Thinking About Representation In Young People’s Books

For years, April 2nd, World Autism Day, has been an extremely important day for me. Nearly twelve years ago, less than a month before my fourteenth birthday and my elementary school graduation, my occupational therapist told me I had what’s now called level one Autism. It’s interesting how one sentence can throw an entire life for a loop. The world could never look as it did before after that news ever again.

But to tell you the truth, I was happy. The last two years of elementary school were tough and it was then when I really started to realize that I was different from my peers, and I wasn’t sure how. Have you ever felt like the whole world knew a secret about you, something huge, that only you didn’t know? It was enough to put my overactive imagination into a frenzy. So when I finally knew the truth, I was happy that I had an answer. I wasn’t alone. There are other people out there like me. 

I’ve always had a passion for writing, too, and after learning I have Autism, I decided that I wanted to write Autistic characters so other Autistic kids could see themselves and Non autistic kids could see that even though our brains are wired differently, we’re not that different at all. There’s also another reason I wanted to write Autistic characters, for a less optimistic reason than the above two. 

When I was a teenager, I had no Autistic representation. It was nearly nonexistent. And when I did read about a child with any kind of disability, they were mocked by the main character who was supposedly supposed to be “likable”. It was always a punch in the gut. I thought to myself, do kids really think that way? Did the authors really believe that kids think that way? I think that, when adults are writing these kinds of hurtful things, they are justifying the mistreatment of people with disabilities, which could cause their readers to act the same way in their own lives. In which case, adults should know better. But are they learning from these mistakes? 

When people say that authentic representation matters, that is something I can vouch for. Authentic representation, ones that are respectful, personal, and uplifting, is a necessity for any child or any person period. There are many reasons why Autism representation matters, but here are three huge ones that people should really know about:

1) It Defies Hurtful Stereotypes.

All reasons for why representation matters are important, but this particular reason is probably one of the most important reasons. Hurtful, untrue stereotypes can cause stigma, and stigma can lead to mistreatment of Autistic people. There have been many cases of hurtful stereotypes in the media, and they need to be undone. Having authentic representation will combat all the damage done and show people the truth behind Autism, which is way different than what has been conveyed.

2) It Shows Readers That They’re Not Alone.

From personal experience, constantly reading books without Autistic characters- or disrespectful Autistic rep- took a real toll on me. It made me feel like society didn’t want people like me around. It’s an awful feeling, and no person should ever feel that way about themselves. However, when there are authentic Autistic characters in books, Autistic people can start seeing themselves by relating to the characters. They can see that there are other people like them out there, and that there’s nothing “wrong” with them after all.

3) It Promotes Acceptance And Understanding. 

Acceptance and understanding are crucial goals for Autism Awareness. Not only is having authentic Autistic characters good for Autistic people, but they are also good for nonautistic people, too. It can give them a whole new perspective that they otherwise wouldn’t have. They can start seeing the world through an Autistic person’s eyes, and see that, like I mentioned before, that even though their brains are wired differently, Autistic people and nonautistic people are not so different from each other.  

It is so extremely crucial that people have proper, respectful Autism representation. We need to work together to make this representation common, to help show the world the true beauty of Autism. Through real stories and voices, let’s make Autism shine the way it’s meant to.

Happy World Autism Day, and Happy Autism Awareness Month!

Cristina Morriello is the office assistant at Aspire Services. She has been passionate

about Autism Awareness since she found out she’s Autistic right before her elementary

school graduation and her fourteenth birthday. She loves to write Autistic characters,

and hopes to publish Young Adult novels starring lovable, relatable Autistic characters

that she never had as a teenager.