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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

📖 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

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)