Post #905548

2026-03-31 17:00 UTC

Re: the article linked in the post below: I am livid. I can&#39;t believe those words came out of the mouth of a cognitive development *researcher* who has been in the field for *decades*. The linked thread is a good place to start in ripping apart the article, but there is so much more in there. If you have the spoons for it, I highly recommend you read it yourself. I&#39;ll post more specific thoughts in this thread. 1/? @KatyElphinstone https://mas.to/@KatyElphinstone/116206524414480658

Replies (1)

@chronohart@tech.lgbt 2026-03-31 17:07

My main thought reading through this article is that Frith misunderstands the meaning of "spectrum" and that it's perhaps intentional because she wants fewer people diagnosed. She kind of seems to be leaning toward the idea that *everyone* thinks differently, so autism isn't real for most people diagnosed that way, but she completely neglects the fact that society deems only a very limited range of that different thinking as "normal" and healthy. Even assuming that's true and that there isn't something actually *biologically* broken, it isn't practical to act on that until society changes to accommodate the variations of thought. Like, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with being hyper focused on a task that means a lot to you (as long as your biological needs are still being met). It's only a problem because the society we live in has generally decided not to learn how to integrate that way of thinking, particularly when it affects other people. 2/?

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