Autism and Rhetoric

SUMMARY:

In their article ‘Autism and Rhetoric’ Paul Heilker and Melanie Yergeau discuss autism. There is an amazing increase in public discourse about autism. They talk about how autism remains one of the greatest mysteries of medicine. Doctors still know very little about the neurological disorder.They also do not yet know what causes autism. They give supporting information to why autism is rhetorical and that autism is a profoundly rhetorical phenomenon. Autism is a way of being in the world through language. Given the definitional confluence of autism and rhetoric in communication and social interaction, it is simple to assert that autism is a rhetorical phenomenon. Paul Heilker talks about his experience with autism. His son is autistic, and Heilker sates that “understanding rhetoric lets me see that he is returning to his favorite inventive universes.” Melanie Yergeau also shares her experience with autism, she herself is autistic and she talks about her own experiences. In the article they talk about how some scholars suggest that autistics can not read or write in a rhetorically effective manner because they are empathetically challenged. Melanie also talks about the symbol of the puzzle piece that they use for autism speaks. Personally it offends her because she thinks it symbolizes what is wrong with popular autism discourse, representing autistic people as puzzling, mysterious, less than human entities who are “short a few cognitive pieces.”

CONVERSATION:

When I was reading this article, I connected it with “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces” by Elizabeth Wardle. These two were similar to me because they both talked about fitting into a discourse community and identity. In Autism and Rhetoric they talk about the discourse community of autistic people and how it differs from the community of non-autistic people and how there can be issues. In Wardles article she talks about how certain identities won’t work in a specific discourse community. 

OPINIONS:

I personally enjoyed reading this article the most out of all of the articles we have read so far. I found this article very touching, and for me easy to relate to. For many years I have been involved with autistic children. I have volunteer coached a special needs cheerleading team and volunteered in a special needs classroom. In both of those there have been autistic children. I could relate to Heilkers stories about his son, it reminded me of how the children acted that I’ve worked with. Some of the points brought up in the article angered me as well as Yergeau. There were statements made that seemed to degrade autistic people and make them seem not as important. It was brought up how they can’t read or write in a rhetorically manner.They make have some things that they deal with that can make them not fit in as well with their peers but they are capable of doing anything.