Teenage Mutant Neuro Turtles

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Does anyone think Donatello (any incarnation) have Asperger's Syndrome, or does Raphael (any incarnation) have ADHD?

Donatello can spend much time with his gadgets. He istn't often very social, and he is usually depicted as the less skilled fighter (motoric clumsiness).

Raphael is often aggressive, even towards Michelangelo sometimes (like the early Mirage issues and the early 4 Kids episodes).

[IndigoErth]

Eh, I think Donnie is just a bit of an introvert; less social need and spends more time in his own head and projects. He doesn't seem to have any issue reading others.

Raph, I'm not sure. Whether it's anything diagnosable or not, the more aggressive versions of him do at least seem to have something going on. Even if it's just some hangups that have been festering too long.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Asperger's? Nah, Donnie is probably more of a slightly narcissistic introvert, though I'm fairly certain Raph has a few sociopathic tendancies, coupled with anger management issues. At least the more aggressive versions of him, anyway. The Next Mutation version seems the most "normal", besides maybe the FW toon one. Donnie in all incarnations just seems more at home doing his own thing than socializing, whuch makes sense for high-intelligence individuals. They simply don't often relate well to others.

[CyberCubed]

Being autistic or aspie doesn’t mean you’re mentally retarded. I’ve seen a lot of people confuse autism with being “mentally retarded” or “intellectually challenged” but that’s not the case.

Autistic people can and often are very intelligent, they just don’t understand social cues or have difficulty in certain situations.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I'm well aware of that, Cubed- in fact, my "duckling's" adopted family also has a son who is autistic. I wasn't saying anything about autism equating to lack of intelligence. But not every intelligent introvert is on the spectrum. I suspect most actually are misdiagnosed, to be honest. Autism has been the "go-to" diagnosis for any sort of unusually asocial or "odd" individuals for the past couple of decades, and I think in many cases simple lack of interest in socializing with others who are not on a similar level is mistaken for autism. I don't really see Donatello having the classic signs of autism, but rather that he simply has no interest in dealing with those less intelligent than himself, or with whom he has little in common. His interests and curiosity are what drives him, which can be miscontrued by outsiders as "odd" or lacking social skills. He has never been depicted as having those traits, but always seems merely to be more interested in his intellectual pursuits than in socializing. That doesn't mean he CAN'T, just that he CHOOSES not to. There is a difference.

[wpugh2424]

Given the examples above, I do not feel they have any supratentorial neuropsych issues as they all seem to function well. Most of those diagnoses require an element of day to day impairment in their lives ( I guess this is debateable), but I think this question is a great thread topic.

[victory_angel]

I think Donnie is closer to obsessive-compulsive as the season one 2k12 Donnie did correct his brothers on something and then says "It's good to be accurate."

One thing Donnie in any incarnation is repetitive tasks, and that is something you would get in engineering, mechanics, computer science, diagnostics and other forms of the science/medical field. So that would be more in line with obsessive-compulsive.

People who have Autism are known to have an aversion to physical contact particularly physical contact from those who are not familiar or they don't trust. None of the incarnations thus far has Donnie ever shown a dislike for being touched in general.

As for ADHD, I would say Mikey is more of a candidate for that. Particularly in 2012 Mikey as he does have trouble focusing and he becomes easily distracted. He also is the hyperactive knucklehead of the group.


Raph I see having mild psychopathia as he learns after the fact what harm his reactions can cause. And possibly borderline sociopathic tendency since there are times where he just doesn't care what harm he causes.

[Dejablue]

Eeeehhh...would they even be able to function as ninja if they had these issues??

[pferreira]

As someone who's certified autistic I don't believe the TMNT have any type of neurodiversity. Having said if I had to pick one person who maybe exhibited autism it would be Mike since he's never quite on the same wave length as everyone else yet has his own intelligent, independent thought.