Tag: Autism

  • Part 22: Diagnostic Manual Differences

    Hello, and welcome back to The Autistic Writer. The field of autism is so complex. The difference between a neurodiversity-based approach to autism and a pathologised approach to it is only part of that complexity. But it certainly does generate a lot of confusion. Today, I want to talk about how to interpret some technical…

  • Part 21: Monotropism

    Hello, and welcome back to The Autistic Writer. Over the years, there have been many theories and many diagnostic models that have claimed to explain or define autism. Many have been wrong, as in the refrigerator mother theory, for example. Some are works in progress. None has yet had the final word. But one theory…

  • Part 20: Autistic Regression

    Can you become more autistic? That’s a pretty provocative thing to ask, but interestingly, people who are diagnosed as autistic later in life often talk about feeling like they have become more autistic after diagnosis.  This sensation is more common than you might think.  Sometimes, people refer to the phenomenon as autistic regression.  But like…

  • Part 19: The Double Empathy Problem

    In the field of autism, the double empathy problem, a hypothesis put forward by social psychologist Damian Milton, has become one of the most influential ideas in contemporary autism theory.

  • Part 18: Refrigerator Mother Theory

    One of the most tragic examples of the damage that has been caused by misguided autism research and clinical practice is that of the so-called refrigerator mother theory. This effectively blamed autism on bad parenting, and triggered one of the biggest scandals in autism history. Unfortunately, its effects continue to echo down the years.

  • AFI Part 3: Follow the Money

    The latest episode of AFI: the podcast that explores the intersection of autism and financial independence has landed! Episode 3: Follow the Money has a pretty intense examination of the mind-boggling amounts of money flowing through the autism industry, and why that’s not a good thing for autistic people.   Then, we have a practical…

  • AFI episode 2 is live!

    Hello, and welcome back to The Autistic Writer. Episode 2 of AFI: the podcast that explores the intersection of autism and financial independence is now live. This week: -Jason Arday -Trump, autism and vaccines  -What actually is money? -The gatekeeping stopping autistic people thriving  YouTube: https://youtu.be/2ubPUZsdEp0?is=upavA1p8eVHs4cPf Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/afi-autism-and-financial-independence/id6802332982?i=1000784582069 #Autism  #ActuallyAutistic  #Autistic #AutismAcceptance  #Mythbusting  #Financialindependence…

  • Extra! The AFI podcast is now live!

    AFI: The Autism and Financial Independence podcast is now live! Well, we’ve finally done it. AFI: Autism and Financial Independence is now a podcast! In the first episode, David and I introduce the podcast and explore why financial independence matters, particularly for autistic people. We also have the first instalment of Autism in the News, where we discuss…

  • Part 17: Autism – Why Words Have Power

    The work of Loftus and Palmer, and others, has shown that our memories and the way we think can be affected by other people’s words without our even realising. This has implications for the things we say in our everyday conversations and our social media activity, especially in unguarded moments. Our words and spoken opinions…

  • Extra! AFI: The Podcast that Explores the Intersection of Autism and Financial Independence

    At AFI, we are autistic people talking about the autistic experience. Historically, the loudest voices talking about autism have not been autistic.  We believe autistic people should take the lead in conversations about autism.