Experiences of student and trainee autism researchers during the COVID ‐19 pandemic

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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Kaku, S. M., McVey, A. J., Gerber, A. H., Pretzsch, C. M., Jones, D. R., Kodakkadan, F., Lei, J., Singer, L., Chitehwe, L., Poulsen, R. E., & Coffman, M. C. (2021). Experiences of student and trainee autism researchers during the COVID ‐19 pandemic. Autism Research, 15(3), 413-420. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2662

Journal or book title
Autism Research
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
15
Issue
3
Pages
413-420
Publication date: 23 Dec 2021 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
11
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 11 (9.1%)
  1. Sowmyashree Mayur Kaku
  2. Alana J. McVey
  3. Alan H. Gerber
  4. Charlotte M. Pretzsch
  1. Desiree R Jones
  2. Fathima Kodakkadan
  3. Jiedi Lei
  4. Lauren Singer
  1. Lucy Chitehwe
  2. Rebecca E. Poulsen *
  3. Marika C. Coffman

Abstract

Circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in significant personal and professional adjustments. Students and trainees, including those in autism research, face unique challenges to accomplishing their training and career goals during this unprecedented time. In this commentary, we, as members of the International Society for Autism Research Student and Trainee Committee, describe our personal experiences, which may or may not align with those of other students and trainees. Our experiences have varied both in terms of the ease (or lack thereof) with which we adapted and the degree to which we were supported in the transition to online research and clinical practice. We faced and continue to adjust to uncertainties about future training and academic positions, for which opportunities have been in decline and have subsequently negatively impacted our mental health. Students and trainees' prospects have been particularly impacted compared to more established researchers and faculty. In addition to the challenges we have faced, however, there have also been unexpected benefits in our training during the pandemic, which we describe here. We have learned new coping strategies which, we believe, have served us well. The overarching goal of this commentary is to describe these experiences and strategies in the hope that they will benefit the autism research community moving forward. Here, we provide a set of recommendations for faculty, especially mentors, to support students and trainees as well as strategies for students and trainees to bolster their self-advocacy, both of which we see as crucial for our future careers. LAY SUMMARY: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected students and trainees, including those in autism research, in different ways. Here, we describe our personal experiences. These experiences include challenges. For example, it has been difficult to move from in-person to online work. It has also been difficult to keep up with work and training goals. Moreover, working from home has made it hard to connect with our supervisors and mentors. As a result, many of us have felt unsure about how to make the best career choices. Working in clinical services and getting to know and support our patients online has also been challenging. Overall, the pandemic has made us feel more isolated and some of us have struggled to cope with that. On the other hand, our experiences have also included benefits. For example, by working online, we have been able to join meetings all over the world. Also, the pandemic has pushed us to learn new skills. Those include technical skills but also skills for well-being. Next, we describe our experiences of returning to work. Finally, we give recommendations for trainees and supervisors on how to support each other and to build a strong community.

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 01:00.

Cited references
31
With a DOI
25
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
6
1 / 31 (3.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 31 (12.9%)
References with detected author names
27 / 31 (87.1%)
Without detected author names
4
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
3
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
132
From DOI or external metadata
132
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
14 / 132 (10.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 118 / 132 (89.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 132 (0.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 14 (7.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 132 (0.8%).
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