A predominant metaphor in the autism community is that the neurotypical world is a "wrong planet" in which people with autism do not belong, and I assert that the university is one such wrong planet. I examine the rhetorical history of autism and argue that the construction and reconstruction of autism have led to learning spaces in higher education that Other students on the autism spectrum. I draw upon Krista Ratcliffe's rhetorical listening as a way to address the inequities that persist in college writing classrooms. However, to avoid a bias toward neurotypicality, I recast rhetorical listening as rhetorical sensing, a term that encompasses the multiple ways of experiencing the world rather than privileging one modality.I apply rhetorical sensing to four aspects of higher education. First, I look at the ways in which students with autism are programmed to rhetorically sense neurotypicals through therapy models such as Social Thinking. I argue that such training is not true rhetorical sensing because the burden of sensing is placed solely on students with ASDs, further marginalizing them. Next, I turn my attention to the college composition classroom and present ways for instructors to rhetorically sense their students with autism. I provide strategies based on universal design that can help all students, regardless of neurodifference, thrive. I then turn my attention to composition instructors who parent children with autism. Drawing upon a rich body of research on working conditions for women in rhetoric and composition, I describe the ways in which adjunctification has left caregivers over-worked, under-paid, and under-insured as they try to provide for their children. Drawing upon Aimee Carrillo Rowe's power lines and Andrea O'Reilly's gynocentric mothering, I propose ways to improve conditions for teachers who parent children with autism. Finally, I focus on ways in which writing program administrators can make programmatic changes in order to foster inclusive learning practices. I propose low-cost training and partnership models that can create an inclusive planet that supports neurodiverse students, faculty, and writing programs.

In the four papers presented in this dissertation I analyze and discuss various value statements and moral stances, which I regard as unjustifiably harmful for persons with Autism and obstacles for the creation of an Autism-friendly society. In the papers I try to show that the positions underpinning the Autism-phobic moral stances are not warranted and cannot be defended in a good way. In doing so, I hope to transform the harmful moral intuitions underlying these positions into autism-friendly ones. The first paper investigates the Neurodiversity claim that ‘Autism is a natural variation’. The claim is interpreted and investigated and an argument is given that, contrary to Low-Functioning Autism, High-Functioning Autism can indeed be seen as a natural variation, without necessarily being seen as a disability. The second paper focuses on the problem for persons with Autism to adapt to prosocial lying, which is saying something not true but socially acceptable in a situation. By comparing a Kantian approach and a care ethics approach, the paper ends up recommending teaching persons with Autism to lie in a rule based and empathic way. The third paper deals with the morality of embryo selection in IVF. Based on a widely shared intuition of natural capabilities, arguments are given that it is morally legitimate to choose an Autistic embryo instead of a ‘normal’ one, contrary to arguments given by proponents of ‘every child should have the best chance of the best life’. The fourth paper deals with moral education. An argument is given that due to problems with cognitive empathy children with Autism should be taught pro-social behavior in a rule based way. / I de fyra artiklarna, som presenteras i denna avhandling, analyserar och diskuterar jag olika värdeuttalanden och moraliska ställningstaganden, vilka jag anser inte kan berättigas och är skadliga för personer med autism och utgör hinder för skapandet av ett autismvänligt samhälle. I artiklarna försöker jag visa att de ståndpunkter som ligger till grund för autism - fobiska moraliska ställningstaganden inte kan berättigas eller försvaras på ett rimligt sätt. På så sätt hoppas jag att omvandla de skadliga moraliska intuitioner som ligger bakom dessa positioner till autismvänliga sådana. Den första artikeln undersöker påståendet från förespråkare av neurodiversitet att ”autism är en naturlig variation”. Påståendet tolkas och utreds och ett argument ges att, i motsats till låg fungerande autism, kan högfungerande autism faktiskt ses som en naturlig variation, utan att nödvändigtvis ses som ett handikapp. Den andra artikeln fokuserar på problem för personer med autism för att anpassa sig till att ljuga prosocialt, nämligen att säga något som är osant men socialt lämpligt i en viss situation. Genom att jämföra en Kantiansk strategi med en omsorgsetisk strategi rekommenderar artikeln att undervisning i att ljuga på ett regelbaserat och empatiskt sätt bör ges till personer med autism. Den tredje artikeln behandlar moralen kring väljande av embryo i IVF. Baserat på en allmänt delad intuition om förekomsten och betydelsen av naturliga förmågor ges ett argument för att det är moraliskt legitimt att välja ett autistiskt embryo i stället för ett ”normalt”, i motsats till argument som ges av förespråkarna för ”varje barn ska få bästa chansen till det bästa livet”. Den fjärde artikeln handlar om hur barn ska bibringas moral genom utbildning. Ett argument ges att på grund av problem med kognitiv empati så bör barn med autism undervisas i pro - socialt beteende på ett regelbaserat sätt. / <p>The series name<strong> Dissertations on Health and Society</strong> is incomplete. The correct and complete name is <strong>Linköping Dissertations on Health and Society</strong>.</p>

Bakgrund: Autism är en neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning med symtom som förekommer i olika svårighetsgrad. För att få diagnosen autism krävs problem från två huvudområden; varaktiga brister i förmågan till social kommunikation och social interaktion i ett flertal olika sammanhang och begränsade, repetitiva mönster i beteende, intressen eller aktiviteter. Begreppet neurodiversitet innebär ett alternativt synsätt på autism där diagnosen betraktas som en del av den mänskliga mångfalden snarare än en funktionsnedsättning. Tidigare studier har visat att sjuksköterskor har ett behov av ökad kunskap om autism för att kunna ge ett bättre bemötande till dessa patienter. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att belysa hur personer med autism upplever att få och att leva med sin diagnos. Metod: En litteraturöversikt enligt Friberg (2012) har genomförts. Tio vetenskapliga artiklar användes till resultatet, varav åtta kvalitativa artiklar och två artiklar med mixad metod. Artiklarna hämtades från databaserna Academic Search Complete, Cinahl Complete, Medline och PsycInfo. Resultat: Två huvudteman med tillhörande underteman identifierades. Under temat Att få diagnosen autism redogjordes för deltagarnas känslomässiga reaktioner på att få en diagnos, de svårigheter att få en diagnos som många deltagare upplevde samt den process det innebar att acceptera sin diagnos. Under temat Att leva med autism framkom att många deltagare upplevde både positiva och negativa aspekter av att ha autism. Sociala svårigheter och psykisk ohälsa var vanligt förekommande men ett flertal deltagare hade lärt sig strategier för att klara av sociala situationer bättre. De uttryckte ett behov av stöd från omgivningen och flera deltagare hade stora kunskaper om sin egen diagnos som de önskade att sjukvården och samhället tog hänsyn till. Diskussion: Litteraturöversiktens resultat diskuterades utifrån tidigare forskning och Phil Barkers tidvattenmodell. Författaren diskuterade vad det innebar för deltagarna att få diagnosen autism och att leva med autism, hur autism kan yttra sig hos kvinnor samt deltagarnas upplevelser i mötet med sjukvården. / Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symtoms that occur in different severity. To diagnose autism, problems are required from two main areas; persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across contexts and restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. The concept of neurodiversity represents an alternative approach to autism, where the diagnosis is considered as part of human diversity rather than a disability. Previous studies have shown that nurses need a better understanding of autism in order to provide better care for these patients.  Aim: The aim of this literature review was to illuminate the experience of recieving and living with a diagnosis of autism. Method: A literature review according to Friberg (2012) has been conducted. Ten scientific articles were used for the reults, of which eight qualitative articles and two articles of mixed methods. The articles were collected from the databases Academic Search Complete, Cinahl Complete, Medline and PsycInfo. Results: Two main themes with associated subthemes were identified. The participants' emotional responses to diagnosis, the difficulty of receiving a diagnosis that many participants experience and the process of accepting the diagnosis were accounted for under the theme Receiving a diagnosis of autism. Many participants experienced both positive and negative aspects of having autism, which emerged under the theme Living with autism. Social difficulties and mental illness were common but a number of participants had learned strategies to better manage social situations. They expressed a need for support from their surroundings and several participants had acquired extensive knowledge of their own diagnosis that they want the public and professionals to take into account. Discussion: The results were discussed in relation to previous studies and the Tidal Model. The author discussed what it meant for the participants to be diagnosed and to live with autism, how autism can be expressed in females and the participants' experiences with healthcare.

Autism poses many internal challenges, from increased sensory overwhelm and cognitive inflexibility to navigating co-occurring conditions like depression and anxiety. In addition, Autistic persons may use different internal working models to transact with other agents in the world. These population differences may result in empathy gaps. How do scientists minimize the resulting psychological distress associated with these challenges and empathy gaps? A psychoeducational program for global cognition was developed that attempts to integrate psychological research to design a prosthetic internal working model. The result is EM-Theory (Elemental Model), a 4x4 (sixteen elemental module) psychoeducational matrix called the Skew Metric. EM-Theory may evoke increased psychoeducational insight into the mechanics of cognitive architecture in a manner that is always accessible because it is optimized for limited capacity visuospatial working memory. It is hypothesized that an increased understanding of cognitive mechanics may increase capacities to self-regulate psychological distress. Emphasis was placed on four reportable elemental modules as a significant cause of psychological distress. A small conceptual study was conducted with 10 participants with autism spectrum differences (ASD) and ten participants from the typically developing population (TD). Measures were taken to capture attributes of psychological distress from four reportable elemental modules (worry, rumination, distraction from mindfulness, and loss of mental vigilance), as well as measures designed to capture each ASD participant’s relationship with internalized narratives implicating their autism. General conclusions were not drawn from this small sample study. However, individual differences were described as a proof of concept on how a quantitative test may be further developed to provide accurate and meaningful feedback to assist beyond introspection. / Graduate

Autism kan innebära att individen har problem med socialt samspel och social kommunikation samt begränsande och repetetiva beteenden, intressen och aktiviteter enligt diagnosmanualen DSM 5. Individer med autism främställs ofta mer negativt i studier om autism och dejting samt kärleksrelationer och är få till antalet. Denna kvalitativa studie baserad på semikonstruerade intervjuer har i avsikt att undersöka hur människor med autism upplever dejting? Vilka hinder och möjligheter identifierar de själva när det kommer till dejtingsammanhang? Vad är deras syn på kärleksrelationer? Informanterna identifierar hinder och möjligheter relaterade till autism i större utsträckning när det kommer till kärleksrelationer de är eller har varit i. Tidiga insatser tros påverka förutsättningarna senare i livet i social interaktion i tex dejtingsammanhang. Informanter identifierade hinder i dejtingsammanhang i form utav prestationsångest, brist på bra balans i samtal, linda in saker i "socialt fluff". Bra möjligheter i dejtingsammanhang är online dejting via appar eller andra internetsidor som kan underlätta den sociala interaktionen, special events upplevs som en bra mötesplats att träffa potentiell kärlekspartner. Personer med autism behöver ha frizoner där det får interagera med andra individer utifrån sina förutsättningar och inte ständigt behöva anpassa sig till neurotypiska normer vid social interaktion.

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Most buildings are built accessible but they often just becomes a tool for admiration. Slap a ramp on to a building and you're seen as inspirational and inclusive, but he actual usefulness becomes lost in admiration. Even less accessible is buildings built for person who’s neurodivergent, an umbrella-term for autism, ADHD, dyslexia and similar cognitive disabilities. Neurodiversity has been know for 30 years but we know just as much now, as then, about architecture and neurodiversity. Physical disabilities is and are possible to measure and create guidelines for, but not neurodiversity. Neurodiversity is a wide umbrella term on a spectrum of disorders that can not yet fully be measured.  The traditional top down approach to accessible design has never worked and will never work for neurodiversity. A new approach is necessary. The last few years hints towards a new view from the disability community,- “If you fell like you’re disabled, you are disabled”. What if we looked at the design process from that view, that the building itself can create disabilities?  What if we created buildings not to be admired, but buildings that admier the user? More at Thedisabledarchitect.com

Individuals with intellectual disabilities often lack access to appropriate sexual education, leading to negative impacts on their well-being and safety. Occupational therapists can play a vital role in addressing sexual education, health, behaviors, and community safety for these individuals. The Talk aims to empower school-based occupational therapists to become advocates and educators in the field of sexual health and behaviors, improving overall well-being and safety. This 6-hour presentation celebrates neurodiversity and provides up-to-date information and case studies to enhance understanding and promote strategies for working with young adults with intellectual disabilities. The program seeks to reduce the risk of sexual victimization and promote education and strategies for increased bodily autonomy and a better future. Plans for program implementation, funding, and evaluation of The Talk are included as well as dissemination of program findings to advance the occupational therapy evidence base.

Neurodivergent occupations are ways of living and embodying life that speaks true for their neurotype. Examples include autistic play, ADHDer concepts of attention, and sensory processing differences. Though the neurodiversity movement is beginning to infiltrate health care services, neurodiversity-affirming practices within occupational therapy remains lacking. Neurodivergent occupations continue to be pathologized within occupational therapy, evident within the profession’s education, and all aspects of the occupational therapy process, such as assessment, treatment, and outcomes. Neurotypicality remains to be the benchmark for functioning within occupational therapy, much of which is secondary to the dominating medical model of disability and ableism proliferating the profession. These factors lead to OTPs creating occupational marginalization when attempting to support neurodivergent individuals, with neurodivergent OTPs pleading for the profession to reflect and modify current conceptualizations of occupational therapy. The proposed program, Embracing Neurodivergent Occupations, aims to answer this call. Embracing Neurodivergent Occupations is a knowledge translation tool incorporating tenets of disability justice, community-defined evidence practice, and lived-experience informed practice. The program intends to be an example of community-based participatory research (CBPR), with the program’s creation incorporating neurodivergent OTPs, scholars, and advocates from around the world for a holistic view on neurodivergent ways of living. Components of the Embracing Neurodivergent Occupations will include: (a) the first neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy model (EMPOWER Model), (b) conversations on models of disablement and rehabilitation, (c) health and well-being priorities designated by autistic individuals, (d) steps for completing neurodiversity-affirming evaluations, (e) neurodiversity-affirming service and practitioner characteristics, and (f) a grading of commonly utilized occupational therapy programs and resources and their level of being neurodiversity-affirming. Embracing Neurodivergent Occupations has three phases: (1) an introductory workshop with OTPs within this author’s current work setting, (2) a website translating the program into a multimedia resource hub, and (3) morphing the introductory workshop into online modules. Embracing Neurodivergent Occupations aspires to support the profession’s ability to be anti-ableist, provide neurodiversity-affirming services through all aspects of the occupational therapy process, and ultimately empower neurodivergent occupational participation and well-being.