: Re: How to make a intellectually disabled character believable? I want to use a 12yo girl with down syndrome as main character. Trisomy 21 people has a low IQ, normally around 50, at least according

@Rambettina586

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Speaking in more generic terms, we can always resort to the art of rhetoric and, particularly, to the use of the three main rhetorical styles of Logos, Pathos and Ethos to create solid, believable characters.

In short, they are:

Logos represents the logic. In this rethorical style, one can use logic to build a character. That is, either the character is a logic person or the narrative itself uses logic and deductions to directly or indirectly explain a character. I personally think this suits better in scientific or descriptive stories or articles.

Ethos represents the character's beliefs. Good characters can be built when they adhere to their beliefs. That is, the character's actions throughout the story must be in accord to their ethos, or to what they believe. Please note that his beliefs don't need to be true or false or even right or wrong. What is important here is that the character has his beliefs and that he acts in accord to his beliefs and personality.

Pathos represents the emotions. Characters that are built using pathos are those to whom we feel empathy, or disdain, or contempt. Whatever the case, we feel for such kind of characters. We feel pity for suffering characters, or anger for evil ones. We celebrate the successes or achievements of hard-working characters, and so on.

In your case, I feel that a mix of Ethos and Pathos may be used to build a strong and believable character that suffers with down syndrome. It could be a bit cliche if the character only had an emotional appeal. It could even look "pushy" if someone's disability were exploited in such a way. But the ethos part, that is, the character's personality and his actions may contribute to his background. For example: instead of feel pity for him, you may lead the readers to celebrate his conquers. This is just an example...

You can read more about it in various sites and sources. In a quick search, I see these two:

A General Summary of Aristotle's Appeals

and Good old Wikipedia

But I strongly advice you to run further searches in this issue.

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