The Social, Cultural, and Political Discourses of Autism

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 autismone 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.

Strikes a balance between critical perspectives and 'real life' challenges of navigating disabling impairments Contributes to the literature psychiatric disability, and questions the psychiatric basis of autism Takes a critical approach to language-in-use, while attending to the social and cultural construction of autism

Inhalt

Introduction.- Chapter 1: What is autism a medical understanding.- Chapter 2: Historical and social construction of disability.- Chapter 3: The social, cultural, and discursive construction of autism.- Chapter 4: Meaning(s) of autism.- Chapter 5: The economic framing of mental health.- Chapter 6: Stigma and disability.- Chapter 7: Autism and inequality.- Chapter 8: Navigating school and community spaces.- Chapter 9: Unpacking the myth of Autism.- Chapter 10: Conclusions.