PARC Critical Autism Studies Conference Monday 21st November

Events

Following on from the conferences on Critical Autism Studies (CAS) that were held at London South Bank University in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and the three online conferences held in 2021, the Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) in partnership with Edge Hill University will be running a free one-day online conference on Monday 21st November 2022 from 9am-2pm.

Program schedule:

9am – Welcome & housekeeping

9.05am – Intro & scene setting – Allison and Damian

9.15am – Sumita Majumdar – Psycho-education through Inner-World Creation: Exploration of the creative process behind the making of TV Show ‘Pablo’ as a tool for autistic people’s selfawareness, social understanding and mental wellness.

9.40am – Elise Stirling – The hidden gems of autistic play.

10.05am – Q&A.

10.15am – Krysia Waldock and Susie Bass – Being autistic in the academy: an experience of epistemological injustice.

10.40am – Emily Bailey – Autism, Aliens, and Astrophysicists: The Image of the Non-Social Autistic in Popular Media.

11.05am – Q&A.

11.15am – Comfort break.

11.30am – Paul Davies – Discussing the reality of developing Trauma Informed Care for Autistic people.

11.55am – Nick Chown – The autism worldview dilemma: Philosophical and practical perspectives on autism.

12.20pm – Q&A.

12.30pm – Comfort break.

1.00pm – Ekaterina Rudneva – Missing responses in autistic – non-autistic interaction.

1.25pm – Wiktoria Luc – Problems faced by autistic women at work and solutions to them: results from Poland.

1.50pm – Q&A.

2pm – Closing remarks.

Please follow this link to register for the event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parc-critical-autism-studies-conference-in-partnership-with-ehu-tickets-465856799227

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PARC Critical Autism Studies Conference 2022 call for submissions

Events

Date of event: Monday 21^st November 2022 9am-2pm (GMT) (full details to follow)

Following on from the conferences on Critical Autism Studies (CAS) that were held at London South Bank University in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and the three online conferences held in 2021, the Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) in partnership with Edge Hill University will be running a free one-day online conference.

We invite contributions from experiential, empirical, theoretical, and practical perspectives to critically explore autism. Possible themes include but are not limited to:

Participatory and emancipatory research.

Theoretical and conceptual understandings of autism and autistic ways of being.

Critical evaluations of support strategies, interventions and public policy.

Research methodologies and ethics.

Intersectionality and autism.

Cultural representations of autism.

Deadline for abstract (max 300 words overview of what you would like to present) submissions: 24^th October 2022.

Presentations selected for the conference will be scheduled for 30mins including time for questions from those participating in the event.

To submit an abstract, please email damianmilton.sociology@yahoo.com.

PARC Critical Autism Studies – Winter Workshop 2021, 7th December 4.30-7pm (GMT)

Events

The Participatory Autism Research Collective, in partnership with the Critical Autism and Disabilities Studies Research Group at LSBU, are pleased to present this interactive session exploring a range of issues related to educational contexts with guest speakers.

This follows on from the success of our previous conferences, both in person & virtual, and provides an opportunity to build on shared knowledge & experience through learning, open discussion & networking.

We aim to provide an environment for autistic researchers to present their work relating to critical autism studies and with so many colleagues conducting a wealth of vital research, one annual event was simply not enough. Our confirmed speakers can be found below and we look forward to introducing more of these events in the future…

This set of workshops will focus on the theme of education.

Provisional programme

4.30pm – Introductions – Damian Milton

4.40pm – Accommodating Autism: The University and Its Practices of Inclusion – Mel Ptacek

5.10pm – Deterritorializing Autism in Education: Participatory Research with Autistic Young People around the Transition to Post-16 Education and Training – Michelle Dunne

5.40pm – Comfort break/networking

6pm – A critical evaluation of the statement from Conn (2019), autistic students are let down by mainstream education (age range 11-16 years) – Charlotte Mulcock

6.30pm – “I liked school, but school didn’t like me”: reflections on the autistic mainstream primary school experience – Jo Billington

7pm – Summary & close

This workshop will be delivered via Zoom. We will sent out the joining instructions the day before the event.

To register for this event please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parc-critical-autism-studies-winter-workshops-2021-tickets-194340817617

PARC Critical Autism Studies – Winter Conference 2021, 6th December 9am-2pm (GMT)

Events

Following on from the conferences on Critical Autism Studies (CAS) that were held at LSBU in 2017-19 and our virtual conferences held earlier this year, the Participatory Autism Research Collective, in partnership with the Critical Autism and Disabilities Studies Research Group at LSBU, return with a winter conference with another fantastic programme!

We aim to provide an environment for autistic researchers to present their work relating to critical autism studies and with so many colleagues conducting a wealth of vital and insightful research, one annual event was simply not enough. Check out the programme below to see what we have lined up this time round…

Provisional programme (subject to change)

9am – Welcome & housekeeping – Neil Hudson-Basing, Corporate Events Manager, LSBU

9.05am – Intro & scene setting – Fabienne, Nicki & Damian

9.15am – The Development of Positive Attitudes of Mainstream Teaching Staff towards Autistic Students – Susie Bass

9.40am – Pros and cons of autistic parenthood – Shona Murphy

10.05am – Q&A

10.15am – Implications of inertia for understanding autism – K Leneh Buckle

10.40am –Assessing hypersensitivity to difference in autistic and non-autistic adults – Sophia Christophi

11.05am – Q&A

11.15am – Comfort break

11.30am – I am an autistic researcher not autism researcher- Non-standardised approaches in a standardised world – Daniel Lovesey

11.55am –Defining autistic identity and the role it plays in the Quality of Life of autistic adults – George Watts

12.20pm – Q&A

12.30pm – Comfort break

1pm – Militant Autecologies – Natalie Joelle

1.25pm – Exploring the benefits and impact of participation in improv comedy and autistic lived experiences: a case study – Nathan Keates

1.50pm – Q&A

2pm – Closing remarks & close

This conference will be delivered via Zoom Webinar. We will send out the joining instructions on the Thursday before the event (2 December).

To register please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parc-critical-autism-studies-winter-conference-2021-tickets-194333305147?aff=erellivmlt

Autism Journal Club – Gemma Williams and Sarah Garfinkel, 9th November 2021

Events

Loneliness, ethical loneliness, and loneliness distress in autistic adults

Dr Gemma Williams is an autistic ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Brighton. Her PhD research investigated communication between autistic and non-autistic speakers, looking at what has been described as the ‘double empathy problem’ (a way of framing communication problems between autistic and non-autistic people as a two-way problem, rather than as an autistic impairment) from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. 

Gemma is joined by Prof Sarah Garfinkel, a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Group Leader at University College London. Sarah’s research interests are in emotion processing and interoception, particularly among atypical populations.

Article for discussion: “I’m trying to reach out, I’m trying to find my people”: Loneliness and loneliness distress in autistic adults. (Quadt, L., Williams, G., Mulcahy, J.S., Silva, M., Larsson, D., Arnold, A., Critchley, H., Garfinkel, S., 2021- PREPRINT )
LINK: https://psyarxiv.com/7ckeq/
 
Suggested discussion Qs:
·        How do you make sense of the apparent relationship between sensory sensitivity and loneliness?
·        Is the tension between desiring and sometimes needing solitude and also feeling distressed by feelings of loneliness resonate with you? What can we do to support autistic individuals to achieve this balance in the different contexts of daily life?
·        ‘Ethical loneliness’ refers to the experiences of feeling abandoned by humanity – an acute form of minority stress. Is it feasible to address individual experiences of loneliness while a larger marginalisation of autistic people in society still occurs?

To register please follow this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/VvqpUTI_mkSnIT4_Sapemg,78UkvmcrI02FKxbxy5l-rQ,sstEMlKfc0KRE4zCzs9JeQ,ZYrPhhzyV0KWNm5knRq41A,LEqKIfaHE0-UBBHOMQj0-g,1rrE8qJcr06iB2-nlqTNvQ?mode=read&tenantId=51a9fa56-3f32-449a-a721-3e3f49aa5e9a

PARC Critical Autism Studies – Autumn Workshop 19th October 2021

Events

The Participatory Autism Research Collective, in partnership with the Critical Autism and Disabilities Studies Research Group at LSBU, are pleased to present this interactive session exploring a range of issues with guest speakers.

This follows on from the success of our previous conferences, both in person & virtual, and provide an opportunity to build on shared knowledge & experience through learning, open discussion & networking.

We aim to provide an environment for autistic researchers to present their work relating to critical autism studies and with so many colleagues conducting a wealth of vital, fascinating and groundbreaking research, one annual event was simply not enough. Our confirmed speakers can be found below and we look forward to introducing more of these events in the future…

Provisional programme

4.30pm – Introductions – Damian Milton

4.40pm – Hans Asperger’s early critique of cognitive theories of autism – Frederik Boven

5.10pm – Intuition of other’s thoughts – Caroline Hearst

5.40pm – Comfort break/networking

6pm – Demand-Avoidance Phenomena: as a biopower identity – Richard Woods

6.30pm – Debating Gender as the Basis of an Autism Typology: A Comparison of Two Kinds of Literature – Robert Manzo

7pm – Summary & close

This conference will be delivered via Zoom. We will sent out the joining instructions on the Thursday before the event (14 October).

You can register for the PARC Autumn workshop on 19th October from 4.30-7pm: available here.

You can also register for the PARC Autumn Conference taking place on 18 October from 9am – 2pm here.

PARC Critical Autism Studies – Autumn Conference 18th October 2021

Events

Following on from the conferences on Critical Autism Studies (CAS) that were held at LSBU in 2017-19 and our first virtual annual conference in the summer, the Participatory Autism Research Collective, in partnership with the Critical Autism and Disabilities Studies Research Group at LSBU, return with our second event of the year due to popular demand!

We aim to provide an environment for autistic researchers to present their work relating to critical autism studies and with so many colleagues conducting a wealth of vital and insightful research, one annual event was simply not enough. Check out the programme below to see what we have lined up this time round…

Provisional programme (subject to change)

9am – Welcome & housekeeping – Neil Hudson-Basing, Corporate Events Manager, LSBU

9.05am – Intro & scene setting – Fabienne, Nicki & Damian

9.15am – Conceptualising belonging: the views of Autistic people – Krysia Waldock

9.40am – The Development of Positive Attitudes of Mainstream Teaching Staff towards Autistic Students – Susie Bass

10.05am – Q&A

10.15am – Critical Realism, Community Psychology, and the Autism: A Philosophy and Practice of Science with Social Justice in Mind – Monique Botha

10.40am –Towards an Autistic Social Psychology – Amy Pearson

11.05am – Q&A

11.15am – Comfort break

11.30am – Money, money money: How to get funding for your autism support project – Anne-Marie Gregory

11.55am –Autism, desirability, and the dis/child within neoliberal education – Jill Pluquailec

12.20pm – Q&A

12.30pm – Comfort break

1pm – The ‘Shared Autism’ project – Clare Lawrence

1.25pm – General discussion on the day and future PARC events

1.50pm – Closing remarks

2pm – Close

This conference will be delivered via Zoom Webinar. We will send out the joining instructions on the Thursday before the event (14 October).

You can register for the PARC Autumn Conference taking place on 18 October from 9am – 2pm here.

You may also be interested in the PARC Autumn workshop the following day on 19th October from 4.30-7pm: available here.

Sharing Participatory Autism Research in the East Midlands – online event 13th October 2021 10-12 BST

Events

About this event

The Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University are pleased to collaborate with the Participatory Autism Research Collective for a second online research symposium.

Participatory autism research is defined as research where members of the autistic community have control over the research agenda and the analysis of, and reflection on, the data that is generated. It embeds the values of the draft framework for inclusive autism research (Chown et al., 2017), including that autism research should be aimed at improving the lives of autistic people.

Each participant in the symposium is a member of the BGU community and will introduce an element of their current research and which will then be discussed by the group. Comment by audience members will not be supported during the presentations, however there will be an opportunity for delegates to discuss the event in groups afterwards.

Presentations:

Autistic women and university – Sophie, a BGU alumnus.This participatory PhD research focuses on autistic women’s experiences of university, with specific regard to wellbeing. Participants expressed barriers to university and wanted universities to be more inclusive. As part of this project participants created creative pieces such as poems or artwork. Sophie is particularly interested in the use of creative methods as a research tool.

Using the short film ‘Broken’ to explore autism in the classroom – John, a member of BGU academic staff (the film’s co-creator, ‘Fauxparl’, is a BGU alumnus).The short film Broken (Rimmer, 2020) is an artistic impression that aims to articulate autistic pupil dysfluency from an autistic viewpoint. The film has been used a tool to support trainee teachers’ understanding of fluency issues in autistic pupils in the mainstream classroom. The film (6 minutes) will be shown as part of the presentation.

Representation of Black autistic characters in picture books – Clare, a BGU associate, is undertaking a PhD in children’s literature at Cambridge University. She is supporting three members of BGU’s academic staff with this project.In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop published an essay outlining the importance of children’s books as both ‘windows’ and ‘mirrors’: books that are windows enable children to learn about the lives of others, and those that are mirrors support children to see themselves reflected. This project looks at the representation of Black autistic children in picture books – a hugely under-represented demographic. It critiques this representation both from a Black and from an autistic perspective and investigates how these books work both as windows and mirrors.

Bishop Grosseteste University’s ARCH project – Helen, BGU’s Student Engagement Facilitator.BGU has this year started an Autism Resources and Community Hub (ARCH), which aspires to be a one-stop starting point for all members of the BGU autism community (autistic students and staff, family members, friends and allies) to access information about autism at BGU. This community-based, exploratory work aims to build a positive resource that emerges from our autistic community. The initial pages can be found here: https://www.bishopg.ac.uk/about-bgu/what-we-do/autism-resources-and-community-hub-arch

This event will be hosted using Microsoft Teams, as as such the email addresses of attendees may be visible during and after this event. By registering for this event you are agreeing to these terms.

To register for the event click on the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/participatory-autism-research-symposium-tickets-163373401241

Online Participatory Autism Research Collective event: Understanding PDA 20th July 2021

Events

Workshop on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), organised by the Autism Research Team at the University of Nottingham.

About this event:

The Autism Research Team at the University of Nottingham are organising a workshop on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in collaboration with PARC (Participatory Autism Research Collective) members Damian Milton and Richard Woods. 

About this event

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) has been an elusive term and still remains poorly theorised and understood. While some argue PDA may be a sub-type of autism or even a distinct condition in itself, others view PDA as neither of these and contend that it may be a varied phenomenon. The goal of this workshop is to facilitate discussion on PDA to elucidate a deeper understanding of the key issues surrounding this topic. 

The aims of the workshop will be to:

• Bring together clinicians, academics, and autistic individuals either working in the field of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) or with an interest in this area.
• Facilitate discussion about the relationship between PDA, Autism and Anxiety.
• Develop ideas for new collaborative research projects or professional partnerships.

Invited speakers include:

• Richard Woods (Autistic scholar-activist)
• Damian Milton (Chair of PARC; Autistic scholar-activist; Lecturer at University of Kent).
• Keith Howie (Consultant Educational Psychologist) and Pat Smith.
• Jonathan Green (Clinical Consultant on PDA, University of Manchester)
• Harry Thompson (Advocate for PDA and neurodiversity)

Small group discussions will follow the presentations.

Register here: Online Participatory Research Collective: Understanding PDA Registration, Tue 20 Jul 2021 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

Autism Journal Club – Laura Crane and Caroline Hearst 19/07/21

Events

Laura Crane and Caroline Hearst will be presenting their recent paper:
 
‘Supporting Newly Identified or Diagnosed Autistic Adults: An Initial Evaluation of an Autistic-Led Programme’
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-020-04486-4
 
Following a short presentation, there will be an opportunity for discussion, including:
 
Is peer support useful for all autistic people?
 
This is a small scale programme for a small group of people in one area of England – how do we scale this up so that more autistic people could benefit?
 
19th July 2021 at 16.00-17.00 (UK time)
Online via Zoom
 
The session will be video-recorded and uploaded on the Tizard Centre YouTube channel. To register please go to:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_A9-bE3LZTb-ld5CPVePGew