Research work
We support research that is high quality, ethical and respectful of autism, and addresses the life challenges faced by autistic people and their families. We strongly support the involvement of autistic people as partners in all stages of the research process. If you are a researcher interested in working with us, please contact research@nas.org.uk.
Please note that in most cases we cannot advertise for participants in research projects in which we are not involved. If you wish to publicise your research on our community forum, please contact research@nas.org.uk.
Our understanding of autism has improved a lot since we started in 1962. But there is still more we need to know to make society work for autistic people.
We work with autistic people, families, academics in Universities and other autism charities to make sure that research is good quality and reflects people’s real experiences.
Here is a list of some of the research projects we are involved in:
Addressing anxiety in autistic people with a learning disability (BEAMS-ID)
Lead Organisation:
Tizard Centre, University of Kent
Description:
Getting the right mental health support is one of the biggest challenges for autistic children and adults. There is good evidence that talking psychological therapies are an effective treatment for anxiety, but many of these treatments have not been tested with autistic people who have learning disabilities. Through co-production, researchers, autistic people and families will adapt an existing anxiety treatment for autistic people with learning disabilities. This will be piloted and tested with feedback from participants and families, and then trialled on a larger scale comparing outcomes with autistic people receiving current treatments.
Mapping and evaluating specialist autism team service models (SHAPE)
Lead Organisation:
University of York
Description:
To improve support across localities for autistic adults, the 2010 Autism strategy recommended that specialist, community based, multi-disciplinary teams are set up to provide, coordinate and oversee services, known as ‘Specialist Autism Teams’ (SATs). These teams can help to diagnose children and adults and provide post-diagnostic support. But no evidence exists about the staffing of these teams and how they should operate. This project will investigate the different ways these teams can be set up and compare them in terms of their impacts on the lives and experiences of autistic people and costs.
https://www.york.ac.uk/spru/projects/shape/
Autism Spectrum Social Stories In Schools Trial (ASSIST2)
Lead Organisation:
University of York
Description:
Almost all autistic people struggle in some way with communication. Social StoriesTM were created by Carol Gray in 1991 and are designed to help autistic children develop their social skills through words and pictures illustrating a particular situation, event or activity.
Upscaled from a successful pilot study, this study is testing if Social StoriesTM are impactful and cost effective in improving the social and emotional health of children aged 4-11 year olds in primary school settings.
https://www.comic.org.uk/research/autism-spectrum-social-stories-in-schools-trial-2-asssist-2
Prevalence of ASD in deafness and evaluation of assessment (DIADS)
Lead Organisation:
York CAMHS
Description:
Previous research suggests that autism is more commonly diagnosed in deaf children compared to hearing children. However, there are currently no suitable autism assessments for this group which can be misleading and lead to misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis can lead to people missing out on years of support and affect their entire lives. This research aims to test three autism assessments, which have been modified using the knowledge and experience of international experts who work with autistic deaf children and translated into British Sign Language.
https://www.comic.org.uk/research/diagnostic-instruments-for-autism-in-deaf-children
RCT examining the effect of LEGO therapy on the social and emotional competence of children with ASD (I-SOCAILISE)
Lead Organisation:
Leeds and York NHS Foundation Trust
Description:
LEGO®-based therapy is a new intervention developed in schools to help autistic children develop their social communication skills, through adult facilitated collaborative model-building using LEGO® bricks. The primary objectives of the research are to examine the impact of the approach in relation to social and emotional development, perceived social isolation and general mental and physical wellbeing.
https://www.comic.org.uk/research/lego
Sowerby Health Intervention for Autistic people (SHAPe) Health check and pre-appointment digital tool
Lead Organisation:
Newcastle University
Description:
Some autistic people do not seek health care because health professionals and services do not provide the adaptations needed, even though they desperately need support. This may be one of the reasons that autistic people die earlier than other people. Health checks identify some important conditions that affect health and wellbeing and are available to some people through the UK National Health Service (NHS). The project has three stages: Identifying barriers and facilitators to primary care access for autistic adult, designing and piloting a health check for autistic adults and evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility of the health check.
https://research.ncl.ac.uk/autismhealthchecks/aboutourproject/
Improving the Health of Older Autistic people (IHOAP)
Lead Organisation:
Newcastle University and Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Description:
Older autistic people’s needs can be overlooked by public services that simply aren’t designed for them. This research aims to identify new ways for older autistic adults get access to the healthcare they need. The autistic community, their supporters and relevant health professionals were consulted on their experience and delivery of current NHS physical health care services for autistic adults. The results were used to help inform, design and pilot a novel approach to facilitating access to healthcare.
https://research.ncl.ac.uk/neurodisability/ourstudies/improvingthehealthofolderautisticpeople/
PECS at home to help communication skills
Lead Organisation:
Evelina Children's Hospital, Kings College London
Description:
It is estimated that up to 1 in 4 autistic individuals fail to develop functional speech. School age children who are minimally verbal often show little improvement in speech and communication skills, which can increase the risk emotional and behavioural problems. The aims of the project are to assess the feasibility helping parents/carers to use The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) at home and establish effective ways to measure any improvement in communication skills.
https://www.autistica.org.uk/our-research/research-projects/pecs-at-home
Health inequalities in older adults (AUDIT-50)
Lead Organisation:
University College London
Description:
People who grew up before there was widespread knowledge about autism are likely to have missed out on being diagnosed and on support they could have benefited from. The research aims to estimate the diagnostic coverage and prevalence of ‘under diagnosis’ of autistic adults aged 50 and over, with a view to understanding inequalities in accessing diagnostic services. There will also be a focus on understanding the physical and mental health needs of this group, as well as experiences when accessing healthcare, facilitators and barriers to support and how to overcome these barriers.
Simplified language project
Lead Organisation:
EU Commission
Description:
Led by seven partner organisations from Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom (including us at the National Autistic Society), the overarching aim of the project is to address and find ways of reducing the barriers to inclusive education for students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). Project activities include: the sharing of best practices in terms of assessment, diagnosis and teaching tools across countries, transnational joint-staff training events and project dissemination through an international conference.
Criminal Justice and Young Autistic Adults
Lead Organisation:
National Autistic Society
Description:
Our previous projects with criminal justice services have highlighted the gaps in knowledge regarding the numbers of autistic people in the system, and the need for a coherent picture around their pathways, experiences and specific challenges. The aim of the project is to develop a picture of the experiences of autistic offenders in prison and on their pathway to prison, to directly influence policy and, future services so that the criminal justice system works for autistic people.
Realist Evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD)
Lead Organisation:
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Description:
Getting a timely diagnosis is a huge problem for autistic children and adults. This study aims to examine existing models of Autism diagnostic service delivery, and to investigate which approaches offer the most timely, cost-effective, high quality and child and family friendly solutions, and in line with realist thinking, to identify the factors that are likely to underpin their success, or failure, if rolled out more generally across providers.
The ACCEPT study - The Autism Core Capabilities rEPosiTory
King’s College London (KCL), Maudsley learning and the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) are working with Health Education England on a national project, identifying and sharing a range of approaches to support health, social care and public facing workforces across England to use the Core Capabilities Framework for Supporting Autistic People (2019). You can read more about the framework here. This project involves reviewing current evidence and practice, mapping existing initiatives against the framework, and creating a repository of information for people to develop their work further in this area.
https://maudsleylearning.com/take-part-in-the-autism-core-capabilities-repository-accept-study/
Please take part in our survey: https://kclbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cUxOb07WGQl6IO9