ArticleFrontiers in psychology2022
"Autism research is in crisis": A mixed method study of researcher's constructions of autistic people and autism research.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.
- 'A certain magic' - autistic adults' experiences of interacting with other autistic people and its relation to Quality of Life: A systematic review and thematic meta-synthesis.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Pooled it
- Studies pertaining to language impairment in school-age autistic individuals underreport participant socio-demographics: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2023Pooled it
- Reasonable to Whom? Rethinking Informed Consent Disclosures in Light of the Research Related Concerns of the Autistic Community.The American journal of bioethics : AJOB · 2026Article
- Experiencing Independence: Perspectives from Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- "They Really Save Us From Ourselves" : Autism Researchers' Insights on Community Engagement and Ethics.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2026Article
- A Survey-Based Study Investigating Opinions on Genetic Research Among Swedish Autistic Individuals and Parents of Autistic Children.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- Ethical Complexities and Concerns Surrounding Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Open-Access Scientific Framework in Autism Research.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- "Support Me to Take the Steps I Need, to Live the Life I Want, in Ways That Work for Me": Perspectives of Autistic Adolescents on What is Important for Their Quality of Life.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Ableism in Applied Behavior Analysis: Historical Context of Services for Autistic People.Behavior analysis in practice · 2026Review
- Parents' experiences in accessing services for their autistic children in the United Kingdom: A meta-synthesis.The British journal of clinical psychology · 2026Review
- Ableism in Applied Behavior Analysis: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding and Dismantling Ableism in Practice with Autistic People.Behavior analysis in practice · 2026Review
- Animal-Assisted Interventions for Neurodivergent Individuals: Advancing Research, Practice, and Well-Being.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Growing-up autistic: Sharing autistic children's experiences and insights.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- Assessing the feasibility of a co-produced peer-group intervention for supporting wellbeing during the transition to adulthood among autistic 16-25-year-olds (ATAG): a randomised controlled feasibility trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- From Participants to Community Partners: A Novel Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Approach to Autistic-Led Inquiry in Digital and Virtual Environments.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The relationship between newspaper reading preferences and attitudes towards autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- "He Just Wants Someone to Hear Him and Listen to Him": Barriers and Facilitators to Autistic Youth with Anxiety Receiving Quality Mental Healthcare.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Neurodiversity-Affirming Principles in Oncology Treatment: A Lived-Experience Case Study.Psycho-oncology · 2026Article
- Perceived Benefits and Barriers for Autistic Adults Accessing Therapeutic Horse Riding for Mental Health.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Fair foundations: ensuring epistemic justice in neurodiversity research and practice.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: While not all autism research is ableism, autism researchers can be ableist, including by talking about autistic people in sub-human terms (dehumanization), treating autistic people like objects (objectification), and making othering statements which set autistic people apart from non-autistic people, Method: This mixed-method study aimed to investigate how autism researchers construct autistic people and autism research, and to investigate whether including autistic people more in research relates to lower ableism in narratives about autistic people. We used a survey with autism researchers ( Results and discussion: Using medicalized narratives of autism predicted higher odds of ableist cues compared to employing social model or neutral embodiment narratives. Greater inclusion of autistic people in research predicted significantly lower odds of ableist cues, while controlling for other contact with autistic people and career length. Next, we used reflexive thematic analysis to analyze researcher's perceptions of autistic people and autism research. Narratives reflected core ideological disagreements of the field, such as whether researchers consider autism to be an intrinsic barrier to a good life, and whether researchers prioritize research which tackles "autism" versus barriers to societal inclusion for autistic people. Instrumentality (a form of objectification) was key to whether researchers considered a person to have social value with emphasis revolving around intellectual ability and independence. Lastly, language seemed to act as a tool of normalization of violence. Researchers relied on an amorphous idea of "autism" when talking about prevention or eradication, potentially because it sounds more palatable than talking about preventing "autistic people," despite autism only existing within the context of autistic people.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.