Representation of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Realistic Fiction for Children and Young Adults Over the Past 20 Years

In our study, we analyzed 147 contemporary realistic fiction children’s and young adult books that feature characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared these representations with current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For each book, we examined the character demographics, the main character, the author’s background, and representation prevalence. Our findings revealed a significant increase in the portrayal of characters with ASD over the past decade. There has also been a rise in the number of characters with ASD serving as the main protagonists in stories. We delved into the implications of gender, race, and disability intersectionality, the perspective of the main character, the authenticity of the author, and the cultural impact of influential books featuring characters with ASD.