Today’s episode offers a critical examination of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, argues that the search for the “cause” of autism, particularly through large-scale data science and genetic research, is not a benign quest for understanding but a continuation of historical practices aimed at erasing difference by making autism “optional.” Dr. Hoerricks draws parallels between the language of modern scientific pursuit—such as “burden reduction” and “prevention”—and the terminology used in historical eugenics movements like Aktion T4, asserting that the goal remains one of “perfection” through the elimination of variance. Ultimately, she portrays the ADSI as a system that prioritises quantification and control over the inherent value and “resistance of being” of autistic people.
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/autism-to-know-the-cause-is-to-make
Let me know what you think.
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