Towards an Ethic of Autism

Book excerpt: Kristien Hens succeeds in weaving together experiential expertise of both people with autism and their parents, scientific insights and ethics, and does so with great passion and affection for people with autism (with or without mental or other disabilities). In this book she not only asks pertinent questions, but also critically examines established claims that fail to take into account the criticism and experiences of people with autism. Sam Peeters, author of Autistic Gelukkig (Garant, 2018) and Gedurfde vragen (Garant, 2020); blog @ Tistje.com What does it mean to say that someone is autistic? Towards an Ethics of Autism is an exploration of this question and many more. In this thoughtful, wide-ranging book, Kristien Hens examines a number of perspectives on autism, including psychiatric, biological, and philosophical, to consider different ways of thinking about autism, as well as its meanings to those who experience it, those who diagnose it, and those who research it. Hens delves into the history of autism and its roots in the work of Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger to inform a contemporary ethical analysis of the models we use to understand autism today. She explores the various impacts of a diagnosis on autistic people and their families, the relevance of disability studies, the need to include autistic people fully in discussions about (and research on) autism, and the significance of epigenetics to future work on autism. Hens weaves together a variety of perspectives that guide the reader in their own ethical reflections about autism. Rich, accessible, and multi-layered, this is essential reading for philosophers, educational scientists, and psychologists who are interested in philosophical-ethical questions related to autism, but it also has much to offer to teachers, allied health professionals, and autistic people themselves.