MQ Neurodivergent Students Collective

30/06/2022

Update: We're received lots of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for this study (thanks for those who have already submitted). We've paused recruitment for the moment so that we can look through the EOIs we've received. Thank you for your interest, and patience.

We are excited to launch our 🚨 new study 🚨 , which aims to better understand the and communities’ views on autism research today.

We will be conducting online focus groups with community members living in Australia and the United Kingdom.

For more information on how to get involved, visit: https://limesurvey.mq.edu.au/index.php/588634?lang=en

This study is co-produced by researchers from Macquarie University, UCL, University of Stirling, University of Portsmouth, and Arizona State University

Our fabulous team includes:
- Macquarie University: Professor Liz Pellicano, Dr Hannah Rapaport, Tori Haar, Dr Diana Tan, Dr Rebecca Poulsen, and Ari Star
- University College London: Professor Liz Pellicano and Associate Professor Laura Crane
- University of Portsmouth: Dr Steven Kapp
- University of Stirling: Dr Monique Botha
- Arizona State University: Professor Michael Yudell

03/06/2022

Malcolm Campbell, a Macquarie University Master of Research student, is looking for Autistic adults to participate in a project exploring identity formation and community experiences of Autistic people in social media spaces.

Participating in this study involves a one on one interview (approximately 30 minutes) conducted either online or in person at Macquarie University. Interviewees will receive a $30 gift card.

You can find out more on the study website: https://autismsocialmediaproject.wordpress.com/

Please note this is not a project being run by Autism MQ, so please get in contact with the researchers via the website if you have any questions.

Image description: A research flyer with a photo of a line of people on their phones on the left and study details on the right.

"Are you an autistic adult that uses social media?

We're looking for people like you to take part in a research project that will explore how being a social media user has helped you understand and challenge your identity.

Chose participants will take part in a 30-minute interview either over Zoom or in-person at a time that works for you. All participants will receive a $30 gift card after the interview as recognition of participation.

To find out more about the project, go the https://autismsocialmediaproject.wordpress.com/ and register your interest."

28/04/2022

"Students who learned they were autistic when they were younger felt happier about their lives than people who were diagnosed at an older age. Our study shows that it is probably best to tell people they are autistic as soon as possible in a balanced, personal, and developmentally appropriate way."

In a new paper published in Autism journal, Dr. Stephen Kapp and colleagues surveyed 78 Autistic university students about their experiences of learning they were Autistic and how they feel about themselves.

Their findings suggested that whilst finding our your Autistic can be empowering at any age, if a family already knows that someone is Autistic that the individual may feel more positively about themselves if they are told at an earlier age.

Medical Xpress has released an article which summarises the study including what they found, what it might mean and why ít's important: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-early-self-awareness-autism-quality-life.html?fbclid=IwAR3dd4sEDfrQSzj3QuTgh2Ciwx2K6AKfGYfCFOze-M0E-wYY0ebIygvEnZI

You can also find the academic article at this link, but you will need a subscription or to purchase the article in order to read it: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613221086700

Image description: A young woman with long brown hair wearing a red coat. She is holding a takeaway coffee and a stack of books while looking happy and confident. The background is blurred but contains university buildings and students.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels

21/04/2022

Our own Dr. Jac den Houting (https://www.jacademic.com/) just got an exciting delivery in the mail.

They've co-written a chapter on helping Autistic children for the newly revised 3rd edition of 'The Wiley‐Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development' with Rachael Davis (University of Edinburgh), Anders Nordahl-Hansen (Østfold University College) & Sue Fletcher-Watson (University of Edinburgh).

By being included as part of this textbook the chapter will help educate university students about some of the common approaches for social interventions used for autism, including both the research evidence and risks, as well as the Autistic community's concerns with approaches which aim to make children less Autistic saying:

"...it is important to question what actually constitutes a positive effect from intervention. The majority of social communication interventions describe positive outcomes in normative terms; assuming that the desired outcome of a social communication intervention is to make a child less autistic and more neurotypical. Yet, as we discuss next, this is not the desired outcome from the perspective of most autistic people."

and suggesting

"An alternative approach is to consider what supports, rather than interventions, an autistic child needs to thrive on their own terms."

For those who aren't university librarians or students in the market for $300 textbooks, you can find a pre-print version of the chapter online at the following link - https://osf.io/zrfyp/

Image description: Dr Jac den Houting, an Autistic researcher with long black hair wearing a grey hoodie, smiling and holding a thick book open to the start of the chapter they co-wrote.

Image source: Abby Sesterka (Linguistic Autistic) - shared with permission

01/04/2022

Being autistic is magical, and miraculous. Autistic people are a gift to our global community.

24/03/2022

Full title: "The construction of autistic people by autism researchers"In this webinar Dr Botha discussed the findings from a mixed method study conducted wi...

15/03/2022

"If my ADHD was assessed and treated with my cultural context in mind, I may have received the support I needed. It's important that services and practitioners are trained to identify and support marginalised and minority presentations of neurodiversity."

It's vital to recognise cultural variations in how symptoms of ADHD so we can support everyone 💕

Even though Emily knew something was wrong, she says she didn't feel like she deserved support.

15/03/2022

Content note: article mentions an experience of using psychedelic, recreational drugs.

The value of recognising neurodivergence, specifically ADHD, is life changing for so many people.

Women with ADHD 'falling through the cracks' with diagnosis and treatmentBy the Specialist Reporting Team's Lori Youmshajekian and Penny TimmsPosted Thu 17 Feb 2022 at 6:54pmThursday 17 Feb 2022 at 6:54pmThu 17 Feb 2022 at 6:54pm, updated Fri 18 Feb 2022 at 4:26amFriday 18 Feb 2022 at 4:26amFri 18 F...

29/12/2021

My daughter is not ‘typical.’

Trying to force her to be something that she’s not doesn’t work.

Let’s play a game, shall we?

Hey, mom, you need to be autistic now.

What?

Don’t worry; we’ll show you how. We’re going to give you therapy to make you autistic.

But I’m not autistic.

Not relevant.

But ..

We’re going to teach you to act autistic. All. The. Time.

But ..that’s not who I am.

Yeah, we know, but you’re going to have to get used to it.

But it’s NOT WHO I AM.

No, it’s not, but it’s who you need to at least appear to be if you’re going to succeed in this world.

WHAT??

**

It hurts to be told - and shown - that who you are is not okay.

That how you experience the world is ... wrong.

That how you act is … wrong.

That how you express excitement, show fear, communicate joy, share sadness, and, and, and ... are wrong.

It is a life of No.

It is an environment of negative, toxic energy.

No.

No.

No.

A gummy bear for suppressing your natural instincts.

A sticker on a chart for mastering a facade.

It is exhausting.

It doesn’t work.

We cannot be who we aren’t.

Even if we can pretend well enough to convince the panel of judges.

Pretending to be someone you aren’t isn’t a life.

It hurts.

So I will not strive for normalcy for my autistic child.

It’s an asinine and dangerous goal.

Low self-esteem.

Depression.

Alcoholism.

Drug abuse.

Su***de.

I’ve seen them all.

And I emphatically reject that trajectory.

My daughter is not ordinary.

She is not typical.

She is not a standard-issue human.

She’s much, much more.

So I will do everything I can to arm her with the tools that she needs to get by in a world that doesn’t fit.

I will teach her what will be expected of her in every situation I can think to include.

And I will tell her, by word and by deed, that her quest is not to make others comfortable, but to find the space in which both she and others can be as comfortable as possible, together.

That it is not a one-way street.

That she has every right to say, in her way, ‘The fact that I don’t fit the mold doesn’t mean that I’m the wrong shape. It means that we need a more flexible mold.’

I once believed that normalcy was our goal.

No more.

Now, we strive to appreciate and celebrate and foster that which is, truly, extraordinary.

{image is a photo of Brooke and me laughing, with huge thanks to Connerton Photography.}

09/11/2021

Image description: black text on a white background, above a photo of a white man (Ryan Gosling) carrying a shopping basket in a supermarket aisle. He is wearing a dark button up shirt and dark pants, and has a neutral facial expression. The text reads: "welcome to autism. You get mad when they rearrange the grocery store."

01/11/2021

This encapsulates the importance of recognising marginalised identities with multiple interactions when it comes to being neurodivergent.

Image description contained within

Bah absolutely fuming after reading a post from a vocal feminist that ADHD and autism are being overdiagnosed in women when it's really trauma.

Women stand up and demand the diagnoses and support (in school in particular) for themselves and their daughters that men and boys have been given for decades and suddenly it's overdiagnosed?

No. It's not overdiagnosed in women and girls. It's still very much underdiagnosed and anyone trying to get teachers and psych to recognise a little girl as neurodivergent will tell you that.

Hell, I think it's still underdiagnosed in men and boys and parents and educators shy away from "labelling" boys too.

If we really realised the true numbers of people who are neurodivergent we'd have to realise that capitalism doesn't work - it doesn't work for neurodivergents, it traumatises us and that's why you're seeing so many people being diagnosed... we've always existed, we've not always struggled in such large numbers.

And we'd have to rewire the way we live to be more harmonious to people's brains, to the planet. If the true numbers of people who are neurodivergent realised themselves, we would be a force to be reckoned with and could demand a better way of life. A gentler way of life with more time for exercise and hobbies, more support of each other, better healthcare, shorter working week, better education, accessible therapy. Or whatever. Those are just my off the cuff ideas.

This is why I am pro the identification of autism and ADHD.

I believe it holds the door to a better future for the whole of the human race, because what works for autistics and ADHDers also works for neurotypicals.

The rise in diagnoses is nothing to be feared.

It's about reclaiming our power and stopping trauma.

And I for one am here for that and it is why I am vocal about being diagnosed autistic and ADHD and why I embrace it.

It's given me my life and my power back and it holds the potential to do that on a much wider scale.




image description: Picture shows head and shoulders of me, a 36 year old white woman, and in the background is a garden. I wear a teal coat and grey wooly scarf. I am smiling broadly and wearing a cycle helmet, demonstrating neurodivergent joy and freedom as it is for me.

28/10/2021

Save the date for November 1st!