Charlotte Brooks Profile Photo

Charlotte Brooks

♾️ Autistic PhD Researcher in DISN at University of Birmingham; researching autistic nonbinary experiences in school 🏫

📌 Autism and Gender diversity: Supporting trans and autistic children and young people

I’m excited to share this talk on ‘Autism and Gender diversity: Supporting trans and autistic children and young people’, which I made to contribute to course materials for the University of Birmingham MA in Inclusion: www.youtube.com/watch

Autistic children and young people are four times more likely to be gender diverse than non-autistic children and young people (Hisle-Gorman et al., 2019).

🏳️‍⚧️ My talk provides an introduction to terms around gender diversity, the overlap with being autistic, and how gender diversity may be experienced by autistic young people. 🤝 I then go on to talk about what autistic gender diverse young people need from professionals working to support them. I also provide further resources to explore this topic further (see video description)

Young people wanted to understand strategies for creating inclusive environments that ensure nonbinary autistic students feel supported throughout school. From participants in my PhD research, these questions inform a subsequent study with teachers #AutRes

Questions autistic nonbinary young people have for their teachers... How do you ensure your classroom environment is supportive for nonbinary autistic students?

My participants were curious about how teachers recognise and support diverse identities, experiences and needs to help them feel included, respected and understood in school. From participants in my PhD research, these questions inform a subsequent study with teachers #AutRes

Questions autistic nonbinary young people have for their teachers... How do you ensure individual needs and preferences are taken into account.

Young people were uncertain about what training their teachers had about autism and gender diversity or what was included in training. From participants in my PhD research, these questions inform a subsequent study with teachers #AutRes

Questions autistic nonbinary young people have for their teachers... Have you had any training on gender diversity in autistic students?

Reflections on the trouble with strengths-led assessments as a neurodivergent person with a spiky profile

Assessments, especially diagnostic assessments, have typically been pathologising - under a health framework, assessments are ways of putting labels on you that determine whether or not you might get support, and could alter how others see you.

However, after supporting someone close to me in their PIP review (a welfare benefit in the UK), I reflected on how the experience would be if it included a strengths-led component, and I think that would STILL be really scary!

As neurodivergent people we have spiky profiles, but there is little understanding out there in wider society. In an assessment situation that determines the outcome of support and provision, I don’t want to express having ANY strengths that could in any way get in the way of receiving the support I need and am entitled to.

An approach that is both needs and strengths-led could still be scary for CYP and their families. A young person might be trying to do the mental gymnastics of whether you can admit you’re good at Maths. Or that - actually - you don’t struggle with social interactions in your social group of other neurodivergent peers, but this is very much not the case in mixed-neurotype interactions.

For a CYP and their family to be able to engage with a strengths-led approach, there’s an awful lot of TRUST required - in the approach itself, in the school and staff around you. CYP and their families need to trust that an approach building on their strengths won’t take away from help they need in other areas.

I think this is something important to keep in mind as we develop approaches based on strengths-led support - for many CYP and their families, that trust is broken, and that trust is often broken inter-generationally. That trust will be hard to rebuild, but work to rebuild that trust is essential if approaches to building neuroinclusive school systems are to be effective.

Had a great time sharing my PhD research at #AutismEurope2025 on autistic nonbinary young people’s school experiences. Early findings highlight the importance of support identity as part of a holistic approach. Poster: thegoo.se/aec-poste…

Charlotte stands smiling in front of a poster titled "Mapping Support" at the Autism Europe 2025 conference.

In my PhD, my participants drew floorplans of their schools, which guided our interviews and evoked the physicality of spaces around school. Colour coding added another layer, helping them to reference areas they felt more/less comfortable in the interview #AcademicSky #PhDlife #AutRes

A hand-drawn floor plan of a school is illustrated with notes and colored dots, accompanied by instructions for a creative exercise aimed at exploring personal experiences in different spaces. Those completing the exercise as asked to try to include on their floorplan try to include spaces where they felt included or like they could be themselves (colour-coded in green), spaces they felt left out or pressure to be someone else other than themselves (in red), and spaces they had mixed experiences (in yellow). There is also a note about critical cartography, saying ‘engaging marginalised groups to create their own maps may offer alternative perspectives and understandings of space.

Are you a neurodivergent person over 16? Share your views to help improve support for neurodivergent young people in schools. Our survey supports the work of the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, and may influence recommendations to Government. Take part here: https://thegoo.se/survey

Title reads: Are you a neurodivergent person over 16? If so, you may want to consider taking part in an online survey on identifying support for neurodivergent young people in schools. Inside a speech bubble reads: We are interested in hearing the views of neurodivergent people in England aged 16+ There is a playful graphic of three young children in colourful clothing. One is holding a wand, and another is holding a balloon. If you are interested, please go to the survey at https://thegoo.se/survey or scan a QR code. This link redirects to Qualtrics, a reputable website for questionnaires and surveys. This survey is being run on behalf of work supporting the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group. It has received ethical approval from University of Birmingham. There is a logo for University of Birmingham at the bottom of the page.

🏳️‍🌈 This past week I’ve been on holiday in Bergen, Norway, and there has been a lot of pride flags! 🏳️‍🌈

Initially I was cynical about ‘rainbow washing’, but I noticed it’s not just shops who have pride flags, but also homes, political buildings and public transport. It feels good 🤗

Auto-generated description: An illustration showing three interconnected concepts around my approach: Experiential, Participatory, and Situated, with arrows and symbolic images.

In my doctoral research,

  • I’m interested in individuals' lived experiences
  • I’m engaging with participatory methods
  • I’m interested in knowledges that are situated in spaces within the school

How are the findings from my Master’s research informing my #AutRes PhD on the school experiences of autistic nonbinary young people?

  • I’m asking participants what they found supportive at school

  • (and what they wish was different)

  • I’m anticipating that findings will provide recommendations for schools

How are the findings from my Master’s research informing my #AutRes PhD on the school experiences of autistic nonbinary young people?

  • I’m guided by what past participants think research should focus on

  • I’ve asked for feedback on study materials and my analysis

  • I’m asking participants what teachers should be asked for interviews in the second phase of my research

My experience of PMS as an #ActuallyAutistic person is of an enhanced sensory and emotional experience. This can include overwhelm and emotional distress, but also a hyper-realness that draws my attention to the beauty in little things. Like a pre-menstrual monotropism.

How are the findings from my Master’s research informing my PhD on the school experiences of autistic nonbinary young people?

  • I’m focusing on underrepresented perspectives

  • I’m giving a choice of interview modality so non-speaking people can take part

  • I’m taking an intersectional perspective encouraging participants to talk about many identity aspects and how they interact

Welcome to a series of #AutRes posts highlighting key findings of my Master’s research1 where I interviewed nonbinary autistic people about what future research about them should look like.

3. Research should look at ways forward.

  • Participants felt that research should focus on improving lives of autistic nonbinary people
  • They felt research that reconfirms the negative experiences of nonbinary autistic people was less helpful

Quotes from Charlotte Brooks' research question

Auto-generated description: Quotes from Charlotte Brooks' research participants discuss the empowerment of autistic individuals in research and the hope for reduced negative life events through increased understanding. *Quotes are transcribed verbatim from participants in Charlotte Brooks' research1

  1. Brooks, C. (2022) Exploring views on future directions of research involving nonbinary autistic people through lived experience. Master’s Dissertation. University of Birmingham. Available at: https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/13703/ (Accessed: 17 July 2024). ↩︎

Welcome to a series of #AutRes posts highlighting key findings of my Master’s research1 where I interviewed nonbinary autistic people about what future research about them should look like.

2. Research should be community led.

  • Participants were engaged with research and aware of participatory research approaches
  • They expressed that autistic gender diverse people should be involved in decisions and fairly compensated for their expertise at all stages of research process

Auto-generated description: Quotes from Charlotte Brooks' research participants emphasize meeting people where they are, listening, sharing knowledge, and grounding research in lived experience. *Quotes are transcribed verbatim from participants in Charlotte Brooks' research1

  1. Brooks, C. (2022) Exploring views on future directions of research involving nonbinary autistic people through lived experience. Master’s Dissertation. University of Birmingham. Available at: https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/13703/ (Accessed: 17 July 2024). ↩︎

Welcome to a series of #AutRes posts highlighting key findings of my Master’s research1 where I interviewed nonbinary autistic people about what future research about them should look like.

1. Research should include a diverse range of people and experiences.

  • My participants felt autism research did not represent the diversity of the autistic community or fully consider how identities may intersect
  • They noted how the voices of gender diverse people, people of colour, and non-speaking autistic people are missing from research

Auto-generated description: Quotes from Charlotte Brooks' research participants question the visibility of nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, and gendervague individuals, and states that research often focuses on white people. *Quotes are transcribed verbatim from participants in Charlotte Brooks' research*1

  1. Brooks, C. (2022) Exploring views on future directions of research involving nonbinary autistic people through lived experience. Master’s Dissertation. University of Birmingham. Available at: https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/13703/ (Accessed: 17 July 2024). ↩︎

📖 I’ve submitted my first book chapter!

It’s for a book on Neurodivergent Education and Lifelong Learning being edited by @keatesresearch.bsky.social and @krysiawally.bsky.social! I’m so excited! My chapter reviews research on the experiences of nonbinary autistic young people #AutRes

A webpage displays information about an upcoming book project titled Neurodivergent Education and Lifelong Learning: From Babble to Later Life, including a chapter submission on autistic and nonbinary youth.

How I think referencing will go… I know exactly what I need to cite, I’m so well-read and amazing 😎 How it actually goes… WHERE is the proof for this thing I know exists 😩

I both cite as I write & go back to find references afterwards, how about you? #AutRes

My amazing partner, @snugg.ie, has made me my very own website at https://thegoo.se!

🔬 I plan to post about my PhD and research
📲 The site will also bring together my social media profiles, so everything is in one place (with a bit of tech magic)

Check out https://thegoo.se/silly for a laugh 🪿

Autism and Gender diversity: Supporting trans and autistic children and young people

I’m excited to share this talk on ‘Autism and Gender diversity: Supporting trans and autistic children and young people’, which I made to contribute to course materials for the University of Birmingham MA in Inclusion: www.youtube.com/watch

Autistic children and young people are four times more likely to be gender diverse than non-autistic children and young people (Hisle-Gorman et al., 2019).

🏳️‍⚧️ My talk provides an introduction to terms around gender diversity, the overlap with being autistic, and how gender diversity may be experienced by autistic young people. 🤝 I then go on to talk about what autistic gender diverse young people need from professionals working to support them. I also provide further resources to explore this topic further (see video description)