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Title
Prevention of What? Competing Biological Citizenship Claims and the Biopolitics of Autism Prevention
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0440-5825
Access Type
Campus-Only Access for One (1) Year
Document Type
thesis
Embargo Period
7-26-2023
Degree Program
Sociology
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2023
Month Degree Awarded
September
Abstract
In the early 2000s, the idea of an “autism epidemic” spurred State action to expand research into autism’s causes and corresponding efforts at prevention, an effort overseen by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). However, the language of autism prevention in the IACC’s Strategic Plan changed dramatically between 2009 and 2017, from the wholesale prevention of autism to prevention of its “most disabling aspects.” Through an analysis of IACC meeting transcripts during this timeframe, I trace the process by which this language was changed, with particular attention to the often-conflicting ways in which autistic self-advocates and non-autistic parent advocates framed autism itself. These conflicting conceptions of autism led to conflicting biological citizenship claims regarding the value of prevention, to which the IACC responded by attempting to appease both sides through language without substantially changing its aims. This process highlights the importance of framing in biological citizenship claims, as well as the persistence of the biopower State in asserting the need to regulate the existence of disability in the population.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/35870751.0
First Advisor
Brian Sargent
Second Advisor
Amy Schalet
Third Advisor
Cedric de Leon
Fourth Advisor
Ashley Woodman
Recommended Citation
Grogan, Helene D., "Prevention of What? Competing Biological Citizenship Claims and the Biopolitics of Autism Prevention" (2023). Masters Theses. 1378.
https://doi.org/10.7275/35870751.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1378