quick backhand from his father.

So he learned to repeat in his head until he could get somewhere private to soothe himself. It was the "bring-bring" of the bell, and the rumbling of Mr. Cornic's voice as he droned on about the chemical changes of hydrogen or whatever. He remembers excusing himself so many times in that class that Mr. Cornic pulled him aside and asked him if everything was okay. He nodded his head, shying away, and perfected the art of whispering under his breath just loud enough to feel the satisfaction but quiet enough that no one else could hear, and if they could, it wasn't bothersome.

With Robin, it was odd. He had a harder time hiding his echoes around her, but they never seemed to be bother some for her. She had made a face the first time he neglected to hold the echo back, but it didn't last too long. And soon it became such a normal occurrence, he had trouble holding it back around everyone else.

Dustin came into family video, rambling about something, but the way his voice sounded sparked something in Steve's brain. "Okay? Steve!" He said, and the mimic bubbled up out of his throat before he could stop it.

"Okayyyy. Steve!" and his mouth moved to repeat it a second time, but the look on Dustin's face made the urge sink in his chest, as shame and embarrassment rose up.

"Are you mocking me, Steve?" Hurt flooded Dustin's tone, and Steve was quick to shake his head, but the quick turn of events was getting overwhelming, his voice stuttered and shook as he tried to force the apology out of his mouth. Robin piped up before Dustin could get more upset, which Steve was eternally grateful for.

"Nah, dingus. It's just his echoes." She said simply, and Steve nodded dumbly, gesturing in agreement. "Huh? Like... Like echolalia?" Dustin questioned, and of course, of course, Dustin knows what it is. So, Steve nodded, voice coming unwound from his throat, "Yeah. It- uh. Yeah." He stuttered.

There was a look of realization on the kid's face, and the hurt that had been dwindling, was erased completely. "I get it dude. I have it too, but it doesn't happen as often. You know. I usually just skip over it like nothing happened. If I ignore it, so does everyone else." Relief washed over Steve as dustin finished his statement. "This is why you're my favorite," He said, ruffling his hair, voice coming out stronger as he recovers from the shock.

Dustin beams, and Robin nods at the two of them, "Like mother, like son." She says, waving a hand, walking away to organize the horror display.

-------------

Awful ending, I apologize

[drewgoodenenjoyer]

someone should draw all the stranger things kids and older teens with tangles !!! they existed in the 80s so it would make sense !!!

[strawberriesinmoominvalley]

“They’re not coming back, are they?” Robin’s voice was quiet enough that Steve almost missed it over the ringing in his ears.

“I don't know,” he replied, and Robin gave him a look. “I don’t want to say it - but they should be back. They love their kids too much.”

OR

a post season three rewrite where hopper and joyce never returned from the russian base. what started as a joke of being babysitters becomes reality as steve, robin, nancy and jonathan suddenly find themselves thrust into looking after all the kids as they navigate the grief from all the people lost.

it doesn't help that everything seems to be getting worse again, that the upside down may not be fully gone. it doesn't help that they can barely afford to look after anyone, let alone make sure the law doesn't get involved. it doesn't help that feelings between people in the group may be more complex than first thought.

they can't change the past but they can change the future. and hey, maybe this year is their year, right?

chapter sixteen: steve breaks

[maroon-poet]

You know what makes me feel really autistic? Reading posts where people say that they headcanon my favourite characters as autistic and smiling at the computer.

[fantasticallyfruity4]

Joyce Byers just collects autistic children.

[stevewasmytransawakening]

Eddie, Dustin, and El are all autistic

that’s it.

that’s the whole post.

[bowiebond]

Queern’t

An Asexual Dustin One-Shot

Henclair + Background Lumax & Dusuzie, Elmax mentioned

CW: Cheating (without intent), minor internalised homophobia, discussions about sex/sexuality, implied autistic Dustin (*cough* projection *cough*)

“What’s it feel like when you kiss Max?” Lucas paused their game and slowly turned to him.

“…Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Lucas squinted with his lip hitched up on one side, in a confusion-induced sneer.

“Yeah?” Dusting frowned and turned to look back at him. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“Why would you need to know about me kissing Max then? Do you still have a thing for her?”

“Max? No! Ew.” Dustin grimaced. “No, man, I don’t like Max. Not like that. That was so two years ago.”

“Okay, okay,” Lucas rolled his eyes and placed his controller down, shifting his body to face Dustin’s, giving him his complete attention. “Explain the thought process behind your question.”

“Well,” Dusting floundered for a moment, throwing his own controller down with a huff, mirroring Lucas’ body language. “Suzie and I have kissed.”

“Yeah, she likes it better without the teeth, I hear.” Lucas pushed his lips out as he nodded and Dustin shoved him in the chest, earning a short laugh.

“Shut up! Look, I just…Suzie’s hot. I think she’s hot. And she’s got all these rules about our relationship cause she’s Mormon and stuff. Which I’m completely fine with!” Dustin added quickly. “It’s just…I’m completely fine with it.”

“Fine with what?”

“The whole…” Dustin leaned in closer and dropped his voice to a whisper as if they weren’t already alone. “Waiting until marriage, you know?”

“I’m confused. You’re upset because…you respect your girlfriends boundaries?” Lucas tried to rephrase to make sense of it and Dustin groaned.

“No! Yes. Kind of.” Dustin buried his face in the back of the couch as Lucas grinned at his friends suffering.

“And you’re asking me what it feels like to kiss my girlfriend because…?” Lucas waited for his response with a slowly turning hand.

“Because when I kiss Suzie, I don’t feel like it’s some big thing! Isn’t it supposed to be?” Dustin looked up with genuine distress on his features, brows downturned and pinched, brown eyes big and a little glossy. The instinct to comfort his friend made Lucas’ body feel bigger, breathing in and filling out his broadening frame as he sat straighter.

“I don’t know. Kissing is just…kissing, Dustin.”

“But it’s supposed to feel like something. Like— like electricity.” Dustin perked up as he remembered. “That’s what Steve told me. You start kissing, and then you wanna do more, and it’s just like…a-a sexual current.”

“Okay…” Lucas considered his words, mulling them over. “I don’t know if Steve is the best person to go to about relationship issues. The guy can’t keep one.”

“He’s working on it.” Dustin winced a little after he said it. “I don’t feel like that with Suzie. When we kiss. I should, shouldn’t I? She’s my girlfriend, and I do love her.”

“Woah, love?” Lucas put a hand up, a tad shocked. “Really?”

“Well, you love Max, don’t you?” Dustin’s eyes widened. “Do you?”

“Of course! We’ve been dating like, almost three years. On and off.” Lucas pursed his lips. “Last week ended our longest relationship so far. Three months. But I’ll get her back by the end of this week, I’m sure of it.”

Dustin pursed his lips, mimicking Lucas’ expression before frowning.

“Yeah, that’s kind of sad, man. I love Max, great friend, but she dumps you like…all the time.”

“And I win her back every time!” Lucas gave a winning smile like he was in an inspiring ad, but it didn’t make Dustin’s deadpan stare fade. Lucas sighed, shoulders dropping. “Okay, so we aren’t the perfect couple, she’s stubborn, I’m an idiot, but we work! I do…love her. I can see us always being together. She’s a great friend and not a bad kisser.” He admitted with a coy shrug.

“Isn’t she like the first girl you’ve kissed though? How would you know if it’s good or bad?” Dustin scratched at his head as he considered his own question.

“I don’t know. We had to learn together. And when I kiss her, I feel good, so she must be good enough.”

“You feel good? Like…” Dustin glanced downwards and Lucas felt his cheeks tingle.

“I mean—! Sometimes. Not all the time. Kissing is…it does lead to stuff. But me and Max haven’t, like…she’s not ready. I respect that.” Lucas’ face was starting to burn now, embarrassed, but he tried to play it cool.

“But you are? Ready, I mean.”

“I mean, what guy isn’t? It’s like, all we think about.” Lucas joked and Dustin looked away, cheeks blooming pink. Unlike Lucas, he couldn’t play it off when it was so plain on his face.

“I…don’t.”

“What, like ever?” Lucas frowned. “You think about it at least like…once a day, right? Don’t you wanna do that with Suzie one day? After you’re married.” Lucas rolled his eyes a little as he tacked the last part on.

“Of course!” Dustin quickly exclaimed. “It’s sex! Who doesn’t— what guy doesn’t…Think about it. All the time.” His lips thinned as he smiled tightly. Lucas wasn’t stupid. He’d known Dustin for years. He could spot one of his lies from a million miles away.

“Do you think it…like at all?” Lucas prompted softly and Dustin’s lips moved without sound before he sighed.

“Sometimes. Like…Suzie will send me a photo in the mail and she’ll be wearing white so you kinda…see her bra,” Dustin mumbled the words like his observation was supposed to be a secret. “And yeah I go ‘that’s nice’ but I don’t…have the urge to have sex with her.”

“Like at all?” Lucas squinted with furrowed brows. “You don’t even think about, like, what she looks like under the shirt?”

“It’s a nice thought sometimes.” Dustin admitted. “But I don’t get hot and bothered over it. Honestly when it comes to actually doing it…it just seems like a lot of work.” He sighed and laid back against the couch with pursed lips.

“I’d rather talk to her about comics and D&D, and her newest science project. Hold her hand. Maybe…cuddle while we watch a movie.” His face was steadily getting redder, unable to meet Lucas’ eyes as he picked at his nails with his other hand. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “I just…feel like I’m behind everyone when it comes to that stuff. We’re sixteen and I…don’t even wanna fuck my girlfriend of two and a half years.”

“Are you…like…” Lucas tried to find a way to say it that didn’t seem accusatory. “Gay?”

“Gay?” Dustin whipped around to look at him like he was crazy. “I’m not gay.”

“My bad!” Lucas put his hands up in surrender. “Nothing wrong with it if you are. We both know Will is…different.”

“Will being gay is whatever, it’s Will.” Dustin scoffed. “I’m not gay though.”

“Well, I mean, you don’t seem interested in Suzie.” Lucas pointed out, confused as Dustin was. “You don’t even like kissing her.”

“I like kissing!” Dustin defended. “It’s just…I thought it would be this big thing, is all. Fireworks and electric tension. But it’s not. It’s just nice, kissing Suzie. I like kissing my girlfriend.”

“It’s not fireworks for me and Max.” Lucas admitted with a shrug. “It’s-…okay, there is tension for us, but it’s why people make out, you know? Cause you don’t wanna have sex yet, but the build up is nice. Frustrating but hot.”

“Suzie and I made out once.” Dustin admitted with a small shrug. “She seemed into it. I got bored after twenty minutes and starting half watching the TV. I would have been happy to just cuddle! Or like…kiss her neck, but she’s got strict parents.”

“Are you sure you’re not gay?”

“How would I know?!” Dustin threw his hands up in the air. “We live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere! You think I can just waltz up to a guy, plant one of him and go, ‘yep, I’m into that’?”

He shoved Lucas for the dumb question.

“I guess you’re not wrong.” Lucas snickered, shoving back. Dustin narrowed his eyes and pushed him again. Lucas kicked up a brow. “You really wanna do that?”

“Bring it.” Lucas laughed as he launched from his seat to tackle Dustin, the curly haired boy screeching despite his tough talk. If Lucas had anything on Dustin, it was his brawn.

Dustin put up a decent fight though, shoving his face and tugging at his jacket in a lame attempt as throwing him off the couch, which only happened when Lucas decided there wasn’t enough room to headlock him on the cushions.

They hit the ground hard, Dustin giving a winded groan as Lucas shoved him onto his front and sat on his back to wrap his arm securely around his neck.

“Tap out! Tap it!”

“Uncle!”

“Wrong game, man.” Lucas laughed, Dustin smacking the floor twice before Lucas let up, falling against him with a belly laugh that nearly brought him to tears. “Uncle?”

“It’s all I could think of. My brain went blank.” Dustin wheezed under his weight and Lucas snorted, sitting back against the bottom of the couch as Dustin flopped onto his back.

Dustin took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“What if I’m just…broken?” Dustin sighed heavily. “Like my junk just doesn’t work that way. Or— or something in my brain doesn’t send the right signals. Typical.”

“There’s nothing broken about you…unless you count your freaky collarbones.”

“Those are missing, not broken.” Dustin corrected with a fake, condensing smile.

“Maybe you’re just missing something then.” Lucas shrugged. “Maybe you love Suzie but you’re not…in love with her. And that’s why you don’t wanna sleep with her.”

“So what? I break up with her? It’s not you, it’s me?”

“I don’t know, man.” Lucas huffed. It was frustrating, not being able to help his friend. “I’m just shooting possibilities here.”

“Maybe I should kiss a guy.” Dustin thought out loud, staring at the ceiling glumly. “I don’t think I’m gay though. I never thought about it.”

Lucas watched Dustin watch the ceiling and sighed softly. He shifted his bent knees down to the floor and leant down, pressing a swift kiss to his lips. Dustin flinched and sat up with wide eyes, moving away just a few inches. That hurt weirdly enough, a cold chill permeating his body as he was scrutinised. He should be used to that by now as one of four black kids in all of Hawkins (Erica, Patrick and Jeff making up the other three).

“What?” He said defensively and Dustin floundered for a response.

“I have a girlfriend!” He finally settled on.

“Sorry. I thought I may as well save you the trouble. You didn’t feel anything, right? So you don’t have to break up with Suzie.” He shrugged, looking away.

“I— you still kissed me!” Dustin actually looked like he wanted to cry and guilt ate away at Lucas’ stomach. “You can’t just— I’m not like that, okay? I was joking. I thought out everyone I was to supposed to be the one who didn’t get jokes.” Dustin’s voice wobbled as his knees hiked up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. Mirroring Lucas’ own actions.

“I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t thinking.”

“…I thought you loved Max. You don’t kiss other people when you love someone.”

“I do love Max!”

“You basically just cheated!”

“Max and I are off right now!” Lucas was getting increasingly frustrated now. Who was Dustin to stick his nose in his feelings for Max? Unlike Dustin, Lucas could actually get it up for his girlfriend.

“Still! Emotional cheating!” Dustin cried, groaning and burying his face in his hands. “Why would you do that, man? That’s not normal.”

Lucas bristled at the words.

“What? You have a problem with gay people now? With Will?” Lucas spat and Dustin snapped his head up, glaring back.

“That’s not what I meant, Lucas. I meant kissing your friend. When you already love someone!”

“Max had this same dilemma!” Lucas broke. “She kissed El! When we were on.” He crossed his arms and huffed, sitting back too harshly. “Max said it meant nothing. She was just curious to figure out if she had feelings for girls too or not. It’s the same thing.”

“And what? You forgave her for cheating?”

“That’s not the point I’m trying to make, Dustin!” Lucas yelled and Dustin flinched, lips thinning with anger he was keeping to himself. Burning with a mix of shame and rage.

“What’s the point then?”

“I—“ Lucas found he couldn’t find the words. “The point is that…that kiss was just an experiment. You don’t have to feel guilty over it.”

“…You have soft lips.” Dustin admitted in a soft mumble, looking down with wet eyes.

“Thanks, man. I guess.” Lucas fiddled with his sleeve, suddenly feeling suffocated in the silent room. “So?”

“So?” Dustin blinked a few times, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Did you feel anything?” Lucas shrugged. “Like…something different to Suzie?”

“Not really.” Dustin scratched at his neck. “To be fair, we’re friends. I always like hanging out with you. And it was like, barely a kiss.”

“I’m not kissing you again.” Lucas warned and Dustin actually laughed.

“No, no, I just…maybe I’m just broken after all. I don’t…wanna fuck anyone. God, I’m dramatic, aren’t I?”

“No.” Lucas frowned. “Maybe it’s just…a ‘with time’ thing. Late bloomer.”

“I’m sixteen.”

“Okay, then, so what?” Lucas proposed with a shrug, hands out. “You don’t like sex. Or, at least the idea of doing it. You’re not ready, and if you never are…oh well. You got plenty of other great things about you to entertain any partner you decide to have.”

“You think?” Dustin said, voice small but hopeful as he looked up at Lucas through a few curls that hung down his forehead.

“Totally, dude.” Lucas smiled softly, hoping it was enough to reassure him. “You’ll figure it out. Whatever you are. Whoever you choose to be.”

Dustin broke into a toothy smile.

“Thanks, dude.”

“It’s cool. We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m happy to help.” As they picked up there controllers, Lucas ignored the twisting in his stomach at the thought of Max, likely waiting for him to win her back like he always did.

He would. If being black and unpopular wasn’t hard enough in this tiny midwestern town of Indiana, he didn’t need to add being queer to the list too.

[lumaxramblings]

stranger things textposts (neurodivergent edition)

[biigiiiii]

Mike Wheeler and Dustin Henderson friendship is autism solidarity, do not try to change my mind ✌️