Cognitive difference in a postmodern world : Asperger's, autism, stigma, and diagnosis
Date
2014-09-02
Authors
Gates, Gordon
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Abstract
Asperger’s was eliminated as a distinct diagnosis in the DSM-5. While controversy
lingers over the assimilation of Asperger’s into autism spectrum disorder, my study
explores the experience of stigma through interviews with four adults with Asperger’s
and two with high functioning autism. I examine the phenomenology of autistic stigma,
stigma management, and how stigma is impacted by diagnosis. The results provide an
understanding of stigma as it is experienced by individuals who, in the words of one
participant, suffer from a “relationship disability.” The term ASHFA evolves during the
write-up to become more than an acronym for Asperger’s/high functioning autism; it
comes to represent a way of being present in the world that transcends diagnosis. A
relational methodology derived from Gadamer’s hermeneutics and Merleau-Ponty’s
phenomenology provides a philosophical framework for the project and also guides
ethical engagement during the study. Methods used in the data analysis are drawn from
constructivist grounded theory. The report itself may contain clues into ASHFA because
I, the organizing participant, am also diagnosed with Asperger’s. I attempt to make sense
of the paradoxical conclusion that diagnosis can provide a therapeutic explanation for
autistic difference even as medicalization disempowers us as a validating narrative
Description
Keywords
Asperger's, autism, stigma, diagnosis, hermeneutical phenomenology, constructivist grounded theory, authentic presence, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, DSM-5