heilker

In the article, “Autism and Rhetoric”, Paul Heilker and Melanie Yergeau, they state how autism remains of one the greatest mysteries in medicine and how there is still much to learn about the neurological disorder.  The authors discuss how autism is rhetoric. They describe how it is a way of being and a rhetoric that isn’t recognized frequently.  Both authors have their own unique experience with autism, Paul’s son is autistic and Melanie has autism. They reference how some scholars suggest that autistics cannot read or write in a rhetorically effective manner. This offends Melanie because it represents autistics as a whole and degrades them. Autism can be viewed as a discourse, the way they communicate and how they see the world is unique to a person who has autism. Heilker and Yergeau argue that it is important for society to look through an autistic persons lens so we can ultimately get a better understanding of what they view of the world around them. We need to discourage those who see autism as a disability and view it as a specialized rhetoric.