Reading Autistically

This research article proposes autistic modes of literary criticism, foregrounding echolalia, weak central coherence, and literal attentiveness as generative interpretive strategies rather than cognitive deficits. The argument is that autistic manifestations traditionally pathologized in medical discourse can be reconceptualized as disciplined, creative methods for engaging with texts. Echolalia, with its repetitions and variations, illuminates the power of iteration in interpretation. Weak central coherence, often cast as an inability to perceive the whole, instead cultivates sensitivity to detail and the local logic of textual fragments. Literal attentiveness resists premature abstraction, privileging concrete meaning and direct engagement. Together, these tendencies enable a practice of theoretical bricolage, in which concepts from ostensibly incompatible frameworks can be productively combined without deference to orthodoxy or periodization. Drawing on critical disability studies and literary theory, the suggestion is that autistic criticism not only enriches literary analysis but also unsettles prevailing assumptions about coherence, hierarchy, and value in the humanities. More broadly, it models a pluralistic, nonhierarchical vision of literary criticism, where detail, repetition, and play are central. By reframing autistic cognition as method, the article explores the critical potential of neurodivergent approaches in literary and cultural studies. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .