Hollin, G orcid.org/0000-0003-4348-8272 and Pilnick, A (2018) The categorisation of resistance: interpreting failure to follow a proposed line of action in the diagnosis of autism amongst young adults. Sociology of Health and Illness, 40 (7). pp. 1215-1232. ISSN 0141-9889
Abstract
Many characteristics typical of autism, a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by socio‐communicative impairments, are most evident during social interaction. Accordingly, procedures such as the Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule (ADOS) are interactive and intended to elicit interactional impairments: a diagnosis of autism is given if interactional difficulties are attributed as a persistent quality of the individual undergoing diagnosis. This task is difficult, first, because behaviours can be interpreted in various ways and, second, because conversation breakdown may indicate a disengagement with, or resistance to, a line of conversation. Drawing upon conversation analysis, we examine seven ADOS diagnosis sessions and ask how diagnosticians distinguish between interactional resistance as, on the one hand, a diagnostic indicator and, on the other, as a reasonable choice from a range of possible responses. We find evidence of various forms of resistance during ADOS sessions, but it is a resistance to a line of conversational action that is often determined to be indicative of autism. However, and as we show, this attribution of resistance can be ambiguous. We conclude by arguing for reflexive practice during any diagnosis where talk is the problem, and for a commitment to acknowledge the potential impact of diagnostic procedures themselves upon results.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hollin, G. and Pilnick, A. (2018), The categorisation of resistance: interpreting failure to follow a proposed line of action in the diagnosis of autism amongst young adults. Sociol Health Illn. . doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12749, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12749. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | autism; conversation analysis (CA); diagnosis; uncertainty (clinical) |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Mar 2018 16:18 |
Last Modified: | 23 May 2019 00:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1467-9566.12749 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:128707 |