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Diagnoses of autism have become more frequent since the 1980s, which has led to various controversies about both the cause of autism and the nature of the diagnoses themselves. Whether autism has mainly a genetic or developmental cause, and the degree of coincidence between autism and intellectual disability, are all matters of current scientific controversy as well as inquiry. There is also more sociopolitical debate as to whether autism should be considered a disability on its own.
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The autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with disability rights that emphasizes a neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a disability with variations in the human brain rather than as a disease to be cured. The movement advocates for several goals, including greater acceptance of autistic traits and behaviors; reforms of services - i.e. services that focus on improving quality of life and well-being instead of suppression and masking of autistic traits that are adaptive or not harmful or imitations of social behaviors of neurotypical (non-autistic) peers ; the creation of social networks and events that allow autistic people to socialize on their own terms; and the recognition of the autistic community as a minority group.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:
Mind-blindness, mindblindness or mind blindness is a theory initially proposed in 1990 that claims that all autistic people have a lack or developmental delay of theory of mind (ToM), meaning they are unable to attribute mental states to others. According to the theory, a lack of ToM is considered equivalent to a lack of both cognitive and affective empathy. In the context of the theory, mind-blindness implies being unable to predict behavior and attribute mental states including beliefs, desires, emotions, or intentions of other people. The mind-blindness theory asserts that children who delay in this development will often develop autism.
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The theory of the double empathy problem is a psychological and sociological theory first coined in 2012 by Damian Milton, an autistic autism researcher. This theory proposes that many of the difficulties autistic individuals face when socializing with non-autistic individuals are due, in part, to a lack of mutual understanding between the two groups, meaning that most autistic people struggle to understand and empathize with non-autistic people, whereas most non-autistic people also struggle to understand and empathize with autistic people. This lack of understanding may stem from bidirectional differences in communication style, social-cognitive characteristics, and experiences between autistic and non-autistic individuals, but not necessarily an inherent deficiency. Recent studies have shown that most autistic individuals are able to socialize, communicate effectively, empathize well, and display social reciprocity with most other autistic individuals. This theory and subsequent findings challenge the commonly held belief that the social skills of autistic individuals are inherently impaired, as well as the theory of "mind-blindness" proposed by prominent autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen in the mid-1980s, which suggested that empathy and theory of mind are universally impaired in autistic individuals.
Damian Elgin Maclean Milton is a British sociologist and social psychologist who specialises in autism research and an autism rights advocate. He is a lecturer at the University of Kent as well as a consultant for the United Kingdom's National Autistic Society and has academic qualifications in sociology, psychology, philosophy, and education.
References
- ↑ "10,000 autistic people to take part in the UK's largest study of autism". University of Cambridge. August 24, 2021.
- ↑ "ARC Volunteers - Spectrum 10K". parent.spectrum10k.org.
- 1 2 3 4 Sanderson, Katharine (27 September 2021). "High-profile autism genetics project paused amid backlash". Nature. 598 (7879): 17–18. Bibcode:2021Natur.598...17S. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02602-7. PMID 34580484. S2CID 238202946.
- ↑ "Spectrum 10K". Health Research Authority.
- ↑ "Why Autistic People Are Worried by Spectrum 10K | Psychology Today United Kingdom". www.psychologytoday.com.
- ↑ Rubino, Sebastian (August 29, 2021). "Spectrum 10k: The Fallacy of Genetic Autism Studies".
- ↑ "What is the Spectrum 10K study into autism - and why are autistic people concerned?". www.indy100.com. August 29, 2021.
- ↑ "PLAIN TEXT OF THE FULL BOYCOTT S10K STATEMENT". September 4, 2021.
- 1 2 Pring, John (4 November 2021). "Autistic campaigners' anger over Spectrum 10K protest lock-out and 'scare tactics'". Disability News Service.
- ↑ Dattaro, Laura (2022-05-27). "Spectrum 10K gets green light from ethics agency". Spectrum. doi: 10.53053/OAMY4481 . S2CID 249143253 . Retrieved 2022-12-08.
