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Chapter 21 - Autism

from Section 2 - Maternal Mental Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2026

By
Sam Porter
Edited by
Liz McDonald,
Roch Cantwell and
Ian Jones
Liz McDonald
Affiliation:
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Roch Cantwell
Affiliation:
Perinatal Mental Health Service and West of Scotland Mother & Baby Unit
Ian Jones
Affiliation:
Cardiff University
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Summary

Autism research and clinical practice is a rapidly evolving branch of psychiatry. This chapter explores autism through the lenses of the neurodiversity paradigm, challenging the deficit-based model whilst remaining stark about significant healthcare inequalities and challenges that autistic people face. It considers the perinatal journey from an autistic perspective, highlighting some of the common challenges autistic mums (to be) can face, and makes suggestions for approaches to take when working with autistic patients.

Keywords

autismneurodiversityhealth inequalitiesperinatal mental health

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Chapter
Information
Seminars in Perinatal Psychiatry , pp. 376 - 392
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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References

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  • Autism
  • Edited by Liz McDonald, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Roch Cantwell, Perinatal Mental Health Service and West of Scotland Mother & Baby Unit, Ian Jones, Cardiff University
  • Book: Seminars in Perinatal Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 27 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781911623496.024
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Autism
  • Edited by Liz McDonald, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Roch Cantwell, Perinatal Mental Health Service and West of Scotland Mother & Baby Unit, Ian Jones, Cardiff University
  • Book: Seminars in Perinatal Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 27 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781911623496.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Autism
  • Edited by Liz McDonald, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Roch Cantwell, Perinatal Mental Health Service and West of Scotland Mother & Baby Unit, Ian Jones, Cardiff University
  • Book: Seminars in Perinatal Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 27 March 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781911623496.024
Available formats
×