Work Text:
Hershel’s brain doesn’t cope well with change. He likes things to be done a certain way, or things don’t go to plan. He isn’t being annoying or rude; his brain literally can’t process what is going on when something changes. To an outsider he might look rigid, obsessive and stuck in his ways, but it helps him function.
Ma and Pa were wonderful when he was young, and always helped him with routines and avoiding change. They helped him, and it was because of their help that he rarely had meltdowns as a child, because they helped him avoid the triggers.
In fact, it was because of Ma and Pa that he was diagnosed autistic in the first place. They recognised the traits, and took him to a doctor who did the screening and presented them with the diagnosis. That piece of paper helped Hershel through school, giving him access to accommodations and help he really needed.
After Ma and Pa, there are only two other people in Hershel’s life who really understand the way his brain works.
The first is Randall, the man he met as a teenager when he moved to Stansbury. Randall has ADHD, and so knows what it’s like to be different. And now they are a couple, and Randall is always helping him with routines and sensory overload, and Hershel helps Randall remember things and prompts him to take his meds. They just work perfectly together.
The other is Luke Triton. When he met him, Hershel knew instantly that Luke was autistic. He and Luke have a lot in common, and Luke reminds him of himself when he was young.
And Hershel knows how lucky he is to have such a caring partner and an eager apprentice, because they are both neurodivergent, just like him.