This study aims to examine the construction of the linguistic stigma of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the discourse of the Iraqi media in the period from 2020 to 2025. The theoretical framework used in this study is qualitative research, which involves the use of three theories, namely: Stigma Theory (Goffman, 1963); Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1995); and Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003). Based on a focused study of authentic media texts in Iraq, the analysis highlights three important qualitative trends: clinical medicalization (e.g., “مرضى التوحد”), victimization and burden framing (e.g., “مكسورة مادياً وصحياً”), and evaluative sensationalism (e.g., “رقم خطير”). The results show that media choice is an additive process and unveils the stigmatizing aspects of the deficits as a public spectacle. The paper ends with some suggestions for media reporting and future corpus-based research that takes into account context.
Keywords: Iraqi media, autism spectrum disorder, critical discourse analysis, discursive framing, stigma theory
