Is Autism a Disorder by Dr Luke Beardon – from his blogpost: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/autism/2018/07/17/is-autism-a-disorder/#
In 1978 Lorna Wing and Judy Gould undertook the Camberwell study; following their paper published a year later the so called ‘Triad of Impairments’ was introduced, and has since been the ‘backbone’ of diagnostic criteria for autism (now trimmed down to a dyad – but essentially not a lot has changed). Their work at the time was cutting edge and seminal, influencing the way in which professionals understood the world of autism. Here we are, decades later, and I for one still come across the term ‘impairments’ on almost a daily basis. However, thirty years is a long time, and while Wing and Gould will forever be positively associated with research in the field of autism (and rightly so) surely it is time to reconsider our use of terminology that could potentially damage the very population we are supposedly trying to support?
Poetry of Self Compassion – David Whyte