Today’s episode provides a rigorous critique of institutional power and the “myth of democracy” within autism research, arguing that the language of “consensus” and “community involvement” is often a performance that masks deep-seated inequity and colonial structures. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, examines three specific studies to illustrate this point: one showing how reporting participation acts as a superficial virtue signal, another demonstrating the potential of genuinely autistic-led research when power is fully transferred, and a third exposing the persistent pattern of extraction and tokenisation in supposedly collaborative projects. Ultimately, Dr. Hoerricks contends that those with funding and authority overwhelmingly prioritise “cures” and “prevention,” making autistic-led scholarship an act of “quiet rebellion” aimed at achieving narrative sovereignty and asserting the right to exist without apology.
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/consensus-without-consent-the-myth
Let me know what you think.
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