French children’s literature and autism: A case for more children’s books on autism and for autistic children
The aim of this chapter is to assess the hypothesis that there would be a market for more children’s books on autism and for autistic children in France. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, impairing the sensory, cognitive, communicative and social skills of an individual and affecting around 1% of the world population. This chapter will show that children’s books are useful and needed to help improving autistic children’s development and inclusion. For this purpose, a literary review will expose why children’s books on autism might contribute to a better understanding and acceptance of autistic children, while supporting their self-esteem. It will also explain the special needs autistic children have regarding books and reading, and their implications on the content and format of books for autistic children. The primary research will focus on assessing the existence of a market for more of these books, following three steps. Firstly, it will evaluate the existing offer through an inventory of the available books. Secondly, the demand for additional books will be assessed through two surveys. Finally, interviews with specialists in the fields of publishing and/or autism will provide qualitative elements of context to supplement the quantitative data. Overall, it will demonstrate the existence of a strong demand for more children’s books on autism and for autistic children, which is not currently met by the existing offer and could therefore represent a viable opportunity for publishers.
