We do not know what causes autism, so our understanding of what is autism and what makes someone autistic is fundamentally uncertain - it is based on us assigning traits viewed through public discourse and norms to be autistic.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- Aristotle's definition of rhetoric
- Autism as Aristotle's rhetoric
- Dilip Gaonkar's definition of rhetoric
- Autism as Gaonkar's rhetoric
- What these rhetorical constructions have in common
- Effects of autism as rhetoric

Autism As Rhetoric

Heilker, P. (2012). Autism, rhetoric, and Whiteness. Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v32i4.1756 

Autism, Rhetoric, and Whiteness

Rhetoric is not ideas that are necessarily true, certain, or stable, but rather it is ideas that are contingent possible, and probable.

Aristotle's Definition of Rhetoric

Autism As Aristotle's Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the discursive medium of deliberating and choosing, especially in the public sphere.

Dilip Gaonkar's Definition of Rhetoric

We have multiple definitions of autism, as illustrated by differing depictions in books, television, public awareness ads, and on social media.

Autism and Gaonkar's Rhetoric

The do not challenge the societal portrayal of autism's linkage with whiteness.

What These Rhetorical Constructions Have in Common

It can been seen as suggesting autism is radically democratic, that how we and the medical field view autism has an ability to be shaped by our definitions
It also suggests autism is exclusive, the fact that our definitions have made autism into a disability that is viewed as affecting only white people.

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