Abstract
This doctoral research examines the intersection between the fluidity of contemporary classifications of Asperger's Syndrome and the uncertainty of modern transitions to adulthood. Through this I explore the historical emergence of contemporary constructions of Asperger's Syndrome in the UK and the impact these have had on our ideas about children and young people diagnosed with the condition. The substantive discussion in the thesis focuses on the analysis of an in-depth ethnographic study into the lives of young men (16 to 19 years of age) living in a specialist residential Further Education college in England. Through a discussion of their lives and experiences I consider the ways in which staff and students at the college construct ideas about what it means to have Asperger's Syndrome and examine the tactics and techniques that staff and students use in the setting to make sense of becoming an adult with a diagnosis of the condition.