From Labels to Landscapes: Reframing Autism Through Cognitive Ecology

Cultural Autism Studies at Yale (CASY, ethnography project led by Dr. Dawn Prince-Hughes) is delighted to welcome Sher Griffin, MA on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 3-4 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. GMT, 9 p.m. CET). There is no cost to attend, and international participants are invited to attend.
TOPIC: From Labels to Landscapes: Reframing Autism Through Cognitive Ecology
DESCRIPTION: This talk shares my lived journey through late-diagnosed autism, burnout, and meaning-making beyond pathology. I introduce the Cognitive Ecology Model (CEM) as a liberatory framework that centers relational fit, ecological context, and sovereignty over compliance. Together, we’ll explore what happens when we stop asking “what’s wrong with you?” and start asking “what does your mind need to thrive?” This is not a clinical presentation—it’s a reclamation.
BRIEF BIO: Sher Griffin, M.A. is an Autistic, neuroqueer writer, educator, and systems thinker whose work centers the intersections of trauma, autism, and ecological belonging. They are the creator of the Cognitive Ecology Model and author of Cognitive Ecology: Mapping Your Mind for Self-Understanding. Sher holds a Master’s in Transformative Social Change with an emphasis on Peace and Justice studies and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy with a focus on Transformative Social Change at Saybrook University. Through Substack, The Compassion Collective, and embodied spaces to be real and unmask, Sher invites others into collective practices of self-recognition and systemic transformation.
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 (recommended for autistic adults) and SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY FOR AUTISM (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