Episode 435: The Language of Leaving—Migration and Invisible Borders
Today’s episode explores the complex reality of international migration, focusing on the acute difficulties faced by Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs), neurodivergent, and queer families. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, asserts that the choice of country is a classed fantasy, as mobility is heavily restricted by bureaucratic, economic, and ideological borders that weigh families based on perceived asset or burden status. A critical challenge is the clash between the GLP’s non-linear language acquisition, which requires years of atmospheric absorption, and the state’s demand for immediate linguistic coherence and performance. Dr. Hoerricks critiques the concept of a guaranteed “safe country,” concluding that substantial liquid cash is frequently the only effective way to bypass these barriers and purchase the necessary time for a GLP to safely achieve expressive fluency. Ultimately, the real question for these families is where they can find an environment that allows their identity reconstruction and unique pace of unfolding without penalty or fear.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 434: Genre Promiscuity—Writing the Constellation of Truth
In today’s episode, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, outlines her philosophy of writing, which she terms “genre promiscuity,” asserting that her work—which layers memoir, political critique, myth, and embodiment—functions as an “ecosystem” rather than a fixed category. This style is necessary because, as an autistic, queer, trans thinker, her complex life experience resists the linearity and segmentation demanded by institutional gatekeeping. Dr. Hoerricks contends that refusing traditional genre is a political act against systems that attempt to shrink or simplify marginalised narratives. She discusses two primary branches of her output, The AutSide (focused on systemic analysis) and Sensual Residue (concentrated on the somatic and erotic), maintaining a strategic separation to protect the archive from censorship. Ultimately, her methodology is designed to translate a non-linear reality by honouring the coherence of the whole story, proving that complexity is a form of fidelity.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-shape-of-what-i-write-and-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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Episode 433: Ableism, Complexity, and the Failure of Linear Care
Today’s episode explores the tension between linear, simplified thinking prevalent in human services and the inherent multicausality and complexity of life, particularly for autistic and divergent individuals. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, uses a sociology assignment as a framework, contrasting a human services textbook that treats complexity as an inconvenience with a 2025 research article by Da Silva, Abramov, and Quintanilha that frames ableism as a recursive, systemic structure rather than a personal failing. The core argument is that institutions often insist on monocausality to avoid systemic responsibility, thereby pathologising complex realities like gestalt language processing and reinforcing ableist norms. Dr. Hoerricks advocates for shifting professional practice from an analytic focus on individual deficits to an ecological understanding of forces acting upon a person, asserting that complexity is the fundamental truth of human life and key to liberation.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/a-world-too-simple-for-the-truthLet 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 432: Politeness as Weapon—Neurotypical Norms and Coercion
Today’s episode argues that conventional neurotypical politeness functions as a system of social control that actively protects those who cause harm whilst punishing the clarity and directness often characteristic of autistic communication. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that politeness is often a “social technology” built on strategic ambiguity, which manipulators exploit to maintain power and deflect accountability. Furthermore, Dr. Hoerricks explains that autistic directness is mislabeled as rudeness or a “failure” of social skills when it is actually a form of resistance and self-preservation that disrupts coercive etiquette by eliminating the fog of ambiguity. Mechanisms like tone policing, accusations of rudeness, and claims of “overreaction” are described as tools used to enforce compliance and silence those who speak plainly, forcing autistic people to choose between truth and safety. Ultimately, she advocates for a shift from compliance-based politeness to ethics rooted in clarity and transparency, arguing that autistic communication is not broken but dangerous to systems built on performance and distortion.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/politeness-as-weapon-how-neurotypicalLet 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 431: The Myth of Peter Pan—Autistic Adulthood and Sovereign Play
Today’s episode argues against the pervasive societal belief that autistic individuals fail to mature beyond childhood. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, asserts that this “infantilising gaze” is upheld by institutions and research that focus only on early intervention, effectively erasing the adult autistic experience from policy and recognition. Dr. Hoerricks contends that autistic development is a lifelong, spiraling process and that play is a mature and crucial form of learning and communication—a “praxis”—that the non-autistic world misinterprets as mere immaturity or regression. Ultimately, she calls for the reclamation of autistic adulthood and autonomy, defined by complex forms of connection, self-knowledge, and resistance through play.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-myth-of-peter-pan-on-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
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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