History

 History

Autism Definition

Per the National Institute of Mental Health, "autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave [...] it is described as a 'developmental disorder' because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life" (2024).

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Dolly Gray Awards

Started in 2000, the Dolly Gray Awards honors authors, illustrators, and publishers of books that depict characters with autism and developmental disabilities. The award has been presented every year since 2000 and aims to celebrate "authentic and inclusive portrayals of characters with autism and developmental disabilities in children's and young adult literature" (Dolly Gray Award, n.d.).

Selection of Dolly Gray Award winning Books

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Autistic Characters in Literature Throughout History

1960s

Manfred Steiner from Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick

1963

Released as a novel in 1964, Martian Time-Slip featured a ten year old autistic character who exhibited pre-cognition and other time-related powers.

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1970s

Eddie Mason from Please Don't Say Hello by Phylis Gold

1975

The character of Eddie exhibits self stimulatory behavior including hand flapping and spinning. He is nonspeaking, doesn't make eye contact when talking to others, and becomes upset when there are changes to routines. He is also able to name all the countries and capitals, solve 500 piece puzzles face down, and enjoys learning about machines. 

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1980s

Johnny Do from the comic book series Psi-Force by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson

1988

Johnny Do is described as "a victim of severe autism" (Autistic Characters Wiki, 2023). His character is nonspeaking and has little control over his pyrokinetic powers.

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1990s

Ian from Ian's Walk by Laurie Lears

1998

Ian exhibits sensory-seeking behaviors including lying on the ground and pressing his face against the stones. He also enjoys watching spinning ceiling fans.

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2000s

Natalie Flanagan from Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

2004

Since the novel takes place in 1935 when the term "autism" wasn't part of the world's lexicon, Natalie Flanagan wasn't identified as autistic. The author stated in interviews that Natalie does have autism and the character is loosely based on Choldenko's sister.

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2010's 

Zane from All My Stripes by Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer

2015

In this picture book, Zane is a zebra who struggles being understood because of his autism and becomes upset when people only see his "autism stripe." The book recounts his sensory processing difficulties and shows that all of his different stripes make him whole ("his keen sense of navigation, sense of justice and honesty, and his curiosity") (Wikipedia, 2024).

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2020's

Guus from Het kaartje van Guus (Guus' Card) by Janne Janssens

2022

Author Janne Janssens is an author with autism herself. Guus carries a card around his neck that says "autism" and gets teased by others in his class because he acts "differently" than the other kids. When he meets Alisa, she shares her own card and they learn from each other. The story is about autism, diversity, and friendship.