Asselt et al., 2025

Autistic adults often experience heightened sensitivity to social rejection, leading to overwhelming emotional and physical reactions that are frequently invalidated. This qualitative study revealed that these intense feelings are linked to inherent Autistic traits and lifelong experiences of rejection, with individuals using various coping strategies, including therapy, with mixed success. The findings highlight rejection sensitivity as a significant but under-recognised challenge in Autistic adults, calling for further research on its prevalence and interventions.

View Resource

NHS England,. 2025

This resource has been developed to raise awareness among staff of the range of restrictive practices that are used within mental health inpatient services and their impact on patients.

View Resource

Hamilton, L., Williams, J., Neilson, D., & Petty, S. 2025

This participatory action research explored what belonging means for Neurodivergent students and staff at a UK university, revealing that traditional, socially focused definitions often exclude Neurodivergent experiences. The study identified key factors for fostering belonging: inclusive practices, shared responsibility for representation, and supportive navigation of space and transitions. It concludes that true belonging for Neurodivergent people requires authentic acceptance ”not assimilation” with small systemic changes leading to meaningful improvements in wellbeing and success.

View Resource

Ox.ac.uk, 2024

The Centre for Teaching and Learning's Student Experience Internship Scheme enables Oxford students to work in partnership with University staff to co-design and carry out a defined 10-week project each summer to explore students' learning experiences at the University. An investigative project in summer 2024 saw six student interns work on understanding disabled students' learning experiences at Oxford.

View Resource

Cobbaert, L., Camin, M., Schweizer, K., Kapp, S., Gorrie, L., Maloney, E., � Pavlopoulou, G. (2025)

This lived experience-led critique of Wade and Waller�s (2025) proposed CBT competences highlights significant concerns around iatrogenic harm and epistemic injustice due to a neuronormative, clinician-centric approach. The authors advocate for neurodiversity-affirming, identity-and trauma-informed adaptations that prioritise safety, consent, and co-produced, flexible care. Integrating these principles into CBT frameworks can foster more ethical, inclusive, and effective therapeutic practice for Neurodivergent individuals.

View Resource

Thriving Autistic, 2021

Exploring Autistic Experiences Through Animation. Thriving Autistic presents two new neuro-affirming educational animation videos that celebrate Autistic perspectives. Created by a neurodiverse international team - with all writing by Autistic contributors, these animations explore identity, understanding, and shared experiences. Discovering You’re Autistic highlights the strengths and self-discovery that come with recognising your identity, while Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic showcases the unique and valuable ways Autistic people experience the world. Each video is supported by two companion blogs — one for the Autistic community and one for professionals — designed to deepen understanding and provide support.

View Resource

NCCPE, 2025

To help navigate partnerships, the NCCPE have developed the partnership cycle. It contains 10 steps to effective partnerships, which help you consider the various aspects of what makes partnerships thrive. Based on experience of partnerships with museums, communities, schools and others, the partnership cycle captures the key facets that make a difference to high-quality collaboration on engagement work.

View Resource

Sabo et al., 2025

Research shows that Autistic people, both children and adults, face significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts compared to non-Autistic individuals. For example, Autistic adults are up to 25 times more likely to attempt suicide than non-Autistic adults, and similar disparities are seen in younger age groups. Although most research on this topic is recent and often based on online samples, the consistently high rates highlight an urgent need for focused suicide prevention efforts within the Autistic community.
Disclaimer: discusses suicide.

View Resource

Hartman and Hartman, 2024

This study explores whether differences between Autistic and non-Autistic employees, often framed as deficits, may actually be strengths - particularly in ethical decision-making and workplace interventions. Autistic participants were found to have lower levels of moral disengagement and were more likely to speak up about organisational problems, showing reduced susceptibility to social influence and the bystander effect. These findings suggest that Autistic employees may contribute positively to organisational integrity and performance through their increased ethical awareness and independent thinking.

View Resource

Cooke et al., 2025

This review and meta-analysis found that interpersonal violence is strongly associated with worsened mental health, including internalising symptoms and suicidal thoughts, among Autistic individuals. The negative impacts begin in childhood and persist into adulthood, with females and gender minorities experiencing greater health and developmental challenges. These findings highlight the relevance of intersectionality and minority stress theories in understanding the heightened vulnerability of Autistic people, especially those with multiple marginalised identities, including other Neurodivergent traits.

Disclaimer: discusses suicide., violence and harm.

View Resources

The Trauma Geek. (2024)

Trauma Geek's article on The PDA Neurotype vs Demand Avoidance [+ infographic].

View Resource

Hamilton, Lorna G. et al, 2024

Outline of the findings of the York St John University Inclusive Neurodiverse Campuses project.

View Resources