I have a love/hate relationship with Big Brother, the TV show. Sometimes I hate the pettiness of some of the small-minded people, and an awful lot of the people attracted to applying for a show like this are very insecure, egotistical, selfish, argumentative, intolerant…

…hang on a minute…? 😉  – which brings me to why I LOVE it:

There is always lots of ASD fodder for me whenever BB is on TV!

I have a bet with myself every series how many of the unsuspecting lambs to the slaughter will be on the autustic spectrum this time. And it’s always more than 50%.

In the final Ultimate Big Brother (UK) on Channel 4, Brian Dowling was only one of three housemates not on the autistic spectrum IMHO.

Last year’s BB was around the usual 65% and the worst affected was the eventual winner Aaron, one of the cleverest high functioning aspies I’ve ever seen on Big Brother.

This year it is WAAY beyond 65% – nearly all of the ‘orrible little rapscallions appear to be afflicted with the brain damage that is Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

My unofficial ASD diagnoses for Big Brother UK 2012 are:

Benedict – acts as though he is always right, arrogant, smug.

Lydia – acts as though she is always right, arrogant, argumentative.

Caroline – impressionable, over-emotional, self loathing.

Luke A – self loathing, inconfidence, over-emotional, negative.

Adam – former addict, former criminal.

Ashleigh – ADHD only, from what I can tell.

Scott – impressionable, lateral thinker, sensitive.

Connor – bully, aggression, anger, selfish, can’t take criticism.

Lauren – tomboy (nonconformist), inconfidence, over-emotional.

Shievonne – can’t take criticism, over sensitive, Jekyl & Hyde (either fun or scary)

Chris – aggression, anger, intolerance, can’t take criticism.

Arron –  aggression, selfish, like a stubborn child.

Deana – ADHD galore! Very ditzy girl always in a daydream, childish.

so yeah – nearly all of them, then!

There are only three people I did not mention, and even Sara is borderline as she only “goes off on one” after she’s had a drink!

The worst affected with Aspergers in particular I believe, are Benedict and Lydia, and up until they were evicted, they were the most vocal people in the house. At one point I thought the show was called The Lydia Show, as she demanded so much screen time. This type of over-dominance is a common form of unconscious bullying that goes on every year in the Big Brother house, as well as many workplaces and households the world over.

People with high functioning Aspergers for example will often take over their surroundings until everything is how they want it. This can be seen as selfish, but the person could still have a well meaning heart; they just cannot function without things in a particular way (think “Sheldon Cooper” – for an exaggerated example).

Providing that the people around them do not mind being ordered about, then peace will remain, but if you have several people on the autistic spectrum – (and you always will, if it’s Big Brother!) then those people will not like to be bossed about by others, and that’s when friction begins.

This year my most favorite housemate is the very camp Scott. I actually thought he was a wet lettuce in the beginnning and couldn’t stand him, but I was happy to be proven wrong about him. He is funny without even trying because of his long and winding diary room chats. The fact that he talks “posh” even though everyone else from his home town talks with a broad Northern accent, I find hilarious.

I think he is only just on the spectrum, because emotionally he is quite sensitive, and he is a lateral thinker, and a natural born poet. He’s very articulate when describing things. I envy that about him.

Luke A, I believe is on the spectrum too, because of his inconfidence and his inherent belief that everything he does goes wrong. This is linked very closely linked to depression (and you all know my thoughts on the relationship between depression and ASD).

I also think he is actually trying to milk the sympathy vote too, especially now he has heared people cheering for him, so he knows the public are on his side and dislike the people who bullied his gang previously. If he wins, it will be out of sympathy, and I don’t think that is a reason someone should win, especially as he has been so miserable lately.

Having said that, I would rather he win than any of the cliquey popular group. But I think Adam could win too. The reason I think he could be on the autistic spectrum, is he has been an addict, and has been in prison. And a staggering majority of criminals are on the autistic spectrum. But luckily he is now a survivor who has turned his life around. I think he brings a positive energy to the house and I am glad he does not follow the sheep and belong to the main popular group. Although his alliance with Luke A and Lauren could all have happened by accident, as they all smoked, and that’s what brought them together initially.

I loved Lauren too and was sorry  to see her unfairly evicted. But she was bullied and it would have continued if she had stayed.

UPDATE:

Well Luke A has just won, as I thought he would. He was my favorite to begin with, but he’s been so miserable and playing the sympathy card. I wanted Adam or Scott to win, but it could have been worse. Luke S could have won (shivers).

I liked Deana before as she seemed a proper lady when she was a victim of Connor’s bullying, but once he left and we saw the real Deana, she was a bit over the top and kept goading Luke S, so I have added childish to her list of traits. This reminded me of Arron’s childish, unrelenting and annoying pranks.

I’m not even going to talk about him or the others because I couldn’t stand any of them. If it were not for Adam and Scott I think I would stopped watching.