Autism and the Family

This course reviews the history of autism as it relates to families. Families of autistic children and adults have been historically 'blamed' for the diagnosis and experience pressure to 'fix or cure' their children at great financial and personal cost. We examine this painful history for autistic individuals and compare it to the modern social justice movement of neurodiversity, in which autism is embraced as a normal variation of the human condition. Offered fall and spring semesters.