{"id":1820,"date":"2021-02-02T12:18:24","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T18:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/wordpress\/autisticme\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2025-01-11T16:54:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T22:54:30","slug":"podcast-episode-054-dr-roy-richard-grinker-author-of-nobodys-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/2021\/02\/02\/podcast-episode-054-dr-roy-richard-grinker-author-of-nobodys-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast Episode 054 – Dr. Roy Richard Grinker, Author of Nobody’s Normal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Podcast Episode 0054; Season\u00a004, Episode\u00a018; February 2,\u00a02021<\/em><\/p>\n

Roy Richard Grinker is a Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs at George Washington University. His books include Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0I met Dr. Grinker in May of 2007 while he was promoting\u00a0Unstrange Minds<\/em>, my favorite book on autism’s history. The opportunity to speak to him about his new work,\u00a0Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness<\/em><\/a> was an honor.<\/p>\n

A full review of Nobody’s Normal<\/em> will be posted next week. It’s a great book, easy to read, filled with interesting vignettes.<\/p>\n

[amazon_auto_links asin=”0393531643″]<\/p>\n

Mental Health, Labels, Treatment and Identity<\/h3>\n

Before I was \u201cautistic\u201d I was many other things.\u00a0Autistic is a label, applied by experts, based on observations.<\/strong> Labels change for many reasons. Sometimes, the labels are changed for historical reasons. Diseases named after Nazi doctors, for example, have been renamed. Sometimes, labels cease to be stigmatized as illness. Homosexuality is not an illness, yet at one time that\u2019s how it was categorized.<\/p>\n

Dr. Grinker\u2019s works shed light on how the culture of mental health and mental illness create labels. The\u00a0Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>of the American Psychiatric Association, evolves. Now in its fifth edition (DSM5), there have been major and minor revisions that reflect changes in our culture and in the culture of psychiatry.<\/p>\n

Labels matter. They are required by insurance and government healthcare programs. They are used to determine eligibility for accommodations at school and work. Without an \u201cofficial\u201d label, a student might not receive educational supports and an employee might not receive fair and reasonable accommodations.<\/p>\n

Labels also define us when we adopt them. Asperger Syndrome (or Asperger\u2019s in some texts) became an identity for many diagnosed with what is now within the Autism Spectrum Disorder categories of the DSM5.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy this chat with Dr. Grinker as much as I did.<\/p>\n

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