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About The Author Damian Milton Damian is a doctoral researcher with the University of Birmingham
(ACER department), and holds a number of academic qualifications in
Sociology, Psychology, and Education, with experience as a lecturer in
Further and Higher Education, and presenting at academic conferences.
Damian has a diagnosis of Asperger's and is a single father to his young
son who has a diagnosis of autism. Lyte Moon Article Tools
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Home > Vol 1, No 1 (2012) > Milton, Moon The normalisation agenda
and the psycho-emotional disablement of autistic people.
Damian Milton, Lyte Moon AbstractThis
paper critically analyses the use of normative social scientific principles
in the treatment of autistic people and utilises the concept of
psycho-emotional disablement (Reeve, 2002, 2004), to suggest that such a
dominant normalising agenda has led to the silencing of the autistic voice in
knowledge production and community awareness. Reflecting upon the researchers
own insider situated knowledge, and findings from a number of pilot studies
conducted in the course of a doctoral research programme, this paper examines
the insider/outsider positionality of parent and self
advocates within the autistic community, before challenging the legacy
of Lovaas and recent attempts in Britain to modify
such techniques. The paper finishes with a reflection upon how such measures
have led to the further disablement of autistic people and their subjective
lifeworld. This
paper also includes a contribution from Lyte, who is an individual who I have
met recently in the course of my studies. As an emerging voice regarding
neurodiversity, Lyte puts their own point of view to some of the issues that
have arisen in the course of my research and are highlighted by this paper. KeywordsAutism, Behaviourism, Normalisation, Psycho-emotional Disablement, Voice. ReferencesArnold,
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