Today’s episode challenges the persistent deficit-based framework found in modern autism research, specifically focusing on a 2025 study regarding reading comprehension. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks*, argues that academic literature continues to view neurodivergent linguistic differences as developmental failures or missing pieces rather than unique ways of processing information. By emphasising gestalt language processing, Dr. Hoerricks highlights how traditional studies often ignore the lived experiences of autistic individuals in favour of standardised metrics. She expresses a sense of intellectual exhaustion because researchers frequently mislabel natural cognitive variations as impairments that require fixing. Ultimately, her work serves as a call to move beyond outdated clinical models that prioritise "correct" development over an authentic understanding of autistic meaning-making.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/measured-wrong-on-purpose-gestalt

Let me know what you think.

* If you’re playing the drinking game, can you find how many times the hosts mispronounce / get my name totally wrong?

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