The AutSide Podcast

• Episode 444: Gestalt Processors—Why Returning to Trauma Isn't Rumination

  Today’s episode explores the concept of memory processing, particularly for gestalt language processors (GLPs). The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that a cultural focus on “closure” and efficiency pathologises the natural process of “re-entry”—the repeated return to trauma or difficult stories—by labeling it as rumination or failure. Dr. Hoerricks reframes this repetition, explaining that for GLPs, each return is a necessary reconfiguration that allows meaning and coherence to emerge gradually, as memory is processed “whole to part.” Instead of being viewed as a malfunction, this recursive approach is presented as the essential mechanism for integration, allowing survivors to reclaim authorship over their experiences and mature their understanding of the events over time. She critiques the “violence of closure culture,” asserting that true healing is found in the slow, patient unfolding of meaning rather than forced silence or quick resolution.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/gestalt-processors-why-we-returnLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 443: Workplace Intimacy—Extraction and the Autistic Nervous System

  Today’s episode analyses the negative impact of mandatory team-building and enforced vulnerability sessions on autistics and gestalt processors. The author of the source article, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, explains that these rituals, often framed as care or community, systematically fracture safety for neurodivergent individuals by introducing ambiguity, power imbalances, and non-consensual demands. Dr. Hoerricks argues that the resulting reactions, such as panic or shutdown, are not evidence of social deficits but rather accurate responses to structural harm and emotional extraction. She emphasises that pseudo-intimacy and performative compliance replace genuine connection when participation is required and the potential for refusal is not protected, leading to accumulated stress and subsequent burnout. Ultimately, she calls for greater ethical transparency and structural change regarding what is being asked of employees in these mandatory settings.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/when-community-becomes-extractionLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 442: Coherence—Autistic Memory and Systemic Subtext

  Today’s episode discusses the nature of autistic memory and pattern recognition through a personal anecdote involving a student named Claudio. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, explains how an ordinary conversation with the student triggered a full-body, instantaneous recall of a previous workplace injury where she, an RSP teacher, was publicly reprimanded for following explicit instructions in a system that prioritised unwritten social rules (subtext). Dr. Hoerricks argues that this phenomenon, which can be mislabeled as an overreaction or disorder, is actually a coherent form of gestalt memory, where the nervous system recognises the shape or emotional architecture of past harm before the mind can form a narrative. She re-frames this immediate, bodily response as a protective warning system calibrated by lived experience, illustrating how structural subtext in institutions disproportionately injures autistic educators who adhere faithfully to explicit rules. Ultimately, she advocates for honoring the body’s truth and wisdom, which provides the clarity needed for self-protection and recovery.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/when-the-past-arrives-all-at-onceLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 441: Mnemotechnic Cathedrals—Autistic Architecture Against Analytic Supremacy

  Today’s episode proposes that autistic memory and language, specifically Gestalt Language Processing (GLP), constitute a sophisticated and coherent “cognitive ecology” rather than a set of deficits. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, defines this framework as the autistic mnemotechnical tradition, arguing that meaning is generated holistically through sensory input, pattern recognition, and embodied, emplaced memory. This sensory architecture is metaphorically described as a “cathedral”—a complete structure that is frequently misinterpreted and deliberately disassembled by dominant clinical institutions focused on analytic, sequential methods. Dr. Hoerricks draws on research concerning sensorimotor cognition and episodic autobiographical structures to confirm that autistic methods of recall, scripting, and perceiving are functional and theory-generating. Ultimately, she advocates for recognising autistic ways of knowing as a legitimate epistemology, demanding that professionals cease treating these sophisticated cognitive practices as “rubble” in need of correction.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/cathedrals-against-the-clinic-autisticLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 440: Refusing the Analytic Scalpel—Gestalt Language Sovereignty

  Today’s episode offers a highly critical and unapologetic rebuttal to a 2025 ASHA publication regarding Gestalt Language Processing (GLP), which the author, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, views as a harmful repetition of old, non-autistic analytic critiques. Dr. Hoerricks argues that this professional opposition is rooted in analytic supremacy, insisting that language must be broken into parts to be valid, thereby dismissing gestalt processing as an inferior or immature form of communication. She contends that the pushback is fundamentally driven by capitalist capture, as recognising GLP threatens the revenue structures and clinical labour models of traditional speech-language pathology interventions. Further, the critique is accused of using “proximity innocence”—citing work with autistic children without integrating their actual voices—to mask its institutional power and colonial language politics. Ultimately, Dr. Hoerricks declares that autistic people are finished trying to reform these existing structures, instead advocating for the necessary work of building a new, neurodivergent-led field centered on multimodal communication, where lived expertise is the gold standard of evidence.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/when-proximity-becomes-a-weapon-whyLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

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