“I’m Not Sure I Even Know”: Therapists’ Tentative Constructions of Autism
Main Article Content
Keywords
discursive psychology, discourse analysis, constructions of autism
Abstract
Autism has historically been constructed within and through biomedical discourses and practices. Therapeutic interventions have focused on “treating” and “curing” the individual diagnosed with autism, with therapists positioned as the “experts.” In this paper, we report findings from a discourse analysis informed by discursive psychology of eight interviews with therapists of children with autism labels. While the therapists were frequently positioned as “experts” with presumed “stocks of knowledge,” they were reluctant to definitively name autism as something with clearly defined characteristics, thereby making evident the shifting nature of knowledge surrounding what autism “really is.” We discuss implications for practitioners and others, as well as point to the importance of engaging in social constructionist studies of the discourses surrounding autism.
References
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International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(5-6), 459-476.
Brownlow, C. (2010). Presenting the self: Negotiating a label of autism. Journal of
Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 35(1), 14-21.
Cascella, P. W., & Colella, C. S. (2004). Knowledge of autism spectrum disorders among
Connecticut school speech-language pathologists. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(4), 245-252
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http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html
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French (Eds.), Disability discourse. Buckingham: Open University
Derrida, J. (1981). Positions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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description and attribution. Psychological Review, 100(1), 23-41.
Fassnacht, C., & Woods, D. (2005). Transana v2.0x [Computer software]. Retrieved from
http://www.transana.org
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Glynne-Owen, R. (2010). Early intervention and autism: The impact of positivism and the call
for change. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 18, 405-416.
Gilson, S., & DePoy, E. (2000). Multiculturalism and disability: A critical perspective.
Disability and Society, 15(2), 207-218
Hepburn, A., & Wiggins, S. (2005). Developments in discursive psychology. Discourse &
Society, 16(5), 595-601.
Heritage, J., & Greatbatch, D. (1986). Generating applause: a study of rhetoric and response at
party political conferences. American Journal of Sociology 19, 110-157.
Horton-Salway, M. (2004). The local production of knowledge: Disease labels, identities and
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Karim, K., Cook L., & O’Reilly, M. (2012). Diagnosing autistic spectrum disorder in the
age of austerity. Child: Care, Health and Development doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01410.x
Knapp, M., Romeo, R., & Beecham, J. (2007). The Economic consequences of autism in the
UK – Report. London: Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities.
Laclau, E. & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy. London: Verso.
Lamerichs, J. (2003). Discourses of support: Exploring online discussions on depression
(Doctoral dissertation). Wageningen University. Retrieved from:
http://edepot.wur.nl/121375. Mayes S D and Calhoun S L (2004) Influence of IQ and age In childhood autism: Lack of support for DSM-IV Asperger’s Disorder. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 16(3), 257-272.
Lester, J. N. (2011). The discursive construction of autism: Contingent meanings of autism and
therapeutic talk. Unpublished dissertation. University of Tennessee.
Lester, J. N. (2012). A discourse analysis of parents’ talk around their children’s autism labels.
Disability Studies Quarterly. 32(4), Art. 1.
Lester, J. N. (in press). Leveraging two computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
software packages to support discourse analysis. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Enhancing
qualitative and mixed methods research with technology. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Lester, J. N. & Paulus, T. M. (2012). Performative acts of autism. Discourse & Society, 12(3),
259 - 273.
Lester, J. N. & Paulus, T. M. (2014). “That teacher takes everything badly”: Discursively
reframing non-normative behaviors in therapy sessions. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27(5), 641-666.
Muhr, T. (2004). User’s manual for ATLAS.ti 5.0. Berlin: ATLAS.ti Scientific Software
Development GmbH.
Mukhopadhyay, T. R. (2008). How can I talk if my lips don’t move: Inside my autistic mind.
New York: Arcade Publishing.
Nadesan, M. H. (2005). Constructing autism: Unraveling the ‘truth’ and understanding the
social. New York, NY: Routledge.
Oliver, M. (1990). The politics of disablement. London: MacMilan Education Ltd.
Oliver, M. (1996). A sociology of disability or a disablist sociology? In L. Barton (Ed.),
Disability and society (pp. 18-42). London: Longman.
Osteen, M. (2008). Autism and representation: A comprehensive introduction. In M. Osteen
(Ed.), Autism and representation (pp. 1-47). New York: Routledge.
Paulus, T. & Lester, J. (2013). Using ATLAS.ti for a conversation/discourse analysis study of blogging in an educational context. ATLAS.ti User Conference 2013: Fostering Dialog on Qualitative Methods. Berlin, Germany.
Piaget, J. (1924/1928). Judgment and reasoning in the child (M. Worden, Trans.). New York:
Harcourt Brace.
Pomerantz, A. (1984). Agreeing and disagreeing with assessment: Some features of
preferred/dispreferred turn shapes. In J. M. Atkinson, & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structure of social action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 57-101). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Potter, J. (1996). Representing reality: Discourse, rhetoric and social construction. London:
Sage.
Potter, J. (2004). Discourse analysis. In Hardy M A and Bryman A (eds.) Handbook of data
analysis (pp. 607-624). London: SAGE.
Rapley M, Kiernan P, & Antaki, C. (1998). Invisible to themselves or negotiating identity? The
interactional management of being intellectually disabled. Disability & Society, 13(5),
807-827.
Rosenberg, R. E., Daniels, A. M., Law, J. K., Law, P. A., & Kaufmann, W. E. (2009). Trends in
autism spectrum disorder diagnoses: 1994-2007. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(8), 1099-1111.
Rosqvist, H. B. (2012). Practice, practice: Notions of adaptation and normality among adults
with Asperger Syndrome. Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(2), Art. 4.
Rossetti Z, Ashby C, Arndt K, Chadwick, M and Kasahara, M (2008) “I like others to not
try to fix me:” Agency, independence, and autism. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 46(5), 364-375.
Rubin, S., Biklen, D., Kasa-Hendrickson, C., Kluth, P., Cardinal, D.N., & Broderick, A. (2001).
Independence, participation, and the meaning of intellectual ability.” Disability and Socieyt, 16, 415-429.
Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures on conversation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sanders, J. L. (2009) Qualitative or quantitative differences between Asperger’s disorder and
autism? Historical considerations. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 39(11), 1560-1567.
Savarese, R. (2007). Reasonable people. New York: Other Press.
Timimi, S., Gardner, N., & McCabe, B. (2011). The myth of autism. UK: Palgrave-MacMillan.
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research.
Qualitative Inquiry, 16(1), 837-851.
Trilling, L., & Massin, D. (2010). Parenthood [ABC television series]. United States: Imagine
Television and Universal Media Studios.
Wolff, S. (2004). The history of autism. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(4), 201-
208.
Wood, L. A., & Kroger, R. O. (2000). Doing discourse analysis: Methods for studying action in
talk and text. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Wykes, T., & Callard, F. (2010). Diagnosis, diagnosis, diagnosis: Towards DSM-5. Journal
of Mental Health, 19(4), 301-304.
G. Albrecht, K. Seelman & M. Bury (Eds.), The Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 97-122). London: Sage Publications.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Antaki, C., Billing, M. G., Edwards, D., & Potter, J. A. (2003). Discourse analysis means doing
analysis: A critique of six analytic shortcomings. Discourse Analysis Online, 1.
Available from: http://extra.shu.ac.uk/daol/articles/open/2002/002/antaki2002002-paper.html
Asperger H (1944/1991) “Autistic psychopathy” in childhood. In Frith U (ed. and trans.) Autism
and Asperger syndrome (pp. 21-37). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bagatell, N. (2007). Orchestrating voices: Autism, identity and the power of discourse.
Disablity & Society, 22, 413-426.
Barthes, R. (1973). The pleasure of the text. (R. Miller, Trans.). New York, NY: Hill and
Wang.
Biklen, D., Attfield, R., Bissonnette, L., Blackman, L., Burke, J., Frugone, A.,…Rubin, S.
(2005). Autism and the myth of the person alone. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Billig, M. (1996). Arguing and Thinking: A rhetorical approach to social psychology (2nd
ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Broderick, A. A., & Ne’eman, A. (2008). Autism as metaphor: Narrative and counter narrative.
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(5-6), 459-476.
Brownlow, C. (2010). Presenting the self: Negotiating a label of autism. Journal of
Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 35(1), 14-21.
Cascella, P. W., & Colella, C. S. (2004). Knowledge of autism spectrum disorders among
Connecticut school speech-language pathologists. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(4), 245-252
Center for Disease Control (CDC). (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html
Corker, M., & French, S. (1999). Reclaiming discourse in disability studies. In M. Corker & S.
French (Eds.), Disability discourse. Buckingham: Open University
Derrida, J. (1981). Positions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Edwards, D. (1997). Discourse and cognition (pp. 1-20). London: SAGE.
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1992). Discursive psychology. London: Sage.
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1993). Language and causation: A discursive action model of
description and attribution. Psychological Review, 100(1), 23-41.
Fassnacht, C., & Woods, D. (2005). Transana v2.0x [Computer software]. Retrieved from
http://www.transana.org
Foucault, M. (1971). Orders of discourse. Social Science Information, 10(2), 7-30.
Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. (A. M.
Sheridan Smith, trans.). New York, NY: Pantheon.
Frances, A., & Nardo, J. (2013). ICD-11 should not repeat the mistakes made by DSM-5.
The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203, 1-2.
Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
Gilbert, G. N., & Mulkay, M. (1984). Opening pandora’s box: A sociological analysis of
scientists’ discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Glynne-Owen, R. (2010). Early intervention and autism: The impact of positivism and the call
for change. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 18, 405-416.
Gilson, S., & DePoy, E. (2000). Multiculturalism and disability: A critical perspective.
Disability and Society, 15(2), 207-218
Hepburn, A., & Wiggins, S. (2005). Developments in discursive psychology. Discourse &
Society, 16(5), 595-601.
Heritage, J., & Greatbatch, D. (1986). Generating applause: a study of rhetoric and response at
party political conferences. American Journal of Sociology 19, 110-157.
Horton-Salway, M. (2004). The local production of knowledge: Disease labels, identities and
category entitlements in ME support group talk. Health: An interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, illness and medicine, 8(3), 351-371.
Housley, W., & Fitzgerald, R. (2002). The reconsidered model of membership categorisation
analysis. Qualitative Research, 2(1), 59–83.
Jefferson, G. (2004). Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction. In G. H. Lerner (Ed.)
Conversation analysis: Studies from the First Generation (pp. 13-31). Amsterdam: John
Benjamins, 13-31.
Kanner, L. (1943/1985). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. In A. M. Donnellan (Ed.)
Classic readings in autism (pp. 11-50). New York: Teachers College Press.
Karim, K., Cook L., & O’Reilly, M. (2012). Diagnosing autistic spectrum disorder in the
age of austerity. Child: Care, Health and Development doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01410.x
Knapp, M., Romeo, R., & Beecham, J. (2007). The Economic consequences of autism in the
UK – Report. London: Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities.
Laclau, E. & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy. London: Verso.
Lamerichs, J. (2003). Discourses of support: Exploring online discussions on depression
(Doctoral dissertation). Wageningen University. Retrieved from:
http://edepot.wur.nl/121375. Mayes S D and Calhoun S L (2004) Influence of IQ and age In childhood autism: Lack of support for DSM-IV Asperger’s Disorder. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 16(3), 257-272.
Lester, J. N. (2011). The discursive construction of autism: Contingent meanings of autism and
therapeutic talk. Unpublished dissertation. University of Tennessee.
Lester, J. N. (2012). A discourse analysis of parents’ talk around their children’s autism labels.
Disability Studies Quarterly. 32(4), Art. 1.
Lester, J. N. (in press). Leveraging two computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
software packages to support discourse analysis. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Enhancing
qualitative and mixed methods research with technology. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Lester, J. N. & Paulus, T. M. (2012). Performative acts of autism. Discourse & Society, 12(3),
259 - 273.
Lester, J. N. & Paulus, T. M. (2014). “That teacher takes everything badly”: Discursively
reframing non-normative behaviors in therapy sessions. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27(5), 641-666.
Muhr, T. (2004). User’s manual for ATLAS.ti 5.0. Berlin: ATLAS.ti Scientific Software
Development GmbH.
Mukhopadhyay, T. R. (2008). How can I talk if my lips don’t move: Inside my autistic mind.
New York: Arcade Publishing.
Nadesan, M. H. (2005). Constructing autism: Unraveling the ‘truth’ and understanding the
social. New York, NY: Routledge.
Oliver, M. (1990). The politics of disablement. London: MacMilan Education Ltd.
Oliver, M. (1996). A sociology of disability or a disablist sociology? In L. Barton (Ed.),
Disability and society (pp. 18-42). London: Longman.
Osteen, M. (2008). Autism and representation: A comprehensive introduction. In M. Osteen
(Ed.), Autism and representation (pp. 1-47). New York: Routledge.
Paulus, T. & Lester, J. (2013). Using ATLAS.ti for a conversation/discourse analysis study of blogging in an educational context. ATLAS.ti User Conference 2013: Fostering Dialog on Qualitative Methods. Berlin, Germany.
Piaget, J. (1924/1928). Judgment and reasoning in the child (M. Worden, Trans.). New York:
Harcourt Brace.
Pomerantz, A. (1984). Agreeing and disagreeing with assessment: Some features of
preferred/dispreferred turn shapes. In J. M. Atkinson, & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structure of social action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 57-101). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Potter, J. (1996). Representing reality: Discourse, rhetoric and social construction. London:
Sage.
Potter, J. (2004). Discourse analysis. In Hardy M A and Bryman A (eds.) Handbook of data
analysis (pp. 607-624). London: SAGE.
Rapley M, Kiernan P, & Antaki, C. (1998). Invisible to themselves or negotiating identity? The
interactional management of being intellectually disabled. Disability & Society, 13(5),
807-827.
Rosenberg, R. E., Daniels, A. M., Law, J. K., Law, P. A., & Kaufmann, W. E. (2009). Trends in
autism spectrum disorder diagnoses: 1994-2007. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(8), 1099-1111.
Rosqvist, H. B. (2012). Practice, practice: Notions of adaptation and normality among adults
with Asperger Syndrome. Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(2), Art. 4.
Rossetti Z, Ashby C, Arndt K, Chadwick, M and Kasahara, M (2008) “I like others to not
try to fix me:” Agency, independence, and autism. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 46(5), 364-375.
Rubin, S., Biklen, D., Kasa-Hendrickson, C., Kluth, P., Cardinal, D.N., & Broderick, A. (2001).
Independence, participation, and the meaning of intellectual ability.” Disability and Socieyt, 16, 415-429.
Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures on conversation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sanders, J. L. (2009) Qualitative or quantitative differences between Asperger’s disorder and
autism? Historical considerations. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 39(11), 1560-1567.
Savarese, R. (2007). Reasonable people. New York: Other Press.
Timimi, S., Gardner, N., & McCabe, B. (2011). The myth of autism. UK: Palgrave-MacMillan.
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research.
Qualitative Inquiry, 16(1), 837-851.
Trilling, L., & Massin, D. (2010). Parenthood [ABC television series]. United States: Imagine
Television and Universal Media Studios.
Wolff, S. (2004). The history of autism. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(4), 201-
208.
Wood, L. A., & Kroger, R. O. (2000). Doing discourse analysis: Methods for studying action in
talk and text. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Wykes, T., & Callard, F. (2010). Diagnosis, diagnosis, diagnosis: Towards DSM-5. Journal
of Mental Health, 19(4), 301-304.
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Author Biographies
Jessica Nina Lester, Assistant Professor of Inquiry Methodology, School of Education, Indiana University
Jessica Nina Lester is an assistant professor of inquiry methodology in the School of Education at Indiana University, USA. Her research interests include qualitative methodologies, critical understandings of human learning and development, and the educational trajectories of targeted youth in educational and community contexts.
Trena M. Paulus, Professor of Qualitative Research Methods, University of Georgia
Trena M. Paulus is a Professor of Qualitative Research Methods at the University of Georgia, USA. Her scholarly work is in the areas of computer-mediated communication, discourse analysis, and new technologies for qualitative research.