A call for autism‐led research exploring definitions of recovery in Autistic individuals with an eating disorder

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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Nimbley, E., Maloney, E., & Duffy, F. (2023). A call for autism‐led research exploring definitions of recovery in Autistic individuals with an eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(7), 1335-1340. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23953

Publication date: 12 Apr 2023 Added to AutiHub: 6 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. Emy Nimbley
  2. Ellen Maloney *
  3. Fiona Duffy

Abstract

RESEARCH GAP: It is now established that definitions of recovery in eating disorders (EDs) should be informed by the lived/living experience of individuals and consider a broad range of physical, behavioral, and psychological factors. Autism is a common co-occurring condition in EDs reflecting unique needs and experiences; however, very little research to date has explored definitions of recovery from EDs in Autistic populations. The current article will briefly review what we know about autism and EDs, before addressing how we can apply and extend what we know about broader ED recovery research to the unique needs of Autistic individuals with ED. SUGGESTED APPROACH: We propose that future studies are urgently required exploring definitions and conceptualizations of recovery in Autistic individuals with EDs, rooted in autism-led, participatory research approaches and incorporating physical, behavioral, and psychological factors. DISCUSSION: Benefits and possible obstacles of implementing the proposed approach are discussed, before the authors outline specific suggestions for participatory designs and targets for future studies. Multidimensional and mixed method approaches to ED recovery will work toward integrating clinically measurable outcomes with lived/living experience perspectives. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: EDs are common in Autistic individuals, however, very little is known about definitions of ED recovery in this population. Cross-disciplinary, research-driven definitions involving lived/living experience at all stages of the research process will generate meaningful and translational research.

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 01:40.

Cited references
42
With a DOI
39
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
2
5 / 42 (11.9%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 42 (7.1%)
References with detected author names
39 / 42 (92.9%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
1
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
3
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
204
From DOI or external metadata
204
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
48 / 204 (23.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 156 / 204 (76.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
9 / 204 (4.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 9 / 48 (18.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 7 / 184 (3.8%).
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