Redefining Critical Autism Studies: a more inclusive interpretation
ABSTRACT
This article explores the definition of Critical Autism Studies
and its inclusion in autistic scholarship. There has been critique
of recent non-autistic literature for lacking autistic authorship,
leading to doubts about its epistemological integrity due to
misrepresentations of autistic culture and the neurodiversity
movement. This article utilises the work of Arnold, Milton
and O’Dell et al. to introduce an emancipatory definition to
ensure the discipline is autistic led. In the process, we discuss
the nature of autism studies and what constitutes critical
literature. We propose Waltz’s interpretation of Critical Autism
Studies as a working definition.