Normal for an Asperger: Notions of the Meanings of Diagnoses Among Adults with Asperger Syndrome

This study explores the production of a counterhegemonic discourse of “autistic normalcy” among adults with high-functioning autism by analyzing notions of diagnosis. The discourse analyses are based on material from ethnographic fieldwork in a Swedish educational setting. Study participants were 3 male and 9 female adults who had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. The notion of diagnosis comprises issues concerning coming out and knowledge production. The findings capture an ongoing reformulation process among people involved in the autistic self-advocacy movement when it comes to the meanings of Asperger syndrome and what it means to be a person with Asperger syndrome.