Autism as a social phenomenon: analysing the changes in autism diagnosis Centre for Primary Health and Social Care

The Centre for Primary Health & Social Care at London Metropolitan University organised a seminar titled: Autism as a Social Phenomenon: Analysing the Changes in Autism Diagnosis through the Transformations in Society

Dr Cinzia Greco, from the University of Manchester, was the speaker.

Autism has seen a substantial increase in diagnoses during the last few decades, as well as increased recognition of the condition in previously under-recognised profiles, including women, non-binary people, non-white people, and those of working-class backgrounds. The social science literature tends to explain these changes as a direct result of the evolution of diagnostic criteria, arguing that material causes for an increase in the actual incidence of autism are unlikely to be identified. In this presentation, Dr Cinzia Greco explored the possibility that the rise and transformations in autism could be understood by looking at wider transformations in sociality. An increased demand for highly performing sociality in workplaces and elsewhere could create difficulties that meet the threshold of diagnosis for previously undiagnosed autistic people. Similarly, the increasingly accessible online sociality could help previously undiagnosed autistic people to identify as autistic.