On Wednesday, February 26th, the 48th season of the CBS reality series Survivor premiered. Among the contestants is 24-year-old Eva Erickson who made history as the first openly autistic player in the show’s history. My son, Remy, is a 14-year-old with autism. Her appearance on the show provided important representation for him.
Eva Erickson
According to her Survivor biography, Eva was diagnosed with autism at just a year old. Her parents were told she would never live independently. Now, she is a Ph.D. candidate at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She shared her story with one of her castmates, and during her confessional, on the first episode of the season. Something that stuck out is when she talked about her “episodes” where if she messes something up, she will get lost in dwelling on the mistake and that could hurt her in a challenge where they will need to move beyond the mistake.
When this aired, Remy turned to me and said “sounds familiar.” While I knew about his own autism “episodes,” that hit home for me when he acknowledged recognition and saw someone like him on television. She addressed some of the challenges that autism presents in everyday life and how it could negatively affect her in the game. Despite the cons that come with any neurological disorder, she embraced her diagnosis and sees it as a gift, which is something we need to see more often on our television screens.
Remy
Remy was diagnosed with autism when he was seven-years-old. We didn’t pursue a diagnosis sooner because he hit every major milestone early, except for talking, and even that one he was only a little late. He has watched videos breaking down big moments in Survivor history on YouTube and has asked to watch the show. We have seen episodes, but he hadn’t stuck around for a full season yet. However, when we saw an advertisement for the show during an episode of his favorite CBS comedy, Ghosts, he asked to watch this season.
Once I heard about Eva being on the show, I immediately sent him the article from the local news station I work at in Rhode Island. Seeing someone diagnosed with autism and open about it made him more eager to watch the show. He’s had some of the same episodes that Eva described on the show. He will dwell on mistakes rather than focus on the next task of a project or chore and that can make it harder to get through to him. He has long wanted more people outside of our family to acknowledge some of the struggles with autism that include being unable to pick up on social cues and not understanding when someone may be lying to him.
Despite the cons of autism, it’s also a gift for him. He can visualize certain things before they happen, which is why he’s able to play chess blindfolded while beating an opponent who isn’t. He can remember days of his life in detail to a point the average person could never dream. He is able to pick up on notes and key changes in music and quickly learn how to play them, sometimes within minutes after hearing something for the first time. No matter what he’s doing, he does whatever he can to find a way to make his autistic traits work for him.
Representation Matters
I can’t stress enough the importance of autism representation on television. While too many times autism representation comes as a savant or for comic relief, there are many people on the autism spectrum who live normal, everyday lives. Autism presents itself as both a gift and a curse, and they deserve to be represented in this manner.
With Survivor being a reality-type game show rather than a scripted series, Eva’s representation will just be herself. This allows her to show the world who she is. While it won’t describe every single person on the autism spectrum, her appearance can serve as an inspiration for so many who are. I hope to see her go far on the show. She’s got a young, 14-year-old fan who sees a lot of himself in what she’s shown so far. This is the positive representation the autism community needs.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2025
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We’re all different and for people with Autism it’s good to relate to someone on survivor. The fact that she openly talked about it is great because there are a lot of people with autism who can relate and gain confidence. It also raises awareness which can help with support.