Chamak B. (2009) Autisme et militantisme : de la maladie à la différence / Autism and Advocacy : from the disease to the difference, Quaderni, n°68 (Hiver), p. 61-70.

abstract

In the early 1990s, the autism category has been changed. The rare disease defined in 1943 by Leo Kanner became a blurred boundary syndrome designated as “Pervasive Developmental Disorders”. Diagnostic criteria were enlarged to include non-verbal patients, as well as persons who can speak but have social interaction problems. By including persons able to speak, the new classification gave the possibility to adopt the diagnosis of autism to more people. These transformations coincide with the emergence of a new social movement which criticizes a society where autism is only conceived according to the deficit model. The first association, Autism Network International, set up in 1991, defended the idea that autism is neither a disease nor a disability but another mode of cognitive functioning. This conception is in agreement with that of some researchers in cognitive science who refer to the neurodiversity.