38th Annual Student Research Conference
Attitudes on Autism: the Social Construction of Neurodivergence
Olivia W. Linde
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
Autism is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of psychology but a controversial one from a sociological perspective. Recent conversations have called into question the validity of autism as a category, criticizing previous research and also objecting to the kind of disability model used for autism. This content analysis served the purpose of identifying common themes present within newspaper articles discussing autism. This allowed me to see that the public understanding of autism changed over time, which implies a connection between how the public views autism and the framework that researchers use in their work. My own research revealed that several ideas about autism changed between 2000 and 2020, such as the age of the autistic people discussed or the disability model used throughout the article. These connections reveal a significant relationship between public and scientific understanding, and further research is recommended.
Keywords: Autism, Neurodivergence
Topic(s):Sociology
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 306-1
Location: SUB Georgian C
Time: 1:00