Autism is a complex phenomenon that is both individual and social. Showing both robust
similarities and intriguing differences across cultural contexts the autism spectrum raises
innumerable questions about self subjectivity and society in a globalized world. Yet it is
often misrepresented as a problem of broken bodies and disordered brains. So in 2015 a group
of interdisciplinary scholars gathered in Rio de Janeiro Brazil for an intellectual
experiment: a workshop that joined approaches from psychological anthropology to the South
American tradition of Collective Health in order to consider autism within social historical
and political settings. This book is the product of the ongoing conversation emerging from this
event. It contains a series of comparative histories of autism policy in Italy Brazil and the
United States focuses on issues of voice narrative and representation in autism and
examines how the concept of autism shapes both individual lives and broadersocial and economic
systems. Featuring contributions from:Michael BakanBenilton BezerraPamela BlockM. Ariel Cascio
Jurandir Freire CostaBárbara Costa AndradaCassandra EvansElizabeth Fein Clara Feldman Roy
Richard GrinkerRossano LimaFrancisco OrtegaDawn Prince-HughesClarice Rios Laura Sterponi Thomas
S. WeisnerEnrico Valtellina
