Michelle Dawson
| Michelle Dawson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 |
| Residence | Montreal, Canada |
| Nationality | Candadian |
| Fields | Autism research |
| Institutions | Autism Specialized Clinic of Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies |
| Known for | opposition to ABA-based autism interventions |
| Website No Autistics Allowed: Explorations in discrimination against autistics |
|
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Michelle Dawson (born 1961) is an autism researcher who was diagnosed with autism in 1993-1994.[1][2] Since 2003, she has worked as an autism research assistant[3][4] affiliated with the Autism Specialized Clinic of Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies in Montreal, Canada.[5]
Career
In 2003, Dawson joined Laurent Mottron's research team.[6][7] Dawson says that most scientists try to determine how autistic brains are broken, but Dawson thinks it would be more useful to try to determine how autistic brains work rather than how they are broken.[6][7] She has collaborated with Mottron to publish research papers, with Mottron estimating that Dawson contributes about 20% to the finished product.[8]
She wrote a paper[9] challenging the ethical and scientific foundations of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)-based autism interventions. She also challenged the medical necessity of ABA for individuals with autism in the Supreme Court of Canada in Auton v. British Columbia, 3 S.C.R. 657.[10]
Works
- Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: an update, and eight principles of autistic perception (2006), L Mottron, M Dawson, I Soulieres, B Hubert, J Burack, Journal of autism and developmental disorders 36 (1), 27-43.
- The level and nature of autistic intelligence (2007), M Dawson, I Soulières, MA Gernsbacher, L Mottron, Psychological science 18 (8), 657-662.
- Three reasons not to believe in an autism epidemic (2005), MA Gernsbacher, M Dawson, HH Goldsmith, Current directions in psychological science 14 (2), 55-58.
- Cognitive mechanisms, specificity and neural underpinnings of visuospatial peaks in autism (2006), MJ Caron, L Mottron, C Berthiaume, M Dawson, Brain 129 (7), 1789-1802.
Personal
She herself was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 1993-1994. Born in 1961, Dawson was not diagnosed as a child.[1][2] Dawson has been receiving disability benefits, on account of her autism diagnosis, since 2003.[11] Michelle Dawson is a high school graduate.[2]
Before working under Laurent Mottron, Dawson was a postal worker for the Canada Post[12] until she took a leave of absence in 2002.[2] Dawson filed two human rights complaints against the Canada Post, alleging that she was being discriminated against.[13][13] Dawson won the second human rights complaint. (The first complaint was settled out of court.)[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Collier, Roger. "Autism" (facsimile). The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved: 22 Feb. 2008
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- No Autistics Allowed, Dawson's website
- The Autism Crisis: The Science and Ethics of Autism Advocacy, Dawson's blog
- Michelle Dawson on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value)., where her more recent public commentary appears.
