The categorisation of resistance

Interpreting Failure to Follow a Proposed Line of Action in the Diagnosis of Autism Amongst Young Adults

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2249408
AutoresG Hollin (0000-0003-4348-8272, School of Sociology and Social Policy University of Leeds Leeds UK), Alison Pilnick (0000-0003-0987-8760, School of Sociology and Social Policy University of Nottingham Nottingham UK)
Año2018
Volumen40
Número7
Páginas1215-1232
Fecha de publicación2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12749
PMID29797473
OpenAlexW2794996855
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas61

Many characteristics typical of autism, a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by socio-communicative impairments, are most evident during social interaction. Accordingly, procedures such as the Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule (ADOS) are interactive and intended to elicit interactional impairments: a diagnosis of autism is given if interactional difficulties are attributed as a persistent quality of the individual undergoing diagnosis. This task is difficult, first, because behaviours can be interpreted in various ways and, second, because conversation breakdown may indicate a disengagement with, or resistance to, a line of conversation. Drawing upon conversation analysis, we examine seven ADOS diagnosis sessions and ask how diagnosticians distinguish between interactional resistance as, on the one hand, a diagnostic indicator and, on the other, as a reasonable choice from a range of possible responses. We find evidence of various forms of resistance during ADOS sessions, but it is a resistance to a line of conversational action that is often determined to be indicative of autism. However, and as we show, this attribution of resistance can be ambiguous. We conclude by arguing for reflexive practice during any diagnosis where talk is the problem, and for a commitment to acknowledge the potential impact of diagnostic procedures themselves upon results

Action (physics · Attribution · Autism · Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule · Autism spectrum disorder · Cognitive psychology · Conversation · Conversation analysis · Developmental psychology · Disengagement theory · Resistance (ecology · Task (project management · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Communication · Language Development and Disorders · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology