Neurodivergent Researchers in Autism Research: A Survey within the AIMS-2-TRIALS Consortium

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Bianco, T. D., Estrin, G. L., Lautarescu, A., Oakley, B. F., Eaton, E., Terčon, J., Douglas, S., Plas, J., Belton, D., Loth, E., Doherty, M., & Jones, E. J. (2026). Neurodivergent Researchers in Autism Research: A Survey within the AIMS-2-TRIALS Consortium [Preprint]. F1000 Research Ltd. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.19394.2

Publication date: 9 Jul 2026 Added to AutiHub: 11 Jul 2026 Type: Preprint Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
12
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 12 (8.3%)
  1. Teresa Del Bianco
  2. Georgia Lockwood Estrin
  3. Alexandra Lautarescu
  4. Bethany F. Oakley
  1. Eliza Eaton
  2. Jerneja Terčon
  3. Sarah Douglas
  4. J Plas
  1. David Belton
  2. Eva Loth
  3. Mary Doherty *
  4. Emily J.H. Jones

Abstract

Background Growing emphasis on participatory and community-informed research has increased interest in the representation of neurodivergent researchers within the research workforce. This exploratory study investigated the presence of neurodivergent researchers within a large European autism research consortium and examined associations with selected demographic, occupational, and mental health characteristics. Methods An anonymous survey was distributed to active contributors within the consortium. Participants reported autism diagnosis status, self-identification, other neurodevelopmental conditions, demographic characteristics, career stage, and lifetime mental health diagnoses. Results 33% percent of participants met the study definition of neurodivergence, including researchers with a formal autism diagnosis, those undergoing diagnostic assessment, self-identified autistic researchers, and researchers reporting other neurodevelopmental conditions. Neurodivergent researchers were represented across all career stages within the consortium. Neurodivergence was associated with increased odds of reporting a lifetime mental health diagnosis after adjustment for age and gender. Bayesian sensitivity analyses produced consistent findings. Conclusions These findings provide an initial characterisation of neurodivergent researchers within a large autism research consortium and underscore the importance of considering neurodivergent researchers as part of broader discussions on inclusion in autism research. Further research across multiple research settings is needed to better understand workforce experiences, disclosure, and support needs.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
25
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
7 / 25 (28.0%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
10 / 106 (9.4%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 10 / 69 (14.5%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 10 / 94 (10.6%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
69 / 106 (65.1%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 57 / 94 (60.6%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
59 / 69 (85.5%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 59 / 106 (55.7%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 47 / 57 (82.5%).
1 cited bibliography entry could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
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