Open Society

Background Research has shown high rates of suicidality in autism spectrum conditions (ASC), but there is lack of research into why this is the case. Many common experiences of autistic adults, such as depression or unemployment, overlap with known risk markers for suicide in the general population. However, it is unknown whether there are risk markers unique to ASC that require new tailored suicide prevention strategies. Methods Through consultation with a steering group of autistic adults, a survey was developed aiming to identify unique risk markers for suicidality in this group. The survey measured suicidality (SBQ-R), non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI-AT), mental health problems, unmet support needs, employment, satisfaction with living arrangements, self-reported autistic traits (AQ), delay in ASC diagnosis, and ‘camouflaging’ ASC. One hundred sixty-four autistic adults (65 male, 99 female) and 169 general population adults (54 males, 115 females) completed the survey online. Results A majority of autistic adults (72%) scored above the recommended psychiatric cut-off for suicide risk on the SBQ-R; significantly higher than general population (GP) adults (33%). After statistically controlling for a range of demographics and diagnoses, ASC diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits in the general population significantly predicted suicidality. In autistic adults, non-suicidal self-injury, camouflaging, and number of unmet support needs significantly predicted suicidality. Conclusions Results confirm previously reported high rates of suicidality in ASC, and demonstrate that ASC diagnosis, and self-reported autistic traits in the general population are independent risk markers for suicidality. This suggests there are unique factors associated with autism and autistic traits that increase risk of suicidality. Camouflaging and unmet support needs appear to be risk markers for suicidality unique to ASC. Non-suicidal self-injury, employment, and mental health problems appear to be risk markers shared with the general population that are significantly more prevalent in the autistic community. Implications for understanding and prevention of suicide in ASC are discussed.

For programs to succeed, they must be comprehensive and be implemented strategically. And supporting educators every step of the way is critical.

Guest Blog by Tuttleturtle I am an AAC user. I am also queer and trans. My AAC is part of my gender presentation. I have also never seen an AAC system represent someone like me. Even so, I'm a privileged AAC user. I've had access to education that taught me…

By John Summers May 26, 2023 First published in the Boston Globe

It's no secret that I'm a recovering drug addict. It's certainly even less of a secret that I am also Autistic/multiply neurodivergent. When one considers the reality of meeting diagnostic criteria for autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia; It's easy to see how drug use was an inevitability. I often joke that AuDHD isn't descriptive enough for

How to recognise and understand Autistic Burnout in autism, as an Autistic person, professional, parent or carer.

This article was authored by Tanya Adkin " Lovingly dubbed “meerkat mode” by Tanya due to the heightened state of vigilance and arousal it presents, it involves constantly looking for danger and threat. It is more than hyper-arousal, Tanya believes that it is actually an overwhelmed monotropic person desperately looking for a hook into a

Autistic Burnout: A Family Guide is a comprehensive 137-page PDF family support guide. It provides a deeper understanding of Autistic Burnout and is ideal to download for phones and tablets, making it easy to share information with family and professionals. It also includes lots of signposting (UK) and family-friendly infographics for further guidance and to open up conversations with your children/young people/friends and family. I am not a medical practitioner or therapist. This has been written through my lived experience as a parent and qualified teacher (SEN Primary). Please seek professional advice if you have any concerns and need further support.Autistic Burnout can be challenging for many families; I hope you find this helpful guide.*You will receive a link to download your PDF on the thank you page of the checkout, along with an emailed link that will last for 30 days.*Whilst I am trying to support my own family I do not want finances to be a barrier for anyone gaining access to information and support. Please feel free to message me*.

PBS (or PBIS in the US) is a Trojan horse to put ABA in schools. Dr. Dinah Murray on her reservations for the PBS model.

Recently, while visiting our local libraries and book stores, I realized there is a need for more access to NeuroDiversity centered literature. Rather than to just give over a list of my favorite b…

Written by Justine Field It’s a strange thing that we place an additional layer of demands on ourselves during what is already the busiest time of year. Just when we stagger towards the finish line for work and school, the festive season unleashes a seemingly endless flow of expectations. Even if you don’t subscribe to

Beyond Remote: Harnessing the Full Potential of Distributed Teams

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking a flight to the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal, where I had the honor of delivering a keynote speech in front of the Running Remote audience. Earli…

This article was co-authored by Tanya Adkin and David Gray-Hammond Monotropism is a theory of autism. It is used interchangeably as a theory and also a trait that describes a style of attention. It suggests that Autistic people tend to have singular but highly detailed tunnels of attention, as opposed to spreading their attentional resources

Autistic women often struggle with the onset of menstruation, a key transition point in the female reproductive lifespan. Presently, there is no research invest...

Tanya Adkin lays out the concept of monotropic split, and how it is at the root of various critical moments for Autistic people.

Monotropism is like a force that draws you into a specific channel of interest, much like a river, it has momentum.

Coming from a neurodiversity approach stressing ADHD as a cognitive difference rather than a cognitive deficit, the article aims to restory hyperactivity and at

"Queer is a term used by those wanting to reject specific labels of romantic orientation, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. It can also be a way of rejecting the perceived norms of the LGBT community (racism, sizeism, ableism etc). Although some LGBT people view the word as a slur, it was reclaimed in the late

Monotropism (Murray et al., 2005) is an interest-based model of the mind, according to which different strategies are employed to distribute attention, thereby forming a continuum from monotropic to polytropic predispositions. According to the monotropism theory of autism, autistic people experience a monotropic tendency to be pulled in more strongly – cognitively and emotionally – by their interests. This leads to a more intense lived experience and makes it difficult to interact with stimuli outside of one’s “attention tunnel,” which can “break” the tunnel and cause meltdowns. This engenders some of the prominent features of autism, such as different approaches to social interaction and variable attention profiles. Monotropism has a high level of subjective validity to autistic people (cf. Murray, 2019) and provides a plausible and comprehensive theory of autism. Moreover, it is the most prominent theory of autism developed and led by autistic people. This makes monotropism worthy of further investigation, which would be facilitated by a self-report measure of monotropism. The present research aims to develop and validate such a measure. With an autistic community group, we have compiled a battery of 47 questionnaire items generated by autistic people. Participants will be tested in this measure, as well as the RAADS-14 (Eriksson et al., 2013) and the AQ-10 (Allison et al., 2012). The monotropism measure will be validated by comparing the mean monotropism scores of autistic and non-autistic participants, as well as comparing participants’ total scores on the monotropism questionnaire to the total scores on the RAADS-14 and AQ-10. We will also calculate the reliability of the scale and conduct exploratory analyses, including an exploratory factor analysis and an analysis investigating the impact of ADHD on monotropism scores.

Many autistic pupils experience difficulties associated with a mis-match between the explicit features of autism and the physical and psychosocial environment of secondary school, which leave them particularly vulnerable to a range of negative mental health outcomes, and which can create barriers to their academic success (Charman et al., 2011; Morewood, Humphrey and Symes, 2011). This situation is understood to be compounded by a lack of teacher training and understanding of autism in general, and of its specific impact on individual pupil’s learning styles and support needs (Falkmer, Parsons and Granlund, 2012; Reed, Osborne and Waddington, 2012; Hebron and Humphrey, 2014). This project sought to investigate (1) the extent to which existing descriptions of autism were reflected in the general school experiences of a cohort of autistic pupils, and (2) the impact of a new pupil-to-teacher communication system, designed by the author, on the classroom experiences and psychological well-being of these pupils. Situated within the paradigm of pragmatism, a mixed methods approach to this research project was adopted. Twenty-one autistic pupils shared their experiences of school during semi-structured interviews, whilst their teachers’ experiences of teaching them were elicited via online surveys. Thematic analysis, using a specifically designed coding manual, was used to investigate the capacity of the diagnostic criteria descriptors and definitions of autism, and selected cognitive autism theories, to explain both the general school experiences described by autistic pupils, and the specific areas of difficulty they prioritised for additional support and/or teacher practice change. The efficacy of a new register-based pupil-to-teacher communication system (FAMe™), was evaluated using pre- and post-system implementation interviews and pupil self-report scales. The design of this project positioned participating pupils as experts in their own experiences, whilst the FAMe™ System enabled their voices to influence matters that affected them. The methods used, to facilitate engagement with and collect data from autistic pupils, have the potential to be considered a ‘model example’ for carrying out future research in this field. Analysis evidenced the limited capacity of the diagnostic criteria and autism theory to inform understanding of the pupils’ collective experiences. Positive impact of the FAMe™ System on pupils’ classroom experiences and psychological well-being was demonstrated. Teachers reported improved confidence post-FAMe™ in their ability to teach autistic pupils, and to meet their pupils' self-reported classroom and/or learning support needs. Improved educational outcomes were also reported. Findings contribute knowledge to the under-researched area of autistic pupils’ lived experience. The apparent failure of current diagnostic criteria descriptors and definitions of autism to adequately reflect pupils’ experiences led to the development of a new bio-psychosocial definition of autism. This has since been adopted by colleagues teaching students of autism (Beardon, 2017b) and by those engaged in independent autism research. If the demonstrated positive effect of FAMe™ System use, on teacher’s autism-related practice and on pupil educational outcomes, is replicable in other schools, the impact of its continued implementation, for autistic individuals and wider society, could be significant.

Autistic children endure a lot of ‘behaviour analysis,’ (ABA) usually done by non-autistic people who don't understand autism innately.

Autistic meltdowns 🐝 - a thread. pic.twitter.com/v0bowUhwva— Emily♡ (@ItsEmilyKaty) May 29, 2023

Drawing upon both personal experience of being autistic and a parent to an autistic child, as well as theory and relevant interdisciplinary research, this