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Advice for neurodivergent PhD applicants

1. You will ideally want a supervision team that covers expertise in the topic you are interested in (e.g. technology-enhanced learning, ADHD), but also in whatever methods you plan to use – e.g. observational studies, design-based research, randomised controlled trials.
2. Another thing to think about is whether your supervisors have links to relevant recruitment centres. e.g. if you want to look at experiences in schools you should be seeking out people with expertise / published work / on going projects in schools.
3. Of course, you need to think about life outside the PhD. Don’t prioritise a particular supervisor above living somewhere that you think you will be happy.
4. It is a good idea to work up a short, one or two page proposal. You need to show you know the relevant literature, but try to keep the background concise and allow plenty of space to describe what you think your methods will be. Remember that your potetial supervisor probably knows the literature you are citing very well, but they don’t know what YOU plan to do. Focus on telling them what they don’t already know.
5. Include some clearly articulated research questions which are directly built on your background / literature review section AND which you can answer during the PhD.
6. Your sub-headings should be something like this: title; background literature; research questions; methods; planned analysis; outcomes. If you want you can also say something specific about: ethical issues; risks. In this latter section, you might want to acknowledge what you think is going to be risky – e.g. you have an ambitious recruitment target, or you are planning to use a very new kind of method. Then you can directly say how you think you will minimise this risk: e.g. by having great recruitment contacts already; by doing a pilot study for the new method.
7. I would share this proposal, along with your CV, with potential supervisors. Emailing out of the blue is perfectly normal so don’t worry about that. But do tailor your email – explain why you think their expertise and interests fit with your PhD plans.
8. When emailing potential supervisors, remember that even if they published on something relevant a few years ago, that might not reflect their current work so try to find out what grants and projects they have right now.
9. You may be undecided about whether to disclose that you are neurodivergent. That’s a very personal choice but I would recommend being up front if you’re comfortable. You will start a potentially important professional relationship off on the right foot if you are open from the start. If they don’t react well to the news, that could be an indication that they would not be well-placed to supervise you effectively.
10. Go on twitter and check out the hashtag #autisticsinacademia for advice from autistic scholars