The Metamorphosis of Autism

This is the first detailed exploration of the history of autism in the UK. Drawing from extensive and highly original archival research as well as investigations of published literature it describes the political, social and institutional background which made the study and increased diagnosis of autism possible. -- .

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What is autism and where has it come from? Increased diagnostic rates, the rise of the 'neurodiversity' movement, and growing autism journalism, have recently fuelled autism's fame and controversy. The metamorphosis of autism is the first book to explain our current fascination with autism by linking it to a longer history of childhood development. Drawing from a staggering array of primary sources, Bonnie Evans traces autism back to its origins in the early twentieth century and explains why the idea of autism has always been controversial and why it experienced a 'metamorphosis' in the 1960s and 1970s.

Evans takes the reader on a journey of discovery from the ill-managed wards of 'mental deficiency' hospitals, to high-powered debates in the houses of parliament, and beyond. The book will appeal to a wide market of scholars and others interested in autism.

An electronic edition of this book is freely available under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. -- .