Episode 431: The Myth of Peter Pan—Autistic Adulthood and Sovereign Play

episode

The AutSide Podcast not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from The AutSide Podcast

Episode 452: Pressing Pause—Ethics of Estrangement and Non-Ownership 11 min · 20 Dec 2025

All episodes from The AutSide Podcast →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded29 Nov 2025

Publisherapi.substack.com ↗

Handlerec:13566314

Show notes

Today’s episode argues against the pervasive societal belief that autistic individuals fail to mature beyond childhood. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, asserts that this “infantilising gaze” is upheld by institutions and research that focus only on early intervention, effectively erasing the adult autistic experience from policy and recognition. Dr. Hoerricks contends that autistic development is a lifelong, spiraling process and that play is a mature and crucial form of learning and communication—a “praxis”—that the non-autistic world misinterprets as mere immaturity or regression. Ultimately, she calls for the reclamation of autistic adulthood and autonomy, defined by complex forms of connection, self-knowledge, and resistance through play.Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-myth-of-peter-pan-on-autisticLet me know what you think.The AutSide is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit autside.substack.com/subscribe

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.