The rhetoric of science and statistics in claims of an autism epidemic

Abstract

Purpose – To examine the rhetorical use of scientific medical evidence and diagnoses statistics in claims of an epidemic of childhood autism spectrum disorder.

Methodology/approach – Qualitative analysis of the content and dissemination of claims in several venues for social problems construction, including popular media, peer-reviewed scientific literature, and the Internet.

Findings – Rhetorical use of etiological evidence, both scientific and experiential, positing a causal link between medical interventions (e.g., vaccines), environmental toxins, and autism is prominent across several arenas for social problems construction. Claims and counterclaims involve statements amiable to or critical of evidence and its relationship to the scientific method. Presentation of diagnoses statistics and covariation with vaccination regimens are integral as a rhetorical device in claims of a true change in prevalence.

Contribution to the field – Elucidates how the medicalization of childhood developmental disabilities and increased lay involvement (e.g., parents) in the social problems process were vital for the proliferation of attention and resources directed to autism presently. The fundamental scientific method and the lack of sufficient, valid scientific evidence are not integral to the continuation of the movement that posits vaccines cause autism. The content of these claims is unfettered on the Internet as an arena for claimsmaking, allowing a lay social movement to continue that often stands in opposition to recognized scientific authority and evidence.

Citation

Perez, V.W. (2010), "The rhetoric of science and statistics in claims of an autism epidemic", Mukherjea, A. (Ed.) Understanding Emerging Epidemics: Social and Political Approaches (Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 203-221. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-6290(2010)0000011015