Over the last 20 years or so there's been a remarkable rise in public awareness around autism. Its public image has changed profoundly if only one looks at its portrayal in ‘Rain man’ and the popular American tv-series ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (and others, see http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-changing-face-of-nerds-and-autism-in-popular-c,91151/).
Moreover autistic people and their parents and advocates acquired a voice – at times a hysterical one, particularly in the US – and influence health policies and the research agenda. However, I find very little serious sociological study of these phenomena. Good examples are
Chamak, Brigitte, ‘Autism and social movements: French parents’ associations and international autistic individuals’ organizations’, In: Sociology of Health & Illness 30(2008) 1, 76–96.
Chamak, Brigitte, Beatrice Bonniau, Emmanuel Jaunay & David Cohen, ‘What Can We Learn about Autism from Autistic Persons?’ In: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, (2008)77, 271–279.
I’m looking for more, or – if there isn’t much – colleagues interested in pursuing this line of inquiry.
Sara Ryan (Dept of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford) is doing work on aurtism from a sociological popint of view. She is [email protected]
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