Designing research studies to be inclusive for autistic people with complex support and/or communication needs
While there has been a significant increase in the amount of research funded and published internationally on autism over time, the vast majority of autism research reports on individuals without intellectual disabilities or complex support/communication needs defined as autistic people with co-occurring conditions (e.g. physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological, language or learning disability).
The voices of autistic people with complex support and/or communication needs is largely absent from research that is focused on them.
This research looked to understand the methods used for autistic people with complex support and communication needs, to address this issue: How can we proactively design research and consultations that are accessible and inclusive for autistic individuals with complex support/communication needs?
This document addresses this issue by:
- Describing methods that have been successfully used in research to gain the perspectives of autistic individuals with complex support/communication needs on their well-being or quality of life.
- Providing recommendations for developing research and community consultation methods which increase the opportunities for autistic people with complex support and/or communication needs to share their perspectives.
This white paper is also included in the Final Report for this project.