Autism as Rhetoric: Exploring Watershed Rhetorical Moments in Applied Behavior Analysis Discourse

Abstract

This manuscript offers an analysis of what I argue are three watershed moments in contemporary autism and applied behavior analysis (ABA) rhetoric (1987-2010).&nbsp; The first of these moments is the 1987 publication of O. I. Lovaas's treatment effect study, which introduced the rhetoric of <em>recovery</em> from autism and linked this rhetorical construct with a particular intervention methodology&mdash;ABA.&nbsp; The second moment consists in the 1993 publication of Catherine Maurice&rsquo;s autobiographical account of employing Lovaas-style ABA intervention programs with her two young children&mdash;an account that both popularizes Lovaas's rhetorical construct of recovery and reiterates its linking with ABA, but more significantly, that also introduces to popular autism discourse the rhetoric of <em>science</em> as a means of constituting the legitimacy of ABA.&nbsp; The third watershed moment in contemporary autism rhetoric is the 2005 establishment of the organization Autism Speaks, which has effectively changed the face of autism rhetoric through its <em>comprehensive deployment of corporate-style rhetorical and political strategy.&nbsp; </em>