“Today’s episode reflects on the personal experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder, specifically how clinical diagnoses like the DSM-5-TR fail to capture the nuanced reality of living with a highly sensitive and differently wired nervous system. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, describes their intense attunement to social and emotional cues, and how this leads to overload and withdrawal when there is a disconnect between verbal and nonverbal communication or when connection is conditional. The concept of a “circuit breaker” is used as a metaphor for this involuntary self-preservation response, highlighting that what is perceived as a deficit is actually a mechanism for survival in environments that are not built to support their needs. Dr. Hoerricks critiques the limitations of current diagnostic language, arguing that it labels complex internal experiences as deficits rather than recognising them as the outcomes of navigating a world not designed for their neurology.”

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/not-a-deficit-living-the-dsm-from

Let 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