‘Person with autism’ or ‘autistic person’? A human engineering lens on science communication

This study examines how science communication contributes to the construction and contestation of meanings surrounding autism. Through a rhetorical analysis of two contrasting advocacy websites, we discuss the interplay between efforts to control the meaning of autism, the expected resistance towards such efforts and its tactful management. Drawing on a human engineering theoretical framework, we investigate how science communication practices shape public understanding and influence the roles available to autistic individuals. As case studies, we analyse the websites of Autism Speaks and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, which respectively promote biomedical and neurodiversity views of autism. While Autism Speaks positions autistic people as dependent on parental, medical, and scientific authority, the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network constructs autistic people as epistemic authorities on autism and activists engaged with both the digital platform and society at large. Our findings highlight the role of science communication in shaping autistic subjectivity.