Description
Book SynopsisSocial interactions of autistic and non-autistic persons are intriguing. In all sorts of situations people with autism are part of the daily life of those around them. Such interactions exist despite the lack of familiar ways of attuning to one another. In Autistic Company, the anthropologist and philosopher Ruud Hendriks—himself trained as a care worker for young people with autism—investigates what alternative means are sometimes found by autistic and non-autistic people to establish a shared existence. Unprecedented in scholarly work on autism, the book also reflects on how to talk about these unusual ways of getting on together. Drawing on methods from both the arts and the social sciences, this study covers very diverse sources, ranging from literary works to factual writing on autism in science and advisory literature, and from autobiographical accounts to ethnographic observations in a home for autistic people.
Trade Review"Putting familiar concepts to a test, Autistic Company wrenches and fiddles with the very distinctions that constitute our sense of self. By doing so, Hendriks succeeds in getting closer both to autistic and non-autistic extremes, showing how thin the division between us and them really is." – L.W. Nauta, in: Krisis
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction. A Mixture of the Strange and the Familiar Given Reality. Autism - Facts and Figures Classification and Diagnostics Behaviour and Development Explaining Autism Interventions Beyond Facts and Figures On Stage. The Autist, the Author, his Characters and their Props Vallende ster - a Reconstruction Philosophical Intent Representation by Delegation Following the Trail Body and Mind Shows. The Imagination Deficit, Theory of Mind and Atmospheric Turbulence Inside the Mind: Researching Autism as Mind Blindness Exploring Extra-Mental Forms of Imagination Past the Blind Spots On Words and Clocks. The Socialisation Deficit and Temporal Ordering in a Community for Young Autists The Art of Waiting Objects as Temporal Nodes More than Convention With Lacelike Precision. The Communication Deficit and Autobiographical Works by Autistic People Listening to the Autistic Voice A Look Through the Window How Should We Read an Autist’s Autobiography? Fitting Words Exploring the Wasteland Autistic Company Notes and Bibliography
