Multiple autisms : spectrums of advocacy and genomic science / Jennifer S. Singh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Singh, Jennifer S., 1969- author.

Contributor:

JSTOR (Organization)

Samuel Bellet Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Autism.

Genetics--Research.

Genetics.

Autism--Research.

Autistic Disorder--genetics.

Genetic Research.

Sociology, Medical.

Medical Subjects:

Autistic Disorder--genetics.

Genetic Research.

Sociology, Medical.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 284 pages.)

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2016]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Is there a gene for autism? Despite a billion-dollar, twenty-year effort to find out, no single autism gene has been identified. In Multiple Autisms, Jennifer S. Singh sets out to discover how autism emerged as a genetic disorder and how this affects those who study and live with autism. This is the first sustained analysis of the scientific practices, politics, and meaning of autism genetics from a scientific, cultural, and social perspective. In 2004, when Singh began her research, the prevalence of autism was reported as 1 in 150 children. Ten years later, the number had jumped to 1 in 100, with the disorder five times more common in boys than in girls. Meanwhile the diagnosis changed to "autistic spectrum disorders," and investigations began to focus more on genomics than genetics, less on single genes than on hundreds of interacting genes. Multiple Autisms maps the social history of parental activism in autism genetics, the scientific optimism about finding a gene for autism and the subsequent failure to do so, and the cost in personal and social terms of viewing and translating autism through a genomic lens. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Defining, Counting, Contesting: Changes in Diagnosis, Prevalence, and Advocacy 21

2 Parent Advocacy and the Rise of Autism Genetics Research 37

3 No Single Gene for Autism: The Emergence of Genomic Styles of Thought 83

4 Simplex Families, Complex Exchanges: Why Parents Participate in an Autism Genomic Database 123

5 Living with Autism: Perspectives of Adults on the Spectrum 153.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Samuel Bellet Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781452949819

1452949816

Publisher Number:

99966301256

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.