“After this presentation, I feel more confident caring for autistic patients”: The impact of neurodivergent doctors educating hospital staff about neurodiversity
Bernard, S., Teasdale, N., Harris, C., & Girdler, S. (2025). “After this presentation, I feel more confident caring for autistic patients”: The impact of neurodivergent doctors educating hospital staff about neurodiversity. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251317807
This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:
Authors
Abstract
Guidelines for professionals practising in healthcare settings recommend that autistic people seeking care should receive neurodiversity-affirming support. However, education on neurodiversity is not widely included in health professional training in Australia. With a focus on health equity for autistic, neurodivergent people, we conducted a healthcare improvement initiative addressing the need for neurodiversity education in an Australian tertiary hospital through a change process. This project was conducted from May to November 2022, led by neurodivergent, disabled doctors who developed neurodiversity education for two hospital departments, refined through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and feedback surveys. The feedback survey, which included an opportunity to provide comments, was completed by 29 of 44 attendees, a response rate of 66%. Respondents agreed the education was relevant to their work (97%, n = 28), and reported more confidence (83%, n = 24) and acceptance (90%, n = 26) of autistic patients and colleagues. Themes identified in the analysis of the open-ended questions included reducing negative attitudes (biases), recognizing unmet neurodiversity learning needs, and a shift in perspective. Neurodivergent doctors led this healthcare improvement project to educate hospital clinicians about neurodiversity. The theme of reducing bias emerged from the open-ended responses, highlighting the importance of this work, given bias contributes significantly to health inequity. Lay abstract Barriers to autistic people accessing healthcare include health professionals with negative attitudes (biases). This study created training for hospital doctors and nurses about reducing healthcare barriers so autistic people can be included. We taught about neurodiversity affirming support, which means accepting and valuing neurodivergent people because they belong in our diverse society. The team included two neurodivergent, disabled doctors, and two research experts. The training was based on guidelines about quality hospital care, supporting autistic people, and the experiences of neurodivergent doctors. Meetings were held with hospital education leaders to find out what kinds of training doctors and nurses preferred. A feedback survey was created to find out about experiences within the training. Three groups received the training. First was Junior Medical Officers in the Emergency Department, who are qualified doctors training to become specialists. The second was specialists and doctors in the final stage of training before becoming specialists in the Geriatric Medicine department. The third was nurses in the Emergency Department. The majority of the survey responses said the training was relevant and made them feel more confident in supporting and more accepting of autistic people. Themes from the open-response questions were “bias,” “neurodiversity knowledge” and “perspective shifts.” These describe becoming aware of biases and stigma and having these challenged; wanting to know more about supporting neurodivergent people; and changing their point of view to understand neurodivergent people. These findings can support other hospitals to train staff about neurodiversity-affirming support.
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.
-
R. Kayess , P. French (2008). Out of Darkness into Light? Introducing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities . Human Rights Law Review, 8(1), 1-34. Oxford University Press (OUP).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Samuel R. C. Arnold , Georgia Bruce , Janelle Weise , Caroline J Mills , Julian N Trollor , Kristy Coxon (2024). Barriers to healthcare for Australian autistic adults . Autism, 28(2), 301-315. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Virginia Braun , Victoria Clarke (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology . Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. Informa UK Limited.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Maria Ashworth , Brett Heasman , Laura Crane , Anna Remington (2024). Evaluating the impact of an online autism training on changing employers’ autism knowledge and commitment to inclusion in the workplace . Neurodiversity, 2. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Catherine J. Crompton , Martha Sharp , Harriet Axbey *Autistic author. Learn more… , Sue Fletcher‐Watson , Emma G. Flynn , Danielle Ropar (2020). Neurotype-Matching, but Not Being Autistic, Influences Self and Observer Ratings of Interpersonal Rapport . Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 586171-586171. Frontiers Media SA.
-
Ann Williamson (2007). Using self-report measures in neurobehavioural toxicology: Can they be trusted? NeuroToxicology, 28(2), 227-234. Elsevier BV.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Australian Commission on Safety , Quality in Health Care (2017). National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards . National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.Type: OtherCrossref
-
Victoria Newell , Lucy Phillips , Chris Jones , Ellen Townsend , Caroline Richards , Sarah Cassidy (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of suicidality in autistic and possibly autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disability . Molecular Autism, 14(1), 12-12. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Michael J Taylor , Chris McNicholas , Chris Nicolay , Ara Darzi , Derek Bell , Julie E Reed (2014). Systematic review of the application of the plan–do–study–act method to improve quality in healthcare . BMJ Quality & Safety, 23(4), 290-298. BMJ.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Australian Institute of Health Welfare. (2024). People with disability in Australia. Australian Institute of Health Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australiaType: OtherCrossref
-
Greg Ogrinc , Gail E. Armstrong , Mary A. Dolansky , Mamta K. Singh , Louise Davies (2019). SQUIRE-EDU (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence in Education): Publication Guidelines for Educational Improvement . Academic Medicine, 94(10), 1461-1470. Oxford University Press (OUP).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Delroy L. Paulhus (1991). Measurement and Control of Response Bias . In Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes (pp. 17-59). Elsevier.Type: Book chapter DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-590241-0.50006-x OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2164942343OpenAlex
-
Adam Backhouse , Fatai Ogunlayi (2020). Quality improvement into practice . BMJ, 368, m865. BMJ.Crossref OpenAlex
-
Kyung Im Kang , Jaewon Joung (2020). Outcomes of Consumer Involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: An Integrative Review . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6756. MDPI AG.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Rini Vohra , Suresh Madhavan , Usha Sambamoorthi (2016). Emergency Department Use Among Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1441-1454. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Maria Berghs , Karl Atkin , Chris Hatton , Carol Thomas (2019). Do disabled people need a stronger social model: a social model of human rights? Disability & Society, 34(7-8), 1034-1039. Informa UK Limited.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Ye In Hwang , Preeyaporn Srasuebkul , Kitty‐Rose Foley , Samuel R. C. Arnold , Julian N Trollor (2019). Mortality and cause of death of Australians on the autism spectrum . Autism Research, 12(5), 806-815. Wiley.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Tanjala S. Purnell , Elizabeth A. Calhoun , Sherita H. Golden , Jacqueline R. Halladay , Jessica L. Krok-Schoen , Bradley M. Appelhans et al. (2016). Achieving Health Equity: Closing The Gaps In Health Care Disparities, Interventions, And Research . Health Affairs, 35(8), 1410-1415. Health Affairs Publishing, LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Sarah Bernard *Autistic author. Learn more… , Natalie Teasdale , Jazmin O'Reilly‐Hawes , Dinesh Palipana (2023). Include us: doctors with disability call the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to action . Internal Medicine Journal, 53(6), 1091-1092. Wiley.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Mary Doherty *Autistic author. Learn more… , Nicholas Chown *Autistic author. Learn more… , Nicola Martin , Sebastian Charles Keith Shaw *Autistic author. Learn more… (2024). Autistic psychiatrists’ experiences of recognising themselves and others as autistic: a qualitative study . BJPsych Open, 10(6), e183-e183. Royal College of Psychiatrists.
-
Lisa I. Iezzoni (2016). Why Increasing Numbers of Physicians with Disability Could Improve Care for Patients with Disability . AMA Journal of Ethics, 18(10), 1041-1049. American Medical Association (AMA).Type: Article DOI: 10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.10.msoc2-1610 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2529344675Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Olivia M. Rifai , Sue Fletcher‐Watson , Lorena Jiménez‐Sánchez , Catherine J. Crompton (2022). Investigating Markers of Rapport in Autistic and Nonautistic Interactions . Autism in Adulthood, 4(1), 3-11. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Yusuke Tsugawa , Anupam B. Jena , Jose F. Figueroa , E. John Orav , Daniel M. Blumenthal , Ashish K. Jha (2017). Comparison of Hospital Mortality and Readmission Rates for Medicare Patients Treated by Male vs Female Physicians . JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), 206. American Medical Association (AMA).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Commonwealth of Australia. (2020). Australian public service disability employment strategy 2020–25 (978-0-6489351-4-8). Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.apsc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-12/apsc_-_disability_strategy.pdfType: OtherCrossref
-
Francis Patrick Walsh , Pauline Meskell , Emer Burke , Maura Dowling (2017). Recovery-based Training in Mental Health: Effects on Staff Knowledge and Attitudes to Recovery . Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 38(11), 886-895. Informa UK Limited.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Committee on Community-Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States , Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice , Health and Medicine Division , National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017). Communities in Action . National Academies Press.OpenAlex
-
Catherine J. Crompton , Danielle Ropar , Claire VM Evans-Williams *Autistic author. Learn more… , Emma G. Flynn , Sue Fletcher‐Watson (2020). Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective . Autism, 24(7), 1704-1712. SAGE Publications.
-
Noah J. Sasson , Daniel J. Faso , Jack Nugent , Sarah Lovell , Daniel P. Kennedy , Ruth B. Grossman (2017). Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments . Scientific Reports, 7(1), 40700-40700. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
den Houting J (2021). Participatory and inclusive autism research practice guides . Participatory and Inclusive Autism Research Practice Guides, 192236536X.Type: OtherCrossref
-
Noah J. Sasson , Kerrianne E Morrison (2019). First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers . Autism, 23(1), 50-59. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Sebastian Charles Keith Shaw *Autistic author. Learn more… , Alexander Fossi , Laura Carravallah *Autistic author. Learn more… , Kai Rabenstein , Wendy Ross , Mary Doherty *Autistic author. Learn more… (2023). The experiences of autistic doctors: a cross-sectional study . Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1160994-1160994. Frontiers Media SA.
-
Brad N. Greenwood , Seth Carnahan , Laura Huang (2018). Patient–physician gender concordance and increased mortality among female heart attack patients . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(34), 8569-8574. National Academy of Sciences.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Mary Doherty *Autistic author. Learn more… , Sue McCowan *Autistic author. Learn more… , Sebastian Charles Keith Shaw *Autistic author. Learn more… (2023). Autistic SPACE: a novel framework for meeting the needs of autistic people in healthcare settings . British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 84(4), 1-9. IMR Press.
-
Mary Doherty *Autistic author. Learn more… , Stuart Neilson , Jane O’Sullivan , Laura Carravallah *Autistic author. Learn more… , Mona Johnson *Autistic author. Learn more… , Walter Cullen et al. (2022). Barriers to healthcare and self-reported adverse outcomes for autistic adults: a cross-sectional study . BMJ Open, 12(2), e056904. BMJ.
-
Anju Sreeram , Wendy M. Cross , Louise Townsin (2024). A mixed‐method evaluation of peer‐led education about attitudes towards consumers' recovery among Mental Health Nurses working in acute inpatient psychiatric units . International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(4), 1082-1099. Wiley.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Chris Edwards *Autistic author. Learn more… , Abigail M.A. Love , Sandra Thom-Jones *Autistic author. Learn more… , Ru Ying Cai , Boyd Thai Hoang Nguyen , Vicki Gibbs (2024). ‘Most people have no idea what autism is’: Unpacking autism disclosure using social media analysis . Autism, 28(5), 1107-1119. SAGE Publications.
-
Kristen Gillespie-Lynch , Jennifer B Bisson , Sabine Saade , Rita Obeid , Bella Kofner , Ashley Johnson Harrison et al. (2022). If you want to develop an effective autism training, ask autistic students to help you . Autism, 26(5), 1082-1094. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Julie K. Silver , Allison C. Bean , Chloe Slocum , Julie A. Poorman , Adam Tenforde , Cheri A. Blauwet et al. (2019). Physician Workforce Disparities and Patient Care: A Narrative Review . Health Equity, 3(1), 360-377. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Brett Heasman , Alex Gillespie (2019). Learning how to read autistic behavior from interactions between autistic people . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 42. Cambridge University Press (CUP).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Yunhe Huang , Samuel R. C. Arnold , Kitty‐Rose Foley , Julian N Trollor (2024). Experiences of Support Following Autism Diagnosis in Adulthood . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(2), 518-531. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Tianlong Huang , Shun Zhou , Qiaoyan Wei , Chun Ding (2024). Team-, case-, lecture- and evidence-based learning in medical postgraduates training . BMC Medical Education, 24(1), 675-675. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Desiree R. Jones , Kilee M. DeBrabander , Noah J. Sasson (2021). Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism . Autism, 25(5), 1246-1261. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Sarah Ireland , Yvette Roe , Suzanne Moore , Elaine Ḻäwurrpa Maypilama , Dorothy Yuŋgirrŋa Bukulatjpi , Evelyn Djota Bukulatjpi et al. (2022). Birthing on Country for the best start in life: returning childbirth services to Yolŋu mothers, babies and communities in North East Arnhem, Northern Territory . Medical Journal of Australia, 217(1), 5-8. Wiley.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Desiree R. Jones , Kerrianne E. Morrison , Kilee M. DeBrabander , Robert A. Ackerman , Amy E. Pinkham , Noah J. Sasson (2021). Greater Social Interest Between Autistic and Non-autistic Conversation Partners Following Autism Acceptance Training for Non-autistic People . Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 739147. Frontiers Media SA.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Steven K. Kapp *Autistic author. Learn more… (2020). Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement . Springer Singapore.
-
Sabine Saade , Benoît Bockstal-Fieulaine , Kristen Gillespie-Lynch , Chrystel Besche-Richard , Émilie Boujut , Ashley Johnson Harrison et al. (2023). Evaluation of an Autism Training in a Much-Needed Context: The Case of France . Autism in Adulthood, 5(3), 289-300. SAGE Publications.Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
Megan M. Patton-López (2022). Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity . Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 54(1), 94-95. Elsevier BV.OpenAlex
-
National Academies of Sciences E. (2017). Communities in action: Pathways to health equity . Communities in action: Pathways to health equity, 582.Type: OtherCrossref
-
Shantanu Nundy , Lisa A. Cooper , Kedar S. Mate (2022). The Quintuple Aim for Health Care Improvement . JAMA, 327(6), 521. American Medical Association (AMA).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
National Health and Medical Research Council. (2007). National statement on ethical conduct in human research 2007 (updated 2018). In ([Updated edition] ed.). National Health and Medical Research Council.Type: OtherCrossref
-
TC Waisman *Autistic author. Learn more… , Zachary J. Williams *Autistic author. Learn more… , Eilidh Cage , Siva priya Santhanam , Iliana Magiati , Patrick Dwyer *Autistic author. Learn more… et al. (2023). Learning from the experts: Evaluating a participatory autism and universal design training for university educators . Autism, 27(2), 356-370. SAGE Publications.
-
Paulhus D. L. Measures of personality and psychological attitudes . Measures of personality and psychological attitudes, 17.Type: OtherCrossref
-
Sebastian Charles Keith Shaw *Autistic author. Learn more… , Megan E. L. Brown , Neera R. Jain , Riya George , Sarah Bernard *Autistic author. Learn more… , Megan Godfrey‐Harris et al. (2025). When I say … neurodiversity paradigm . Medical Education, 59(5), 466-468. Wiley.
-
John E. Snyder , Rachel D. Upton , Thomas C. Hassett , Hyunjung Lee , Zakia Nouri , Michael Dill (2023). Black Representation in the Primary Care Physician Workforce and Its Association With Population Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates in the US . JAMA Network Open, 6(4), e236687. American Medical Association (AMA).Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
-
David Trembath , Kandice J. Varcin , Hannah Waddington , Rhylee Sulek , Sarah Pillar , Allen, Gary et al. (2022). National Guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and their families in Australia . National guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and their families in Australia.Type: Report OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W7011741915Crossref OpenAlex
-
Whaikaka (2022). Aotearoa New Zealand autism guideline: He Waka Huia Takiwātanga Rau: Third edition . Aotearoa New Zealand autism guideline: He Waka Huia Takiwātanga Rau: Third edition.Type: OtherCrossref