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Williams GL, Ellis R, Holloway W, Caemawr S, Craine M, Williams K, Grant A. 'Building our own house' as an insider-only Community-Partnered Participatory Research Council: Co-creating a safe space for Autistic knowledge production. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2024:13623613241253014. [PMID: 38757637 DOI: 10.1177/13623613241253014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been a growing call for participatory Autism research (i.e. research that meaningfully involves Autistic people in its design and delivery). Community Partnered Participatory Research is a research methodology that aims to share power between researchers and members of the researched community. There is some precedent for Community Partnered Participatory Research in Autism research, but it is still quite uncommon. At the start of our new research study (called Autism: From Menstruation to Menopause), we created a community council. For the first six meetings, our council was made up of four Autistic community members who were experienced in Autism advocacy and activism and three Autistic researchers. We seven are the authors of this article. In these first six meetings, we made plans for recruiting a larger number of lay community members who would join us later for the rest of the project (8 years in total). In this article, we describe and reflect what it felt like during these first six meetings to be part of a community research council where everybody is Autistic. We discuss how we co-created a safe space, how we helped each other feel valued and how we worked together to support each other's sometimes-differing access needs so that everyone could fully participate. We provide recommendations for how to support Autistic people to lead research on their own terms with their unique insights.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Willow Holloway
- Swansea University, UK
- Autistic UK, UK
- Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales, UK
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Sonuga-Barke EJ, Chandler S, Lukito S, Kakoulidou M, Moore G, Cooper N, Matejko M, Jackson I, Balwani B, Boyens T, Poulton D, Harvey-Nguyen L, Baker S, Pavlopoulou G. Participatory translational science of neurodivergence: model for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism research. Br J Psychiatry 2024; 224:127-131. [PMID: 38362636 PMCID: PMC10933558 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2023.151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There are increasing calls for neurodivergent peoples' involvement in research into neurodevelopmental conditions. So far, however, this has tended to be achieved only through membership of external patient and public involvement (PPI) panels. The Regulating Emotions - Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR) programme is building a new participatory model of translational research that places young people with diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism at the heart of the research team so that they can contribute to shaping and delivering its research plan. AIMS To outline the principles on which the RE-STAR participatory model is based and describe its practical implementation and benefits, especially concerning the central role of members of the Youth Researcher Panel (Y-RPers). METHOD The model presented is a culmination of a 24-month process during which Y-RPers moved from advisors to co-researchers integrated within RE-STAR. It is shaped by the principles of co-intentionality. The account here was agreed following multiple iterative cycles of collaborative discussion between academic researchers, Y-RPers and other stakeholders. RESULTS Based on our collective reflections we offer general guidance on how to effectively integrate young people with diagnoses of ADHD and/or autism into the core of the translational research process. We also describe the specific theoretical, methodological and analytical benefits of Y-RPer involvement in RE-STAR. CONCLUSIONS Although in its infancy, RE-STAR has demonstrated the model's potential to enrich translational science in a way that can change our understanding of the relationship between autism, ADHD and mental health. When appropriately adapted we believe the model can be applied to other types of neurodivergence and/or mental health conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund J.S. Sonuga-Barke
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Susie Chandler
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Steve Lukito
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Myrofora Kakoulidou
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; and Group for Research in Relationships in Neurodiversity (GRRAND), Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Graham Moore
- DECIPHer, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Maciej Matejko
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Isabel Jackson
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Beta Balwani
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
| | - Tiegan Boyens
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Dorian Poulton
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Luke Harvey-Nguyen
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; and DECIPHer, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK
| | - Sylvan Baker
- Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, London, UK
| | - Georgia Pavlopoulou
- Group for Research in Relationships in Neurodiversity (GRRAND), Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK; and Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK
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Thomas E. Why critical psychology and the neurodiversity movement need each other. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1149743. [PMID: 38304917 PMCID: PMC10830631 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1149743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Critical psychology is a discipline that can be defined in a variety of ways, though common themes include critiquing mainstream psychology as well as critiquing society at large and engaging in social change to respond to those critiques. The neurodiversity movement is a political movement that emerged in response to the dehumanizing treatment of Autistic and other neurodivergent individuals by society in general and by mainstream psychology specifically. In this article, I describe five ways in which critical psychology and the neurodiversity movement can and have begun to benefit from each other: (a) by critical psychologists embracing neurodivergent epistemologies in the way they embrace other diverse epistemologies; (b) by resisting attempts within mainstream psychology to pathologize difference or "treat" these so-called psychopathologies by modifying behavior; (c) by practitioners developing cultural competency around neurodivergent culture within the psychotherapeutic practice; (d) by challenging the homogenization and whitewashing within the neurodiversity movement through leveraging lessons from within various critical psychologies; and (e) by researchers and practitioners recognizing and combatting instances of ableism embedded in other forms of oppression and within the field of critical psychology itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Thomas
- Prescott College, Critical Psychology and Human Services, Prescott, AZ, United States
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Pellicano E, Heyworth M. The Foundations of Autistic Flourishing. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2023; 25:419-427. [PMID: 37552401 PMCID: PMC10506917 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-023-01441-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW All people-including Autistic people-deserve to live flourishing lives. But what does a flourishing life look like for Autistic people? We suggest that the hidden biases, methodological errors, and key assumptions of autism science have obscured answers to this question. Here, we seek to initiate a broader discussion about what the foundations for a good Autistic life might be and how this discussion might be framed. RECENT FINDINGS We identify five ways in which autism science can help us all to secure those foundations, including by (1) giving Autistic well-being prominence in research, (2) amplifying Autistic autonomy, (3) attending better to everyday experiences, (4) acknowledging context, and (5) working in partnership with Autistic people and their families and allies to ensure that they are at the heart of research decision-making. Such an approach would direct the focus of autism research to help shape good Autistic lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Pellicano
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0DS, UK.
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 29 Wally's Walk, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Melanie Heyworth
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 29 Wally's Walk, Sydney, Australia
- Reframing Autism, Warners Bay, NSW, Australia
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McVey AJ, Jones DR, Waisman TC, Raymaker DM, Nicolaidis C, Maddox BB. Mindshift in autism: a call to professionals in research, clinical, and educational settings. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1251058. [PMID: 37720894 PMCID: PMC10500440 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1251058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Autistic people often have poor outcomes over the life course, including in health, education, employment, and community inclusion. Many professionals working with Autistic adults in research, clinical, and educational settings devote their careers to trying to improve such outcomes. However, we maintain that real progress cannot happen without a fundamental mindshift. The status quo for professionals is to view autism as an illness. Instead, the neurodiversity movement encourages us to value and embrace autism as an aspect of human diversity and asks us to view Autistic people as a marginalized group that experiences significant disparities. While some professionals may be adopting language and concepts from the neurodiversity movement, we argue that making this mindshift fundamentally changes our practice across research, clinical, and educational settings. In this perspective, we call on professionals to embrace this mindshift to reduce discrimination and stigma, halt the spread of harmful ideologies, and help Autistic adults live fulfilling lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alana J. McVey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Seattle Children’s Autism Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Desiree R. Jones
- Department of Psychology, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | | | - Dora M. Raymaker
- School of Social Work, Regional Research Institute for Human Services, Portland State University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Christina Nicolaidis
- School of Social Work, Regional Research Institute for Human Services, Portland State University, Portland, OR, United States
- Department of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Brenna B. Maddox
- Department of Psychiatry, TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Bertilsdotter Rosqvist H, Hultman L, Hallqvist J. Knowing and accepting oneself: Exploring possibilities of self-awareness among working autistic young adults. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2022:13623613221137428. [DOI: 10.1177/13623613221137428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Autistic people have historically been described as incapable of developing a deeper sense of self-awareness, and autistic understandings of self-awareness have been largely disregarded. The aim of this study is to explore the way young autistic adults try to understand their functionality and who they are, or to develop their sense of self-awareness, in work and in private life contexts. In 12 qualitative interviews conducted with four autistic adults without learning difficulties, we identified a rich set of reflections on knowing and accepting oneself. The overarching theme of self-knowledge has three subthemes: learning from previous experiences, learning about oneself by securing the support of others, and understanding and accepting autistic functionality. The strategy of self-knowledge was used by these young adults to help them achieve functional lives in the work and private domains. Our results show that young autistic adults both actively explore and develop their self-awareness. We suggest that it is important for practitioners and employers working with autistic individuals to engage with their journeys of self-awareness as a vital part of understanding and supporting them. Lay abstract When researchers and professionals talk about autism, they commonly point out problems and risks with autism or being autistic. Several interventions are based on the idea of the problems and risks of autism. Another way of talking about autism is to point out autistic people’s strengths and strategies which they use to handle barriers and problems in their lives in order to live good lives on their own terms. In this article, the researchers explore how autistic young adults formulate their own difficulties, strengths and support needs in order to get right support from support people. To be able to formulate this, autistic people need to get to know oneself and one’s own way of functioning. Autistic own self-knowledge must be central when formal support people, such as social workers, formulate support and interventions aimed at helping autistic people, in order for the support/intervention to be helpful.
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