The Concepts of Norm and Disease from Scientific to Popularization Discourse

Abstract

The ideological implications of the concepts of norm and disease are particularly evident in the area of mental and behavioral conditions. The conflict between the adoption of a statistical model functional to identifying normal behaviour on a quantitative basis on the one hand, and the uniqueness of each person on the other has emerged in research. The discursive representations of these opposing models is particularly interesting, both in specialized texts and in dissemination. This paper focuses on the area of Disorders of Neurodevelopment, analysing in a discourse analytical perspective the innovations included in the 5t​ h edition of ​DSM (2013) and their implications for the foundation of a new scientific paradigm centered on personal rather than on clinical outcomes. It also examines examples of popularization of knowledge, showing the contrast between the complex and revolutionary scientific debate and the presentation of individual disorders in the context of web-mediated communication.