Asperger's Syndrome

Abstract

This paper reports on a content analysis of blogs written by people with Asperger's syndrome (AS), as well as people who are parents and caretakers of people with AS. The paper documents that the views of the two groups, based on 30 blogs from each perspective, are frequently oppositional to one another. Whereas the parents and caretakers usually accept the medical definition of the situation and seek assistance and a cure for their children, the Aspies argue against this pathologizing and medicalizing perspective. Those diagnosed with AS say they are happy with who they are and that any suffering they may have undergone has been the result of society and not inherent in their condition. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical, methodological, substantive, and practical implications of these findings.

Key Words:

• Asperger's syndrome
• disability
• parents
• children
• Internet