As I worked through Challenge A: Comic, I kept circling back to the idea that comics don’t need to be complicated to be powerful. One resource that gave me a good jumping-off point was Chris Grady’s wholesome comics, better known as @Lunarbaboon on Instagram. His panels are simple, but the faces tell you almost everything you need to know — the expressions often carry more weight than the words beside them. It made me think about how a character like Milo could do the same for children on the autism spectrum, who may not always connect to their own emotions but can often empathize when they see them reflected in someone else.

I’ve also always been a fan of Garfield books — a lasagna-loving cat dealing with all the day-to-day musings of being Jon’s pet. Garfield is grumpy, sarcastic, occasionally elated, and always relatable (especially on Mondays). As lighthearted as they are, those comics show the ebb and flow of feelings in ways kids can easily grasp. Taken together, Garfield and @Lunarbaboon reminded me that characters don’t need to be human to be emotionally honest — pets and cartoon figures often work best.

Tool-wise, I started out planning to draw my comic on my iPad with Procreate and my Apple Pencil. But to keep Milo’s expressions consistent, I used AI through ChatGPT/DALL·E to generate the images. I then polished and arranged them in Canva and Google Docs. That mix of inspiration and tools helped me keep the comic simple, expressive, and emotionally meaningful.

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Curious Milo (Educational Comic Project)

Helping Children Recognize and Accept Their Feelings

Updated: September 20th, 2025
Authors: Kate Nelson

This comic project is Curious Milo, a 13-panel educational comic designed to help children on the autism spectrum recognize and normalize their emotions. The comic follows Milo, a playful and relatable dog, as he experiences a range of feelings — from excitement and joy to sadness and disappointment — and models how all emotions are natural and okay. Structured across clear, sequential panels, the story uses simple narration, speech bubbles, and thought bubbles to make emotional awareness accessible, engaging, and child-friendly.

Understand

CHALLENGE:

Children on the autism spectrum often struggle to recognize, communicate, or express their own emotions, even though they may show empathy when others display feelings. This project uses a relatable dog character to help children understand that all emotions are natural and okay, making emotional awareness more approachable and engaging.

CONTEXT AND AUDIENCE:

Audience (Typical and Extreme Cases):

This project is designed for children on the autism spectrum, primarily between the ages of 6 and 10. Some may simply need extra support recognizing and labeling feelings, while others may depend heavily on visuals or non-verbal methods.

Needs:

In my work with children on the spectrum, I’ve noticed they often find it easier to empathize with a character, animal, or someone else showing feelings than to recognize those same emotions in themselves. They need clear, safe, and playful ways to externalize emotions. Milo, a bouncy and relatable dog, provides that lens by modeling a range of feelings.

Goals:

The goal is to help children see emotions as natural and temporary. For some, that means naming or pointing to a feeling, while for others it might simply be feeling safe enough to acknowledge them.

Motivations and Factors:

Demographically, the audience is young school-aged children supported by teachers, caregivers, and families. Psychographically and behaviourally, they respond best to clear visuals, predictable stories, and relatable characters rather than abstract explanations. This project aligns with those needs by keeping the story simple, structured, and engaging.

POV STATEMENT:

A child on the autism spectrum needs a safe and relatable way to see emotions modeled clearly so that they can begin to recognize, accept, and express their own feelings.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Main objective:

Children on the autism spectrum will be able to recognize their feelings in a healthy way by learning that all emotions are natural and okay.

Sub-Objectives:

• Identify at least four core emotions (happy, sad, lonely, mad).
• Relate personal experiences to Milo’s story (e.g., “I feel like Milo when…”)
• Practice expressing emotions through words or non-verbal strategies.
• Understand that feelings come and go, and it is safe to feel them all.
• Build empathy by recognizing that others (like Milo or Tony) also have feelings.

Secret Learning Objective:

Encourage meta-cognitive awareness by helping children reflect on how emotions affect their behaviour, and foster empathy towards themselves and others.

Plan:

IDEATION:

When I started brainstorming, I first imagined a comic about a child going through everyday situations and experiencing different emotions. As I reflected more, I thought about the children with autism that I work with and how they often find comfort in animals and characters rather than human figures. This led me to shift my idea and create Curious Milo, where a relatable dog models a variety of feelings across simple, sequential panels that combine visuals with short text.

STORYBOARD OR SCRIPT:

The comic follows a 13-panel sequence:

1. Milo wagging next to Tony – introduction.
2. Tony leaves; Milo thinks, “I’ll miss you…”
3. Milo bursts with energy.
4. Tony is tired; Milo wants to play.
5. Milo feels sad with his ball.
6. Milo curled up by the window.
7. Dogs turn away at the park.
8. Milo with a storm cloud overhead.
9. Milo remembers happy moments (memory bubbles).
10. Milo howls softly, then cuddles his blanket.
11. Tony returns home.
12. Tony hugs Milo – “Every feeling is okay.”
13. Reflection panel showing that all emotions are natural and safe.

Each slide includes narration, speech bubbles, or thought bubbles to model both external and internal experiences of emotion.

PRINCIPLES APPLIED:

I applied Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and multimedia principles:

• Coherence: Each panel focuses on one clear idea or feeling.
• Contiguity: Speech and thought bubbles are placed close to the character.
• Segmenting: The story is broken into short, digestible slides.
• Dual Coding: Text is paired with Milo’s visuals to reinforce meaning.
• Personalization: Text is conversational, using simple, direct language.
• Signaling: Emotion is reinforced with symbols (hearts, storm clouds, sunshine).

Create and Share the Prototype

The final artifact is a 13-panel educational comic titled Curious Milo. It was created using ai-generated, child-friendly visuals in a sketchy style (similar to Charlie and Lola), combined with narration, speech bubbles, and thought bubbles. The sequence models common feelings children may experience and reinforces that every emotion is okay.

While I did use ChatGPT to help generate the base images, I used apps such as Canva and Google Docs to edit the images and style it in the way that represents my personal creativity. Prompts were made to detail and input the script of each comic section, as well as the top newspaper-style framing with the title and peek of Milo in the corner.

PEER FEEDBACK:

I was unable to participate in the peer feedback stage, but I engaged in self-reflection and iterative corrections. This included fixing inconsistencies in text (ensuring correct grammar like “I’ll miss you”), standardizing Milo’s look, and addressing visual continuity. I also that AI-generated images can sometimes produce flaws (extra features, slight colour shifts), and I corrected or regenerated those panels to ensure accuracy.

Reflect and Refine

TEAM REFLECTION:

Since I worked individually, my reflection centers on my own design process. What worked well was the comic’s ability to clearly communicate feelings through Milo’s expressions and thought bubbles. Using a dog character was effective because children often find animals safe and relatable.

If I were to improve the project, I would test it directly with children to see how they respond to Milo and whether the story helps them articulate feelings. I would also add interactive elements, such as prompts asking children to point to the emotion Milo is feeling, or spaces for them to draw their own “feeling bubbles.”

A limitation of this type of multimedia is that while comics are engaging, they are static. They can show feelings clearly, but they don’t allow for dynamic practice the way games or role-plays might. Still, comics are powerful because they combine storytelling with visuals and text in a way that supports children who benefit from structure and predictability.

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS:

As the sole designer, I carried out all stages of the project, from ideation to artifact creation. I learned the importance of consistency when working with AI-generated images, as small details can drift between panels. More importantly, I deepened my understanding of how multimedia learning principles apply to practice: by keeping design simple and structured, I could make an abstract topic like emotions accessible for children.

References:

https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. Images generated using DALL·E. https://chat.openai.com/