The Social, Cultural, and Political Discourses of Autism (Education, Equity, Economy, 9)

Taking up a social constructionist position, this book illustrates the social and cultural construction of autism as made visible in everyday, educational, institutional and historical discourses, alongside a careful consideration of the bodily and material realities of embodied differences. The authors highlight the economic consequences of a disabling culture, and explore how autism fits within broader arguments related to normality, abnormality and stigma. To do this, they provide a theoretically and historically grounded discussion of autism―one designed to layer and complicate the discussions that surround autism and disability in schools, health clinics, and society writ large. In addition, they locate this discussion across two contexts – the US and the UK – and draw upon empirical examples to illustrate the key points. Located at the intersection of critical disability studies and discourse studies, the book offers a critical reframing of autism and childhood mental health disorders more generally. Foreword Acknowledgments Contents About the Authors Chapter 1: Introduction to the Social, Cultural, and Political Discourses of Autism Centring Disability with Language Choices Defining Key Terms Our Positionalities Theoretical and Methodological Framing of the Book Social Constructionism An Overview of Social Constructionism and Autism Discursive Psychology An Overview of Discursive Psychology and Autism Datasets and Previous Research Endeavours Overview and Structure of the Book Concluding Thoughts Chapter 2: Historical and Social Constructions of Disability Introduction An Abbreviated History of Mental Health and Mental Illness Demonology Enlightenment Calls for Reform Failures of Reform Rise of New Models and Deinstitutionalization Policy and Legislation Classifications Systems Diagnosis: An Interpretative Process Dominant Classification System Relevant to Autism – The DSM and ICD Critiques of Classification Systems Medicalization and the Medical Model of Disability Autism and the Medical Model of Disability The Social Model of Disability Autism and the Social Model of Disability Other Models of Disability The Moral Model of Disability The Identity Model of Disability The Labelling Model of Disability The Human Rights Model of Disability The Economic (and Political) Model of Disability The Predicament Model The Intersection of Models of Disability Concluding Thoughts Chapter 3: What Is Autism? A Clinical Understanding Introduction Medically Defining Autism Early History of Autism Developing the Triad of Impairments Terminology of Autism Classifying Autism The Diagnostic Statistical Manual – The Early Days DSM-5 and the Modern Day DSM-5 and Autism A Word About Asperger’s Syndrome Diagnosing Autism Clinically Presumed Difficulties in Communication and Social Interaction Theory of Mind Restrictive and Repetitive Patterns of Behaviour Presumed Difficulties in Sensory Processing Presumed Difficulties in Executive Functioning Parent Responses to an Autism Diagnosis – Traditional Rhetoric Prevalence of Autism – Controversy of the ‘Epidemic’ Gender and Autism Concluding Thoughts Chapter 4: The Social, Cultural and Discursive Construction of Autism as a Mental Health Condition and Disability: Different Perspectives Introduction Autism Across Time and Place Medicalization A Note of Caution Medicalization and Autism The Reification of Medicalization Through Research Funds Neurodiversity: A Notion of Natural Human Variation Is Autism a Psychiatric Disability, a Disorder, or a Natural Variance of Difference? Exploring the Tensions in Practice: Findings From our Research The Methods Our Findings The Boundaries of Normalcy and Autism Extract Example (Taken from Lester et al., 2015, p. 142) The Boundaries Between Ability and Disability Extract Example (Taken from Lester et al., 2015, p. 143). Extract Example (Taken from Lester et al., 2015, p. 144) Navigating the Severity of Autism Extract Example (Taken from Lester et al., 2015, p. 146) Negotiating Epistemic Agency Extract Example (Lester et al., 2015, p. 147) Concluding Thoughts Chapter 5: Constructing the Meaning(s) of Autism Introduction Therapists’ and Parents’ Orientations to the Meanings of Autism Extract Example Extract Example (O’Reilly et al., 2016, p. 73) Extract Example (O’Reilly et al., 2016, p. 74) Extract Example (O’Reilly et al., 2016, p. 76) Performing Normality Extract Example Performance and Disability Categories Extract Example Concluding Thoughts Chapter 6: Mental Health, Autism, and Issues of Inequality and Resources Introduction Health Inequalities Socioeconomics, Health, and Disability Neoliberalism and The Sick Role Inequality and Mental Health The Cost of Mental Health Parity of Esteem COVID-19 and Autism Autism, COVID-19, and Inequalities Neoliberalism, Economics, and Autism The Societal Cost of Autism The Familial Cost of Autism The Relational Cost of Autism Educational Resources and Autism Inequalities Special Education and Inequalities Teachers’ and Parents’ Views Example 1: from Family 17 Example 2:Family 17 Employment Inequalities The Internet as a Resource: Supporting Social Skills or Isolating Autistic People from the World? The Market Economies of Disablement: An Empirical Example Insurance Mandates Permeate the Therapy Setting Disability Labels Functioning to Secure Services Example Concluding Thoughts Chapter 7: Stigma, Disability, and Autism Introduction Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Service Provision, Attitudes, and Help-Seeking Stigma, Children and Young People Autism and Stigma Stigma and Medication Mother-Blaming, Stigma, and Autism Mother Blaming, Mental Health and Disabilities Mother Blaming and Autism Example: Family 18 Genetic Essentialism, Stigma, and Blame The Role of the Media in Perpetuating Stigma A Critical Appraisal of the Notion of Vulnerability Concluding Thoughts Chapter 8: Summarizing Core Issues Introduction Our Arguments and Positionality Under the Spotlight Issues at Stake Future Directions for Research Qualitative Research Discourse Analysis Conversation Analysis Video Reflexive Ethnography Concluding Thoughts Appendix A: Jeffersonian Transcription Symbols (Jefferson, 2004) References Index Taking up a social constructionist position, this book illustrates the social and cultural construction of autism as made visible in everyday, educational, institutional and historical discourses, alongside a careful consideration of the bodily and material realities of embodied differences. The authors highlight the economic consequences of a disabling culture, and explore how autism fits within broader arguments related to normality, abnormality and stigma. To do this, they provide a theoretically and historically grounded discussion of autism one designed to layer and complicate the discussions that surround autism and disability in schools, health clinics, and society writ large. In addition, they locate this discussion across two contexts the US and the UK and draw upon empirical examples to illustrate the key points. Located at the intersection of critical disability studies and discourse studies, the book offers a critical reframing of autism and childhood mental health disorders more generally