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 a life-long, developmental condition that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people.
It is characterised by significantly altered learning styles, which separate the individual from others and the world around them by the way they perceive and interpret input, form concepts and ideas, learn lessons and seek to engage.
Autism causes many difficulties for the individual, especially regarding appropriate responses to stimuli. 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.
This disconnection from their environment may lead individuals to be internally isolated, with personal agendas wholly independent of sociologically common norms or constraints.
For more information about autism, please visit the National Autistic Society website.