AuTalkz: Emotions

An amusing moment I recall is when I was home from school once in high school, and had the TV on as stimulation in the background.  It was running an episode of “Blue’s Clues”, and they were covering emotions.  I actually got one of them wrong on the section of matching up body language with an emotion.

However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t comprehend or understand emotions, or what other people are going through.  In fact, I tend to use some of my experiences to help other people if they’re having a rough time.  I enjoy helping people…that’s one of the biggest reasons I started to make AuTalkz, in fact!

There are just so many emotions out there…I actually get worried at times that I’ll run out of facial expressions for Kairy to make in these comics, or not properly express it.  Reading manga has actually helped, since Japanese Manga tends to focus more on the character (body language and facial expression) telling the story of what’s happening rather than speech bubbles (like in American comics).

I also have trouble recognizing what emotion I’m feeling if it’s more complicated than just “happy”, “sad”, or “angry”.  I might even try to describe some of the emotions with a combination of the easier emotions to identify when talking about my own emotions, even though I can write a story where the characters feel various emotions.

It’s not that I don’t know of them, it’s that I have trouble properly identifying what it is when I’m the one feeling it.  Or, if someone else is feeling it and doesn’t tell me, because I can’t tell by their body language unless it’s really obvious (like crying if they’re sad).

By Nikki J.

Nikki Jeanette

Nikki is the creator of the webcomic “AuTalkz”. She has Asperger’s Syndrome and found relief from panic attacks by doodling. Nikki wanted to make a comic which went back to the “bare basics” of past comics: ones l like Calvin & Hobbes which could teach lessons and procure laughter without the use of bad language and-or graphic violence….she called this comic strip “AuTalkz“. “The idea was for the opinions and comedy to come from the viewpoint of someone with ASD. I decided to branch out and do something I’ve always wanted to do: Help people understand autism. My hope is that my comic can help promote understanding, particularly teachers who have students on the spectrum, parents who have children on the spectrum, and even kids and workers who have classmates and co-workers on the spectrum”. We would agree and are proud to feature Nikki and her fabulous work, AuTalkz, on aspergers101.com