Autistic fans help shape comic convention guidance

6 hours ago

Katy Prickett

News image — Specialist publisher Dekko Comics transformed the guidance into a 10-page comic

The Collaboration for Comics and Autism/Dekko Comics A cartoon showing a man with a black beard and hair sitting in a packed auditorium, but with his back to the stage. He has one hand up over his ear. Behind him are the back views of people raising their arms. A speech bubble says "But this volume's overwhelming for me. I'm gonna have to step outside..." — Specialist publisher Dekko Comics transformed the guidance into a 10-page comic

Hundreds of autistic people from around the UK have helped shape new guidance on how to make comic festivals and conventions welcoming.

Researchers were taken aback by how many fans took part in an online survey on the issue, as part of the University of Cambridge project.

Prof Jenny Gibson, who expected a few dozen responses, said: "That tells you how many autistic fans there are out there and how much appetite there is for change."

The year-long project identified about 40 potential ways to make the festivals autism-friendly. The guidance has also been turned into a 10-page comic.

Study co-lead Dr Joe Sutliff Sanders said: "At the moment autistic fans are fixing the problems they encounter by themselves.

"We hope the new guidelines will build awareness and encourage change so that they don't have to."

Copyright The Collaboration for Comics and Autism/Dekko Comics Two panes of a cartoon. On the left a figure in a blue T-shirt and red baseball cap has a phone to their ear. They are asking if there is a stairwell nearby, where they can meet their friends. On either side are two people dressed up in costumes. On the right the same blue T-shirt clad figure is saying how can they find the location when everything's so overwhelming and busy and the signage isn't at all clear. — Matt Burke said autistic comic fans often "lose confidence" at conventions when there are large crowds and noise

Matt Burke, technical director of the Lakes International Comics Arts Festival in Kendal, Cumbria, said: "Probably the most common problems autistic people experience at festivals and events are things like coping with crowds, noise, and the sheer drain on their social battery."

The former college leader was one of the partners on the Cambridge project.

"Often, [autistic fans] lose confidence at festivals because they don't know what to expect and sometimes they won't go because they don't know [what to expect]," he said.

Copyright The Collaboration for Comics and Autism/Dekko Comics A pane from a cartoon which has five people lined up chatting to each other at the end of the convention. They are sharing some ideas on how to make the next convention more navigable. — Making events more inclusive for autistic people is likely to help others, such as disabled visitors or parents with young children, says the university

Research suggests about 80% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enjoy reading comics, compared with about 60% of neurotypical children.

The rate is even higher among those with language disorders, according to the university.

Many participants in the Cambridge study reported a basic lack of awareness of their needs among organisers, inadvertently making these spaces unwelcoming.

Their feedback was explored during two workshops held at the university's Faculty of Education, which included autistic illustrators and artists, comic publishers and neurodiversity advocates.

The recommendations included:

Creating a "readable" environment for autistic fans, such as using clear and consistent colour coding
Providing clear information in advance, such as accessible maps and detailed event descriptions
Designing events for sensory comfort, including offering quiet spaces or access to noise-cancelling/limiting headphone-style ear protectors
Training volunteers and staff in the basics of supporting autistic visitors

Specialist publisher Dekko Comics created the comic version of the best practice.

Other partners included the Association of Illustrators, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration and autistic cartoonists Bex Ollerton and Eliza Fricker.

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