Anti-ableism and scientific accuracy in autism research
A false dichotomy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15519123 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kristen Bottema-Beutel, Kristen Bottema‐beutel (0000-0002-0009-9464, Boston College, corresponding author), Steven K Kapp (0000-0002-4440-1688, University of Portsmouth), Noah J Sasson (0000-0002-3676-1253, The University of Texas at Dallas), Noah Sasson, Morton Ann Gernsbacher (0000-0003-0397-3329, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Heini M Natri (0000-0003-4698-6103, Translational Genomics Research Institute), Heini Natri, Monique Botha (0000-0002-5935-9654, University of Stirling) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Pages | 1244451-1244451 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1244451 |
| PMID | 37743979 |
| OpenAlex | W4386544940 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 84 |
It was recently argued that autism researchers committed to rejecting ableist frameworks in their research may sacrifice "scientifically accurate" conceptualizations of autism. In this perspective piece, we argue that: (a) anti-ableism vs. scientific accuracy is a false dichotomy, (b) there is no ideology-free science that has claim to scientific accuracy, and (c) autism science has a history of false leads in part because of unexamined ableist ideologies that undergird researcher framings and interpretations of evidence. To illustrate our claims, we discuss several avenues of autism research that were promoted as scientific advances, but were eventually debunked or shown to have much less explanatory value than initially proposed. These research programs have involved claims about autism etiology, the nature of autism and autistic characteristics, and autism intervention. Common to these false leads have been ableist assumptions about autism that inform researcher perspectives. Negative impacts of this work have been mitigated in some areas of autism research, but these perspectives continue to exert influence on the lives of autistic people, including the availability of services, discourses about autism, and sociocultural conceptualizations of autistic people. Examining these false leads may help current researchers better understand how ableism may negatively influence their areas of inquiry. We close with a positive argument that promoting anti-ableism can be done in tandem with increasing scientific accuracy
Ableism · Argument (complex analysis · Autism · Developmental psychology · Disability studies · Epistemology · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Law · Medicine · Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
Discourse
The Aaspire practice-based guidelines for the inclusion of autistic adults in research as co-researchers and study participants
What should autism research focus upon? Community views and priorities from the United Kingdom
Whose Expertise Is It? Evidence for Autistic Adults as Critical Autism Experts
Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2020
The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism
Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children.
Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective
Avoiding Ableist Language
‘People should be allowed to do what they like’
Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments
Stigma
Can repeated intranasal oxytocin administration affect reduced neural sensitivity towards expressive faces in autism? A randomized controlled trial
Rethinking echolalia
An investigation of delayed echoing in a child with autism
Language and Speech in Autism
Autism is me
On the ontological status of autism
Problems of nosology and psychodynamics of early infantile autism
Project AIM
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |