My Undiagnosed Autistic Life: Sequential Art Storytelling and Empathetic Connections from an Autism Perspective
This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.
About the autistic author markerShepherd, A. (2024). My Undiagnosed Autistic Life: Sequential Art Storytelling and Empathetic Connections from an Autism Perspective [Dissertation]. Leeds Beckett University. https://doi.org/10.25448/lbu.26089513
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the comic design preferences of the autistic community and to better understand the reasons behind those choices. With this, the researcher hoped to gain a clearer view of how comics could be used to share information in an engaging, creative, and reader-centred way. These techniques were utilised to create an exemplar comic, through an Aut-ethnographic memoir of the researcher’s experiences of being an undiagnosed autistic woman. Yergeau (2013) described Aut-ethnography as an autie-ethnographic narrative in her paper regarding Theory of Mind. As an autistic researcher, she felt this term would be appropriate to describe research which has been studied from the inside out. A mixed-methods approach combining Aut-ethnography and Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) - combining surveys, an online art exhibit and interviews - allowed for a thorough collection of data and analysis. Surveys provided a view of the autistic community’s tastes in comic books and why they chose comics to engage with. As well as giving an in depth outline of specific likes and dislikes regarding design features, while interviews allowed a thorough understanding of those tastes and provided important conversations about educational diversity. Initial and focused coding was used to develop the final categories which suggested that (1) The Impact of the Comic Community, (2) Comic Accessibility, (3) Influence of Media, (4) Aesthetics that Induce Escapism, (5) Positive use of Comics in Pedagogy, and (6) Diverse Learning Options were key themes that reflected the importance of the ever-present theme of empathy. Not all participants had access to comic book shops, some feared what people thought about the genre of comics they enjoyed, and the aesthetics of comics allowed them to escape out of a difficult world. The central theme of empathy reflects the importance of having a diverse and accepting society. This also indicates that autistic people seek out empathetic content with a focus on the history of the characters, immersive world building and relatable story writing. This helps the individual connect with an immersive 4 world which is important for their physical and mental wellbeing. This research contributes to knowledge by suggesting that the empathetic connection between graphic texts and reader, with their combination of imagery and information, could improve neurodiverse people’s understanding and knowledge, grip their attention, and motivate people to have conversations between each other and institutions.
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