Narratives of Asperger's Syndrome in the Twenty-First Century
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REWIRING DIFFERENCE AND DISABILITY: NARRATIVES OF ASPERGER'S SYNDROME IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Neil Shepard A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2010 Committee: Vivian Patraka Advisor Geoffrey Howes Graduate Faculty Representative Ellen Berry Victoria Ekstrand ii ABSTRACT Vivian Patraka, Advisor This dissertation explores representations of Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, it textually analyzes cultural representations with the goal of identifying specific narratives that have become dominant in the public sphere. Beginning in 2001, with Wired magazine’s article by Steve Silberman entitled “The Geek Syndrome” as the starting point, this dissertation demonstrates how certain values have been linked to Asperger’s syndrome: namely the association between this disorder and hyper-intelligent, socially awkward personas. Narratives about Asperger’s have taken to medicalizing not only genius (as figures such as Newton and Einstein receive speculative posthumous diagnoses) but also to medicalizing a particular brand of new economy, information-age genius. The types of individuals often suggested as representative Asperger’s subjects can be stereotyped as the casual term “geek syndrome” suggests: technologically savvy, successful “nerds.” On the surface, increased public awareness of Asperger’s syndrome combined with the representation has created positive momentum for acceptance of high functioning autism. In a cultural moment that suggests “geek chic,” Asperger’s syndrome has undergone a critical shift in value that seems unimaginable even 10 years ago. This shift has worked to undo some of the stigma attached to this specific form of autism. The proto-typical Aspergian persona represented dominantly in the media is often both intelligent and successful. At the same time, these personas are also so often masculine, middle/upper class and white. These representations are problematic in the way that they uphold traditional normativity in terms of gender, race and class, as well as reifying stigma toward other points on the autistic spectrum. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my chair, Vicki Patraka, for being such an ideal advisor. I thank the members of my dissertation committee, Ellen Berry, Tori Ekstrand and Geoff Howes for their numerous contributions and encouragement. I’d like to thank Don McQuarrie for his interest and enthusiasm for my project, as well as running a great program. I thank, as always, Pamela Steinle, for her friendship and insight. I am very privileged to have had the help and encouragement of so many excellent people during my graduate education and with this work especially. I’d like to thank in particular: Bill Albertini, Melissa Altman, Tim Balen, Hope Bernard, Mark Bernard, Molly Brost, Michelle Crook, Nathan Crook, Mike DuBose, William Emerson, Sandra Falero, Andrew Famigletti, Jeffrey Geers, Molly Frendo, Stefan Hall, Jeremy Hill, Brande Jackson, Chris Johnston, Cassandra Jones, Lori Lamb, Mike Lupro, Aisha McGriff, Gloria Pizana, Cristian Pralea, Marnie Pratt, Betsy Singh, Vijay Singh, Jamie Stuart, Isaac Vayo, John Warren, Kelly Watson, and Jason Zeh. I am so fortunate to have had great support from my colleagues at Davenport University. In particular, I would like to thank my department chair, Sharon Vriend-Robinette, as well as the members of my department: Colleen Coughlin, Gerald Nyambane and Terri Tomaszek. I would also like to thank Kriss Ferluga and Wayne Sneath. Gratitude and love always to my parents, Rex and Deborah Shepard, and my sisters, Lauren and Megan, for a lifetime of encouragement and for always being there for me. I’m also so grateful for support of the rest of my family, in particular my grandfather, George Gracenin, and my great-aunt, Bertha Coffee. I also thank James and Kathy Kubik and their entire family for all their support and encouragement throughout the years, which meant so much. iv Finally, my thanks and love to Erica Kubik. I can’t imagine what I would have done without you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 Introducing Autism .................................................................................................... 2 The Autism Epidemic? ............................................................................................. 5 Disability Studies ....................................................................................................... 12 Language ............................................................................................................ 21 Representation ........................................................................................................... 25 Chapter Breakdown .................................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER I. THREE FACES OF AUTISM NARRATIVES: KANNER, BETTELHEIM & ASPERGER …………………………………………………………………… 30 Leo Kanner (1894-1981) ............................................................................................ 36 Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990) .................................................................................. 42 Hans Asperger (1906-1980) ....................................................................................... 51 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 55 CHAPTER II. THE GEEK SYNDROME: RE-WIRING ASPERGER’S SYNDROME .... 58 Autism Narrative ........................................................................................................ 59 Geeks? ............................................................................................................ 73 Wired’s Geek Syndrome ............................................................................................ 80 CHAPTER III. ARMCHAIR DIAGNOSES: REPRESENTING THE GEEK SYNDROME ............................................................................................................ 95 “Autism Made Palatable” .......................................................................................... 96 Women and Asperger’s Syndrome ............................................................................ 104 vi Representing the Geek Syndrome on Television: Three Case Studies ...................... 108 CHAPTER IV. FROM GEEK SYNDROME TO GEEK DEFENSE: BACKLASH AND COUNTERNARRATIVES ................................................................................................... 132 Dangerous Diagnoses ................................................................................................. 134 A Question of Empathy ............................................................................................. 142 Skepticism ............................................................................................................ 146 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 153 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 161 1 INTRODUCTION This dissertation explores cultural representations of Asperger’s syndrome, a condition that is most often described as a high functioning form of autism. Specifically, I am textually analyzing cultural representations with the goal of identifying specific narratives that have become important about this diagnosis in the public sphere. Beginning in 2001, with Wired magazine’s article by Steve Silberman entitled “The Geek Syndrome” as my starting point, I wish to demonstrate how certain values have been linked to Asperger’s syndrome: namely the association between this disorder and hyper-intelligent, socially awkward personas. Narratives about Asperger’s have taken to medicalizing not only high intelligence or even genius (as figures such as Newton and Einstein receive speculative posthumous diagnoses) but also to medicalizing a particular brand of new economy, information-age genius. The types of individuals often suggested as representative Asperger’s subjects are stereotyped as technologically savvy, successful “nerds,” as the casual term “geek syndrome” suggests. On the surface, increased public awareness of Asperger’s syndrome combined with the representation has created positive momentum for acceptance of high functioning autism. In a cultural moment that suggests “geek chic,” Asperger’s syndrome has undergone a critical shift in value that seems unimaginable even 10 years ago. I believe this shift has worked to undo some of the stigma attached to this specific form of autism. The proto-typical Aspergian persona we see represented dominantly in the media is often both intelligent and successful. At the same, these personas are also often masculine, middle/upper class and white. These representations are problematic in the way that they create uphold traditional normalcy in terms of gender, race and class, reify stigma toward other points 2 on the autistic spectrum and create certain stereotypic expectations of what Asperger’s syndrome is for those with the diagnosis that may not always reflect their life situation. In this introduction, I will begin by providing an overview of the diagnoses of autism and Asperger’s syndrome and then discussing the contemporary