Anti-ableism and scientific accuracy in autism research: a false dichotomy

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. three authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Bottema-Beutel, K., Kapp, S. K., Sasson, N., Gernsbacher, M. A., Natri, H., & Botha, M. (2023). Anti-ableism and scientific accuracy in autism research: a false dichotomy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1244451-1244451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1244451

Publication date: 8 Sep 2023 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 6 (50.0%)

Abstract

It was recently argued that autism researchers committed to rejecting ableist frameworks in their research may sacrifice "scientifically accurate" conceptualizations of autism. In this perspective piece, we argue that: (a) anti-ableism vs. scientific accuracy is a false dichotomy, (b) there is no ideology-free science that has claim to scientific accuracy, and (c) autism science has a history of false leads in part because of unexamined ableist ideologies that undergird researcher framings and interpretations of evidence. To illustrate our claims, we discuss several avenues of autism research that were promoted as scientific advances, but were eventually debunked or shown to have much less explanatory value than initially proposed. These research programs have involved claims about autism etiology, the nature of autism and autistic characteristics, and autism intervention. Common to these false leads have been ableist assumptions about autism that inform researcher perspectives. Negative impacts of this work have been mitigated in some areas of autism research, but these perspectives continue to exert influence on the lives of autistic people, including the availability of services, discourses about autism, and sociocultural conceptualizations of autistic people. Examining these false leads may help current researchers better understand how ableism may negatively influence their areas of inquiry. We close with a positive argument that promoting anti-ableism can be done in tandem with increasing scientific accuracy.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 02:38.

Cited references
111
With a DOI
86
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
21
32 / 111 (28.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 111 (3.6%)
References with detected author names
111 / 111 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
15
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
572
From DOI or external metadata
572
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
333 / 572 (58.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 239 / 572 (41.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
134 / 572 (23.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 134 / 333 (40.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 107 / 487 (22.0%).
  1. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2007). The Value of Undergraduate Training in Psychological Science. PubMed, 20(5), 1-1.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W183680026
    OpenAlex
  2. Micheal Sandbank , Kristen Bottema-Beutel , Shannon Crowley LaPoint , Margaret Cassidy , Kacie Dunham-Carr , Jacob I Feldman et al. (2020). Project AIM: Autism intervention meta-analysis for studies of young children. Psychol Bull, 146(1), 1. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2007). On Not Being Human. APS Obs, 20(2), 5.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W279745879
    Crossref OpenAlex
  4. Stephen James , Shawn W Stevenson , Natalie Silove , Katrina Williams (2015). Chelation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016(10), CD010766. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  5. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2007). The True Meaning of Research Participation. Association of Psychological Science (APS) Observer, 20(4), 12.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W340594104
    Crossref OpenAlex
  6. K. L. Reichelt , J. Ekrem , Helen Scott (1990). Gluten, milk proteins and autism: dietary intervention effects on behavior and peptide secretion. J Appl Nutr, 42(1), 1.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1503305340
    Crossref OpenAlex
  7. Lewis (2022). ref4
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  8. Ciara J Molloy , Louise Gallagher (2022). Can stratification biomarkers address the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder? Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 39(3), 305-311. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  9. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2006). Is One Style of Early Behavioral Treatment for Autism 'Scientifically Proven?' . PubMed, 7, 19-26.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1555679652
    OpenAlex
  10. Goffman (1963). Stigma; Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity . Stigma; Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  11. Joseph F Kras (2009). The “Ransom Notes” Affair: When the Neurodiversity Movement Came of Age . Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(1), 1065. The Ohio State University Libraries.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  12. Florencia E Saposnik , Joelene F Huber (2020). Trends in Web Searches About the Causes and Treatments of Autism Over the Past 15 Years: Exploratory Infodemiology Study . JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 3(2), e20913. JMIR Publications Inc..
    Type: Article DOI: 10.2196/20913 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3111370847
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  13. Chad Nye , Alejandro Brice (2005). Combined vitamin B6-magnesium treatment in autism spectrum disorder . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2009(1), CD003497. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. Alice Turnock , Kate Langley , Catherine RG Jones (2022). Understanding stigma in autism: a narrative review and theoretical model . Autism Adulthood, 4(1), 76. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  15. Bernard Rimland (1974). Infantile Autism: Status of Research . Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 19(2), 130-133. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Mara Parellada , Álvaro Andreu-Bernabeu , Mónica Burdeus , Antonia San José Cáceres , Elena Urbiola , Linda L. Carpenter et al. (2023). In Search of Biomarkers to Guide Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review . American Journal of Psychiatry, 180(1), 23-40. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  17. Morton Ann Gernsbacher , Michelle Dawson *Autistic author. Learn more… , Laurent Mottron (2006). Autism: Common, heritable, but not harmful . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29(4), 413-414. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    AutiHub · Autistic Autism Scholarship Project Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  18. Marco Iacoboni , John C. Mazziotta (2007). Mirror neuron system: basic findings and clinical applications . Annals of Neurology, 62(3), 213-218. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  19. Steven K. Kapp *Autistic author. Learn more… (2019). How social deficit models exacerbate the medical model: Autism as case in point . Autism Policy Practice, 2(1), 3.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2989969085
    Crossref OpenAlex
  20. Bernard Rimland (1988). Controversies in the Treatment of Autistic Children: Vitamin and Drug Therapy . Journal of Child Neurology, 3(1_suppl), S68-S72. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. Liron Rozenkrantz , Anila M. D’Mello , John D.E. Gabrieli (2021). Enhanced rationality in autism spectrum disorder . Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(8), 690. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  22. Alison Singer , Amy Lutz , Jill Escher , Alycia Halladay (2023). A full semantic toolbox is essential for autism research and practice to thrive . Autism Research, 16(3), 497-501. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.2876 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4311202441
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  23. Bernard Rimland , Gerald E. Larson (1983). Hair Mineral Analysis and Behavior . Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16(5), 279-285. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  24. Cowen (2009). Autism as academic paradigm . The Chronicles of Higher Education.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  25. Kim M. Jonkman , Elisa Back , Wouter Staal , Lotte Benard , Daniël M. van der Doelen , Sander Begeer (2022). Alternative treatments for autism: Prevalence and predictors . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 98, 102046. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  26. Yashwant Sinha , Natalie Silove , Katrina Williams (2006). Chelation therapy and autism . BMJ, 333(7571), 756.1. BMJ.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. Lauren Harris , Daniel Gilmore , Anne Longo , Brittany N. Hand (2021). Short report: Patterns of US federal autism research funding during 2017–2019 . Autism, 25(7), 2135-2139. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  28. Sinclair (2012). Don't mourn for us . Autonomy Crit J Interdisc Autism Stud, 1.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  29. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran , Lindsay M. Oberman (2006). Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism . Scientific American, 295(5), 62-69. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  30. Matthew J. Maenner , Zachary Warren , Ashley Robinson Williams , Esther Amoakohene , Amanda V. Bakian , Deborah A. Bilder et al. (2023). Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2020 . MMWR. Surveillance Summaries, 72(2), 1-14. Centers for Disease Control MMWR Office.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  31. Leo Kanner (1949). Problems of nosology and psychodynamics of early infantile autism. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 19(3), 416-426. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  32. Kristen Bottema-Beutel , Shannon Crowley LaPoint , So Yoon Kim , Sarah Mohiuddin , Qun Yu , Rachael McKinnon (2023). An evaluation of intervention research for transition-age autistic youth . Autism, 27(4), 890-904. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  33. Vanessa A. Green , Keenan A. Pituch , Jonathan Itchon , Aram Choi , Mark O’Reilly , Jeff Sigafoos (2006). Internet survey of treatments used by parents of children with autism . Research in Developmental Disabilities, 27(1), 70-84. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  34. Noah Sasson , Daniel J. Faso , Jack Nugent , Sarah Lovell , Daniel P. Kennedy , Ruth B. Grossman (2017). Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments . Scientific Reports, 7(1), 40700. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  35. Luke E. Taylor , Amy L. Swerdfeger , Guy D. Eslick (2014). Vaccines are not associated with autism: An evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies . Vaccine, 32(29), 3623-3629. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  36. Diana Tan (2023). Early-Career Autism Researchers Are Shifting Their Research Directions: Tragedy or Opportunity? Autism in Adulthood, 5(3), 218-224. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  37. LAURA STERPONI , JENNIFER SHANKEY (2014). Rethinking echolalia: repetition as interactional resource in the communication of a child with autism . Journal of Child Language, 41(2), 275-304. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  38. Jessica Bradshaw , Lynn Kern Koegel , Robert L. Koegel (2017). Improving Functional Language and Social Motivation with a Parent-Mediated Intervention for Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2443-2458. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  39. Stella Chess (1967). The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self . JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 199(12), 949. American Medical Association (AMA).
    OpenAlex
  40. Steven K. Kapp *Autistic author. Learn more… (2022). 21 Models of helping and coping with autism . In The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies (pp. 255-269). Routledge.
    AutiHub · Autistic Autism Scholarship Project Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  41. Jan Blommaert (2005). Discourse . Cambridge University Press.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  42. Giacomo Rizzolatti , Maddalena Fabbri-Destro (2010). Mirror neurons: from discovery to autism . Experimental Brain Research, 200(3-4), 223-237. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  43. John Loca , Tony Wootton (1995). Interactional and phonetic aspects of immediate echolalia in autism: A case study . Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 9(2), 155-184. Informa UK Limited.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  44. Caitlin C. Clements , Alisa R. Zoltowski , Lisa D. Yankowitz , Benjamin E. Yerys , Robert T. Schultz , John D. Herrington (2018). Evaluation of the Social Motivation Hypothesis of Autism . JAMA Psychiatry, 75(8), 797. American Medical Association (AMA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  45. Vittorio Gallese , Morton Ann Gernsbacher , Cecilia Heyes , Gregory Hickok , Marco Iacoboni (2011). Mirror Neuron Forum . Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 369-407. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  46. Bettelheim (1967). The empty fortress: Infantile autism and the birth of the self . The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  47. Léo Kanner (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact . The Nervous Child, 2(3), 217.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2255119171
    Crossref OpenAlex
  48. Morton Ann Gernsbacher , Cheryl Dissanayake , H. Hill Goldsmith , Peter C. Mundy , Sally J. Rogers , Marian Sigman (2005). Autism and Deficits in Attachment Behavior . Science, 307(5713), 1201-1203. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  49. Mark Blaxill , Toby Rogers , Cynthia Nevison (2022). RETRACTED ARTICLE: Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(6), 2627-2643. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  50. Bernard Rimland (2000). The Autism Epidemic, Vaccinations, and Mercury . Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, 10(4), 261-266. Informa UK Limited.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  51. Judith A. Crowell , Jennifer Keluskar , Amanda Gorecki (2019). Parenting behavior and the development of children with autism spectrum disorder . Comprehensive Psychiatry, 90, 21-29. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  52. Renee Dufault , Walter J Lukiw , Raquel Crider , Roseanne Schnoll , David Wallinga , Richard Deth (2012). A macroepigenetic approach to identify factors responsible for the autism epidemic in the United States . Clinical Epigenetics, 4(1), 1. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  53. Douglas (2014). Refrigerator mothers . J Mother Initiat Res Commun Involv, 5, 94.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  54. Anthony J. Wootton (1999). An investigation of delayed echoing in a child with autism . First Language, 19(57), 359-381. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex
  55. Catherine Lord , Tony Charman , Alexandra Havdahl , Paul Carbone , Evdokia Anagnostou , Brian Boyd et al. (2022). The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism . The Lancet, 399(10321), 271-334. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  56. DAVID S. MANDELL , Luc Lecavalier (2014). Should we believe the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates? Autism, 18(5), 482-484. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  57. Lewis (1998). Special Diets for Special Kids: Understanding and Implementing a Gluten and Casein Free Diet to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders. Special Diets for Special Kids: Understanding and Implementing a Gluten and Casein Free Diet to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders..
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  58. Austin Mulloy , Russell Lang , Mark O’Reilly , Jeff Sigafoos , Giulio Lancioni , Mandy Rispoli (2010). Gluten-free and casein-free diets in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(3), 328-339. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  59. Leslie Neely , Stephanie Gerow , Mandy Rispoli , Russell Lang , Nathan Pullen (2016). Treatment of Echolalia in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review . Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 3(1), 82-91. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  60. Michelle M. Hughes , Kelly A. Shaw , Monica DiRienzo , Maureen S. Durkin , Amy Esler , Jennifer Hall-Lande et al. (2023). The prevalence and characteristics of children with profound autism, 15 sites, United States, 2000-2016 . Public Health Rep, 138(6), 971. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  61. L Kanner (1968). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Acta Paedopsychiatr, 35(4), 100.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2192638454
    OpenAlex
  62. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2006). Toward a Behavior of Reciprocity. J. Dev. Process., 1(1), 139.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2262614717
    Crossref OpenAlex
  63. Clare Tarplee, Emma Barrow (1999). Delayed echoing as an interactional resource: a case study of a 3-year-old child on the autistic spectrum . Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 13(6), 449-482. Informa UK Limited.
    Crossref OpenAlex
  64. Ipsita Dey , Sreerupa Chakrabarty , Rajanya Nandi , Rakshita Shekhar , Sakhi Singhi , Shoba Nayar et al. (2024). Autism community priorities in diverse low-resource settings: A country-wide scoping exercise in India . Autism, 28(1), 187-198. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  65. Sue Fletcher-Watson , Fabio Apicella , Bonnie Auyeung , Stepanka Beranova , Frederique Bonnet-Brilhault , Ricardo Canal-Bedia et al. (2017). Attitudes of the autism community to early autism research . Autism, 21(1), 61-74. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  66. Melvin L. DeFleur , Erving Goffman (1964). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Social Forces, 43(1), 127. Oxford University Press (OUP).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.2307/2575995 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2329342908
    OpenAlex
  67. Thomas W Frazier , Géraldine Dawson , Donna S. Murray , Andy J. Shih , Jessica Snyder Sachs , Angela Geiger (2018). Brief Report: A Survey of Autism Research Priorities Across a Diverse Community of Stakeholders . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(11), 3965-3971. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    AutiHub · Documentation center Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  68. Emily Harris (2023). Autism Prevalence Has Been on the Rise in the US for Decades—And That’s Progress . JAMA, 329(20), 1724. American Medical Association (AMA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  69. Kerrianne E. Morrison , Kilee M. DeBrabander , Desiree R Jones , Robert A. Ackerman , Noah Sasson (2020). Social Cognition, Social Skill, and Social Motivation Minimally Predict Social Interaction Outcomes for Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults . Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 591100-591100. Frontiers Media SA.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  70. Vikram K. Jaswal , Nameera Akhtar (2019). Being versus appearing socially uninterested: Challenging assumptions about social motivation in autism . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 42, e82. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  71. Judith S. Miller (2015). ref52
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  72. Luterman (2021). ref56
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  73. O. Ivar Lovaas (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(1), 3-9. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  74. Matthijs Moerkerke , Nicky Daniels , Stephanie Van der Donck , Laura Tibermont , Tiffany Tang , Edward Debbaut et al. (2023). Can repeated intranasal oxytocin administration affect reduced neural sensitivity towards expressive faces in autism? A randomized controlled trial . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(11), 1583-1595. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  75. Daniel E. Conine , Sarah C. Campau , Abigail K. Petronelli (2022). LGBTQ + conversion therapy and applied behavior analysis: A call to action . Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(1), 6-18. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/jaba.876 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3195240109
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  76. Dawson (2004). ref75
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  77. Gernsbacher (2003). Is one style of early behavioral treatment for autism 'Scientifically proven?' . J Dev Process, 7, 19.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  78. Chance (1974). A conversation with Ivar Lovaas . Psychol Today, 7, 76.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  79. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (2015). Diverse Brains. PubMed, 49(2), 29-37.
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4292808264
    OpenAlex
  80. Grant (1965). Screams, slaps, and love . Life, 87.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  81. Shattock (2006). Bernard Rimland: Parent and practitioner revolutionising the treatment of autism . The Guardian.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  82. Gernsbacher (2015). Diverse brains . Gen Psychol, 49, 29.
    Type: Other
    Crossref