Research & References

The concepts discussed throughout Literal Guides are informed by research in communication science, psychology, education, and neurodiversity studies, along with lived experience and practical observation.

This page lists many of the research sources, organizations, and publications that inform the frameworks and explanations used across the site.

For full legal details regarding the use of this information, please see the complete Disclaimer page.

Golden Care Therapy — Tone Deafness in Autism

Autism Science Person — Neurotypicals: Listen to Our Words, Not Our Tone

The following organizations and institutions are frequently referenced across multiple guides and articles on this site.

National Institute of Health

World Health Organization

American Academy of Pediatrics

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Autism Research Institute

National Institute of Mental Health

Autism Speaks

Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

Federal Reserve Education

Library of Congress

Office of Law Revision Council — United States Code

USA Gov

Legal Information Institute

Code of Federal Regulations

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

US Department of Transportation

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University

Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013

Roy Baumeister Self-Control / Ego Depletion

Leiva, C. (2025, April 8). After-school restraint collapse: Reasons & remedies. Today’s Parent.

Stephen Porges Polyvagal Theory

Temple Grandin Sensory Processing and Autism Perspectives

Zeman, A., Dewar, M., & Della Sala, S. (2015). “Lives without imagery: Congenital aphantasia.” Cortex.

Pearson, J. (2019). “The human imagination: The cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Alderson-Day, B., & Fernyhough, C. (2015). “Inner speech: Development, cognitive functions, phenomenology, and neurobiology.” Psychological Bulletin.

Hurlburt, R. T., & Heavey, C. L. (2015). “Investigating pristine inner experience.” Cambridge University Press.

Guilford, J. P. (1956). “The Structure of Intellect.” Introduced divergent vs convergent thinking.

Runco, M. A., & Acar, S. (2012). “Divergent thinking as an indicator of creative potential.” Creativity Research Journal.

Navon, D. (1977). “Forest before trees: The precedence of global features in visual perception.” Cognitive Psychology.

Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2006). “The weak central coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow

Stanovich, K. (2009). What Intelligence Tests Miss

Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The Poetics of Mind: Figurative Thought, Language, and Understanding

Giora, R. (2003). On Our Mind: Salience, Context, and Figurative Language

Grice, H. P. (1975). “Logic and Conversation.”

Happé, F. (1993). “Communicative competence and theory of mind in autism.” Cognition.

Norbury, C. (2005). “The relationship between theory of mind and metaphor.” Journal of Child Language.