World Autism Acceptation Month
Image Description:
A comic drawn in a simple style with black lines over a monochrome colour palette of pinks.
At the top of the comic, a title reads, "Do Vaccines Cause Autism?" Below that, small text reads, "Short answer..." In a large speech bubble reads, "NO!" written in large, cartoony block letters. Text underneath, still in the speech bubble, reads, "There is no link between vaccination and autism!" The speech bubble points to the narrator, who is a generic simplisticly-drawn individual wearing a t-shirt and pants. They're smiling and have one hand raised in a thoughtful gesture with the other behind their back. There are two comic panels beneath them.
Panel 1: The narrator lowers their hand, smile fading, a speech bubble with "..." inside it pointing to them.
Panel 2: The narrator has a self concious expression as they scratch their chin. A speech bubble points to them, reading, "But if it was that simple, why would there be a debate? To understand, you have to look at the history of the claim."
Panel 3: A speech bubble pointing to the narrator on the left side of the panel reads, "In 1998, a man named Andrew Wakefield published a research paper in a medical journal called The Lancet." On the right side of the panel, the narrator is seen gesturing upwards at a representation of a medical journal, with pills and syringes abstractly floating around it.
Panel 4: A speech bubble pointing to the same image of the narrator in the first panel reads, "This paper claimed there was a link between the MMR vaccine -- the one that protects us from measles, mumps and rubella --" Surrounding the speech bubble in the background are representations of viruses.
Panel 5: A speech bubble pointing at the narrator reads, "-- and GI tract disorders and autism in children." The narrator is patting the back of a child who is holding their stomach, looking unwell. They have close-shaved hair, are wearing a t-shirt and pants, and have an ice cream cone in hand. The two of them are standing in an abstract representation of a fair.
Panel 6: A text bubble pointing to the narrator reads, "Yeah, no one remembers that part of the claim originally was that vaccines caused IBS. Go figure." The narrator is shrugging their shoulders, looking nonplussed.
Panel 7: Text overlays the panel, reading, "This study was a big deal at the time. It got a lot of media coverage." Behind the text are faint representations of newspaper articles. A small box is placed over the bottom right corner of the panel, with text reading, "However..."
Panel 8: Text on the top half of the panel reads, "Further studies were unable to find a single link between the two." Beneath the text is a drawing of a syringe and a simplistic representation of a person. An arrow with an X crossed through it points from the syringe to the person.
Panel 9: A speech bubble on the left of the panel pointing to the narrator reads, "Plus... even the original study pointed out no link was actually proven." The narrator is on the right side of the panel, frowning a little as they gesture open-palmed.
Panel 10: A speech bubble on the left of the panel pointing to the narrator reads, "Not to mention..." The narrator is on the right side of the panel, scratching their chin, looking troubled.
Outside of the panels text reads, "In 2004, it was uncovered that Wakefield had been contacted by a lawyer prior to conducting his study. This lawyer paid Wakefield to act as a professional witness in a class action lawsuit for "Vaccine Damages"."
Below this text, a drawing of two business men wearing suits and holding briefcases are shown shaking hands.
Below this image, more text reads, "The study had been set up to make the connection look as suspicious as possible -- while still producing zero evidence. It was enough that people thought vaccines caused autism."
A gradient to a darker shade of pink travels downwards from white to pink at the bottom of the text.
Below this, text reads, "The study was a fraud. In 2010, Andrew Wakefield had his license revoked." A gradient from a darker shade of pink travels from its darkest at the top of this text to white at the end.
Panel 11: The narrator stands, ruminating, a speech bubble with "..." pointed at them.
Panel 12: A speech bubble pointing to the narrator reads, "So, if the study was proven false, why does the idea still persist? here's a few reasons..."
Panel 13: An image of an older woman trying to comfort her daughter, who is crying. They both have curly hair tied back in a ponytail and are wearing dresses. In boxes, text reads, "First of all -- after an autism diagnosis, parents are often left stressed, upset, and desperate for an explanation -- something to blame."
Panel 14: The same woman from panel 13 is being shown products in a briefcase by a business man in a suit. The woman looks troubled while the business man is smiling. Text in boxes reads, "Vaccines are a perfect scapegoat. And once a parent's trust in the medical system has been undermined, they're vulnerable to all kinds of scams by predatory "alternative medicine" businesses. Businesses that are all too happy to help perpetuate these myths as long as they help bolster their revenue."
Panel 15: A speech bubble pointed at the narrator reads, "But this entire scheme would not function if people were not already set up to fear and hate autism and autistic people. That's the real reason." The narrator has a sympathetic look on their face and are gesturing palm-up with their hand.
Panel 16: A box with text inside reads, "Some people are so afraid of having an autistic child that they'll believe anything." A drawing of a man with short hair wearing a t-shirt and pants points excitedly at his phone. He exclaims, "I heard eating oranges causes autism!" A box with text inside reads, "No matter how ridiculous it is."
Below, outside the panels, is a drawing of a girl with short hair wearing a sweater, pants and shoes. She has a blank expression and is clasping her hands together. She's standing in a field of grass with clouds in the background. Text around her reads, "But someone with autism doesn't get it from a vaccine or any other external reason. They're born with it and can't be separated from it. It's a part of who they are. And they deserve to be respected, not turned into a worst-case-scenario boogeyman or tortured with snake-oil 'cures' given to them by the people they're supposed to be able to trust." To the right of her are two more panels.
Panel 17: Text at the top of the panel reads, "It's much more worthwhile to try and understand autistic people and show them kindness." Below is a drawing of the narrator placing a comforting hand on the shoulder of the girl, who's smiling and still clasping her hands.
Panel 18: A drawing of a syringe. Text below reads, "Rather than waste time fearing vaccines."
Below this is a section with credits on the top half and citations at the bottom. The top half reads, "Comic researched, written and drawn by Stephanie Van Andel. https://slvanandel.com/" and "as a part of RCAD Initative. https://rcadinitiative.org/" The RCAD Initiative logo is present.
The bottom half reads, "Citations and Further Reading." The citations are listed;
GI Society. (2011). Andrew Wakefield’s Harmful Myth of Vaccine-induced “Autistic Entercolitis”. GI Society. https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-myth/
Vaccine Myths Debunked. Public Health. (n.d.). https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/
Opar, A. (2016, September 21). The seekers: Why parents try fringe therapies of autism. Spectrum. https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/the-seekers-parents-who-find-fringe-therapies-for-autism/
Behind the text, the background is divided into a shade of pink at an angle.