The Biopolitics of Autism in Brazil, book chapter by Francisco Ortega, Rafaela Zorzanelli and Clarice Rios

05/05/2016

Summary

Challenging existing approaches to autism that limit, and sometimes damage, the individuals who attract and receive the label, this book questions the lazy prejudices and assumptions that can surround autism as a diagnosis in the 21st Century.

Arguing that autism can only be understood through examining 'it' as a socially or culturally produced phenomenon, the authors offer a critique of the medical model that has produced a perpetually marginalising approach to autism, and explain the contradictions and difficulties inherent in existing attitudes. They examine and dispute the scientific validity of diagnosis and 'treatment', asking whether autism actually exists at the biological level, and question the value of diagnosis in the lives of those labelled with autism. The book recognises that there are no easy answers but encourages engagement with these essential questions, and looks towards service provision and practice that moves beyond a reliance on all-encompassing labels.

This unique contribution to the growing field of critical autism studies brings together authors from clinical psychiatry, clinical and community psychology, social sciences, disability studies, education and cultural studies, as well as those with personal experiences of autism. It is essential and challenging reading for anyone with a personal, professional or academic interest in "autism".

Front cover

See "Re-Thinking Autism" at Google Books

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Published in 14/11/2018

Updated in 19/02/2021

All events in the topic Other works, books and talks by Vidal and Ortega:


01/02/2009 (Circa)Brainhood, Anthropological Figure of Modernity, by Fernando VidalBrainhood, Anthropological Figure of Modernity, by Fernando Vidal
01/01/2011 (Circa)Neurocultures: Glimpses Into an Expanding Universe, by Fernando Vidal and Francisco OrtegaNeurocultures: Glimpses Into an Expanding Universe, by Fernando Vidal and Francisco Ortega
15/06/2011La neuroesthétique, un esthétisme scientiste, an article by Fernando VidalLa neuroesthétique, un esthétisme scientiste, an article by Fernando Vidal
15/08/2010The Moral Authority of Nature, edited by Lorraine Daston and Fernando VidalThe Moral Authority of Nature, edited by Lorraine Daston and Fernando Vidal
03/07/2017Being Brains: Making The Cerebral Subject, by Fernando Vidal and Francisco OrtegaBeing Brains: Making The Cerebral Subject, by Fernando Vidal and Francisco Ortega
06/01/2012Neuroaesthetics: Getting Rid of Art and Beauty, reviewed article by Fernando VidalNeuroaesthetics: Getting Rid of Art and Beauty, reviewed article by Fernando Vidal
12/01/2011The Sciences of the Soul: The Early Modern Origins of Psychology, by Fernando VidalThe Sciences of the Soul: The Early Modern Origins of Psychology, by Fernando Vidal
10/01/2012L'expérience mélancolique au regard de la critique, an afterword by Fernando VidalL'expérience mélancolique au regard de la critique, an afterword by Fernando Vidal
14/08/2007Miracles, Science, and Testimony in Post-Tridentine Saint-Making, by Fernando VidalMiracles, Science, and Testimony in Post-Tridentine Saint-Making, by Fernando Vidal
01/10/2013Prospero Lambertini's On the Imagination and Its Powers, by Fernando VidalProspero Lambertini's On the Imagination and Its Powers, by Fernando Vidal
17/12/2013Corporeality, Medical Technologies and Contemporary Culture, a book by Francisco OrtegaCorporeality, Medical Technologies and Contemporary Culture, a book by Francisco Ortega
01/06/2019Brazilian edition of Being Brains
05/04/2019 • 19:00:00Neurociências: Não somos o nosso cérebro?, a talk by Ortega