Transcript

ILONA ROTH:

This final week of the course is your chance both to reflect on what you've learned so far and to think about up and coming issues in the autism field. Among all that you've learned, I'm sure you've been struck by how differently autism can affect people. In fact, some people like to quip that if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person.

Of course, the autism spectrum model does recognise this variation, yet debate continues. On the one hand, autism is viewed as a clinically definable condition, and on the other as part of natural human diversity. Michael Baron, who also featured in earlier weeks, worries that this neurodiversity perspective overlooks how seriously some people, like his son Timothy, are affected.

Another controversial issue is the future priorities for autism research. Respondents to a recent survey thought that theoretical research, as featured in week four, should take much lower priority for funding than research into practical interventions and support. Yet in an ideal scenario, explaining the fundamental basis of autism should translate into practical interventions for those who need them.

How well is autism understood and accommodated in society? Media portrayals in films, television, and so on have certainly helped to increase public awareness, but have also tended to represent specially gifted individuals. Accommodations for autism in society have begun to improve with the various autism-friendly initiatives that are underway.

Finally, this week looks again at the global context. In such a short course, it sadly hasn't been possible to compare autism approaches and services across multiple countries. I hope, however, that looking briefly at a less well-resourced country like Ethiopia highlights not only stark disparities in provision, but also the common challenges facing people with autism worldwide. An Ethiopian project on which I had the privilege to work contributed knowledge and skills developed in the UK, but the knowledge flow was by no means one way. The team learned much from their Ethiopian colleagues.