Welcome letter from the scientific programme chairs to the annual autism research conference INSAR, taking place in Prague 22-25 April
Hello autism researchers #AutRes, looking forward to seeing you in Prague later this week for #INSAR2026! I'm really looking forward to this anniversary edition and to what I hope is a varied and rich programme of talks, workshops and posters
Recruiting #ActuallyAutistic adults for a Community Engagement Board. Learn more about this #autism research opportunity below!
Register your interest here 👉 forms.office.com/e/MvrA1zJp1r
Thank you!
Thanks Becky! I hope you are well, hope to catch up soon.
If you're interested in hearing more about the research we conduct in the @respectlabkcl.bsky.social, you can sign-up to our mailing list and/or participant database here: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
#AutRes 11/end
We hope that the findings of this paper and the upcoming resource will help inform more accessible, tailored support to promote financial security and meaningful post-retirement lives for autistic people.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 10/x
We’re in the process of creating an informational resource that will hopefully help with planning for retirement, including signposting to helpful information about pensions.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 9/x
There is still very little research on retirement in autistic populations, and this study highlights both shared and unique challenges in this life transition.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 8/x
➡️ Hopes for retirement were also similar in both groups, including looking forward to greater autonomy, meaningful time with friends and family, self-care, and pursuing personal interests.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 7/x
➡️ Concerns about retirement were similar in both groups, including isolation, loss of routine, and financial insecurity.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 6/x
➡️ Many autistic participants also highlighted a lack of accessible information about pensions and lifestyle planning.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 5/x
➡️ The journey to retirement also appeared to differ; autistic participants often reported lower rates of full-time employment, reduced pension eligibility, and lower pre-retirement income.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 4/x
➡️ However, autistic participants were less likely to have made retirement plans. ➡️ Among those with plans, the autistic participants were more likely to experience disruptions. This was often attributed to financial, health, or personal factors.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 3/x
➡️ Autistic (n=395) and non-autistic (n=122) participants reported similar expected or actual retirement ages.
#AutRes doi.org/10.1177/1362... 2/x
📝 Our new mixed-methods paper exploring retirement experiences in autistic populations is now out in @journalautism.bsky.social, open access: doi.org/10.1177/1362....
Here are some key findings ⬇️
#AutRes 1/x
I had a wonderful time at the BNPA conference the other week! Brilliant discussion about functional cognitive disorder (and a brilliant lunch too!)
New paper alert! We summarise current knowledge on how to use the CAT-Q in research and clinical settings, and offer recommendations on what (not) to do, as well as priorities for future research. 1/4
“Dance is what I am. It's how I inhabit my body, and best meet the world; dancing is my main form of stim, and helps me live, rather than barely exist, in the world.” – autistic participant in the Ada study. We’re sharing results & short films on 26 March, 7pm UK time, registration link below. 🧵
This is a poster advertising the Autism Research (or ARCH) Seminar Series. This edition is taking place at 2pm on the 25th of March 2026 on Zoom. The speakers are Dr Ashlea Cromby, a postdoctoral researcher who is an alumni of the University of East London, and Dr Rebecca Wood, a senior lecturer in inclusive education at the University of Glasgow. The talk title is "Meme-ingful communications" and the abstract reads: "My PhD examined autistic communication through the lens of internet memes, using semiotic and cultural analysis to understand how memes function as a dynamic, accessible expressive system."
🗣️Could it be? It's ARCH next week!
Join us next Wednesday to hear from Dr Ashlea Cromby (with an introduction from Dr Rebecca Wood) about her PhD work about autistic communication through memes.
Tickets available @ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arch-semin...
We hope to see you there!
Community Priorities for Preventing Suicide in Autistic People: An Approach to Guide Policy and Practice by Moseley et. al. explores the ideas of autistic people and their supporters on necessary pathways to suicide prevention.
NEW FREE
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
It was great speaking with Miryam about autism and ageing while she prepared this article, and hopefully it will help raise wider awareness about the experiences and needs of middle-aged and older autistic folk.
This is a poster advertising the Autism Research (or ARCH) seminar series. This edition is taking place at 2PM GMT on the 25th of February 2026 on Zoom. The speaker is Alanna Shand (who uses she and her pronouns), a PhD student at King's College London. The talk is titled "exploring how autistic people leverage psychological strengths whilst compensating for difficulties", and the abstract reads "Our study examined compensation in autism (i.e., the use of strategies to appear neurotypical and manage autism-related differences). We developed two themes from interviewing autistic adults about their experiences; these themes captured, number 1, how strengths were used to compensate, and number 2, the duplicity of strengths and their impacts. These findings suggest that strengths may be leveraged to engage in compensation and highlight the variety of strengths endorsed by autistic people.".
It's ARCH time once again! 🥳
Join us on Wednesday the 25th for a talk by Alanna Shand (@alannajshand.bsky.social) about the psychological strengths autistic people use to compensate for difficulties.
Tickets are available @ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arch-semin...
We hope to see you there!
Congratulations @agnewblais.bsky.social 🎉 Very well deserved, and much needed research!
I'm editing a Special Collection for Women's Health on autistic women and girls' health and wellbeing -
particularly interested in submissions from the Global South and with under-researched groups! journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
Another new open-access paper (w/ Dr Elly Nuzum, Prof Josh Stott and Dr Amber John) has been published in Nature Mental Health!
Using data from PROTECT (n=9979, age 50+), we found that the relationship between #autistic traits and #suicidality was mediated by mental health and social problems.
Our new open-access paper (with Prof Josh Stott and Dr Amber John) has been published in JAMA Network Open. Using data from the BCS-1970 cohort, we found that childhood #ADHD traits were associated with increased risk of poorer long-term health outcomes and behaviours in midlife.
This poster advertises a study looking for people who have a sibling with pathological or extreme demand avoidance. The text reads: "did you have a sibling growing up with pathological (or extreme) demand avoidance? We are looking for adult siblings of people with diagnosed or identified PDA/EDA to talk to us about your experiences! We would like to do an online interview for around 60-120 minutes, and you can get a £20 Love2Shop voucher for your time! We're looking for people who: are 18+, are living in the UK, lived with a sibling with diagnosed or identified PDA in their childhood. For more information and to take part, please get in contact with us at pda.siblings.study@kcl.ac.uk."
Are you the sibling of a person diagnosed with pathological or extreme demand avoidance? Or are you the parent of someone with pathological or extreme demand avoidance who has another child above the age of 18, who you think would be interested in taking part in research?
We have a study for you! 1/
The resource explains similarities, differences, changes to look out for, & where to find support.
The webpage and PDF versions link to a range of different information pages, making it a helpful signposting hub.
We're also working on other versions, including one for professionals.
Pleased to share a new community resource on #autism and #dementia that I co-produced with @dementiauk.bsky.social, @autistica.org.uk, and members of the autism and dementia community.
www.dementiauk.org/information-...
@kingsioppn.bsky.social
If you need help or support, please reach out to the Samaritans: www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-h...