Suspended in a Web of Autism Spectrum Disorders Juliette de Wolfe Anthropology and Education Fall, 2009

Autism Spectrum Disorders Characteristics Impairment in Social Interaction Impairment in Language/Communication Repetitive Behaviors, Restricted Interests The ASD Umbrella Autistic Disorder Asperger’s Syndrome Childhood Disintegrative Disorder Rett’s Syndrome Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified

Setting, Participants, Methods Northern Virginia 2 Public Schools 1 Autism Summer Camp Various Private and District-Employed Specialists’ Offices Teachers, Administrators, Specialists Parents Children Participant Observation Interviews Photos/Video

Some Important Themes The history of the term ASD How children become labeled with ASD How objects, ideas, organizations are employed to address ASD How adults feel about their experiences with children with ASD labels Invisibility of children with ASD Agency of children with ASD How individuals are “caught” in the web of ASD

Jacob’s Sequence WAIT

Jacob’s Web Play-doh Table Billy’s Desk Tony’s Desk Tim’s Desk DoorDoor Jacob’s Desk Carpet Sink, Cabinet, Coat Closet Listening Center Large Group Area J Teacher Assistant #1 Assistant #2 B T Principal and Administrator TA1 J Computer Assistant #2 T

Home Educational Policy Legal System Community District NationalNational Medical Community Social Pressures/Norms Values Judgments Feelings Experiences Ideas School

Concluding Remarks Clifford Geertz states, "Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs”. This web of ASD and all of its properties must be considered temporally, spatially, historically, and physically in order to contextualize the moment in which the web is significant for the actors involved.

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