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.

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.

This post represents my thought patterns right now - jumping between ideas like points of light in the fog. As such, it’s not as polished as my other writing. I’ve decided to not over-edit, embracing my thinking how it is right now.

Beauty in the little things:

  • new life! - daffodils are coming up!

  • scent of pine wafting across the air, but I couldn’t see from where

  • a beautiful moment of walking into my local bakery - finding the person who works their with a customer’s toddler on her hip, wielding a half-eaten jam doughnut

  • hugs with my partner, holding me up while I feel this intensity

  • a calling to connect with nature

  • how good it feels to bite down on good food

What else I noticed:

  • spoken speech is difficult today, especially expressing all these ideas in my head

  • the grating intrusion of vehicles on the road

  • I’m crying at everything, even (especially) the nice things

  • I’m second-guessing interactions with a co-worker, worrying I’m not doing the socialling properly

I want to set aside this day every month to spend a day in nature, allowing myself to just ‘be’: connecting, withdrawing, feeling, resting, restoring.

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.

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)

I’m helping to run the online event this year. I usually go in person, and it’s such an amazing experience.

Teachers and LGBT allies, please consider responding to the UK government’s proposed changes to guidance for RSHE in schools. Many of the changes are concerning, but most worrying are moves to ban teaching about gender identity in schools and make teaching about LGB families optional. The consultation closes on 11th July

🔗Link to a guide to responding to the consultation: lnkd.in/eBv5yidu

🔗Link to the consultation: lnkd.in/e2KuB5nN

It was great to see some policy recommendations for a positive focus on sexual and gender diversity with autistic youth and adults by @dewinterjeroen at #INSAR23 including recommendations for education, clinical practice, research and policy drive.google.com/file/d/12JD7SD…

Looking forward to presenting my poster at #INSAR2023 on Thursday in the Family and Stakeholders session at 11:30! Poster will be on research interests of non-binary autistic people and participatory methods: doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.…

With hyperempathy you have to consider, not only ‘will I be triggered by this?’ but also, ‘will other people be triggered by this, and will I be forced to sit in a room of triggered people absorbing all their feelings?’ #actuallyautistic

Fantastic talk by @HelenEvansFE about ensuring informed consent with people with learning difficulties, but also just everyone at #MGSDTPConf22 Well done, Helen!

I just attended a great #CRAEwebinar with @jorislechene about decolonialising autism and autism research. Hosted by @CRAE_IOE and a recording will hopefully be available soon at: youtube.com/channel/UCRHm8… tw: racist and ableist language

I waited three months to hear from the Adult Neurodevelopmental Assessment Service that apparently my GP didn’t provide enough information regarding the impact of being suspected #ActuallyAutistic

#AskingAutistics What are some of the biggest things you've learnt about yourself from the #ActuallyAutistic community?

School Uniform

Auto-generated description: Three students wearing matching yellow shirts, blue striped ties, navy skirts, and white socks with black shoes are seated on chairs.

In the UK, almost all schools have a uniform. Occasionally we have a debate on why that is - to (supposedly) reduce class divides, to look 'smart', to deprive us of any sense of individuality? I have a mixed relationship with uniforms, which I intend to explore in this article.

I’m sharing a Zones of Regulation poster I made for myself and my (adult) family to help with alexithymia. The 4 colours represent emotional states + energy levels. I think it’s a lot more intuitive for #ActuallyAutistic people than traditional emotion labels: drive.google.com/uc?export=down…

We will place magnets on the chart to represent us and our emotional state. Step 1) identifying what zone we’re in, step 2) using stims to work through undesirable emotional states. Also works to communicate our emotional state so we don’t trigger each other.

I first discovered Zones of Regulation teaching primary school children, but then realised it helped with my own alexithymia. Would anyone be interested in reading more about this? #AskingAutistics

#AskingAutistics What do you do when you know you're burnt out but you can't switch off?

#AskingAutistics Is your hyperempathy a good or a bad thing? Discuss

Being misgendered as an #ActuallyAutistic person: “It is hard to know intent and whether people are being knowingly disrespectful or just making a mistake” @YennPurkis

#AskingAutistics Is this something unique to being trans/enby and autistic?

Christmas cake

Auto-generated description: A beautifully decorated white cake features pine cones, dried orange slices, cranberries, and frosted leaves, set alongside festive star decorations and a candle.

Transitioning from 2021 to 2022 with the help from a sugary delight

Christmas and New Year is a time that is usually rife with a sense of celebration and holiday cheer for many around the world. It's a time to get together with family friends, throw your work schedule out the window and indulge in rich food, bright lights and overspending.

The best books I’ve read this year, a 🧵of #bookrecs in time for Christmas. See https://thegoo.se/reading/