The invention of autism as a medical category was viewed as a crucial step toward a new era of hope for children with disabilities. However, it has come to be a hindrance to scientific knowledge and advocacy for social inclusion. The Autism Era provides an account of the diminishing value of autism, whether as a diagnostic target for drug discovery, a category of special education eligibility, or as the basis of a neurodiverse identity.
The last few decades have seen rapidly increasing investment in scientific research and technological innovation related to autism spectrum disorder. Kristin Bumiller traces how autism science emerged amidst major changes to the medical profession, the shifting role of parenting, and the retrenchment of social welfare provisions. However, the advancement of autism science has yet to quell the uncertainty and conflict about autism's causes and treatment. Bumiller shows how scientists respond to the extraordinary challenges presented by autism's heterogeneity and deeply contested ideas about the diagnosis. In a close analysis of scientific research, she questions how the technologies of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) thwart a more humane approach to both treatment and the use of animal modeling. Ultimately, she argues that the behavioralist definition of autism is an obstacle to furthering new understandings of disability which would prioritize the need for social inclusion and resources for care.
This clear-eyed account of how we've gotten to this point cuts through the noise of controversy that has always shrouded autism studies, in order to make a prediction: that this era of autism has come to an end. Against the backdrop of a still-growing infrastructure of this scientific project—in the form of research organizations, applied behavior analysis therapy centers, and advocacy groups—Bumiller points to a nascent reckoning with this project's failure. The Autism Era is a call for a new movement, that brings about more justice for the disabled through more equitable and expansive state support.
