The AutSide Podcast

“Today’s episode examines how autistic masking, particularly for girls, women, and nonbinary individuals, leads to their disappearance from diagnosis and recognition. It argues that diagnostic systems are often based on a male-coded, externalised presentation of autism, making it difficult to identify those who have learned to internalize and hide their traits for survival. The author of the sourc...

“Today’s episode critiques the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), arguing that its subtle changes to the autism diagnostic criteria, specifically requiring all rather than at least two restricted/repetitive behaviours, have made it harder to receive a formal autism diagnosis. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contend...

“Today’s episode argues that the current issues with accessing wheelchairs, such as long delays for repairs and replacements, are not failures of the system but rather the intended outcome of a capitalist system prioritising profit over public good. It explains how the wheelchair industry has become a duopoly controlled by private equity firms whose goal is maximising returns by cutting costs and...

“Today’s episode reflects on the convergence of academic research on dialogic literacy, specifically Ruth Newman’s 2025 study on metalinguistic understanding, and classroom practice, highlighted by Dr. Jaime Hoerricks’ 2024 book, Holistic Language Instruction. Dr. Hoerricks argues that whilst emerging from different contexts, both works advocate for inclusive and dialogic language instruction that...

“Today’s episode argues that recent proposals in the UK requiring neurodivergent trans youth to undergo extensive diagnostic evaluations are not supportive measures, but rather a strategy of containment and gatekeeping. This approach, they contend, uses diagnosis as a means to delay and question the validity of gender identity, particularly for those who do not conform to systemic expectations of...

“Today’s episode explores the idea that trans femininity, particularly for trans women, challenges traditional, restrictive definitions of womanhood by revealing its constructed and enforced nature. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, draws a parallel between the fear directed at trans women today and the ancient, mythic fear associated with figures like the Cailleach, a powerfu...

“Today’s episode argues for reading Andrea Dworkin’s work now, not necessarily to agree with her, but to understand the continued and evolving nature of patriarchy. Whilst Dworkin used a “scream” to confront the brutal forms of male power, the author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, suggests their own approach, a “softness” rooted in neuroqueer femmeness and martial practice, serves as...

“Today’s episode explores Dr. Jaime Hoerricks’ connection to the Moomin books, seeing them as coded with themes of autism, queerness, and anti-capitalist gentleness. Inspired by a memory of these children’s books given by their grandmother, Dr. Hoerricks examines how Moominvalley offers a space where difference is accepted and emotional truth is valued. Through character analysis and reflections o...

“Today’s episode explores femmeness as a profound state of being, distinct from conventional Western definitions of softness as weakness or performance for external validation. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, identifying as trans, femme, and an autistic gestalt language processor, describes femmeness as a neuroqueer stance rooted in concepts like those found in martial arts,...

“Today’s episode deconstructs the rhetoric of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding autism, arguing that his language, whilst appearing to address issues of freedom and equality, is actually rooted in a capitalist framework that devalues autistic lives based on economic utility. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, uses a “Capitalist Dictionary” to decode terms like “freedom,” “equalit...

“Today’s episode highlights the harmful effects of performance-based communication demands on GLPs. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, explains that GLPs acquire language relationally through shared experiences and scripts, contrasting this with the prevailing modern educational and therapeutic approaches that prioritise analytic, spontaneous language production. Drawing on the...

“Today’s episode criticises the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for its lack of transparency and accountability, arguing that it prioritises industry self-interest over ethical practices and the well-being of those it serves. It draws a parallel to the forensic science industry, highlighting how the creation of the Organisation of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) brought necessary extern...

“Today’s episode critiques a recent paper by Morris et al. (2025), arguing that it functions as reputation management for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) rather than genuine scholarly review. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, assert that the Morris et al. paper uses the term “misinformation” to police dissent against ABA, particularly regarding a prior study by Ku...

“Today’s episode criticises Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointment of David Geier to lead a “national autism study,” highlighting Geier's history of discredited and unethical practices, including the use of a prostate cancer drug for “chemical castration” on autistic children. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that this choice reveals an agenda centred on control and the v...

“Today’s episode reflects on Dr. Jaime Hoerricks’ connection to nature and ancient traditions, particularly the festival of Bealltainn, contrasting it with their experiences and observations of the Catholic Church. The source article explores themes of belonging, acceptance, and the enduring power of the natural world and indigenous spiritualities compared to institutional religion’s often conditi...

“Today’s episode argues that the contemporary understanding of “woman” as a fixed biological category is a historically recent and socially constructed concept. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that in many pre-colonial societies across the globe, gender was fluid, relational, and tied to social roles rather than solely to anatomy. Dr. Hoerricks traces how biological...

“Today’s episode reflects on Leo Herrera’s “Post” and expands on the idea of a queer hero’s journey that differs from traditional narratives of departure, ordeal, and return. Instead, it explores themes of exile, survival, truth-telling, and expression as radical acts for marginalised individuals who often find no unchanged home to return to. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks,...

“Today’s episode is a critical reflection by Dr. Jaime Hoerricks on a recent study regarding adverse childhood experiences and neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Hoerricks, an AuDHD researcher and IRB chair, expresses concern that the study, Davidsson et al. (2025), perpetuates a harmful pattern of blaming mothers for their children’s neurodivergence. They argue that the study’s methodology, partic...

“This special podcast episode offers a rich, reflective audio journey through UDL Week —a seven-day exploration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in real-world classrooms. Written by Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, an autistic educator and gestalt language processor, and narrated by NotebookLM, this episode provides a critical, compassionate look at what inclusive practice actually requires. From suppor...

“Today’s episode celebrates neurodivergent joy and resilience in a world often seeking to erase or “solve” such identities. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, identifying as neurodivergent, rejects the notion of being broken or lost, instead affirming self-love and survival as acts of revolution. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, Dr. Hoerricks highlights the hard-won...

“Today’s episode presents a reflection on ancestral knowledge and mathematics, arguing that ancient stone monuments across the Atlantic coast reveal sophisticated understanding predating classical civilizations. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that these structures, aligned with celestial events, demonstrate a relational and communal mathematics embedded in the land...

“Today’s episode critiques the prevailing deficit-based approach in autism research, particularly in light of recent political rhetoric seeking a “cause” of autism. Drawing on their background in forensic science, the author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that autistic behaviours and communication styles are authentic “traces” of a different way of being, not pathological “arte...

“Today’s episode argues that the challenges autistic individuals face stem from systemic failures rather than inherent flaws. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, critiques societal norms and diagnostic models that prioritise conformity and mask autistic struggles behind labels like “high-functioning.” They highlight how these systems often misinterpret autistic experiences, dema...

“Today’s episode critiques the prevalent pedagogical approach of “productive struggle,” arguing that its implementation, particularly with curricula like Illustrative Mathematics, often leads to institutional neglect for students with Individualised Education Programs (IEPs) and other marginalised learners. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that the emphasis on indepe...

“Today’s episode explores the experience of an autistic, multilingual gestalt language processor (GLP) during a professional development session that felt like a sales pitch. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, recounts feeling overwhelmed and disconnected, culminating in a request to summarise the experience in one word, which prompted the German word “nützlich” (useful) to sur...