In today’s video, I take a step back to situate three pieces that were written close together but operate in different registers. They aren’t iterations of the same argument. They’re layers—moving from analytic boundary-setting, to lived coherence, to origin. I wanted to speak them aloud, slowly, because some connections are easier to feel than to parse on the page.

The first piece, Who Owns Gestalt Language Processing?, did necessary institutional work. It traced questions of authority, capture, and who gets to define GLP as knowledge rather than experience. The two pieces that followed weren’t meant to extend that argument so much as let it settle—into the body, into memory, into the deeper sequence of how knowing actually arrives.

This conversation is about that sequence. About the difference between explanation and recognition. About why whole-to-part cognition resists premature translation, and why that resistance isn’t a flaw but a clue. Gestalt language processing doesn’t begin in language, and it doesn’t belong solely to method. It lives in bodies, relationships, timing, and coherence across time.

I’m also speaking here to Marge Blanc’s call that gestalt processors must be allowed to speak from the centre of their own cognition—not as illustrative examples, but as theorists of our own lives. This video is one attempt to do that out loud, across registers, without flattening what needed different forms to be said.

If you’re new to this work, consider this an orientation rather than an entry point. If you’ve been following along, consider it a pause—a chance to see how argument, resonance, and myth are working together here. We’ll move slowly. Recognition is enough.

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Today’s episode analyses Marge Blanc’s 2025 response to academic critiques regarding how individuals acquire language through gestalt languauge development. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that gestalt language processing should be viewed as a lived cognitive experience rather than a rigid clinical protocol or a laboratory-bound theory. By distinguishing between developmental trajectories and institutional methods, Blanc shifts the intellectual authority away from traditional peer-reviewed gatekeeping and toward the first-hand observations of those within the community. Dr. Hoerricks highlights a tension between experimental abstraction and the relational reality of how neurodivergent individuals actually communicate in daily life. Ultimately, she suggests that legitimate knowledge in autism research must include non-linear developmental patterns that traditional scientific models often overlook.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/who-owns-gestalt-language-processing

Let me know what you think.

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Today’s episode serves as a final integration of ideas regarding how autistic individuals experience and define their personal connections. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, explores various relational structures, such as queerplatonic bonds and customised monogamy, to challenge the societal narrative that these unconventional dynamics are inherently flawed. Instead of viewing these relationships as projects in need of repair, Dr. Hoerricks emphasises that autistic love is often already whole and valid in its own right. By utilising a gestalt processing perspective, she moves away from standard milestones to focus on relational autonomy and deep meaning. Ultimately, her work functions as a refusal of traditional standards, celebrating the unique ways neurodivergent people foster intimacy and community.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-capstone-your-relationship

Let me know what you think.

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Today’s episode explores the profound concept of solitary sovereignty, specifically within the context of autistic autonomy. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, challenges the societal assumption that a life without a romantic partner is incomplete or provisional, refuting the idea that being single is merely a waiting period. Instead, Dr. Hoerricks presents non-partnered existence as a finished and whole gestalt that requires no external validation or completion. By honoring the "Solitary Forager," she celebrates a life of intentional routine and independence where nothing is missing. Ultimately, she asserts that a person can be their own central orbit, finding total fulfillment through a deep connection to their own tools, paths, and solitude.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-opting-out-is-also

Let me know what you think.

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Today’s episode explores the concept of relational ecosystems, proposing a move away from the traditional two-person couple as the primary unit of social stability. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, suggests that true belonging occurs through distributed care and shared living environments where support is constant rather than negotiated. By highlighting the economic and material pressures that make the dyadic model unsustainable, Dr. Hoerricks advocates for communal networks that offer collective resilience. These systems prioritise parallel presence and ambient connection, allowing individuals to feel supported without the intensity of constant one-on-one interaction. Ultimately, she envisions a matristic kinship that fosters a deeper sense of security within a broader, more flexible community structure.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-relational-ecosystems

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Today’s episode explores a unique approach to customised monogamy that focuses on relationships forming naturally before any formal rules are established. Rather than relying on rigid structures or milestones to define a bond, the author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, describes an innate durability that emerges when an intimacy feels functional from the very beginning. These connections do not seek external validation or formal labels because they already possess a self-sustaining and reliable shape. Dr. Hoerricks emphasises that fidelity acts as care, protecting a partnership that is already stable rather than trying to fix one that is broken. Ultimately, she suggests that some of the strongest bonds are those that develop without urgency, prioritising steady presence over the pressure to conform to traditional relationship designs.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-customised-monogamy

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Today’s episode explores the nature of queerplatonic bonds. The author of the source articke, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, argues that these are deep, sustaining forms of autistic attachment that arrive “already whole” and are “inhabitable from the start.” Dr. Hoerricks emphasises that these relationships do not require escalation, as they are not prefaces to something else like a romantic or sexual partnership, and intimacy is already present as a steady warmth. She seeks to validate these relationships and examine the harm that occurs when they are dismissed or told they “don’t count,” stressing that the relationship is held together by belonging, not pursuit. Ultimately, she defines queerplatonic bonds as complete in themselves, where there is no pressure for transformation or question of what the relationship is becoming.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-queerplatonic-bonds

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Today’s episode explores the concept of polyamory, reframing it as a form of “Gestalt-Preserving Intimacy.” The author of the source article, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, challenges the widely held belief that emotional care and attention are finite resources that diminish when distributed across multiple relationships. Instead, Dr. Hoerricks focuses on the lived experience where multiplicity does not lead to collapse or dilution, emphasising that more than one relationship can exist simultaneously without any thinning or weakening of the connections. She posits that the body recognises and maintains this continuity and steadiness, contradicting the cultural narrative that portrays offering care in multiple directions as a necessary loss or division.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-many-wholes-not

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Today’s episode introduces the concept of relationship anarchy as a framework for care. Authored by Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, the source article focuses on the psychological and bodily relief that comes from engaging in relationships without the need for ranking, definition, or hierarchical expectations. Dr. Hoerricks argues that eliminating these pressures allows the “felt whole” of a person or connection to remain intact, resisting the common societal demand to categorize or legitimize bonds. Ultimately, she explores how this lack of external validation fosters continuity and allows relationships to exist based on their own internal rhythm.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-relationship-anarchy

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Today’s episode explores the concept of “default intimacy” and its impact, particularly on autistic individuals. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that common relationship scripts and milestones are not neutral, but rather clarify intimacy for some whilst causing fragmentation and harm for autistic gestalt processors. Dr. Hoerricks describes the unsettling experience when a relationship, previously felt to be stable and real, is abruptly subjected to examination through questions about its direction and definition. This process of “examination” is presented as demanding proof and placement, effectively treating something coherent as if it were provisional or unfinished.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/beyond-the-couple-love-was-never

Let me know what you think.

The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.