Representations of Autism in Ontario Newsroom: A Critical Content Analysis of Online Government Press Releases, Media Advisories, and Bulletins

In Ontario, Canada, autism has become widely politicized. In the last 20 years, instances of personal and organizational advocacy developed into wider-scale policy and programs. Government press releases indicate Ontario’s developing response to autism as a social policy issue, while reflecting soci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStudies in social justice Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 407 - 428
Main Author Janse van Rensburg, Margaret G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Windsor Centre for Studies in Social Justice 01.01.2022
Brock University
Subjects
Autism
autism policy
Collective representation
Content analysis
Families & family life
Government
Inequality
Mass media
News media
Press releases
social justice
Social policy
Ontario Canada
Canada
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Summary:In Ontario, Canada, autism has become widely politicized. In the last 20 years, instances of personal and organizational advocacy developed into wider-scale policy and programs. Government press releases indicate Ontario’s developing response to autism as a social policy issue, while reflecting societal perceptions and priorities surrounding autism. Informed by Critical Disability Studies and Critical Autism Studies, this article uses a content analysis to explore the manifest and latent priorities of Ontario’s provincial government displayed in press releases between 2001-2019 accessed through the Ontario Newsroom, an online repository of press releases and media advisories that features different initiatives published by the government of Ontario. Press releases were selected based on the search term “autism” and analyzed in two steps. First, this article presents the most frequently used words in press release headlines. Second, key themes within press releases are explored. Press releases emphasize the stories of non-autistic people, altruists, positivists, treatment-seekers, autistic children, and normative families. What is left out is a social representation of autism. Prominent themes display ableist perceptions of autism, reproducing power imbalances and inequity based on disability and family status. These findings reveal government objectives and priorities, reflecting broader societal perceptions of autism.
ISSN:1911-4788
1911-4788
DOI:10.26522/ssj.v16i2.2664