Daniel and Mental Health
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Daniel has a troubled relationship with mental healthcare and mental health professionals.
Daniel is very clearly mentally ill. His delusions are downright dangerous, from thinking he is in a romantic relationship with celebrity Grace VanderWaal, all the way to believing he is a world-famous musician and that he is above the law.
The Issue(s) with Daniel
Autism
Daniel is confirmed to be autistic by both his mother, and by Daniel himself, on multiple occasions.[1] Autism, formally classified as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a loosely defined, but interconnected, range of neurological challenges with social interaction and communication.
His naïveté, poorly developed social skills, and the many meltdowns Daniel has had are all common symptoms of ASD. In addition, Daniel has been speculated to have sensory issues. He rarely, if ever, bathes, which has some theories to form that Daniel may have hypersensitive issues to bathing— he may be hypersensitive to water running on his skin. In turn, Daniel regularly smells absolutely rancid and has had documented issues with foot fungus, trench foot, and scabies, which have spawned in more speculations that Daniel may be hypo-sensitive to those areas of his body, and perhaps to smell.
Another, much more dangerous, symptom is his self harm. Daniel can be seen in several meltdowns hitting himself, punching holes in walls, screaming, wailing, and slamming his head into his hands. This may be his version of saying that he does not like what is going on around him, as that is a common reason people with autism self-harm this way.[2] Even though this is often a way for people with autism to signal things, it has also been speculated that Daniel does this to garner sympathy. Self harming is, oftentimes, a learned behavior, and Daniel may have self harmed this way when he was younger and gotten the attention he wanted and/or needed, so this is what he has learned; hitting, banging his head, screaming, and various things will get him the attention he wants.[2]
ADHD
ADHD, professionally known as Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is “marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.”[3]