A Whole Other World to See: A Rhetorical and Visual Analysis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children\u27s Literature

The purpose of this study was to complete an analysis of children’s literature on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Specifically, I analyze My Friend with Autism, Andy and His Yellow Frisbee, and Nathan’s Autism Spectrum Superpowers. To complete my study, I conducted a visual and rhetorical analysis to find the positive and negative aspects in each book. To determine whether the criteria for positive and negative aspects I used past scholarly information on disability in children’s literature. I analyze each book individually as well as a collective group of works to compare and contrast the components. One implication is all three children in the story had some sort of a protector to help them along while also shielding them from others. Based on my findings I constructed a children’s book about ASD with the positive aspects from my analysis. My book strives to bridge the gap to be inclusive for both children with and or without ASD