The Autism Project
The Autism Project looks at autism as a model system to investigate the reciprocal influences of social processes and biomedical research on the identity of neurobiological difference. One branch of the project is examining the social evolution of autism identity by conducting a historical and comparative analysis of funding for autism research in the US, UK and Canada, tracking the changes in diagnostic criteria over time, examining the effects of medicalization and commercialization, and identifying the role of educational and community advocacy groups.
The second branch is examining how these historical and social processes have shaped the scientific progress toward identifying autism as a disease and as a genetic condition. Current tasks include the development of a timeline marking the key milestones in the history of autism, a mapping of the funding sources and type of research dedicated to autism, a content analysis of press coverage of autism research, and interview studies of advocacy groups and genetic researchers, as well as young adults diagnosed with High Functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome.
The major research questions addressed by this group include:
- What ethical, legal and social issues are raised by genetic research on autism as perceived by genetic researchers, ELSI researchers, policy makers, the media, the autism community and the general public?
- How has genetic research on autism affected the perception of autism (including autism as an identity) in the autism research community, the general research community, among people diagnosed with autism and patient advocacy groups?
- What are the scientific and other reasons for seeking a genetic component to autism? What are the scientific, cultural and value assumptions contributing to the definitions of autism phenotypes and autism as a genetic condition?
- How do findings of genetic contributions to autism change perceptions of the treatments of the condition?
Project Directors:
Judy Illes, PhD
Senior Research Scholar, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
(bio/cv)
Joachim Hallmayer, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
(bio/cv)
CIRGE Post-Doctoral Fellow:
Holly Tabor, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
Research Assistant:
Jennifer Singh, MPH
Doctoral Candidate in Social and Behavioral Sciences (UCSF)
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