Bridge-building between communities: Imagining the future of biomedical autism research

Síofra Heraty; Alexandra Lautarescu; David Belton; Alison Boyle; Pietro Cirrincione; Mary Doherty; Sarah Douglas; Jan Roderik Derk Plas; Katrien Van Den Bosch; Pierre Violland; Jerneja Tercon; Amber Ruigrok; Declan G M Murphy; Thomas Bourgeron; Christopher Chatham; Eva Loth; Bethany Oakley; Grainne M McAlonan; Tony Charman; Nicolaas Puts; Louise Gallagher; Emily J H Jones

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.004

Bridge-building between communities: Imagining the future of biomedical autism research

Cell. 2023 Aug 31;186(18):3747-3752. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.004.

Authors

Síofra Heraty¹, Alexandra Lautarescu², David Belton³, Alison Boyle³, Pietro Cirrincione³, Mary Doherty⁴, Sarah Douglas³, Jan Roderik Derk Plas³, Katrien Van Den Bosch³, Pierre Violland³, Jerneja Tercon⁵, Amber Ruigrok⁶, Declan G M Murphy⁷, Thomas Bourgeron⁸, Christopher Chatham⁹, Eva Loth¹⁰, Bethany Oakley¹⁰, Grainne M McAlonan⁷, Tony Charman², Nicolaas Puts¹¹, Louise Gallagher¹², Emily J H Jones¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK. Electronic address: s.heraty@bbk.ac.uk.
² Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
³ AIMS-2-Trials A-Reps, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK.
⁴ AIMS-2-Trials A-Reps, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK; Department of Neuroscience, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9PX, UK.
⁵ AIMS-2-Trials A-Reps, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK; Department of Developmental Pediatrics and Early Intervention, Community Health Centre Domzale, Domzale, Slovenia.
⁶ Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK.
⁷ Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), London SE5 8AZ, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
⁸ Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions, Institut Pasteur, UMR3571 CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
⁹ F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
¹¹ Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK; Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
¹² Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative, Hospital for Sick Children, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 1R8, Canada.
¹³ Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK.

PMID: 37657415
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.004

Abstract

A paradigm shift in research culture is required to ease perceived tensions between autistic people and the biomedical research community. As a group of autistic and non-autistic scientists and stakeholders, we contend that through participatory research, we can reject a deficit-based conceptualization of autism while building a shared vision for a neurodiversity-affirmative biomedical research paradigm.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Autistic Disorder*
Behavior
Biomedical Research* / ethics
Community-Based Participatory Research
Humans

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding