The London Eye Mystery

The chief protagonist of The London Eye Mystery is Ted, a 12-year-old boy with “a funny brain that runs on a different operating system” (4). While Dowd never explicitly labels Ted’s diagnosis within the narrative, the reader can infer that Ted most likely has autism. Dowd highlights Ted’s fixation on meteorology to understand the world around him, his difficulty in interpreting social interactions, and his repetitive practices of flapping his hand (known as “self-stimulating,” or “stimming”). Dowd herself was not known to have autism, but she uses Ted’s point of view to highlight the benefits of neurodiversity, showing how Ted’s inner world allows him to make connections that those around him cannot.

While common signs of autism are illustrated within Ted’s character, autism is a constellation of symptoms that can differ for each person with the condition. Common signs of autism include difficulties socializing and speaking, repetitive behaviors, focus on small details, and obsessive attachment to a topic or activity (“Autism.” World Health Organization, 2022). In contrast, Dr. Stephen Shore, an advocate for autism who is on the spectrum himself, stated that “[i]f you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism” (Flannery, Kathleen A.