Mid Sweden University

The purpose of this study is to examine how literary characters with autism spectrum disorders are portrayed in adolescent literature and the didactic potential of these novels. Three adolescent novels were selected and analyzed through the symptoms of AST presented in the DSM-5 by the American Psychiatric Association as well as a discourse analysis of the fundamental values that emerged in the novels. The analysis showed that one of the works had a full-fledged description of AST, while the other two lacked some of the symptoms associated with AST, which risks reproducing an incorrect picture of the condition. The lack of descriptions also creates shortcomings for the alienating effect that AST creates in the novels. The discourse analysis showed that all three novels touched on several value-based discourses such as ethics and morality, exclusion, identity, and the equal value of all. The Boyon the Bridge was considered the most suitable novel, of the three, for working with fundamental values through youth literature.