Rise of the Idiots
Would you call this little boy an idiot to his face?
How about this little boy? Would you call him an idiot for trying to learn?
Maybe this boy. Maybe you'd call him an idiot. I mean, he surely looks like he should have had this puzzle finished hours ago. What an idiot.
Even the notion of me calling these little boys probably made you uncomfortable (probably as uncomfortable as I felt putting the idea out there). There is one thing these boys have in common, and it is not the fact that they are idiots. These boys have autism, a developmental disorder that affects how a person behaves, interacts, and learns. Today, we see autism as a disorder. The disorder is seen as a medical condition with symptoms, treatment, and causes. However, autism is a complex condition that is still not understood. Throughout history, though, you may shudder at the way these people used to be treated. They were labeled as idiots and sent away to institutions to live out their days closed off from society.
“What is Autism?” Autism Speaks, Autism Speaks Inc., 2017,
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| Photo courtesy of ultimatescience.org |
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| Photo courtesy of CBS News |
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| Photo courtesy of National Institutes of Health |
For my paradigm shift, I am going to analyze our society's shifting perception on the awareness and acceptance of autism. I plan on explaining what autism is, how society has perceived autism, what our perceptions say about our culture, and why we should care about this condition. My main argument is this: Autism is a disease that we still do not understand as a society. However, as an increasing number of patients are diagnosed, awareness and acceptance of this condition stems from scientific research and societal leaps. Our perception of this condition has changed from sending the idiots to institutions to caring for these people and helping them build a foundation for a successful, happy life. This change demonstrates our increasing receptiveness to diversity, inclusion, and acceptance as a society.
After I introduce my topic, I plan on going into detail about six main topics.
1. What is autism? In the first few paragraphs, I would like to establish what autism is and what we know by today's standards. I would also like to introduce some history on autism including when and where we first established the term, "autism." Our definition of autism is continually changing, and I think it would be important to note how the definition has changed throughout history.
2. Frequency of diagnosis. Continuing off of what we consider to be "autism," I think it would be important to note the prevalence of the condition. In recent years, the number of cases of autism diagnosed has spiked significantly since the term "autism" was first introduced.
3. Shifts in perception. Here, I really want to get into the nitty gritty of things. I want to go into an analysis on the way autistic children and young adults have been perceived in different aspects of life. Specifically, I plan on touching on the perception of autism in public schools and the perception of medical treatment of autism.
4. Why. Why have people become increasingly more accepting of autism? What has changed? Our society has not only changed our perception because we know more about this condition scientifically, but we're are also more accepting of those who are different from us as a whole. We have become more empathetic because many of us have been touched by autism in our own lives.
5. What does this shift say about our identity and culture? Playing off of the why from the previous topic, I plan on going into more detail about how our attitude about autism is representative of our culture of acceptance as a whole. In what other areas of our lives have we become more aware and more accepting?
6. Why does our perception of autism matter? Where are we headed next? Why do autism patients need our help, acceptance, and inclusion? Our culture is still not fully accepting to the idea of autistic patients fully function alongside the rest of us, but we have made progress and will continue to make progress until every child has the opportunity to grow up in a safe and happy world.
Some important resources I found include:
Evans, Bonnie. “The Foundations of Autism:: The Law Concerning Psychotic, Schizophrenic, and Autistic Children in 1950s and 1960s Britain.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 88.2 (2014): 253–285. Print.
“History of Autism.” Project Autism, Projectautism.org, n.d., projectautism.org/history-of-autism, Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
Singer, Emily. “Rising Rates.” Spectrum News, Simons Foundation, 30 Mar. 2012, spectrumnews.org/opinion/rising-rates/, Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
“The History of Autism.” Masters in Special Education, Masters in Special Education Degree Program Guide, 2017,www.masters-in-special-education.com/history-of-autism/, Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
“What is Autism?” Autism Speaks, Autism Speaks Inc., 2017,
Let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions about organization, scope, content, and more.
I really love the way you started this blog post and while yes, it was uncomfortable, it was a great way to get the audience's attention. I love your topic and you seem to be going in a great direction for complete success. Your points are very fitting and you have a solid thesis that could still use some working through but this is good! I'll be looking forward to your talk!
ReplyDeleteMake sure to define a time frame. Autism has always been around, so shifts in perception could go back centuries. I assume that you intend to start when autism started to be recognized as a medical issue, and not just something to call people "idiots" over. Be sure to define the decade, year, or even specific event when this shift started.
ReplyDeleteThis is very thorough and the organization looks great. I think picking a time line would be helpful in narrowing your focus, but other than that what you have so far is great.
ReplyDeleteLove the hook. It would be useful for your speech and do not worry to reuse it because not everyone is reading it so the surprise element is still there. If you want to talk about how autism has changed over the years make sure you briefly enlighten us with the origin of it.
ReplyDeleteLucy, I think you're onto something here. One potential tip: the use of term "idiot" was an effective hook, and it made sense in the introduction. When you use the term through the rest of the post, though, it would be good to put it in quotes so that you're clarifying that that the term is not your own usage, but rather the prior nomenclature used.
ReplyDeleteWere you thinking of using those 6 points in that sequence, or were those simply 6 areas that you wanted to research? I sense that progressing through each one of those in that order might be either a) too boxy, or b) too repetitive, as a great deal of things from items 4, 5, and 6 will overlap.
I also fear that you're going to stray too far from actually establishing the scope/significance of the shift if you spend the first several paragraphs explaining what autism is. Could that information be integrated more smoothly throughout?
In sum, your topic is quite sound! But your current approach to the organization could be tweaked for greater clarity and briskness, I sense.
Thanks!