Williams, Corbyn and Hart (2023)

Autistic children and young people experience significantly poorer mental health compared to their neurotypical peers, with many in the UK receiving care in NHS-funded inpatient facilities that often fail to meet their sensory needs. Recent autistic-led research highlights a systemic lack of understanding around autistic sensory differences, with inpatient environments frequently worsening mental health and contributing to a cycle of increasingly restrictive care. This paper explores these issues through the insights of autistic individuals with lived experience and offers recommendations for improving sensory environments and guiding future research.

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