It’s been a wee while since I had a good autism-related rant on here, but my usual trip to the annual conference of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR – formerly this meeting was called IMFAR) provides an opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, there was lots to love at this year’s INSAR. Work which…
Rather than attempt a single blog covering all aspects of grant-writing, Duncan Astle and I are continuing our blog series of advice to newly-fledged researchers by focusing on the challenges of costing a new grant. Costing a grant means working out exactly where money will be spent, and being realistic about what it is going…
This video comes from an event in 2017 where I spoke to Scottish PhD students, alongside my fabulous Autistic mentor, Kabie. We were talking about why and how researchers can collaborate with the autistic community in the work they do. I hope you will find it handy. Oh, and once Kabie’s talk has been edited,…
The exceptional Duncan Astle and I continue our intermittent blog series on academic life today, this time focusing on the stressful post-PhD employment scene. There are a number of options for those who want to stay in academia post-PhD, all highly competitive and with unique stressors. Today, we’re talking about one of the most common…
In July 2017 Sue gave a keynote talk at the 3rd Innovative Technologies and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ITASD) conference in Valencia, Spain. Here’s the video of that talk, which focused on building an evidence base for the use of technology as a support for autistic people.
I’m back in the office after my usual annual pilgimage to the International Meeting for Autism Research (aka IMFAR) which took place this year in San Francisco. As usual, it was inspiring to be among so many researchers and, increasingly, autistic people (including autistic researchers, of course) gathered together to share their work. The quality of debate…
This month’s blog is written by me with Duncan Astle, a colleague whose intellectual brilliance is only exceeded by his charm. Peer review is a lynch-pin of the scientific process and bookends every scientific project. But despite the crucial importance of the peer review process in determining what research gets funded and published, in our experience PhD students and…
Back in 2014 I wrote this blog post about managing your supervisor. The post was a way to consolidate some thoughts about my preferred supervision style. Since then I have shared the link with every new student who comes to work with me and it has been hugely useful. Now, three years on, and with a lot…
This is a guest blog from DART collaborator Noreen Murphy. You can find out more about Noreen’s project on AAC support and autism at this page. Technology continues to develop at a pace that shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. The field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for children on the autism spectrum is no exception.…
In a new(ish) paper (first published a year ago), Lorcan Kenny of the Centre for Research in Autism and Education asks “Which terms should be used to describe autism?“. The paper provides a much-needed empirical analysis of this question which has beset the autism community for years. Conflict over the appropriate terminology to describe both autism itself and specific…