The construction of the autistic individual: Investigations in online discussion groups
Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This project investigates the construction of the autistic individual through the use of Internet methodologies, drawing on the social model of disability and critical psychology as epistemological resources. Four asynchronous online discussion groups were studied, whose membership comprised of people with autism, parents of people with autism, and professionals working within the field of autism. The group discussions yielded diversity of discourses surrounding autism, and through critical discourse analysis, I prioritised three key issues that are examined through the empirical chapters of the thesis. The first major theme to be analysed is identity and highlights strong alternative discourses surrounding autism. It is shown that these alternative discourses led some contributors to the discussion groups to construct an empowered identity, which frequently contradicts and challenges ‘expert ’ views of people with autism and their abilities, and resists the regulation of autistic identities by professionals working within the psy-complex.
Author: Charlotte Brownlow
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W431788274