Charlie definitely wasn’t autistic, I just saw a lot of him in myself as he slowly discovered how the world works after his operation. It reflected a ton of my post-college experiences and made me feel less alone which was an amazing feeling at the time.

Godamn that is one of my all time favorite stories. I think it’s just an allusion to difference at the end of the day though. A case could be made that it doubles as an allusion to loss as well