There’s no doubt that Hari Srinivasan’s professional credentials speak for themselves. As a neuroscience PhD student at Vanderbilt University, Srinivasan has written extensively for outlets like Time, Newsweek, Fortune, and Psychology Today, and has served on national advisory boards including the NIH Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.
But for Srinivasan, his work isn’t only academic – it’s also informed by his lived experience, a valuable dual perspective he brought to his contributions on Wikipedia as a new editor.
Recognizing Wikipedia’s power to shape public understanding and eager to contribute, Srinivasan enrolled in a Wiki Education editing course sponsored by the WITH Foundation earlier this summer. With guidance from the Wiki Education course facilitator, Srinivasan and his fellow course participants set out to improve the encyclopedia’s coverage of adult intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
“Wikipedia is the largest free training database for AI models and one of the most visited sources of information globally,” said Srinivasan. “That gives it enormous influence; not just on how people learn about intellectual and developmental disabilities, but also on how these topics are encoded into the technologies we use every day.”
Srinivasan focused his efforts on the Wikipedia article about diagnostic overshadowing in autism, which is when new or co-occurring symptoms get misattributed to the core diagnosis of autism, leading to under-diagnosis, delayed care, or missed diagnoses of physical or mental health conditions.
“Everything gets thrown into the ‘it’s just part of autism and nothing more needs to be done’ bucket; even things that could and should be treated,” explained Srinivasan. “My official diagnoses are autism and ADHD, but there are a bunch of other things going on as well, which often get drowned in these official labels. So this topic isn’t just academic to me; it’s lived experience.”
Thanks to Srinivasan’s significant contributions (nearly 3,000 words and 47 new references!), the Wikipedia article now provides readers with a much more comprehensive understanding of diagnostic overshadowing, including its systemic contributors, impact over a lifespan, and implications for physical and mental health.
As he learned to edit Wikipedia, Srinivasan quickly came to realize that even small contributions can shift public understanding of topics like I/DD.
“Wikipedia shapes first impressions,” said Srinivasan. “It’s often the first, and sometimes the only place people go to learn. Most journal articles are behind paywalls and primarily accessible to academics, so the general public rarely sees the latest research directly. That makes Wikipedia especially powerful in shaping how disability and healthcare are understood. If the content isn’t inclusive or accurate, it reinforces stereotypes or outdated views. But if it’s well-written and representative, it can shift public narratives in a more informed and equitable direction.”
During the editing course, the PhD student was struck by Wikipedia’s editorial rigor.
“I didn’t realize how many quality control layers exist,” Srinivasan reflected. “It’s collaborative, standards-driven, and grounded in peer accountability.”
At the same time, he noted the confines of Wikipedia’s focus on secondary sources – while it helps ensure credibility, it can also be limiting in fields like I/DD, because lived experience and emerging research are often underrepresented in secondary sources, he explained.
“Many important studies or firsthand insights; especially from autistic researchers, self-advocates, or newer labs, haven’t yet made it into reviews,” said Srinivasan. “Knowing these limitations makes it even more important to keep contributing.”
And while learning to navigate Wikipedia’s policies and interface wasn’t always easy, the satisfaction more than outweighed the challenges.
“Seeing an article improve and knowing it could reach thousands of readers is incredibly rewarding,” said Srinivasan, who plans to continue enhancing Wikipedia’s disability healthcare content in the future, and encourages others to join him.
Interested in learning how to add your expertise to Wikipedia? Explore Wiki Education’s upcoming courses for subject-area experts.
