Fundamental challenges for autism research: the science–practice gap, demarcating autism and the unsuccessful search for the neurobiological basis of autism
Abstract
One of the central aims of autism research is to identify specific neurodevelopmental mechanisms that cause and explain the visible autistic signs and symptoms. In this short paper, I argue that the persistent search for autism-specific pathophysiologies has two fundamental difficulties. The first regards the growing gap between basic autism science and clinical practice. The second regards the difficulties with demarcating autism as a psychiatric condition. Instead of the unremitting search for the neurobiological basis of autism, I suggest that basic autism research should focus on experiences of impairment and distress, and on how these experiences relate to particular (autistic) behaviors in particular circumstances, regardless of whether we are dealing with an autism diagnosis or not.
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Challenges to the conventional medical paradigm have been increasingly loud of late, in part due to the rise in autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement, and in part due to the relative absence of 'hard facts', or universal scientific truths about autism, at any level of explanation.
“But challenges have been increasingly loud of late, in part due to the rise in autistic self‐advocacy and the neurodiversity movement, and in part due the relative absence of ‘hard facts’, or universal scientific truths about autism, at any level of explanation (see Verhoeff, 2015, for discussion).”
From Annual Research Review: Shifting from ‘normal science’ to neurodiversity in autism science (2022) · cites this paper as Verhoeff, 2015
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What should autism research focus upon? Community views and priorities from the United Kingdom
Pellicano, E., Dinsmore, A., & Charman, T. (2014) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361314529627 · Cited by 800 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Despite the dominance of (social) neuroscientific research in the field of autism (Pellicano et al. 2014), efforts to identify reliable diagnostic biomarkers, meaningful (biological) subgroups, autism-specific genes or neural circuits, and targets for brain-based and psychopharmacological…”
BackgroundInfluentialPsychiatric diagnosis: Lessons from the DSM-IV past and cautions for the DSM-5 future
Frances, A. J., & Widiger, T. (2012) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143102 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Criteria, categories, and continua: autism and related disorders in DSM-5
Happé, F. (2011) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.03.015 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
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Annual Research Review: Shifting from ‘normal science’ to neurodiversity in autism science
Pellicano, E., & den Houting, J. (2022) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13534 · Cited by 744 · see citing works
“But challenges have been increasingly loud of late, in part due to the rise in autistic selfadvocacy and the neurodiversity movement, and in part due the relative absence of ‘hard facts’, or universal scientific truths about autism, at any level of explanation (see Verhoeff, 2015, for discussion).”
BackgroundHeasman, B., & Gillespie, A. (2018) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361317708287 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
- Authors
- Verhoeff, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Verhoeff, Berend
- Venue
- Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy
- Published
- 2015-04-01
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 443-447
- ISSN
- 1386-7423 (ISSN-L)
- 1572-8633
- OpenAlex
- W1989258618
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 2.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Medicine Health Care and Philosophy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, autism diagnosis, research-practice gap, neurodevelopmental mechanisms, autistic experience, autistic behavior
- MeSH terms
- Professional Practice Gaps, Autistic Disorder, Humans, Nervous System Malformations, Biomedical Research, Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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