Did GH change their minds about Austin being on the autism spectrum?

[madluv4ya]

I know there was some speculation about him being on the spectrum a short while after he arrived, but could that just have been Roger Howarth's unique interpretation of the character. It was sort of also addressed over a meal Austin and Britt had together where he said that he was not autistic, but he had a brother who was?.
Could it have been an area that writers didn't feel they could competently write about? I mean RH's acting was spot on, but now it seems as though he may be just more eccentric as opposed to anything else.
Thoughts?

[franron]

To me, it seemed as though it was the viewers who assigned that characterization to Austin.

[OLTLBoomer]

co-sign. Strictly on the part of the viewers. Austin discussing his brother and his shared experience, besides being a pediatrician, is good enought for me.

[kat401]

Yeah, I agree. I never thought he was on the spectrum, just as a doctor he recognized the signs that Leo might be. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[CyndyG]

You are correct. Viewers do this stuff all of the time because it is what they want.

[Kristabell]

Austin said it was his brother Jonah and he knew the signs by caring for his baby brother......Britta thought it was Austin and that's when he opened up! I'm still thinking he was just deflecting to throw her off track and might be the one with autism?

[Chris]

I was wondering the same thing myself.

[DayRose]

I thought he was deflecting too.

[Mary Mae Ward1]

Jonah is about 9 years older than Austin, so if he said baby brother, there may be another biological son of Jimmy Lee and Charity out there.

[DayRose]

I think the writers did change their minds. When Austin was first on he acted much different than he does now. I'm glad his man bun is gone too. I think making Leo on the spectrum is an easier story than writing an adult Dr. on the spectrum story.

[xoregonian]

I want Austin to stop with the goofy doofus act. I want him to be more serious or at least just normal and not always deliver his lines like he's about to crack up. He is not the least bit sexy with Maxie at all and I cringe when they go to kiss.

He is comic relief again at this point. I must say I do love all of his interactions with Liesl.

[sesca]

I couldn't put my finger on what was bothering me. This is exactly what it is. Thank you!

[Fightcrab]

Austin is not on the autism spectrum. I think he mentioned a brother with some mental problem.

[O_Snap!]

I wish they'd shift him from Maxie to Britt.

[Quinoa]

They changed their minds. Austin used to say things common to people with Autism like needing things to be perfect, that things that he started need to be completed. They made a point having him saying those things. Now he doesn’t randomly say these things or have the same affect.

[KateQ22003]

I don't think there was ever any plan to make him autistic; I think he's just quirky. I don't see any difference in him since he came on. And for the record, I like things to be perfect as well; I call it being organized

[franron]

People around here say Spectrum. I don't know what #1, or, whatever the least, is.

Maybe, there are a lot of autistic people, on the 'spectrum', walking around America. I also like things to be 'just so', only because it makes my life easier, since I have a lot of things that I seem to be in charge of paying attention to. Or, is that a woman/mom thing...? Somebody, at everybody's house, has to pay attention....

[Carablue]

I think sometimes, we viewers are a little too quick to characterise someone and "figure them out" immediately instead of letting them become part of the canvas more naturally.

[believeinme246]

I think that his quirkiness that I loved was filtered out of him, just as it was filtered out of Finn. Sadly, the original characterizations were what made the characters so interesting.

[shoresense]

I agree with your assessment. Finn was super quirky when he first came on. Now that seems to have faded. Austin was a bit socially awkward in the beginning, I took it as a country doctor now working in a big hospital then it looked like he might be more of a bad character going after the Qs. Thought he had some hidden agenda. Think all this was filtered out once the character was on the canvas for a length of time and was separated from RoHo’s portrayal of Franco

[conniefl]

I think it was a way to introduce Austin as a sympathetic character. But I think, too, it was done that way to bring Olivia and Ned closer and give them someone to think about besides themselves and their problems. GH has in the past tried to include things happening in the world and autism has been shown more recently to be occurring more often than we noticed oh say 10-15 years ago. So I think it had a dual purpose and will show up in the future every now and then even though it seems to be dropped for now. I never thought Austin had autism but that he was very familiar with it. Maybe as a pediatrician. Has it been settled what his specialty is?

[gippsy]

I don't think Austin was ever on the spectrum. He just had to get used to Port Charles and Roger had to get used to his new role.