Why is autism a disability? Examining an argument for intersectional neurodiversity

This thesis questions why autism is seen as a disability when many autistic people perceive autism as a natural difference that relates to the way their mind works. Autistic people struggle to find academic information to explain their experiences and often turn to online resources for validation. To create the conditions for the emergence of adequate explanations of autistic conscious experience, this thesis begins by challenging some dominant explanations for autism. An epistemological approach, utilising first-person perspectives on the experience of autism, is suggested as a corrective. Feminist standpoint epistemology is adapted to demonstrate that autistic perception is valuable in remedying the prevailing distorted image of autism caused by the lack of autistic representation. I critically analyse Theory of Mind to suggest an alternative more suited to explain the autistic experience. In the preferred version of neurodiversity, not the brain itself, but the interaction of the brain with the environment explains autism. To challenge the brain-based explanation of autism, a small section of the available neurological data mapping the human brain is statistically analysed to demonstrate the possibility that the diversity of brain structure found could be a part of natural variation and not specific to autism. The element of interaction with the environment is developed through sharing autoethnographic data, followed by an engagement with the reported life experiences of self-identified autistic people to counter likely biases in the use of the method of autoethnography. I conduct a thematic analysis on online expressions of autistic experience to highlight concerns such as the use of Applied Behavioural Analysis, Identity and the experience of Discrimination, and the differences in Sensory Experience, which currently lack adequate representation in information about autism generated by academic research and adopted for wider public consumption. This thesis shows that from the autistic perspective, the environment determines whether autism is experienced as a disability. The negative judgement of the traits associated with autism coming from other people is often the reason why autistic people experience discrimination and burnout. An understanding of autistic people, as Neurodivergent suggested here, could lead to changing negative judgements and hence improve experiences for autistic people.

Citation

Robinson, N. (2025) Why is autism a disability? Examining an argument for intersectional neurodiversity. University of Wolverhampton. https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626052

Publisher

University of Wolverhampton

URI

https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626052

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en

Description

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Collections

Theses and Dissertations