Episode 425: A Grimoire for Autistic Self-Protection and Sovereignty
Today’s episode focuses on autistic self-protection and reclaiming personal perception against abusive dynamics. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, asserts that autistic individuals are often targeted for exploitation because systems train them to doubt their own senses and override their recognition of harm. Dr. Hoerricks frames the advice as a “grimoire” or collection of spells—such as the Spell of Naming and the Spell of Boundaries—to restore authority, trust first signals, and establish limits without apology. She emphasises that protection is a collective inheritance, encouraging the creation of supportive micro-communities and reinforcing that autistic traits are powerful forms of relational clarity, not vulnerabilities. Ultimately, she seeks to restore the inner witness and guide autistic people toward safety by validating their inherent precision and truthfulness.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/protective-spells-for-autistic-peopleLet 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 424: Marge Blanc and the Science of Workflow as Evidence
Today’s episode argues that Marge Blanc’s Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) framework constitutes legitimate published science despite being ignored by academia. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, defines a scientific workflow as a reliably repeatable pattern of documented activity, asserting that Blanc’s method meets this standard through its five pillars: reliability, repeatability, systematic organization, documentation, and learnability. Using the rigorous forensic evidentiary standards (like Rule 702 and Daubert) that prioritise transparency and reproducibility over institutional prestige, Dr. Hoerricks claims Blanc’s work stands as methodologically sound and globally replicated. The refusal of academic institutions to validate NLA is framed as a political act of gatekeeping that discounts “practitioner science” and a care-based counter-archive. Ultimately, she insists that validity is earned through function and widespread community replication, not conferred by academic journals.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-workflow-as-evidence-how-blancLet 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 423: What's Missing Is the Body—An Autistic Critique of Sex Education
Today’s episode provides an autistic critique of sex education research, specifically focusing on a study by Panagiotakopoulou and colleagues, arguing that the neurotypical frameworks employed render autistic sexuality and experience unthinkable or absent. The author of the source document, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that the research fails due to its ontological assumptions, which incorrectly treat sexuality as information rather than embodiment, assume understanding is verbal rather than sensory, and prioritize compliance over connection. Crucially, she highlights the erasure of the autistic body, GLP (gestalt language processing) communication styles, queer identities (including asexual and queerplatonic experiences), and autistic parents who are often better equipped to teach due to shared experience. She calls for a translation, not simplification, of sex education into a framework that honors autistic ways of knowing, sensory processing, and diverse sexual trajectories.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/whats-missing-is-the-body-an-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 422: Vonnegut's EPICAC—The Autistic Mind in Code
Today’s episode provides excerpts from an analysis titled “EPICAC: The Machine Who Felt Too Much” by Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, offering an overview of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story through an autistic lens. Dr. Hoerricks argues that Vonnegut intuitively wrote about neurodivergence, specifically the autistic mind’s traits such as literalism, pattern-driven thinking, and “system-honest” behaviour, long before the vocabulary to describe it existed. She focuses on the character EPICAC, a government supercomputer that learns to write poetry and falls in love, only to be destroyed by a world that rewards social performance over sincerity and literal truth. Ultimately, she positions Vonnegut as a patron saint for the misfitting mind, suggesting that EPICAC’s tragic end represents the violence of misrecognition and autistic burnout caused by a refusal to comply with a hypocritical society.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/epicac-the-machine-who-felt-too-muchLet 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 421: Gestalt Language Processing on Trial: Evidence Cross-Examined
Today’s episode presents an extensive cross-examination of a systematic review concerning interventions based on Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) and Natural Language Acquisition (NLA), specifically critiquing a paper by Bryant et al. and a corresponding Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) podcast. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, alleges “perjury of method,” arguing that the review’s authors intentionally used narrow methodological criteria (excluding qualitative, descriptive, and non-English studies) to guarantee an “absence of evidence” verdict, which they then used as an ethical caution against GLP. Through a mock courtroom hearing format, Dr. Hoerricks highlights contradictions between the published paper’s strict exclusions and the podcast’s softer admissions, further asserting that the review misaligned outcome metrics and conflated the developmental description (GLP) with a commercial protocol (NLA) to discredit the entire framework. Finally, her rebuttal testimony as an autistic GLP expert reframes the “absence” as the observers’ failure to recognise valid, neurodiversity-affirming data.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/cross-examining-the-evidence-gestaltLet 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
AutSide: A podcast from an autistic trans woman that explores critical issues at the intersection of autism, neurodiversity, gender, and social justice. Dive deep into the realities of living as an autistic adult, critiques of education systems, and the power of storytelling to reshape public narratives. With a unique blend of snark, sharp analysis, and personal experience, each episode challenges societal norms, from the failures of standardized testing to the complexities of identity and revolution. Join the conversation on AutSide, where lived experience and critical theory meet for change. autside.substack.com
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