Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
@thinkingautism.com
The greatest autism info you will ever find, from autistic people, professionals, and parents. www.ThinkingAutism.com & buttondown.com/TPGA. Pro-neurodiversity. Even more TPGA community discussions on IG and FB.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
Research participants reported that barriers are not autistic traits, but environmental factors. Bullying. Lack of understanding. Sensory hostile environments with harsh lighting and noise. Forced masking that creates exhaustion and pain. Social rejection for being authentically autistic. Prejudice.
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Research participants reported that barriers are not autistic traits, but environmental factors. Bullying. Lack of understanding. Sensory hostile environments with harsh lighting and noise. Forced masking that creates exhaustion and pain. Social rejection for being authentically autistic. Prejudice.
Alternative autism “treatments” not only are largely ineffective with poor evidence bases (often single dodgy papers)—but they also tend to overlook potential harms to the autistic kids/adults being “treated.” New research:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202... #autism #pseudoscience #neurodiversity
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202... #autism #pseudoscience #neurodiversity
A massive scientific review put alternative autism therapies to the test
A major new review has put hundreds of alternative autism treatments under the microscope—and most didn’t hold up. Scientists analyzed decades of research and found little reliable evidence that popul...
www.sciencedaily.com
January 11, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Alternative autism “treatments” not only are largely ineffective with poor evidence bases (often single dodgy papers)—but they also tend to overlook potential harms to the autistic kids/adults being “treated.” New research:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202... #autism #pseudoscience #neurodiversity
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202... #autism #pseudoscience #neurodiversity
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
U.S. Health is currently run by anti-vaxxers. However, the AAP remains a trusted source for vaccine information.
Vaccines have nothing to do with autism, & they help keep autistic kids healthy.
You can still access all the vaccines that the AAP recommends, & health insurance will still cover them.
Vaccines have nothing to do with autism, & they help keep autistic kids healthy.
You can still access all the vaccines that the AAP recommends, & health insurance will still cover them.
Read our full statement by AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine on today’s HHS announcement about the childhood immunization schedule: www.aap.org/en/news-room...
January 6, 2026 at 6:11 PM
U.S. Health is currently run by anti-vaxxers. However, the AAP remains a trusted source for vaccine information.
Vaccines have nothing to do with autism, & they help keep autistic kids healthy.
You can still access all the vaccines that the AAP recommends, & health insurance will still cover them.
Vaccines have nothing to do with autism, & they help keep autistic kids healthy.
You can still access all the vaccines that the AAP recommends, & health insurance will still cover them.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
It hurt my feelings to be called an idiot today. It's supposed to hurt because, like moron, it's an ableist slur. The reason that these two words are ableist slurs is that they are old clinical terms from an era of eugenics for intellectual disabilities. I miss Link on here when I explain this.
How to talk about disability sensitively and avoid ableist tropes
When it comes to disability, a lot of ableist language and tropes are perpetuated by the media. Here's what experts have to say about how to talk about disability.
www.npr.org
January 11, 2026 at 9:20 AM
It hurt my feelings to be called an idiot today. It's supposed to hurt because, like moron, it's an ableist slur. The reason that these two words are ableist slurs is that they are old clinical terms from an era of eugenics for intellectual disabilities. I miss Link on here when I explain this.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
Gotta love how tending to not give unfair preferential treatment to your ‘friends’ or for personal gain is ‘lacking empathy’ to a neurotypical.
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Gotta love how tending to not give unfair preferential treatment to your ‘friends’ or for personal gain is ‘lacking empathy’ to a neurotypical.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
The House voted to extend ACA premium subsidies that keep health care affordable for millions. Now the Senate must pass it, too.
Call your Senators and urge them to pass the extension.
More info:
Call your Senators and urge them to pass the extension.
More info:
January 10, 2026 at 1:15 AM
The House voted to extend ACA premium subsidies that keep health care affordable for millions. Now the Senate must pass it, too.
Call your Senators and urge them to pass the extension.
More info:
Call your Senators and urge them to pass the extension.
More info:
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
"extending fairness beyond their tribes" hits so fucking hard
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:04 PM
"extending fairness beyond their tribes" hits so fucking hard
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
The "even to strangers, even when costly" hits particularly hard, many of us are silent helpers.
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:11 PM
The "even to strangers, even when costly" hits particularly hard, many of us are silent helpers.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
"For reasons that are unclear, @washingtonpost.com picked up on the 'four autism subtypes' hype from last summer in late December, four months after everyone else covered the study." @ejwillingham.bsky.social on why there's still no there there—in the TPGA newsletter:
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
4 autism subtypes: hype in August, still hype now
As with all such genetics studies, it’s unclear what the results offer for autistic people.
buttondown.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:46 PM
"For reasons that are unclear, @washingtonpost.com picked up on the 'four autism subtypes' hype from last summer in late December, four months after everyone else covered the study." @ejwillingham.bsky.social on why there's still no there there—in the TPGA newsletter:
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
"the utility of drawing these artificial lines around autistic people who are, after all, autistic because of shared traits has never been clear."
Someone tell researchers that Neurodiversity explains the natural variation between people, autistic or not, better than arbitrary categories ever will
Someone tell researchers that Neurodiversity explains the natural variation between people, autistic or not, better than arbitrary categories ever will
The Autism Industrial Complex (AIC) is those who actively profit off autistic people—but lack interest in autistic welfare. It includes (academic) behaviorists, some non-autistic parents, psychologists/psychiatrists, & ofc Autism Speaks. By @ejwillingham.bsky.social:
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
4 autism subtypes: hype in August, still hype now
As with all such genetics studies, it’s unclear what the results offer for autistic people.
buttondown.com
January 10, 2026 at 4:48 PM
"the utility of drawing these artificial lines around autistic people who are, after all, autistic because of shared traits has never been clear."
Someone tell researchers that Neurodiversity explains the natural variation between people, autistic or not, better than arbitrary categories ever will
Someone tell researchers that Neurodiversity explains the natural variation between people, autistic or not, better than arbitrary categories ever will
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
Homeless transfem, intersex, sw, just used some aid from here to buy train tickets to get to Arizona
Could really use some community support to help me with this move.
(If anyone is possibly in Tuscon and would like to welcome me and help me live?)
cashapp/paypal: $miusoph
Could really use some community support to help me with this move.
(If anyone is possibly in Tuscon and would like to welcome me and help me live?)
cashapp/paypal: $miusoph
January 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Homeless transfem, intersex, sw, just used some aid from here to buy train tickets to get to Arizona
Could really use some community support to help me with this move.
(If anyone is possibly in Tuscon and would like to welcome me and help me live?)
cashapp/paypal: $miusoph
Could really use some community support to help me with this move.
(If anyone is possibly in Tuscon and would like to welcome me and help me live?)
cashapp/paypal: $miusoph
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
"Many behavioral researchers are also practicing clinicians, and they are not generally aware that this dual role inherently constitutes a COI. This is a big problem in my opinion, and means that [ABA] researchers need to be better trained about this topic." Dr. @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social, at TPGA.
January 5, 2026 at 5:20 PM
"Many behavioral researchers are also practicing clinicians, and they are not generally aware that this dual role inherently constitutes a COI. This is a big problem in my opinion, and means that [ABA] researchers need to be better trained about this topic." Dr. @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social, at TPGA.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
ABA therapy is not a "gold standard," for autism "treatment," for many reasons, including that its research base is substandard & riddled with conflicts of interest. "We shouldn’t have a separate set of lower standards that we only apply to autism research."
thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/conf...
thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/conf...
Conflicts of Interest in Early Autism Intervention Research
A very large portion of early autism intervention research is… conducted by the same people who design or provide the interventions.
thinkingautismguide.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:18 PM
ABA therapy is not a "gold standard," for autism "treatment," for many reasons, including that its research base is substandard & riddled with conflicts of interest. "We shouldn’t have a separate set of lower standards that we only apply to autism research."
thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/conf...
thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/conf...
The Autism Industrial Complex (AIC) is those who actively profit off autistic people—but lack interest in autistic welfare. It includes (academic) behaviorists, some non-autistic parents, psychologists/psychiatrists, & ofc Autism Speaks. By @ejwillingham.bsky.social:
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
4 autism subtypes: hype in August, still hype now
As with all such genetics studies, it’s unclear what the results offer for autistic people.
buttondown.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The Autism Industrial Complex (AIC) is those who actively profit off autistic people—but lack interest in autistic welfare. It includes (academic) behaviorists, some non-autistic parents, psychologists/psychiatrists, & ofc Autism Speaks. By @ejwillingham.bsky.social:
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...
More on Heated Rivalry and representation: The autistic character is "informed by a genuine love and understanding of real-life autistic people [and] diverges from that usual autistic archetype in a number of meaningful and refreshing ways." By @fodderfigure.bsky.social:
time.com/7344379/heat...
time.com/7344379/heat...
'Heated Rivalry' Handles Autism With Love, Care, And A Touch Of Awkwardness
The runaway hit hockey romance gives us a different kind of autistic character, one created by an author and an actor with their own personal investment.
time.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM
More on Heated Rivalry and representation: The autistic character is "informed by a genuine love and understanding of real-life autistic people [and] diverges from that usual autistic archetype in a number of meaningful and refreshing ways." By @fodderfigure.bsky.social:
time.com/7344379/heat...
time.com/7344379/heat...
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
If you're a family member of an autistic person, you are more likely to have autistic traits. Research says so, which is nice because autistic people have also been saying so just about forever. ;)
www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinn... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinn... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Meeting Families Where They Are: Dr. Amy Weitlauf on Rethinking Autism Diagnosis
Dr. Amy Weitlauf is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Associate Director of Research at TRIAD (Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum D...
www.vanderbilt.edu
January 4, 2026 at 6:53 PM
If you're a family member of an autistic person, you are more likely to have autistic traits. Research says so, which is nice because autistic people have also been saying so just about forever. ;)
www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinn... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinn... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
“Prejudice is one reason decades of research got autism so wrong. Researchers measured autistic people against neurotypical expectations and called every difference a deficit.”
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:16 AM
“Prejudice is one reason decades of research got autism so wrong. Researchers measured autistic people against neurotypical expectations and called every difference a deficit.”
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
go outside to a queer bar if you can & live. all of the internet is designed to make you anxious.
go thrive in the world & come back for parasociality as needed. apps are a supplement for reality, not a replacement.
please live, you deserve to bloom. 🌻liberation, not social media assimilation. 🏳️⚧️
go thrive in the world & come back for parasociality as needed. apps are a supplement for reality, not a replacement.
please live, you deserve to bloom. 🌻liberation, not social media assimilation. 🏳️⚧️
what type of apocalypse is this can we please return it
January 9, 2026 at 11:16 AM
go outside to a queer bar if you can & live. all of the internet is designed to make you anxious.
go thrive in the world & come back for parasociality as needed. apps are a supplement for reality, not a replacement.
please live, you deserve to bloom. 🌻liberation, not social media assimilation. 🏳️⚧️
go thrive in the world & come back for parasociality as needed. apps are a supplement for reality, not a replacement.
please live, you deserve to bloom. 🌻liberation, not social media assimilation. 🏳️⚧️
Representing in New Orleans. #autism #neurodiversity
[image: Thinking Person’s Guide to autism sticker on a New Orleans lamppost.]
[image: Thinking Person’s Guide to autism sticker on a New Orleans lamppost.]
January 10, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Representing in New Orleans. #autism #neurodiversity
[image: Thinking Person’s Guide to autism sticker on a New Orleans lamppost.]
[image: Thinking Person’s Guide to autism sticker on a New Orleans lamppost.]
Some autistic people, like non-autistic people, can lack empathy. It’s the stereotype about ALL autistics lacking empathy that is wrong.
January 9, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Some autistic people, like non-autistic people, can lack empathy. It’s the stereotype about ALL autistics lacking empathy that is wrong.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
I have had this discussion with parents...usually goes better than you would expect, especially with the parents of teenagers.
Teenagers can be jerks. It's almost a rite of passage to be a bit of a douche for a time. Poor autism gets blamed for a heap of stuff.
Teenagers can be jerks. It's almost a rite of passage to be a bit of a douche for a time. Poor autism gets blamed for a heap of stuff.
January 9, 2026 at 5:13 PM
I have had this discussion with parents...usually goes better than you would expect, especially with the parents of teenagers.
Teenagers can be jerks. It's almost a rite of passage to be a bit of a douche for a time. Poor autism gets blamed for a heap of stuff.
Teenagers can be jerks. It's almost a rite of passage to be a bit of a douche for a time. Poor autism gets blamed for a heap of stuff.
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
It will always be morbidly funny to me when they found that autistic people had more consistent morality in some studies and they were just twisting themselves in knots trying to frame that as bad.
January 9, 2026 at 5:40 PM
It will always be morbidly funny to me when they found that autistic people had more consistent morality in some studies and they were just twisting themselves in knots trying to frame that as bad.
Our Heated Rivalry fans probably already picked up on this but:
Yes, Shane Hollander, the Canadian hockey star played by Hudson Williams in the popular romance streaming series, is autistic. (Even though they never say so outright.)
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Yes, Shane Hollander, the Canadian hockey star played by Hudson Williams in the popular romance streaming series, is autistic. (Even though they never say so outright.)
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Heated Rivalry's Shane is autistic. If you didn't notice, that's the point | CBC News
Rachel Reid, the Canadian author behind the Game Changer book series that inspired the show, has previously confirmed on Reddit that Shane is "probably autistic" — though she didn't set out to write h...
www.cbc.ca
January 9, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Our Heated Rivalry fans probably already picked up on this but:
Yes, Shane Hollander, the Canadian hockey star played by Hudson Williams in the popular romance streaming series, is autistic. (Even though they never say so outright.)
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Yes, Shane Hollander, the Canadian hockey star played by Hudson Williams in the popular romance streaming series, is autistic. (Even though they never say so outright.)
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #autism #neurodiversity #autistic
Reposted by Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
As a father to an autistic toddler, it gives me great hope and joy that more quality research is being conducted on ASD, and that existing research is being questioned in light of new information.
No, autistics do not “lack empathy”: “Where researchers had assumed impairment, they found autistic people applying moral principles more consistently—even to strangers, even when costly.” By Ludmila Pradlova.
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
**This includes non-speakers &/or peeps w/ID**
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/posi...
What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People
For decades, autism research compared autistic people to animals, denied them moral sensitivity, and assumed autistic traits made them miserable. All wrong.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:43 PM
As a father to an autistic toddler, it gives me great hope and joy that more quality research is being conducted on ASD, and that existing research is being questioned in light of new information.