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The management of autism put to the test of precocity and standardization of diagnosis Volume 39, issue 1, Mars 2021

Authors
* Sociologue, Haute École de Santé Vaud (HESAV), Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), Avenue de Beaumont 21, 1011 Lausanne, Suisse
** Sociologue, Haute École de Travail Social Fribourg (HETS-FR), Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), Suisse
*** Psychosociologue, Haute École de Santé Vaud (HESAV), Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), Suisse

The current reconfigurations of the autism clinic, characterized by the emphasis on early diagnosis, the promotion of standardized tests as a support for the diagnostic procedure, and the concomitant emergence of specialized autism centers, are transforming the practices of child psychiatry services. By studying the case of French-speaking Switzerland, we first examine the way in which standardized assessment tools have been the subject of a contextual integration in the various cantons, which sometimes distances them from their initial purpose, depending in particular on the presence or absence of a specialized center. Second, we describe how the emphasis on early diagnosis increases the uncertainty with which clinicians must work and tends to push the screening of autism toward a logic of risk management and normalization of childhood. Finally, we examine the link between diagnosis and management, in the context of the promotion of early and intensive therapies that, to date, have been insufficiently established to respond to the increasing number of diagnosed cases.