Recognising autism in healthcare

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Doherty, M., Haydon, C., & Davidson, I. A. (2021). Recognising autism in healthcare. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 82(12), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.12968/hmed.2021.0313

Publication date: 2 Dec 2021 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Mary Doherty *
  2. Clair Haydon
  3. I. A. Davidson

Abstract

Recognition of autism and the associated co-occurring physical and mental health issues has increased over recent years. However, undergraduate and postgraduate curricula take time to adapt and to impact on what is delivered in training so healthcare professionals, including doctors, report little training on these topics. Doctors need to know when someone might be autistic in order to respond to them appropriately. This article sets out the reasons why recognition of autism is important and the positive impacts of recognising and understanding autism on health outcomes, service delivery and patient experience. The negative consequences of not recognising autism or understanding the impact of autistic traits on the person are also explored. A companion article then covers how practice can be made more appropriate for autistic people to improve outcomes.

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 11:30.

Cited references
27
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
1 / 27 (3.7%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
3 / 133 (2.3%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 3 / 44 (6.8%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 3 / 118 (2.5%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
44 / 133 (33.1%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 31 / 118 (26.3%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
41 / 44 (93.2%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 41 / 133 (30.8%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 28 / 31 (90.3%).
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