In this episode you will meet Jenn Layton Annable, who is an activist and a doctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, in the UK. Jenn is researching how persons who are identified as autistic, later in life can develop a positive selfhood. Jenn is supported by the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Nottingham (UKRI Grant No. EP/S023305/1) and by NIHR MindTech. They are a Fellow of the Institute of Mental health, Nottingham, in the UK. They are an autistic autism-studies doctoral researcher investigating the intersection between gender, autistic experience, and self-identity.
During our conversation Jenn will discuss how terminology, the choice of words, is essential in the process of creating an autistic space. Another important feature is the unusual internal sensory differences that Jenn experiences.
Besides Jenn Layton Annable, you will hear Hanna Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist and me Serena. Hanna is an associate professor in sociology and senior lecturer in social work at Södertörn University. I, Serena have a PhD in technology but now runs projects in the field of autism. Jenn, Hanna and I are autists, we define ourselves as autists and see it as an important part of our identity.
Before we'll start I should mention that Jenn and Hanna somewhere during our talk will be referring to an article called Sensory Strangers. It is a chapter in the book Neurodiversity studies - a new critical paradigm that is published on Routledge. Hanna and Jenn are co-writers of this article. If you are interested in reading it, you may find it either in the book I mentioned or online at researchgate.