Syndrome or difference: a critical review of medical conceptualisations of Asperger’s syndrome

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Wheeler, M. (2011). Syndrome or difference: a critical review of medical conceptualisations of Asperger’s syndrome. Disability & Society, 26(7), 839-851. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2011.618739

Publication date: 17 Nov 2011 Added to AutiHub: 26 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Marc Wheeler *

Abstract

We live in a world of vast social differences. People of different ages, cultures, religions, gender and sexual orientation have, and indeed are expected to have, distinct differences in their behaviour, and in the way that they see the world. Asperger’s syndrome (AS) is no different. People with AS have different personality types and have different perceptions of the world. Yet medical conceptualisations of AS have led to it being viewed as a deficit, a ‘pervasive developmental disorder’ that should be diagnosed and treated to allow the person to function in ‘normal’ society. Research has focused on finding neurological and genetic ‘abnormalities’ to explain what is in fact a complex pattern of behaviour, no different from the behavioural differences between any social group. This paper attempts to provide a critical review of the literature behind medical conceptualisations of AS, and will seek to find a new conceptualisation, drawing on recent criticisms of its medicalisation, to shift the barriers to view AS, not as a medical condition but as a social difference that should be accepted, not reduced.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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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: 27 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
64
With a DOI
31
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
26
1 / 64 (1.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
8 / 64 (12.5%)
References with detected author names
57 / 64 (89.1%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
21
References with raw author names still to review
3
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
119
From DOI or external metadata
119
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
25 / 119 (21.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 94 / 119 (79.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 119 (0.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 25 (4.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 107 (0.9%).
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