In Tracing Autism, Des Fitzgerald offers an up-close account of the search for a neurological explanation of autism. As autism has gained cultural prominence with more diagnoses and more controversy, its biological causes remain elusive.

Through in-depth interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, Fitzgerald examines what it means to do scientific research in the ambiguous terrain of autism research, a field marked by shifting horizons of uncertainty and ambivalence. He draws out how autism scientists talk and feel their way through their research, demonstrating its profoundly affective character, and expanding our understanding of what is at stake in the new brain sciences.

The book is published by University of Washington Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"Engaging, thoughtful, and challenging." (Chloe Silverman, author of Understanding Autism: Parents, Doctors, and the History of a Disorder)

"This beautifully written book helps us to understand the hopes, the passions, and the ambivalences of scientists at the intersections of neuroscientific research, clinical practice, and personal commitment." (Nikolas Rose, King's College London)

"Beautifully written and lucidly argued." (Elizabeth A. Wilson, author of Gut Feminism)