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Vanessa

@vanessawhy.bsky.social
101 followers 113 following 156 posts

Neuroqueer. Nerd about town. Parent to 4 cats. Producer and co-host of community radio show Autistic Small Talk. General Manager of musical theatre company Cat's Paw Productions. Research scientist. Photographer. (any pronouns)

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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I mention this book in the most recent Autistic Small Talk episode as an example of a text I’ve read multiple times and gotten even more out of after studying related topics and returning to it.
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VJ Goh @vjgoh.chloris.ca · 10/10/2026
I am now a podcaster, apparently. And I'll be on the radio!
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Episode 20! autisticsmalltalk.com/episode-20-i... More flow talk with @brettheasman.bsky.social Followed by a discussion of Caldwell-Harris CL (2026) Autistic interests: wide-ranging and intellectually oriented. Front. Psychiatry 17:1749552. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1749552 with @vjgoh.chloris.ca
autisticsmalltalk.com
Episode 20 – Interview with Dr. Brett Heasman (part 2) and Autistic Interests – Autistic Small Talk
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NDP @ndp.ca · 09/10/2026
The Liberals are ramming through a bill to fast-track major projects at the expense of workers’ rights, Indigenous rights, and the environment. Join us for a mass organizing call on how we build the power to stop Bill C-39 and win a Canada that delivers for the many, not the money. RSVP today 👇
Graphic for a virtual mass organizing call and phone zap: Stop Bill C-39! Featuring Avi Lewis, Mark Hancock, Bushra Asghar, and Ramon Kataquapit. Wednesday, October 14th at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET.
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Rory @roryreckons.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"If you're entitled to moments of rest, of imperfection, of laziness and sloth, then so are homeless people, and people with depression, and people who are addicted to drugs. If your life has value no matter how productive you are, so does every other human life." - D Price, Laziness Does Not Exist
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Nick Walker @dr-nicky.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Reminder that the audio version of my book Neuroqueer Heresies is available super cheap till October 13th! #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #neurodivergent #neuroqueer #autism #autistic #psychology #consciousness #mind #queer #somatics #books #booksky #audiobooks www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...
audiobooks.com
60% OFF Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities
The work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity. Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most ...
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Autonomous Press @autonomouspress.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Get 60% off the audiobook version of Neuroqueer Heresies, now through October 13! bit.ly/4xw5MMF
bit.ly
60% OFF Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities
The work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity. Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most ...
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Ooooh! Whew. Okay, thank you, whatever part of me makes pedantism feels better now. I’ll delete my comment.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Episode 19 is part 1 of a conversation with @brettheasman.bsky.social We talked about his views on human flourishing, neurodiversity and flow, and public perceptions of autism. It was my first interview, and he was very kind and super fun to talk to. autisticsmalltalk.com/episode-19-i...
autisticsmalltalk.com
Episode 19 – Interview with Dr. Brett Heasman of the Heasman Flow Lab (part 1) – Autistic Small Talk
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Autihub.org @autihub.org · 01/09/2026
Launching the Autistic Scholars Project on AutiHub: a free public database of academic publications authored/co-authored by autistic people. 354 autistic authors, 1,799 publications — with daily monitoring for new publications by included authors. autihub.org/en/autistic-...
autihub.org
Autistic Scholars Project
The Autistic Scholars Project is a public, freely accessible database that indexes academic publications authored or co-authored by at least one autistic …
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Ooh! A ceiling projector is very clever! I would want that too. Several years ago, I had a health event where I was so weak that I couldn’t hold hold a phone for more than a minute. I made heavy use of a tablet on an adjustable self supporting stand. I’m glad for tech that takes the edge off.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
That does sound super challenging. Honestly 12 hours of laying flat doesn’t sound easy at all. Even with all the audiobooks I want, that would be really tough. I’m glad it is helping with your injury, and I hope you find yourself recovered and past this soon.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Ooh! It would be very fun to reread the Murderbot series in Ukrainian and pick up some cool new vocabulary. Щоденники вбивцебота.
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Martha Wells @marthawells.com · 21/08/2026
My Ukrainian publisher Ranok asked me to pass along the news that on 8/1 a warehouse was bombed by Russia, burning about 8 million books, including the print runs of their translated Murderbot editions, + The Cloud Roads & Witch King. This really hurts the publishing house, and 1/-
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Nearby towns have evacuated. Currently hosting 2 cats in a spare bathroom until their human can collect them and take them to another friend’s house with her. Air filters are running hard. Cat carriers and emergency bags on standby just in case.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Everything is tightly closed up because of the smoke but the crickets are so loud I can easily hear them through my shut windows. I love to hear it, though I do worry about them in the smoke.
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AMASE @amase.org.uk · 06/08/2026
A quick reminder that this year's Autistic Pride Picnic is THIS SATURDAY on the Meadows. All are welcome. Autistic social interaction styles are expected but not required. Details at the link. No need to sign up, but if you do you'll get a reminder, and an update if we get rained off or something.
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 07/05/2026
“On Bullshit Engines' Politics” link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
Clearly, whether we’re talking about GPTs and LLMs or just “machine learning” and algorithms, “AI” systems definitely have politics. The problem is not and never has been that what “AI” is and does is “out of step” or “unaligned” with human values, but rather that the values with which “AI” is aligned are a) very, very human, b) woefully under-examined, and often c) terrible. Those values embedded here tend to be racism, sexism, ableism, efficiency, power-over, speed, control, white supremacy, eugenics, hegemony, kyriarchy; what they don’t tend be are prosocial consensus reality, intersubjective truth, or facts. Because obfuscation, misinformation, and disinformation are valuative positions— and they are also mechanisms of control.
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Dianna Gunn Does (Fictional) Murders 🇨🇦 @diannalgunn.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
We are not angry enough about this You, individually, might be But WE, as a society, are plagued by apathy and Carney & other conservative politicians are taking advantage of that apathy to speed us toward our demise so they can line their pockets
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Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 05/08/2026
Hey! We're a scrappy little trans news site, and we need your help to keep bringing people news about the trans community by journalists from the transgender community. We're trying to add 50 new members in August. Join us - or help out by sharing this message. Thank you!! <3!!!
assignedmedia.org
Support Our Journalism - Assigned Media
Support OurJournalism Our journalism is only possible through the support of our members! As a supporting member, you’ll receive a special edition of our newsletter, featuring bonus essays and insight...
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I am forever grateful to academics who find ways to make preprints and the like available for free. Autistic researchers as a group are really good about it and sometimes I actually get moved to tears when I notice the extra things people do to make sure it's available to everyone.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
You can download it from here: durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/56118...
durham-repository.worktribe.com
Aligning Counseling Psychology with Neurodiversity Scholarship: A Call to Action
Neurodivergent people are a notably underserved population in counseling psychology, which is an urgent concern given that they experience elevated rates o...
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Thinking Person's Guide to Autism @thinkingautism.com · 04/08/2026
We'll be The National Autistic Society's Anger Translator: "F*** you, Uta Frith—stop trying to use your expired authority on autism to hurt autistic people, you absolute plonker." *Frith published a new paper wrongly claiming autism is overdiagnosed. NAS response: www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/n...
Graphic with a purple, pink, and red curved intersecting background.

Text reads, " We need to focus on how to improve understanding and support for all autistic people who need it, rather than dividing autistic people into categories. Mel Merritt, Head of Policy and Influencing"

the National Autistic Society logo is in the lower left corner.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Episode 18 - Self-Identifying as Autistic and the Profound Problems with Functioning Labels autisticsmalltalk.com/episode-18-s...
autisticsmalltalk.com
Episode 18 – Self-Identifying as Autistic and the Profound Problems with Functioning Labels – Autistic Small Talk
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Autistic Realms (Helen Edgar) @autisticrealms.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Join @autisticparentsuk.org LIVE for a Q&A with Lisa Lloyd! Lisa will be joining Tanya Adkin , to chat about her new book, Unmasking Mum, and to share her experiences of parenting as an Autistic person. 📅 Tuesday 25 August 🕖 7:00pm UK Reserve Your Place Here: 🔗 us06web.zoom.us/.../register...
us06web.zoom.us
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Stimpunks Foundation @stimpunks.org · 04/08/2026
Sunday Aug 9, 10AM CT: our Campfire watches “Code for the People,” Bao Nguyen's documentary on open source and the open web. I helped start WordPress and Automattic. Our practices came out of that work. stimpunks.org/2026/08/04/c...
stimpunks.org
Campfire Learn Together: Code for the People
For our Sunday, August 9, 2026 Campfire Learn Together, we are watching and discussing Code for the People, Bao Nguyen's documentary about open source, the open web, and the people who keep both from…
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Dreamt I had to redo and resend to each station all my CRTC info because I’d been playing music other than the theme song and forgot. In the waking world, the only bonus music is Vince’s sung echolalia and me singing back. (And for CRTC purposes that’s just spoken word.) Whew!
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Hey friend! Been a while. I left academia and AI and moved closer to nature and here’s some things I saw yesterday on a quick hike when the air was okay. Took these with my phone. Almost done saving up for a nice little camera to bring with me and take better shots.
A path headed slightly up hill into trees, mostly ponderosa pines. The sun is low in the sky and glowing behind the trees creating patterns of light on the ground.Sunlight streaming into a forest from above catching and lighting the new seed fluff of tall thistles.Bright yellow-green wolf lichen delicately growing on a fallen log. The lichen is small and looks almost as if it is floating because it is so lightly attached.Closer in on the tall wild thistle. The blossoms have turned to fluff and the way they catch the low sun light makes them into little halos. Some of the leaves have also caught the light and appear to glow bright green. There is a forest in the background.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Ah. Just realising you already shared the exact paper and are well aware. For anyone wandering by its this one: www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13...
mdpi.com
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I just made an episode where the second half talks about an excellent state-of-the-art paper by @drstevenkapp.bsky.social that’s talks about the harm functioning labels do. Which is effectively what this dividing into types thing is. Right down to labelling minimally speaking Autistics as a category
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Second paper: Profound Concerns about “Profound Autism”: Dangers of Severity Scales and Functioning Labels for Support Needs by @drstevenkapp.bsky.social www.mdpi.com/2081376
mdpi.com
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
First paper: Identifying as Autistic Without a Formal Diagnosis by: @isaacahuvia.bsky.social @eminegurbuz.bsky.social Josephine Cuda @drstevenkapp.bsky.social Abigail Houck Jacquelyn Gates @jschleiderphd.bsky.social @avanicole23.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Identifying as Autistic Without a Formal Diagnosis: Who Self-Identifies as Autistic and Why? - Isaac L. Ahuvia, Emine Gurbuz, Josephine Cuda, Steven K. Kapp, Abigail Houck, Jacquelyn A. Gates, Jessica...
Background: Adults increasingly self-identify as autistic without a formal diagnosis, yet little research has systematically investigated (a) the unique charact...
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Episode 18 - Self-Identifying as Autistic and the Profound Problems with Functioning Labels autisticsmalltalk.com/episode-18-s...
autisticsmalltalk.com
Episode 18 – Self-Identifying as Autistic and the Profound Problems with Functioning Labels – Autistic Small Talk
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Autonomous Press @autonomouspress.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
We are pleased to share an Open Call for Submissions, for Spoon Knife 12. Our theme for this volume is Bounce, and our editors are Azzia Walker and Dean Gloster. They also practice aikido together, an art about bouncing into solutions. You can learn more here. autpress.com/2026/07/call...
autpress.com
Call for Submissions: Spoon Knife 12 (Bounce) - Autonomous Press
Call for Submissions: Spoon Knife 12 Open August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027 Theme What is bouncing into your life? Or are you bouncing into the life of another? The theme of Bounce is super open, and spe...
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
It would be a very cute pendant. Or a sweet little bookshelf ornament.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I just told my MP I oppose Alberta’s proposed bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast. It puts ecosystems at risk and locks Canada into a fossil fuel future. Let’s invest in renewables, protect nature and uphold Indigenous rights. share.nwmd.social/s/qGE1d1of
share.nwmd.social
Join me in rejecting Alberta’s pipeline ploy.
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Andrew M. Reichart @andrewmreichart.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Neuronormativity itself is, in fact, entirely a social construct, and is thereby not a legitimate ground from which to decree whether or not a given variation is a medical pathology.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
My co-host, Vince, has a tendency for sung echolalia. I often sing/echo back. He does it the most with names, especially familiar ones. The two of us are often literally singing the names of the researchers whose work we are discussing, and the more we talk about you the more we sing your name.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Managed to fit a hike in yesterday during a respite from the smoke. Met a tiny bee in a big thistle. Failed to fully capture the intense saturated colour of the wolf lichen. Saw many butterflies but they’re flutter-induced blurs in what photos I attempted. I am forever in love with mountain forests.
A tall purple thistle flower with a tiny bee walking a lot the thin needle-like petalsA tall purple thistle flower caught by a sunlight that has filtered in from above. There is a tiny bee near the tops of the petals climbing its way deeper into the flower. There are blurry trees in the background.A narrow path lined with tall trees that are a mix of evergreen and deciduous typical of mountains in Western Canada. You can see bits of blue sky and small white clouds between the trees.Yellow-green wolf lichen growing on the bark of an evergreen tree. A forest is in the background but the lichen occupies most of the photo. The lichen has many thin branches and looks a bit like fur or maybe like very tiny delicate shrubs.
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Nick Walker @dr-nicky.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Artists! Do a piece of Weird Luck fan art and we'll post it on the Weird Luck site! (We'll also advertise your other work) patreon.com/weirdluckcomic/posts/artists-draw-164931509 #art #comicart #artists #webcomics #indiecomics #comicsky #creators #oc #ocsky #worldbuilding
patreon.com
Artists: Draw Your Favorite Weird Luck Characters! | Weird Luck
Do you draw? Do you read Weird Luck? If so, we want your drawings of Weird Luck characters! Here's the story: If you send us your drawings o
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Oh I’d be most intrigued by Bianca, but likely to my detriment since I hear she might be evil. She seems potentially interested in power exchange.
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The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 25/07/2026
Abeer Zaki, 40, thought all her friends were on the same page as her, but after a lunch where she was forced to eat from a large, flat plate, she is beginning to wonder whether she can trust anyone anymore.
thedailytism.com
Autistic woman forced to endure meal not served in shallow pasta bowl
An autistic woman has experienced the abject horror of having to eat lunch out of a container other than a pleasingly shallow pasta bowl, it has been reported. Abeer Zaki, 40, thought all her friends…
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Stephanie King @stephstephking.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
My son, wearing headphones, is twerking and doing a bump-n-grind in the living room like I haven’t seen since my college house party days Me: What are you listening to? Him: An audiobook about ants
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Peter Beresford @peterberesford.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Toni Cade Bambara was right revolution starts with the self... .... but it must not stop there
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I still value academic work. I discuss papers in my show. I feel way more welcome within Critical Autism and associated areas even though I never formally studied them. The closest I came was a cognitive auditory neuroscience fellowship, but even then I was making computational models.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I guess I remain sensitive to feeling kept outside of something to which I contributed so much unpaid and underpaid labour, despite the fact that I long ago realised an academic career isn't something I could handle.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I don’t really think anyone is going to contact me through a google scholar profile anyhow, but it is still super obnoxious.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Years ago, I told google I don’t have an institution email and can’t claim my scholar profile, and that there are others like me. Ever since I periodically get an automated email from google scholar listing my publications and asking me to add my institutional address with no option to reply.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I struggle with this sort of thing too. My best guess for this specific situation is that a thank you is likely not expected but still very welcome. Personally, I'd send a one line thank-you mail, that way the burden to read is very small just in case. P.S. - I love librarians. That was nice.
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Vanessa @vanessawhy.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Happening soon! I feel lucky to have snagged a free ticket and can’t wait!
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