Critical autism studies

Critical autism studies (CAS) is an interdisciplinary research field within autism studies led by autistic people. ^{[1] [2] [3]} This field is related to both disability studies and neurodiversity studies. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

CAS as a discipline is led by autistic academics, and many autistic people engage with the discipline in nonacademic spaces. ^{[3] [4] [6]} The point of this field's existence is to give power to the voices of autistic people in autism research, ^[4] but there is critique of the field for failing to represent the depth of how intersectionality affects autistic people. ^[6] The field of critical autism studies was created for the purpose of creating a better life for autistic individuals ^{[4] [3]} through the challenging of the medical model of disability, ableism against autistic individuals, and harmful stereotypes about autism. ^[4] Many CAS scholars are from fields in the social sciences and humanities. ^[4]

The primary components of this field of research are how autism as a label is impacted by power relations between autistic and non-autistic scholars, challenges against the medical model of disability and deficit narratives in relation to autism, and how autism as an identity is highly individualized. ^{[5] [3] [6]} Two other components that have been proposed but have not been widely accepted within CAS are whether autism diagnoses are valid given the way that autism as a label has been created by non-autistic people and what the value of an autism diagnosis is. ^{[3] [6]}

History

• Key themes of CAS as a field can be traced back to Jim Sinclair in 1993. ^[5]
• CAS as we know it now originates from a workshop by Joyce Davidson and Michael Orsini in 2011. ^{[3] [4]}
• Larry Arnold released the first journal for CAS in 2012. ^[4]
• The first book on the theoretical work of CAS was published in 2016. ^[4]

Theoretical works

• Autonomy: The Critical Journal of Interdisciplinary Autism Studies emerged as the first CAS journal in 2012 and ran until 2019. ^[4]
• Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture emerged as a CAS journal in 2019 and is still running. ^[4] One of the editors of this journal, Robert Rozema, says that the journal is a space for dialogue about the field and that CAS as a field should include creative works from autistic individuals. ^[7]
• Books on the theoretical work of CAS include War on Autism: On the Cultural Logic of Normative Violence (2016) by Anne McGuire, Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness (2018) by M. Remi Yergeau, and All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism (2017) by Morénike Giwa Onaiwu. ^[4]

References

1. Woods, Richard; Waldock, Krysia Emily (2021). "Critical Autism Studies". In Volkmar, Fred R. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2nd ed.). Cham: Springer. pp. 1240–1248. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_102297. ISBN   978-3-319-91280-6.
2. O’Dell, Lindsay; Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, Hanna; Ortega, Francisco; Brownlow, Charlotte; Orsini, Michael (2016). "Critical autism studies: exploring epistemic dialogues and intersections, challenging dominant understandings of autism". Disability & Society . 31 (2): 166–179. doi:10.1080/09687599.2016.1164026 (inactive 11 July 2025).
3. Milton, Damian; Ryan, Sara (2022-10-21). The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies (1 ed.). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003056577. ISBN   978-1-003-05657-7.
4. Freeman Loftis, Sonya (2023-12-13). "Critical Autism Studies: The State of the Field". Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture. 5 (1). doi: 10.9707/2833-1508.1147 . ISSN   2833-1508.
5. Woods, Richard; Milton, Damian; Arnold, Larry; Graby, Steve (2018-07-03). "Redefining Critical Autism Studies: a more inclusive interpretation". Disability & Society. 33 (6): 974–979. doi:10.1080/09687599.2018.1454380. ISSN   0968-7599.
6. Mallipeddi, Nathan V.; VanDaalen, Rachel A. (2022-12-01). "Intersectionality Within Critical Autism Studies: A Narrative Review". Autism in Adulthood. 4 (4): 281–289. doi:10.1089/aut.2021.0014. ISSN   2573-9581. PMC   9908281 . PMID   36777375.
7. Rozema, Robert (2023-12-13). "Note from the Editors: Critical Autism Studies". Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture. 5 (1). doi: 10.9707/2833-1508.1151 . ISSN   2833-1508.