Health got graphic! The role of Graphic Medicine in unpacking autism

The paper brings together Graphic Medicine, namely the use of comics and graphic novels in the healthcare field, and Disability Studies to shed light on the contribution of the graphic medium to the social understanding of disability, focusing on the case of autism. Based on 15 in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals and using graphic novels as a form of knowledge elicitation, the article shows both the strengths and the weaknesses of graphic materials as research and communication tools in the field of Autism scholarship. The two graphic novels considered have been efficient to portray the lived experiences of autistic people and to partially challenge the medical model of autism, even for healthcare professionals. Autism-related comics can contribute to the critical study of autism, by both giving ways of expression to autistic people, caregivers and promoting counter-narratives, like neurodiversity, among healthcare professionals. Comics and graphic novels are powerful and accessible communication tools in the field of disability and autism studiesGraphic novels are efficient to portray the lived experience of autistic peopleGraphic novels help healthcare professionals to put the medical model of autism into questionAutism-related comics give ways of expression to autistic people and caregiversAutism-related comics may also promote counter-narratives, like neurodiversity, among healthcare professionals