Autism Industrial Complex

A term coined by Alicia Broderick and Robin Roscigno to describe the commercial ecosystem that treats autism as a commodity, establishing it as a normative cultural narrative that necessitates intervention. The autism industrial complex encompasses the interconnected network of therapy providers, technology companies, diagnostic services, educational programs, and insurance structures that collectively produce and sustain a market logic around autism. This framework critiques how the autism treatment industry (valued at $34.1 billion in 2023) creates market demand by framing autism as a threat, intervention as urgent, and certain technologies or therapies as more legitimate than others.