It’s so interesting to consider how the stigma of neurodivergence has evolved over time. This is from chap 4 of Steve Silberman’s Neurotribes. An autism diagnosis was, in the early days of autism research, an escape for privileged families from the stigma of “mental retardation”. - ThreadSky

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camdenluxford.bsky.social • 97 days ago

It’s so interesting to consider how the stigma of neurodivergence has evolved over time. This is from chap 4 of Steve Silberman’s Neurotribes. An autism diagnosis was, in the early days of autism research, an escape for privileged families from the stigma of “mental retardation”.

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hannahmorton.bsky.social•97 days ago

I love this take! I listened to Neurotribes on audio book but would love to go back through it in writing.

camdenluxford.bsky.social•96 days ago

It’s so good. Incredibly dense with absolutely infuriating little anecdotes, though, I’ve been working my way through it for months because I have to keep putting it down before I spontaneously combust.

hannahmorton.bsky.social•96 days ago

The audio book was truly incredible I don’t know how long it would take me to get through the written version.

Also only so much of that content you can absorb at a time, and in certain brain states (for me)

camdenluxford.bsky.social•97 days ago

And now, several decades after Kanner (researcher in this passage), less privileged autistic folk/their families are often desperate for the material benefits that (sometimes) come with diagnosis, but it comes with enough stigma that a lot of better-situated families are eager to avoid it.

camdenluxford.bsky.social•97 days ago

Also here, get a load of the full passage because it is WILD to me how obsessed SEVERAL of the early researchers were with the ~beauty~ of the autistic child.

what are you TALKING ABOUT.

why are we DOING THIS.

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