Autism and Representation

Autism and Representation, a scholarly book by Mark Osteen, addresses the portrayal of autism, a neuro-developmental disability that has often been sensationalised in the popular media. While a significant amount of clinical and medical research has been published on autism, traditional humanities disciplines and the emerging field of Disability Studies have yet to thoroughly explore it.

This volume represents the first scholarly examination of autism within the humanities. It brings together scholars from various disciplines alongside adults on the autism spectrum to investigate diverse representations of autism found in novels, poems, autobiographies, films, and clinical discourses. Additionally, it explores the connections and boundaries between autistic and "neurotypical" creativity.

Employing an empathetic scholarship that combines professional rigor with experiential knowledge from the contributors’ lives with or as autistic individuals, the essays address critical questions. They explore novel forms in which autistic creativity manifests and the unique strengths it possesses. Furthermore, they examine how representations by or about autistic people challenge conventional notions of cognition, creativity, language, (dis)ability, and sociability.

This timely and significant collection establishes new ground in literary and film criticism, aesthetics, psychology, and Disability Studies.