A Sociology of Testing, Diagnosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder

本项目的目的是研究被认为患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童的测试和诊断。自20世纪90年代初以来，自闭症谱系障碍的诊断激增。社会学和流行病学研究可以解释患病率增加的大部分原因。然而，很少有人关注临床医生和儿童参与检查过程的具体方式。还需要关注与孩子一起完成考试后会发生什么；临床医生如何就他们的发现相互咨询，确定诊断，并将诊断结果呈现给父母和其他看护人。这种考虑应扩展到家庭、法律、经济和其他因素如何影响诊断。我们的研究分为三个部分，与上述三组关注点相对应。第一个目标是做一个测试的社会学，了解有组织的社会互动和协作技能，通过临床医生和儿童参与测试任务。第二个目标侧重于与临床医生在测试中发现的内容相关的叙述，对这些发现的讨论和解决他们之间任何差异的尝试，以及向家庭成员和其他看护人（如教育工作者）展示他们的诊断结论。第三个目的是探索临床医生和护理人员如何在他们的测试和诊断决定中适应自闭症诊断的社会背景，包括家庭、法律、教育、行政和经济因素。潜在的更广泛的影响这项对测试和诊断过程中相互作用的研究可能意味着更好地理解能力/残疾，并使ASD个体更好地融入社会。它还为发现意想不到的途径和未来研究ASD的原因、后果和治疗提供了机会。最后，该项目还包括培养研究生社会学家成为关注自闭症的科技学者。

IntroductionThe purpose of this project is to study the testing and diagnosis of children who are being considered for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Since the early 1990s, there has been a huge upsurge in ASD diagnosis. Sociological and epidemiological studies can account for much of the increased prevalence. However, little attention has been paid to the concrete ways in which clinicians and the child are engaged in the examination process. Attention also needs to be given to what happens after completing the exams with a child; how clinicians consult with one another about their findings, determine a diagnosis, and present that diagnosis to parents and other caretakers. Such considerations should be extended to how family, legal, economic and other factors affect diagnosis.Intellectual MeritThere are three parts to our study corresponding to the three sets of concerns indicated above. The first aim is to do a sociology of testing, understanding the organized social interactions and collaborative skills by which clinicians and children engage in examination tasks. The second aim focuses on the narrations associated with what clinicians have found in testing, the discussion of those findings and attempts resolve any discrepancies among themselves, and the presentation of their diagnostic conclusions to family members and other caretakers such as educators. The third aim is to explore how, in their testing and diagnostic determinations, clinicians and caretakers may orient to social contexts surrounding autism diagnosis including family, legal, educational, administrative, and economic factors. Potential Broader ImpactsThis study of interactions in the testing and diagnostic process potentially means better understanding of ability/disability and greater inclusion of ASD individuals in society. It additionally provides for the discovery of unanticipated avenues and future research into the causes, consequences and treatment of ASD. Finally, the project also involves the training of graduate student sociologists as Science and Technology Scholars concerned with ASD.