About the ARD

The representation of autistic people is enormously important. Today, there are thousands of autistic characters in a range of genres and media—from young adult fiction to action movies. But there is no single comprehensive index of these appearances. The Autistic Representation Database (ARD) is a scholarly resource that attempts to index all appearances of autistic individuals in fiction, autobiographical non-fiction, film, and television.

The ARD further categorizes autistic representation by:

• type (e.g., adult fiction, young adult fiction, comic)

• genre (e.g., romance, horror, realistic)

• the kind of autism represented (e.g., Asperger syndrome, non-verbal autism) and whether it is explicitly identified or coded

• the age, gender identity, race, and sexual orientation of the autistic character

• the presence or absence of an autistic narrator, and whether the autistic character is secondary.

• the neurological identity of the author (neurotypical or autistic)