Autism in America: One Woman’s Search for Healing
Cultural Autism Studies at Yale (CASY, ethnography project led by Dr. Dawn Prince-Hughes) is delighted to welcome Isha Sarah Snow on Friday, November 14, 2025, 2pm EST (11am PST, 7pm GMT). There is no cost to attend, and international participants are welcome. For this and future events, RSVP by joining our free Meetup group online at https://tinyurl.com/y872ka7m
TITLE: Autism in America: One Woman’s Search for Healing
DESCRIPTION: In this talk, I share insights from my book 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢: 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, which reframes autism as a social mirror reflecting the deeper pathologies of our culture. Drawing from my lived experience as an autistic woman, as well as sociological, psychological, and anthropological research, I introduce Autistic Standpoint Theory which is a framework that situates autistic ways of sensing, processing, and relating as epistemologically valuable forms of knowing. Autistic Standpoint Theory challenges the deficit-based narratives that dominate psychology and education and argues that the so-called “impairments” of autism like literal communication, sensory attunement, and deep moral consistency are in fact adaptive responses to a dysregulated society. When we listen to autistic perspectives, we begin to see how social hierarchies, coercive norms, and linguistic domination fragment collective well-being.
This talk invites audiences to consider autism as both a product and a diagnosis of civilization and as a living critique of systems that prioritize control over connection. Ultimately, I propose a trauma-informed, relational approach to social healing that values neurodivergent insight as essential to reimagining education, governance, and community life.
BRIEF BIO: Isha Snow is a sociologist, neurodivergent scholar, and trauma-informed systems theorist currently studying at Washington State University in Vancouver. Her work bridges emotional healing, structural justice, and relational transformation. She integrates critical theory, systems thinking, and somatic knowledge to create tools for decolonial, healing-centered social change. Isha’s research and teaching focus on transforming institutions from systems of harm into systems of care, making liberation not only political, but deeply personal and relational. Learn more https://www.linkedin.com/in/isha-snow-6019b2304/
ABOUT Cultural Autism Studies at Yale (CASY): An 'ethnography' is an exploration of how a group of people express themselves in a cultural way. Autistic people have a growing kind of culture, and each autistic experience is a vital part of it. Dr. Dawn Prince-Hughes is an anthropologist, ethnographer, primatologist, and author who is autistic. Join her for an exploration of the importance of autistic self-expression and the culture that grows from it. Those who wish to share their content are free to do so on our private Facebook groups (see below), organically contributing to a growing autistic culture.
Links to online events will also be shared on these private Facebook groups: CASY Cultural Autism Studies at Yale http://tinyurl.com/4ckbyut7 (recommended for autistic adults) and SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY FOR AUTISM http://tinyurl.com/mrxnxmnc (recommended for allies, professionals, and family members).
CREDITS: The preparation of this material was financed under an agreement with the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities (CTCDD). CASY Sparks membership and events are free. CASY Sparks is sponsored in part by The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Adult Autism Research Fund, and Dr. Roger Jou https://www.youtube.com/c/DrRogerJou