Open Society

The new 1 in 36 autism rate means the CDC is getting better at finding and diagnosing existing autism, not finding higher autism rates.

A full CIRCLE: inclusion of autistic doctors in the Royal College Of Psychiatrists’ values and Equality Action Plan - Volume 221 Issue 1

“There are several aspects to neuro-anarchy and several ways it can be engaged with consciously and unconsciously, it is a big part of Autistic shielding, especially the conscious choice to e…

Before we start, I want to go over some terms that will be covered here. Neuro-anarchy: as conceptualised by Katie Munday, I use this to refer to to the decentralisation of hierarchy as it pertains to neurocultures such as that of the Autistic community. Munday and I co-authored an article on this here. Neuro-anarchists arrive

In this latest issue of the Neuroqueer blog series, David Gray-Hammond and Katie Munday explore the relationship between neuro-anarchy and the Chaotic Self, considering how the two synergise and what this means for the growth of healthy neurocultures.

Background As the prevalence of autism appears to increase, more research to guide effective diagnosis and intervention practices is needed. Findings disseminated through peer-reviewed publications ...

Background: There is a lack of research on autistic intimacy, however a small body of research suggests that BDSM (bondage, domination, discipline, submission, sadism, and (sado)masochism)/kink may be appealing to autistic people. We aimed to explore how engagement in BDSM/kink related to autistic identity, using a phenomenological approach. Method: We recruited 6 autistic adults through purposive sampling on social media. All participants took part in a one-to-one spoken interview about their engagement in BDSM/kink and how it related to their sense of identity. Results: We used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse the data and found 3 key themes. Theme 1, ‘Practicing safe ‘sex’’ highlighted how the clear communication and explicit focus on consent present in BDSM/kink facilitated a feeling of safety. Theme 2, ‘So many ways to touch and be touched’ was focussed on the sensory draw of BDSM/kink, and how it provided exciting ways to explore sensory joy (and sometimes revulsion). Theme 3 ‘Subverting (neuro)normativity’ showed how autistic people can find pleasure in intimate practices which transgress normative expectations. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of exploring the perceptions of autistic adults in relation to their own intimate practices. Autistic intimacy is an emerging area of research, with very little focus on lived experience. Whilst engagement in BDSM/kink may appear niche, our findings suggest that there are aspects which are inherently appealing to autistic people. These findings can be used to destigmatise both autistic intimacy, and engagement in alternative intimate practices more broadly.

Autistic people experience significant health disparities and reduced life expectancy. Barriers to accessing healthcare are associated with adverse health outcomes. Autism training and healthcare professionals' knowledge about autism is variable, and heterogeneity among autistic people leads to additional educational and clinical complexities. Autism remains nebulous for many practitioners, who are unclear about communication differences, access needs or life experiences common to autistic people. Healthcare environments can be challenging for all patients but autistic people may require specific accommodations to allow equitable access. The authors have developed a simple framework which may facilitate equitable clinical services at all points of access and care, using the acronym ‘SPACE’. This encompasses five core autistic needs: Sensory needs, Predictability, Acceptance, Communication and Empathy. Three additional domains are represented by physical space, processing space and emotional space. This simple yet memorable framework encompasses commonalities shared by autistic people.

The Mega Micro-Aggressions

Recognition of autism and the associated co-occurring physical and mental health issues has increased over recent years. However, undergraduate and postgraduate curricula take time to adapt and to impact on what is delivered in training so healthcare professionals, including doctors, report little training on these topics. Doctors need to know when someone might be autistic in order to respond to them appropriately. This article sets out the reasons why recognition of autism is important and the positive impacts of recognising and understanding autism on health outcomes, service delivery and patient experience. The negative consequences of not recognising autism or understanding the impact of autistic traits on the person are also explored. A companion article then covers how practice can be made more appropriate for autistic people to improve outcomes.

Our objective was to obtain an in-depth understanding of autistic adults’ experiences with healthcare and their recommendations for improving care. Our academic...

The three groups of factors we found that contribute to the quality of primary care for autistic people - person factors, provider factors and system factors

This essay rejects media‐fostered stereotypes of Star Trek fans as cultural dupes, social misfits, or mindless consumers, perceiving them, in Michel de Certeau's term, as “poachers” of textual mean...

Patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system, can experience a rapid heart beat, fainting and dizziness.

What is this “toxic propaganda” the White House and Senate are taking action over, and what are the consequences of having CRT banned from our schools and public institutions? Published by Human Restoration Project, a 501(c)3 organization restoring humanity to education.

In this article I’ll unpack the criticisms and limits of “what works” in what we call evidence-based educational research and practice. Published by Human Restoration Project, a 501(c)3 organization restoring humanity to education.

@humrespro@mastodon.online @CovingtonEDU@mastodon.online To me, “evidence-based” usually means economically-focused social efficiency, often reduced to lifeless behaviorism.

The rollback of emergency public health measures enacted during the pandemic will make things worse.

People refer to various forms of malaise as “burnout,” but it’s technically a work problem. And only your employer can solve it.

Behind Georgia's new attack on transgender minors is a dismissal of autistic people's ability to think for themselves.

Background Many studies display promising results for interventions that are based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: This meta-analysis assessed the effects of such treatments on developmental outcomes in children with ASD and on parental stress based on 11 studies with 632 participants. Results: Compared to treatment as usual, minimal or no treatment, comprehensive ABA-based interventions showed medium effects for intellectual functioning (standardized mean difference SMD = 0.51, 95% CI [0.09; 0.92]) and adaptive behavior (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI [0.03; 0.70]). Language abilities, symptom severity or parental stress did not improve beyond the improvement in control groups. Moderator analyses indicate that language abilities at intake could influence the effect sizes and the influence of treatment intensity might decrease with older age. Conclusions: Practical implications and limitations are discussed.

Acute agitation episodes in the emergency department (ED) can be distressing for patients, families, and staff and may lead to injuries. We aim to und…

The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination is a department of the University of York and is part of the National Institute for Health Research. CRD undertakes high quality systematic reviews that evaluate the effects of health and social care interventions and the delivery and organisation of health care.

The first thing that strikes me about being an Autistic Autism researcher is how emotionally intense it can be. Despite each of us being uniquely individual, and living very different lives, the experiences of research participants often resonate with my own. Sometimes what we have in common relates to bullying, exploitation, and abuse, which can stir up anger, sorrow, and trauma. The connection between us can also be through Autistic joy, intense interests, sensory satisfaction, or particular w

Background: The time of transition into adulthood, especially when leaving school, is a time when many autistic adolescents and young adults (AYA) may stop receiving mental health services that they have relied on, leading to worse mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of mental health service use during transition to adulthood among autistic AYAs. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using electronic health records from years 2015 to 2019 from one large university health care system. We included autistic individuals ages 11–27 with at least one clinical encounter annually in the cohort. Outcomes included psychotropic medications and psychotherapy received, psychotropic polypharmacy, psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits, and adverse drug events. Results: Almost half of the 529 patients in the cohort received polypharmacy. The most common treatment was medication only (56.9%), followed by no treatment (22.7%), medication plus psychotherapy (18.7%), and psychotherapy only (data masked). The 17–21 age group had the highest odds of a psychiatric ED visit, whereas the 22–27 age group had the highest odds of receiving psychotropic medications and polypharmacy. Black AYA were more likely to receive psychotherapy and less likely to receive psychotropic polypharmacy than non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusion: Autistic individuals may benefit from more support from the health care system for their transition into adulthood to maintain use of beneficial mental health services as they leave school and to reduce the frequency of adverse outcomes. Access to providers experienced treating the complex needs of autistic individuals is important to reduce disparities.