---

This book contextualizes autism as a socio cultural phenomenon, and examines the often troubling effects of representations and social trends. Exploring the individuals and events in the history of this condition, Waltz blends research and personal perspectives to examine social narratives of normalcy, disability and difference.

---

Preface: Autism, and How We Got Here 1. A Nameless Difference 2. Autism Before and After the Enlightenment 3. Workhouses, Asylums, and the Rise of Behavioural Sciences 4. The Social Construction of Autism 5. From ´Pathological Motherhood´ to Refrigerator Mothers 6. Bedlam, Behaviourism and Beyond 7. Parent Blaming, Parent Power, and the Start of Real Research 8. Self-advocacy and the Rise of the Medical Model Footnotes References Index

---

"[A]s well as taking up the theme of the social construction of autism, everything that surrounds autism being as important as the condition itself in terms of reaction to it, [Autism: A Social Medical History] acknowledges perhaps for the first time the role of autistic people in this and how we are seeking to change the boundaries of what essentially is our country." - Autonomy, the Critical Journal of Interdisciplinary Autism Studies

´Waltz´s engaging writing style and detailed biographical sketches make the story of autism real and readable for both academic and non-academic audiences.´ - Social History of Medicine

---

Dr Mitzi Waltz works at the Autism Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She previously taught Autism Studies at the University of Birmingham (2007-2012), and was Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Sunderland (2002-2007). She has contributed to many key pieces of autism research and resources.

---