Researchers please respond! The need for a shift from space and voice to audience and influence in autism research

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. two authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref BibTeX
Learn more about the sources used

Parsons, S., Kovshoff, H., Collis, A., Eddy, C. G., Ellington, E., Giddins, B., Hind, A., Moyse, R., Tansley, R. L., Ward, V. C. S., & Yakeley, M. (2026). Researchers please respond! The need for a shift from space and voice to audience and influence in autism research. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727x.2026.2709366

Publication date: 5 Oct 2026 Added to AutiHub: 7 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
11
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 11 (18.2%)
  1. Sarah Parsons
  2. Hanna Kovshoff
  3. Anne Collis *
  4. Chloe G. Eddy
  1. Emily Ellington
  2. Beth Giddins
  3. Amanda Hind
  4. Ruth Moyse *
  1. Roseanna Louise Tansley
  2. Verity Charlie Stone Ward
  3. Megan Yakeley

Abstract

This virtual special issue was curated to explore the archive of the International Journal of Research and Method in Education (IJRME) in relation to inclusive and participatory educational research with autistic children, young people and adults. This research area has undergone significant conceptual and epistemological changes; we wanted to review how the IJRME has participated in these changes, and signal future directions for the field. Six papers from 2007-2023 were selected, showcasing a wide range of methods for including, and working with, autistic people in research. We discuss conceptual, theoretical and ethical insights and challenges that research teams have grappled with and highlight the importance of methodological plurality for enabling inclusion. We apply Lundy’s framework for voice and participation to analyse the contributions and conclude that the field, and the IJRME, has made strong progress in providing opportunities for voices to be heard and facilitating processes to enable this (Space and Voice). However, the extent to which voices are listened to (Audience) and acted upon (Influence) is much less apparent. This is our call for action: who is listening to what autistic people have to say and what changes take place because of the insights gained?

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: 23 Oct 2026 07:41.

Cited references
52
With a DOI
43
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
9
11 / 52 (21.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 52 (13.5%)
References with detected author names
46 / 52 (88.5%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
6
Without a stable identifier
8
References with raw author names still to review
4
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
147
From DOI or external metadata
147
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
92 / 147 (62.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 55 / 147 (37.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
18 / 147 (12.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 18 / 92 (19.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 14 / 120 (11.7%).
  1. (n.d.). * denotes articles selected for the special issue
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  3. Cleo Barron , Sarah Parsons , Hanna Kovshoff (2024). Enabling Dominic's voice and participation through the cocreation of an ‘I am’ Digital Story for supporting his post‐19 transition from special school to adult social care . British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52(4), 577-588. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1111/bld.12585
    Crossref
  4. Gert Biesta , Julie Allan , Richard Edwards (2011). The Theory Question in Research Capacity Building in Education: Towards an Agenda for Research and Practice . British Journal of Educational Studies, 59(3), 225-239. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/00071005.2011.599793
    Crossref
  6. Nicholas Bowden , Francesca Anns , Hien Vu , Joanne Dacombe , Colette Muir , Jin Russell et al. (2025). School Attendance Among Autistic Students in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Population Cross‐Sectional Study Using the Integrated Data Infrastructure . Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 61(4), 609-616. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1111/jpc.16795 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4406935793
    Crossref
  8. Sophie E. Connolly , Hannah Constable , Sinéad L. Mullally (2023). School distress and the school attendance crisis: a story dominated by neurodivergence and unmet need . Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1237052. Frontiers Media SA.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1237052 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4386958092
    Crossref
  10. (2002). The role of children in the design of new technology . Behaviour & Information Technology, 21(1), 1-25. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/01449290110108659 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4212764870
    Crossref
  11. (n.d.). Eddy C. Parsons S. and Kovshoff H. submitted. Patterns of persistent absenteeism in autistic girls in state-funded Primary and Secondary Mainstream schools in England from 2016 to 2023. Unpublished manuscript University of Southampton.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  12. Miranda Fricker (2007). Epistemic Injustice . Oxford University PressOxford.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4252633962
    Crossref
  14. (n.d.). Gunter T. and Makinson L. 2023. School attendance: Analysing causes and impact in pursuit of solutions. Nesta. https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/school-attendance-analysing-causes-and-impact-in-pursuit-of-solutions/ .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  15. Sarah M. Hart (2022). Agentic ethnography: inclusive interviews of young adults with significant disabilities on the transition from school . International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 45(1), 3-17. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/1743727x.2021.1881057
    Crossref
  16. Harriet Hummerstone , Sarah Parsons (2023). Co-designing methods with autistic students to facilitate discussions of sensory preferences with school staff: exploring the double empathy problem . International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 46(1), 70-82. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/1743727x.2022.2071864 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4229064406
    Crossref
  17. Lena Ivarsson , Ingela Stenberg , Eva Andersson (2024). Exploring the complexities of widespread school absenteeism in Swedish schools: Insights from students with autism and their teachers . Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10, 101188. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101188
    Crossref
  18. Hanna Kovshoff , Charlie Raufi , Samantha Davies , Fate Keefe , Sarah Parsons (2025). Voices Through Art: Co-Creating the School Daze Comic for and with Autistic Young People to Support Educational Transitions . Sociological Research Online, 30(3), 793-828. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13607804241296258
    Crossref
  19. Stephanie Lewis-Dagnell , Sarah Parsons , Hanna Kovshoff (2023). Creative methods developed to facilitate the voices of children and young people with complex needs about their education: A systematic review and conceptual analysis of voice . Educational Research Review, 39, 100529. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100529 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4323543239
    Crossref
  20. Laura Lundy (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child . British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927-942. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/01411920701657033 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2132503785
    Crossref
  21. Andrea MacLeod , Ann Lewis , Christopher Robertson (2014). ‘CHARLIE: PLEASE RESPOND!’ Using a participatory methodology with individuals on the autism spectrum . International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 37(4), 407-420. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/1743727x.2013.776528 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1980457794
    Crossref
  24. (n.d.). Moyse R. 2021. Missing: the autistic girls absent from mainstream secondary schools. Unpublished PhD Thesis University of Reading. doi:10. 48683/1926. 00097405.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  25. Ellen Kathrine Munkhaugen , Elen Gjevik , Are Hugo Pripp , Eili Sponheim , Trond H. Diseth (2017). School refusal behaviour: Are children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder at a higher risk? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 41-42, 31-38. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2017.07.001 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2742908058
    Crossref
  27. Christina Nicolaidis (2012). What Can Physicians Learn from the Neurodiversity Movement? AMA Journal of Ethics, 14(6), 503-510. American Medical Association (AMA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2012.14.6.oped1-1206 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2142098199
    AutiHub · Documentation center Crossref
  28. Cathy Nutbrown (2011). Naked by the Pool? Blurring the Image? Ethical Issues in the Portrayal of Young Children in Arts-Based Educational Research . Qualitative Inquiry, 17(1), 3-14. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1077800410389437
    Crossref
  29. Sarah Parsons (2021). The importance of collaboration for knowledge co‐construction in ‘close‐to‐practice’ research . British Educational Research Journal, 47(6), 1490-1499. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/berj.3714 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3133504953
    Crossref
  30. Sarah Parsons , Tony Charman , Rachel Faulkner , Jude Ragan , Simon Wallace , Kerstin Wittemeyer (2013). Commentary – bridging the research and practice gap in autism: The importance of creating research partnerships with schools . Autism, 17(3), 268-280. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361312472068 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2129777299
    Crossref
  31. Sarah Parsons (2019). Building the evidence base through school-research partnerships in autism education . Good Autism Practice, 20(1), 5.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  32. Sarah Parsons , Hanna Kovshoff (2025). ‘I Am’ Digital Stories as a Praxeological Methodology for Supporting the Voices and Transitions of Autistic Children . International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/16094069251355986 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W6959402907
    Crossref
  33. Sarah Parsons , Abigail Wright , Lowri Roberts , Jessica Lewis , Molly McGiveron , Hanna Kovshoff (2025). ‘I am’ Digital Stories for enabling the voices of autistic children and young people to contribute to educational decision-making and improve educational experiences . Societal Impacts, 6, 100125. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.socimp.2025.100125 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4411665797
    Crossref
  36. Shanon K. Phelan , Elizabeth Anne Kinsella (2013). Picture This... Safety, Dignity, and Voice—Ethical Research With Children . Qualitative Inquiry, 19(2), 81-90. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1077800412462987
    Crossref
  37. Ginny Russell , William Mandy , Daisy Elliott , Rhianna White , Tom Pittwood , Tamsin Ford (2019). Selection bias on intellectual ability in autism research: a cross-sectional review and meta-analysis . Molecular Autism, 10(1), 9. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1186/s13229-019-0260-x OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2927010782
    Crossref
  38. Juliet Scott-Barrett , Katie Cebula , Lani Florian (2023). The experiences and views of autistic children participating in multimodal view-seeking research . International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 46(4), 342-373. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/1743727x.2022.2149728
    Crossref
  39. Sen A. (1999). Development as freedom . Development as freedom.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  41. Gina Sherwood , Sarah Parsons (2021). Negotiating the practicalities of informed consent in the field with children and young people: learning from social science researchers . Research Ethics, 17(4), 448-463. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/17470161211014941
    Crossref
  42. Raechel Smart , Dawn Adams , Kate Simpson (2024). Parent experiences of school distress or school refusal in their autistic child . Educational and Child Psychology, 41(1), 93-110. British Psychological Society.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.53841/bpsecp.2024.41.1.93
    Crossref
  43. Reidun Tangen (2008). Listening to children’s voices in educational research: some theoretical and methodological problems . European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23(2), 157-166. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/08856250801945956
    Crossref
  44. Vasiliki Totsika , Richard P. Hastings , Yoko Dutton , Alison Worsley , Glenn Melvin , Kylie M. Gray et al. (2020). Types and correlates of school non-attendance in students with autism spectrum disorders . Autism, 24(7), 1639-1649. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361320916967 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3012853167
    Crossref
  45. United Nations (1989). United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Treaty Series, 3, 1577. https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/unicef-convention-rights-child-uncrc.pdf Treaty Series, 3, 1577.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  46. Lisa M. Vaughn , Farrah Jacquez (2020). Participatory Research Methods – Choice Points in the Research Process . Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 1(1), 13244. Specialty Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.35844/001c.13244 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3044418675
    Crossref
  47. Jonathan Vincent , Megan Potts , Daniel Fletcher , Simon Hodges , Jenny Howells , Alex Mitchell et al. (2017). ‘I think autism is like running on Windows while everyone else is a Mac’: using a participatory action research approach with students on the autistic spectrum to rearticulate autism and the lived experience of university . Educational Action Research, 25(2), 300-315. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2016.1153978 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2322046973
    Crossref
  48. Nick Walker * (2021). Neuroqueer heresies: notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities . Neuroqueer heresies: Notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities.
    Type: Other OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W7011697317
    Crossref
  49. Mitzi Waltz (2007). The relationship of ethics to quality: a particular case of research in autism . International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 30(3), 353-361. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/17437270701614840 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2015443905
    Crossref
  50. Asha Ward , Sarah Parsons , Hanna Kovshoff (2024). ‘I am Lil’: Enabling Autistic Voices in Transitions from School to Adult Life through the Co-Creation of a Digital Story . Sociological Research Online, 29(3), 783-788. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13607804231186856
    Crossref
  51. Verity Charlie Stone Ward , Ben Crump , Sarah Parsons , Hanna Kovshoff (2026). ‘When We Were Doing That [Coding Club]... I Just Couldn’t Wait for Friday’: Creating Space for Agency and Fun Within School-Based Research and Design . Sociological Research Online, 31(2), 355-363. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13607804251357740
    Crossref
  52. (n.d.). Whittaker F. 2024. Rate of pupils leaving for home education doubles. Schools Week February 21st 2024. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/rate-of-pupils-leaving-for-home-education-doubles/ .
    Type: Other
    Crossref