Critical autism studies

Critical autism studies (CAS) is an interdisciplinary research field within autism studies led by autistic people.

There are multiple competing definitions with the narrower one as skeptical of the validity and value of autism as a medical diagnosis. A broader definition of CAS encompasses "exploring power relationships that construct autism; enabling narratives that challenge the dominant negative medical autism discourses; and creation of theoretical and methodological approaches that are emancipatory and value the highly individual nature of autism and its nascent culture".

Critical autism studies originated in a 2011 seminar in England and is influenced by critical disability studies.