Ableism is based on the belief that it is better to not have a disability than to have one and that it is preferable to function in society the way nondisabled people do. In this thesis, the theory of ableism is applied to the field of special education. Two different perspectives on dis/ability are explored and how they, in turn, relate to ableism specifically in terms of autistic pupils. The medical perspective, where diagnoses are used to correct abnormalities, is set against the relational perspective, in which the environment is seen as the cause of disabilities. The thesis argues that autistic social impairment is a “double empathy problem”, rather than stemming from a more medicalized understanding of autistic impairment. Through a systematic literature review, previous research concerning autistic pupils in special education is analyzed to explore whether it shows indications of ableism, and if so, how. The review, conducted through Swepub and ERIC, included peer-reviewed scientific articles published 2010-2020 based on research conducted in school environments with autistic pupils (ages 6-18) within special education. The thesis identifies four themes of ableism within previous research: (1) the aim of “fixing” autistic individuals; (2) viewing autistic individuals as impaired; (3) the absence of autistic agency; and (4) the use of “with autism” instead of “autistic”. All the analyzed research contained at least one of the four identified themes. As such, the analysis indicates that all examined studies contain some form of ableism, where the use of “with autism” was the most commonly found, closely followed by the goal of fixing the autistic individual. Additionally, the autistic pupils rarely had agency in the previous research, which is problematic as autistic individuals can be more difficult to interpret via observation. In turn, this affects both the reliability of the research results and the types of interventions and adaptations implemented to improve autistic pupils’ school situation. However, a few of the analyzed studies did discuss and share this view on agency. In addition, some of the previous research analyzed in this thesis also incorporated clear non-ableistic views, which shows a possible path forward for future research as well as for the design of special education programs. The thesis concludes that autistic phenomenal expertise could play a role in better understanding which adaptations are effective for autistic pupils in school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-435327 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Brander, Jenny |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Examensarbete vid Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier |
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