Homosexuality and Autism: The Fight To End Pathologization

Lewis chronicles the history of the conflict involving LGBTQ rights activists and psychologists on the psychiatric state of homosexuality in "We Are Certain of Our Own Insanity." In addition to ceasing the treatment of acts of homosexuality as illnesses via persistent opposition and academic debate, the gay rights movement also helped to restructure the discipline of psychology as a whole and develop more complex ideas about gender and sexual identities. 

Along with homosexuality's complex past with the American Psychology Association, the history of autism diagnostic criterion and just all around knowledge has been tracked by the evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the diagnostic bible of the APA). The odd history of autism in the DSM shows how drastically the classification has changed significantly over the past 50 years or so. In place of infantile psychosis and schizophrenia, the use of the word "autism" has risen exponentially within the DSM. Its diagnostic attributes and standards have likewise evolved and enhanced. This is important not merely because the DSM has influenced medical choices, but also since such choices have affected who is eligible for coverage under health insurance and who is able to receive beneficial educational support.

Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, NOS (not otherwise specified), Rett's Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder were the 4 subgroups under Autistic Disorder included in the 1994 DSM-IV, which contained 16 potential criteria for diagnosis. When the DSM-V was released during 2013, its diagnostic language underwent yet another shift. ASD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, now encompasses all four subgroups. This change generated a great deal of debate. In the psychiatric, scientific, and advocacy groups, where there was dispute on the necessity of more accuracy in setting diagnosis limits, the elimination of Asperger's caused especially ferocious disagreement. There have been significant concerns voiced regarding the possibility that several families and kids would be denied the necessary treatment if prior diagnoses were eliminated. An agreement was reached with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It gave the impression of an increasingly constrained condition while maintaining a wide range of internal variance. The formal interpretation of ASD permitted autism to be with or without intellectual disability or language impairment and with intensity scales ranging from needing help to requiring considerable assistance. (More information: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/autismhistoryproject/topics/autism-in-the-dsm/)

I'll end this post by including this tweet from an #ActuallyAutistic individual that really speaks to the connection between the reading and my chosen advocacy movement: