# Character 'X' is poster child for syndrome 'Y'
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 6, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021 "2008-06-06T15:08:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/1 "2008-06-06T15:08:36Z")
In which posters discuss (or at least list) cliches exemplified by one character.
For example, almost everyone in America knows that Mary Ann is the poster child for "supposedly plain-jane girl who is, in fact, vastly hotter than the character who gets the attention. (Bailey Quarters gets an honorable mention.) But there are endless other characters in film and TV instantly recognizable as embodying other cliches. Anybody care to name some?
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/2 "2008-06-06T18:18:50Z")
I wanted to say that [Cheese](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_%28character%29#Imaginary_friends) is the poster child for ADHD, but I really think that barely scratches the surface of his diagnosis.
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/3 "2008-06-07T04:36:11Z")
Ross from Friends increasingly appeared to suffer from [Borderline Personality Disorder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder).
Master Shake, just as a glance, is either a narcissist, or a sociopath. Possibly both.
Anyone remember Arnold’s weird cousin Arnie, from the cartoon “Hey Arnold”? I think he passed the line from “odd personality” to “probable brain injury.”
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### Author:  [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/4 "2008-06-07T05:01:11Z")
Detective Robert Goren, Law & Order: Criminal Intent = Poster child for the high functioning end of the Autism Spectrum.
Adrian Monk = obviously Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, part of his charm…
Could Dr. House be the poster child for Asperger’s Syndrome? Good question. Could explain a lot. Chances are that he’s actually just a bastard.
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### Author:  [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/5 "2008-06-07T17:35:33Z")
Of course nobody in fiction land is what most of us would consider normal. That’s what makes them fun to watch. I would never be done if I had to make a list of characters I like but would be terrified of running into in real life.
Even the so-called “slice of life” series cast have so many neuroses it’s not even funny.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/6 "2008-06-07T17:46:19Z")
[QUOTE=Elenfair]
Could Dr. House be the poster child for Asperger’s Syndrome? Good question. Could explain a lot. Chances are that he’s actually just a bastard.
[/QUOTE]
No, but House is the poster child for functioning Vercodan addict.
Charlie Harper of 2 1/2 Men is the poster child for functioning alcoholic/sex addict.
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### Author:  [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/7 "2008-06-08T18:30:15Z")
Tyler Durden and Multiple Personality Disorder.
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### Author:  [@Leechboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leechboy)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-x-is-poster-child-for-syndrome-y/452021/8 "2008-06-08T20:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=Elenfair]
Detective Robert Goren, Law & Order: Criminal Intent = Poster child for the high functioning end of the Autism Spectrum.
Adrian Monk = obviously Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, part of his charm…
Could Dr. House be the poster child for Asperger’s Syndrome? Good question. Could explain a lot. Chances are that he’s actually just a bastard.
[/QUOTE]
Asperger’s is in the high functioning end of the Autism spectrum, and as the parent of a kid with it, no House doesn’t even come close to it.
I do see a lot of the symptoms in the characters from Napoleon Dynamite though.
Sybil - Multiple personality disorder