Evaluating a national Community of Practice for supporting Autistic individuals in countering violent extremism programs

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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gibbs, v., Love, A., Edwards, C., Smith, D., Pyszora, N., & Wheatfill, L. (2026). Evaluating a national Community of Practice for supporting Autistic individuals in countering violent extremism programs. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/18335330.2026.2726441

Publication date: 2 Sep 2026 Added to AutiHub: 26 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 6 (16.7%)
  1. vicki gibbs
  2. Abigail Love
  3. Chris Edwards *
  1. Debra Smith
  2. Natalie Pyszora
  3. Lana Wheatfill

Abstract

Countering violent extremism (CVE) practitioners increasingly work with neurodivergent populations, including Autistic individuals. However, practitioners have limited access to autism-specific guidance and professional development relevant to CVE practice. This study evaluated a national, virtual Community of Practice (CoP) designed to build practitioners’ understanding of autism and capability to work effectively with Autistic individuals within CVE settings. The CoP used an adapted Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes model across five sessions, combining didactic teaching, case-based discussion, and peer learning. A convergent mixed-methods evaluation included pre-program surveys from 34 Australian CVE practitioners, post-program surveys from 30, and semi-structured interviews with seven participants. Participation was associated with significant improvements in autism knowledge and self-efficacy. Qualitative findings highlighted the value of practical frameworks, lived experience input, and peer learning in supporting more nuanced and neuro-affirming approaches to case formulation. These findings suggest that structured, case-based CoPs offer a feasible and potentially effective model for building workforce capability in complex, high-stakes environments such as CVE.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
32
With a DOI
28
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
3 / 32 (9.4%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 32 (3.1%)
References with detected author names
31 / 32 (96.9%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
159
From DOI or external metadata
159
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
42 / 159 (26.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 117 / 159 (73.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
4 / 159 (2.5%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 4 / 42 (9.5%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 4 / 153 (2.6%).
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