Vince and Vanessa talk fleetingly about contradictory research on autistic neural connectomes and swiftly cover 2 papers on strengths-based approaches to identifying and working with Autistic people.
Autistic Connectomes
Summary at Embrace Autism:
https://embrace-autism.com/autistic-brain-differences-connectivity/
Human Connectome Project:
https://www.humanconnectome.org/
Nick Walker forever
The essay in which the greatly admired Nick Walker says:
“Ultimately, to describe autism as a disorder represents a value judgment rather than a scientific fact.”
https://neuroqueer.com/what-is-autism/
Strengths-based Autistic Identification
Matt Lowry’s Reframing of the DSM Criteria:
https://www.mattlowrylpp.com/blog/reframing-dsm-autism-criteria
Autistic Culture Podcast:
https://www.autisticculturepodcast.com/
Woods SEO, Estes A. Toward a more comprehensive autism assessment: the survey of autistic strengths, skills, and interests. Front Psychiatry. 2023 Oct 6;14:1264516. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1264516. PMID: 37867767; PMCID: PMC10587489.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10587489/
YAFAI, A.-F., VERRIER, Diarmuid and REIDY, Lisa (2014). Social conformity and autism spectrum disorder : a child-friendly take on a classic study. Autism, 18 (8),1007-1013. [Article]
https://shura.shu.ac.uk/7450/3/Verrier_Autism_and_Conformity.pdf
Urbanowicz A, Nicolaidis C, den Houting J, Shore SM, Gaudion K, Girdler S, Savarese RJ. An Expert Discussion on Strengths-Based Approaches in Autism. Autism Adulthood. 2019 Jun1;1(2):82-89. doi: 10.1089/aut.2019.29002.aju. Epub 2019 Apr 13. PMID: 36601531; PMCID:PMC8992818.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8992818/
Dr. Katie Gaudion
https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/staff/dr-katie-gaudion/
Dr. Ralph James Savarese
https://www.ralphsavarese.com/
Autistic Joy
Wassell, E. (2025). Experiences of autistic joy. Disability & Society, 1–26.
