Cassandra Isn’t Doing the Robot: On Risky Rhetorics and Contagious Autism

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Yergeau, M. R. (2020). Cassandra Isn’t Doing the Robot: On Risky Rhetorics and Contagious Autism. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 50(3), 212-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/02773945.2020.1752132

Publication date: 26 May 2020 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. M. Remi Yergeau *

Abstract

Cassandra Affective Deprivation Disorder (CADD) is a trauma-based folk disorder embraced by neurotypical NT advocacy groups. CADD is caused, such groups claim, by having a romantic relationship with an autistic person. Reliant on understandings of autism as a condition of extreme maleness, CADD draws on cis/hetero/normative rhetorics of risk that attend autism’s figuration as a disorder of invisible and emotional disrepair, where (not) doing autistics is tantamount to becoming them. In this essay, I examine how CADD proponents exalt divisions between logic and emotion in their appeals to ableist, anti-queer understandings of autistic emotion, communication, and interrelation.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 13:58.

Cited references
50
With a DOI
23
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
25
4 / 50 (8.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
9 / 50 (18.0%)
References with detected author names
43 / 50 (86.0%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
18
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
88
From DOI or external metadata
88
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
7
15 / 88 (17.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 73 / 88 (83.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
4 / 88 (4.5%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 4 / 15 (26.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 4 / 69 (5.8%).
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