Autistic Small Talk

Hypercuriosity and Critical ADHD Studies

Sat, 09 May 2026 23:17:23 GMT

Vince and Vanessa zip through 2 papers on hypercuriosity as a framework for ADHD. The first lays out the theory, and the second is a survey-based study on curiosity and ADHD traits.

They then discuss a paper making a call for the establishment of Critical ADHD Studies as a field.

Show Notes

Spoon Theory

The original spoon theory essay:

https://web-wp.archive.org/web/20251002173043/https://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

Christine Miserandino reading her original piece about spoon theory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn5IBsm49Rk

Spoon Theory For Autism And ADHD: The Neurodivergent Spoon Drawer

https://neurodivergentinsights.com/the-neurodivergent-spoon-drawer-spoon-theory-for-adhders-and-autists

Hypercuriosity

Le Cunff, AL. Distractibility and Impulsivity in ADHD as an Evolutionary Mismatch of High Trait Curiosity. Evolutionary Psychological Science 10, 282–297 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-024-00400-8

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-024-00400-8

The Hypercurious Mind

https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-hypercuriosity-of-adhd-may-have-helped-humans-thrive

Le Cunff, AL., Russell, C. & Dommett, E.J. Hyperactive–impulsive ADHD traits predict higher curiosity in adults: evidence from a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-04504-7

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403686915_Hyperactive-impulsive_ADHD_traits_predict_higher_curiosity_in_adults_evidence_from_a_cross-sectional_study

Calls For Critical ADHD Studies

Jackson-Perry, D., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., & Brown, A. I. (2025). Moving forward: a call for Critical ADHD Studies. Disability & Society, 40(12), 3519–3524. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2025.2458016

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2025.2458016

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https://autisticsmalltalk.com

Autistic Flow

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:20:50 GMT

Vince and Vanessa discourse expediently upon 2 papers about Autistic Flow. The first describes a proposed theory of Autistic Flow and the second is a qualitative study of Autistic people transitioning in and out of flow. We also talk about anarchist callisthenics.

Anarchist Callisthenics

Anarchist Callisthenics video

https://www.tiktok.com/@jonjon.jpeg/video/7597533190965808398

The Happy Urbanist

https://www.thehappyurbanist.city/

Autistic Flow

Heasman, B., Williams, G., Charura, D., Hamilton, L. G., Milton, D., & Murray, F. (2024). Towards autistic flow theory: A non-pathologising conceptual approach. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 54(4), 469–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12427

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/JDZZFXR6URAUQTXPD34U?target=10.1111/jtsb.12427

A podcast of the authors discussing the paper:

https://youtu.be/lGrLMPXJAuk

Wain, D., G.Williams, D.Charura, et al. 2026. “Transitioning in and out of Autistic Flow: A Qualitative Study Presenting a Non-Pathologising Approach to Autistic Well-Being and Conceptualising Autistic Ways of Being in Clinical and Therapeutic Settings.” Counselling and Psychotherapy Research26, no. 1: e70073. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.70073.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/CXWVCJMS7ST8E6MNAXNK?target=10.1002/capr.70073

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Models of Disability and Research Supporting Damian Milton's Double Empathy Problem

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:16:40 GMT

Vince and Vanessa concisely review 9 different models of disability and a chapter in "Conversations on Empathy",authored by Damian Milton, Krysia Emily Waldock, and Nathan Keates, and titled: Autism and the ‘double empathy problem’.

Odd Pride (Astrid)

https://oddpride.com/

Shanidar 1

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/06/17/878896381/ancient-bones-oﬀer-clues-to-how-long-ago-humans-cared-for-the-vulnerable

Disability Models

Lawson, A., & Beckett, A. E. (2021). The social and human rights models of disability: towards a complementarity thesis. The International Journal of Human Rights, 25(2), 348–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1783533

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642987.2020.1783533#d1e177

Berghs M, Atkin K, Graham H, et al. Implications for public health research of models and theories of disability: a scoping study and evidence synthesis. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016 Jul. (Public Health Research, No. 4.8.) doi: 10.3310/phr04080

Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK378941/

10 Principles of Disability Justice

https://sinsinvalid.org/10-principles-of-disability-justice/

Damian Milton

The Participatory Autism Research Collective

https://participatoryautismresearch.wordpress.com/2025/12/18/parc-critical-autism-studies-conference-2026-call-for-submissions/

The Double Empathy Problem

Milton, Damian & Waldock, Krysia & Keates, Nathan. (2023). Autism and the ‘double empathy problem’. 10.4324/9781003189978-6.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366888965_Autism_and_the_'double_empathy_problem'

Milton, Damian. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: The 'double empathy problem'. Disability & Society - DISABIL SOC. 27. 1-5. 10.1080/09687599.2012.710008.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254245139_On_the_ontological_status_of_autism_The_'double_empathy_problem'

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Nick Walker's Doctoral Dissertation Part 3

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:41:25 GMT

Vince and Vanessa efficiently finish their discussion of Nick Walker’s dissertation (Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration). They talk about ParaTheatrical ReSearch, autistic aptitudes, reconnecting with stimming, and autistic wellbeing.

Nick Walker’s doctoral dissertation

Walker, Nick (2019) Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration. [Doctoral Dissertaion, California Institute of Integral Studies].

https://neuroqueer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Nick_Walker_Dissertation.pdf

Weird Luck

(Nick Walker’s comic with co-creators Andrew M. Reichart, and Mike Bennewitz)

https://weirdluck.net/

Connected with Jen and Shannon

What the Heck is Embodiment Anyway with Nick Walker

https://youtu.be/MgXQG9lP-Bc?si=cgTCn2a1dn8RUPnu

ParaTheatrical ReSearch

Nick Walker's Doctoral Dissertation Part 2

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:06:28 GMT

Vince and Vanessa dash through part 2 of their discussion of Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration by Nick Walker. This includes stories of Nick Walker's experiences with aikido, how he came to start training, how it changed his embodiment, and how his autistic traits benefitted not only him but his students.

Nick Walker’s doctoral dissertation

Walker, Nick (2019) Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration. [Doctoral Dissertaion, California Institute of Integral Studies].

https://neuroqueer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Nick_Walker_Dissertation.pdf

Nick Walker’s writings

https://neuroqueer.com/

Murmurations

Beautiful footage by Jan van IJken of starling flight:

https://youtu.be/V4f_1_r80RY?si=6fl9VCIUnFiuPIYT

Nick Walker's Doctoral Dissertation Part 1

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 03:02:35 GMT

Vince and Vanessa fly through part 1 of excitedly describing Nick Walker’s doctoral dissertation, which is entitled: Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration. As you can imagine, Vanessa is completely delighted.

Nick Walker’s doctoral dissertation

Walker, Nick (2019) Transformative Somatic Practices and Autistic Potentials: An Autoethnographic Exploration. [Doctoral Dissertaion, California Institute of Integral Studies].

https://neuroqueer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Nick_Walker_Dissertation.pdf

ABA causing harm

Citations from Nick Walker’s dissertation about lifelong post-traumatic stress symptoms:

Asasumasu, K. (2013b, November 7). The tyranny of indistinguishability: performance [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://timetolisten.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-tyranny-of-indistinguishability.html

Bascom, J. (2012). Quiet hands. In J. Bascom (Ed.), Loud hands: Autistic people, speaking (pp. 177–182). Washington, DC: Autistic Press.

Dawson, M. (2004). The misbehaviour of behaviourists: Ethical challenges to the autism-ABA industry. Retrieved from http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_aba.html

Kupferstein, H. (2018). Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysis. Advances in Autism, (4)1, 19–29.

Silberman, S. (2015). NeuroTribes: The legacy of autism and the future of neurodiversity. New York, NY: Avery.

Yergeau, M. (2018). Authoring autism: On rhetoric and neurological queerness.

Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Dyslexic Strengths

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:22:34 GMT

Vince and Vanessa have a brisk chat about Dyslexic Strengths and Complimentary Cognition.

Professor Chesko:

“You Can’t Blame Everything on Your Autism”

A Response to a Critique I Never Asked For

By the excellent Professor Chesko

https://open.substack.com/pub/thespeechprof/p/you-cant-blame-everything-on-your?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Dyslexic Strengths and Complementary Cognition:

Taylor H and Vestergaard MD (2022) Developmental Dyslexia: Disorder or Specialization in Exploration?. Front. Psychol. 13:889245. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889245

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889245/full

Taylor H, Fernandes B, Wraight S. The Evolution of Complementary Cognition: HumansCooperatively Adapt and Evolve through a System of Collective Cognitive Search. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 2022;32(1):61-77. doi:10.1017/S0959774321000329

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/evolution-of-complementary-cognition-humans-cooperatively-adapt-and-evolve-through-a-system-of-collective-cognitivesearch/F198B30682343E92C7E9C986332D380A

Erbeli, F.; Rice, M.; Paracchini, S. Insights into Dyslexia Genetics Research from the Last Two Decades. Brain Sci. 2022, 12, 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12010027

Neanderthal Art:

It’s Oﬃcial: Neanderthals Created Art

https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/neanderthal-art-discovery/

Autistic Joy and Glimmers

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:07:34 GMT

Vince and Vanessa cruise through Elliot Wassell's paper Experiences of Autistic Joy. Then they discuss glimmers, and share 2 field recordings containing stories of Autistic Joy.

Wassell, E. (2025). Experiences of autistic joy. Disability & Society, 1–26.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2025.2498417

Autistic Girls Network:

https://autisticgirlsnetwork.org/

Glimmers

https://autisticrealms.com/glimmers-autistic-joy-and-monotropism/

Life writings of Autistic people mentioned in Wassell’s paper:

McAnulty, D. 2020. Diary of a Young Naturalist. London: Ebury.

Kedar, I. 2012. Ido in Autismland: Climbing out of Autism’s Silent Prison. Sharon Kedar.

Tammet, D. 2006. Born on a Blue Day: A Memoir of Asperger’s and an Extraordinary Mind.

London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Williams, D. 1992. Nobody Nowhere. London, Doubleday.

Mór, C. 2007. A Blessing and a Curse: Autism and Me. London: Jessica Kingsley.

James, L. 2017. Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman in a Neurotypical World. London: Bluebird.

Lawson, W. 2000. Life Behind Glass: A Personal Account of Autism Spectrum Disorder. London

Mountain Mansion

Mentioned in Vince’s field recordings:

https://mountainmansion.bandcamp.com/

Neural Connectomes and Strengths-based Autistic Identification

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:51:03 GMT

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.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2025.2498417

Stimming, and the Farahar & Foster Three Dimensional Autistic Space Framework

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 04:31:24 GMT

Vince and Vanessa zoom through a chat about stimming followed by a speedy discussion of the Farahar & Foster Three Dimensional Autistic Space Framework. There may be a passing mention of the connection between mushrooms and ancient calendar systems..

Farahar & Foster three dimensions Autistic space framework

Video by Chloe Farahar and Annette Foster explaining their framework::

https://vimeo.com/601839613

Farahar, C., & Foster, A. (2019, June 4th). Autistic observable and unobservable experiences, and the erroneous use of biological sex as a method to differentiate Autistics: Introducing the Internal and External Autistic Space. Presentation at The Participatory Autism Research Collective Third Critical Autism Studies Conference, LSBU, London.

Chloe Farahar

Bio at Aucademy:

https://aucademy.co.uk/chloe-farahar-phd/

Annette Foster

Bio at Aucademy:

https://aucademy.co.uk/annette-foster/

Neuroqueer Heresies

Nick Walker’s wonderful book is available at the Penticton Public Library:

https://www.pentictonlibrary.ca/

Through various public libraries (as an ebook and and audiobook) via Hoopla:

https://www.hoopladigital.com/

Via libro.fm (in audio format) which lets you support a local bookstore of your choice:

https://libro.fm/

And various other places books are sold conveniently listed here:

https://neuroqueer.com/books/

Stimming

Video from aucademy that includes a guided stim at the end:

https://www.youtube.com/live/51fqpWj61V8?si=F5HXYx0OzVjkXlZC

Autistic Identity and its Connection to Neuroqueerness

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 01:23:33 GMT

Vince and Vanessa rapidly review 2 papers about autistic identity and connect them to the concept of neuroqueer, then sprint through Vince’s project of inviting people to consider their neurotype.

Show notes

Monotropism and Neuroqueerness

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:29:02 GMT

The episode opens with a great story from Sarah Willard. After which Vince and Vanessa have a speedy exchange about monotropism and the concept of neuroqueer.

Show notes

Rachel Cullen's Autistic Pragmatic Language Hypothesis

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:54:26 GMT

Vince and Vanessa glance at Rachel Cullen’s Autistic Pragmatic Language Hypothesis, and demonstrate some autistic joy by discussing their love of plants.

Show notes

Masking, and Prejudice in Research

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 04:01:39 GMT

Vince and Vanessa have a quick chat about masking, identity-first language, and institutionalized prejudice and bigotry against Autistic people within research that is not led by us. Things get dark. And then they get even darker. But at the very end you hear us laughing a lot while we semi-chaotically attempt to end the episode.

Show notes

Empathy, Disability, and Representation

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 05:02:06 GMT

In their first episode, Vince and Vanessa briefly talk about the Double Empathy Problem, the Social Model of Disability, Autistic representation and Autistic spaces. They discuss the importance of Autistic researchers, and talk through some examples of what accommodation can look like, while sharing stories of their personal experiences within these topics. Warning: Somewhere in the middle, with hardly any apology, Vanessa does try to explain a joke.