About Autism@Manchester
Autism@Manchester is a community of academics, clinicians, practitioners, autistic adults, parents of autistic children and family members working together to achieve quality research with real meaning for people with autism.
Communication and collaboration to produce research with impact
Increasingly aware of the concerns of the autistic community that researchers were not working on issues important to them, Autism@Manchester academics wanted to create an environment that encourages communication and collaboration between researchers and the autism community.
As autism affects so many different aspects of life, this approach is particularly important because researchers need to work both across disciplines and with the autistic community to produce effective research with real meaning and impact for autistic people.
Autism@Manchester was founded in 2014 and is currently chaired by Dr Emma Gowen.
We would like to acknowledge the following funders:
What is autism?
Autism is characterised by patterns of neurological development that can cause differences in social interactions and sensory processing, restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and difficulties in identifying and describing feelings. Many individuals find certain inputs stressful or even painful, but may be unable to articulate their wishes regarding it, which will stress the individual further. Autistic individuals can have altered learning styles, which influence how they perceive and interpret input, form concepts and ideas, learn lessons, and seek to engage with the world and those around them. The highly sociable and unpredictable environments typical of most societies are poorly suited to autistic people, leading to disadvantage and exclusion.
For more information about autism, please visit the National Autistic Society website.