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Autistic Intelligence: Interaction, Individuality, and the Challenges of Diagnosis
An examination of diagnostic proces s es that questions how we can better understand autism as a category and the unique forms of intelligence it glosses.
As autism has grown in prevalence, so too have our attempts to make sense of it. From placing unfounded blame on vaccines to seeking a genetic cause, Americans have struggled to understand what autism is and where it comes from. Amidst these efforts, however, a key aspect of autism has been largely the diagnostic process itself. That process is the central focus of Autistic Intelligence . The authors ask us to question the norms by which we measure autistic behavior, to probe how that behavior can be considered sensible rather than disordered, and to explore how we can better appreciate the individuality of those who receive the diagnosis.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of video recordings and ethnographic observations at a clinic where professionals evaluated children for autism, the authors’ analysis of interactions among clinicians, parents, and children demystifies the categories, tools, and practices involved in the diagnostic process. Autistic Intelligence shows that autism is not a stable category; it is the outcome of complex interactional processes involving professionals, children, families, and facets of the social and clinical environments they inhabit. The authors suggest that diagnosis, in addition to carefully classifying children, also can highlight or include unique and particular contributions those with autism potentially can make to the world around us.
As autism has grown in prevalence, so too have our attempts to make sense of it. From placing unfounded blame on vaccines to seeking a genetic cause, Americans have struggled to understand what autism is and where it comes from. Amidst these efforts, however, a key aspect of autism has been largely the diagnostic process itself. That process is the central focus of Autistic Intelligence . The authors ask us to question the norms by which we measure autistic behavior, to probe how that behavior can be considered sensible rather than disordered, and to explore how we can better appreciate the individuality of those who receive the diagnosis.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of video recordings and ethnographic observations at a clinic where professionals evaluated children for autism, the authors’ analysis of interactions among clinicians, parents, and children demystifies the categories, tools, and practices involved in the diagnostic process. Autistic Intelligence shows that autism is not a stable category; it is the outcome of complex interactional processes involving professionals, children, families, and facets of the social and clinical environments they inhabit. The authors suggest that diagnosis, in addition to carefully classifying children, also can highlight or include unique and particular contributions those with autism potentially can make to the world around us.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published June 6, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 13, 2023
As someone who had next to zero previous knowledge about Autism and the history of diagnosis and research on Autism, this was a great intro book into many of the difficulties from defining Autism to diagnosing it. This offers interesting thoughts on what it means to be autistic, and how stretching to understand the world of someone with autism can shed light onto things assumed and take for granted in "normal" people's social world's. The conversational Analysis approach can be a bit difficult to digest if your unfamiliar with that type of research. It doesn't go into quite the detail one would want in a lot of the areas of Autism, but it is a good general introduction.
October 23, 2023
"...primarily a work of academic sociology rather than a set of practical suggestions for reforming diagnosis or improving the lives of those on the spectrum ..." (p. 2)
"we explain our sociological understanding of autism in terms of conduct that violates or disrupts common sense—the tacit assumptions by which we continually measure social competence in the everyday world. We suggest that, in challenging commonsense assumptions, autistic behavior can make those assumptions strange, bringing to the surface deep sensemaking practices that are invisible when interactions go smoothly." (p. 3)
"Autism enables us to explore what common sense presumes, what it imposes, and how malleable or not it may be as a real feature of ordinary experience." (p. 12)
"we explain our sociological understanding of autism in terms of conduct that violates or disrupts common sense—the tacit assumptions by which we continually measure social competence in the everyday world. We suggest that, in challenging commonsense assumptions, autistic behavior can make those assumptions strange, bringing to the surface deep sensemaking practices that are invisible when interactions go smoothly." (p. 3)
"Autism enables us to explore what common sense presumes, what it imposes, and how malleable or not it may be as a real feature of ordinary experience." (p. 12)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews