Wadda Ya Know: The Breadth of "Autism Issues"

There are some things (er, quite a lot of things) that a two sentence bio and some brief introductory summaries just can't communicate. One of those things is the fantastic richness and complexity that any general area of study encompasses; another is where a person who works in that general area of study specializes their knowledge.

I know quite a bit about computers. Quite a bit in the sense that I've done a fair amount of graduate studies in computer science. Because of this, people will often ask me questions about their home computers. Which, ironically, I can almost never answer.

"Computers" is a big, broad term. It includes things as material as the manufacture of microchips and as abstract as the mathematics of turing machines. It includes both operating a piece of popular software and programming an autonomous robot. It encompasses everything from the physics of electrical engineering to the sociology of human-machine interaction. And each of these many topics in "computers" is itself an entire specialty area that individuals may exclusively devote their lives to study.

In "computers," I know a fair amount about computational intelligence, an extensive amount about information architecture, and some other miscellaneous bits mostly related to web-based technologies and software engineering. I do not know how to use Microsoft Outlook. I do not know how to install a new piece of RAM. And I am completely unqualified to give any sort of advice on how to optimize your operating system, alas.

"Autism" is also a big, broad term, at least how the term is currently used in popular discourse. Like "computers," it's something I know a lot about, but that doesn't mean I have comprehensive knowledge across the entire field. I am not a medical doctor or mental health professional. I'm no more qualified to speak to biomedical issues than I am to give you advice about optimizing your operating system. So if you're hoping I will post a lot on medical topics, I'm afraid I will prove a dull and disappointing read. This is not because I don't view those topics as valid or important, but simply because they are not within my area of specialty.

My area of specialty in the broader field of "autism" is in the social sciences. I work on autism issues within the domain of social science in both research and in community outreach. I will be writing on topics of social justice, community, education, needs assessments and interventions related to supports and services including service delivery, public policy that affects people and communities, and other social issues that are part of the context of the broader term "autism issues."

This doesn't mean I'll never write about medical issues or autism topics outside of social concerns, or that such things will never be addressed in this blog space. If an interesting tidbit on operating system optimization came my way, I would certainly pass it along! But I probably would leave it at that. "Autism Issues" is a very broad domain. There is room enough for many specialties within it.