#esrc

[shapingautismresearchuk]

New Publication: Shaping Autism Research UK

Over the course of three years (2015-2017), the Shaping Autism Research seminar series (#ShapeARUK), funded by the ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council, was organised by autistic and non-autistic people and aimed at determining if/how we should make autism research more participatory.

In August 2018, a paper reporting on this seminar series was published in the journal Autism. 

Although there is a large and growing body of autism research, it doesn’t always influence the community effectively (e.g., by changing how autistic children are taught in schools). “Participatory research” refers to research in which members of a community work with academics, to achieve shared goals. These methods are thought to produce information that is relevant to people’s lives and thus may be particularly likely to have a positive impact on communities.

The published paper describes five topics that were identified, through the seminars, as being important for participatory research in autism: (i) Respect, (ii) Authenticity, (iii) Assumptions, (iv) Infrastructure and (v) Empathy. Further, the paper calls to action for more participatory autism research, including greater autistic leadership of research.

Publication:

Fletcher-Watson, S., Adams, J., Brook, K., Charman, T., Crane, L., Cusack, J., Leekam, S., Milton, D., Parr, J.R., & Pellicano, E. (2018). Making the future together: Shaping autism research through meaningful participation. Autism You can read the open-access paper here.

This paper is also accompanied by a free downloadable toolkit – A Starter Pack: Shaping Autism Research UK – on participatory autism research to encourage others to work in this way.

[nationallawreview]

Boeing Whistleblower Continues to Raise Concerns

At the National Whistleblower Day celebration held on Capitol Hill on July 30, a Boeing whistleblower announced new documents which he claims further demonstrate shortcomings by Boeing around the manufacturing of the 737 Max which crashed in Ethiopia on March 10, 2019. During his speech, Ed Pierson, the Executive Director of The Foundation for Aviation Safety, an aviation industry watchdog group,…

Boeing Whistleblower Continues to Raise Concerns

[adventuresinsocialpolicy]

New research into political ambition among 10,000 British people

The findings aren’t exactly shocking, but it is important research. If we want a House of Commons which more closely represents the demographics of our society (and let’s take that big question as a given for now), the real question isn’t ‘what made MPs want to be MPs?’ but ‘what stopped everyone else?’. The research project is still in progress.

[scitechman]

Eye Contact with Your Baby Helps Synchronise Your Brainwaves

When the adult and infant are looking at each other, they are signalling their availability and intention to communicate with each other

Victoria Leong

When a parent and infant interact, various aspects of their behaviour can synchronise, including their gaze, emotions and heartrate, but little is known about whether their brainactivity also synchronises – and what the consequences of this…

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[scitechman]

Teenage Depression Linked to Father’s Depression Adolescents whose fathers have depressive symptoms are more likely to experience symptoms of depression themselves, finds…

[scitechman]

Researchers Reveal New Insights into Why Sleep Is Good for Our Memory

Researchers at the University of York have shed new light on sleep’s vital role in helping us make the most of our memory.

Sleep, they show, helps us to use our memory in the most flexible and adaptable manner possible by strengthening new and old versions of the same memory to similar extents.

The researchers also demonstratethat when a memory is retrieved – when we remember something – it is…

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[adventuresinsocialpolicy]

4-11 November, UK

The annual Festival of Social Science is back, with interesting events across the country.  This London walking tour based on the world’s largest and longest running longitudinal study looks thought-provoking.

[shapingautismresearchuk]

Watch the ShapeARUK video

The Shaping Autism Research seminar series aimed to set a new collaborative direction for the future of autism research in the UK, incorporating the perspectives of researchers, practitioners, autistic people and their families on equal terms. Watch our video to find out more and join the conversation @autresearchUK #shapeARUK.