Cognitive difference in a postmodern world : Asperger's, autism, stigma, and diagnosis

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dc.contributor.authorGates, Gordon
dc.contributor.supervisorStrega, Susan
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-02T20:55:35Z
dc.date.copyright2014en_US
dc.date.issued2014-09-02
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Social Work
dc.degree.levelMaster of Social Work M.S.W.en_US
dc.description.abstractAsperger’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 narrativeen_US
dc.description.proquestcode0452en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0422en_US
dc.description.proquestemailcanadagates@gmail.comen_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/5646
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/*
dc.subjectAsperger'sen_US
dc.subjectautismen_US
dc.subjectstigmaen_US
dc.subjectdiagnosisen_US
dc.subjecthermeneutical phenomenologyen_US
dc.subjectconstructivist grounded theoryen_US
dc.subjectauthentic presenceen_US
dc.subjectMerleau-Pontyen_US
dc.subjectGadameren_US
dc.subjectDSM-5en_US
dc.titleCognitive difference in a postmodern world : Asperger's, autism, stigma, and diagnosisen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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