Today’s episode critically reviews a new Nature study, led by researchers associated with Cambridge and Simon Baron-Cohen, which proposes two polygenic factors for autism based on the age of diagnosis. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that this study attempts to “repackage exclusion as genetics” by dividing autistic people into “core” (early-diagnosed, often white and male) and “blurred” or “co-morbid” (late-diagnosed), thereby erasing the recognition hard-won by late-diagnosed individuals, particularly women and people of color. Dr.Hoerricks asserts that the supposed genetic split merely indexes systemic bias and unequal access to diagnosis, as early recognition is often reserved for the privileged, whilst the later-diagnosed group’s accumulated distress from neglect is falsely framed as a “genetic burden”. Ultimately, she contends that the research perpetuates historical prejudices and institutional gatekeeping by mistaking the shadow of rationing for biological truth.
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/simon-says-two-shadows-of-autism
Let me know what you think.
The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
