Autism Research—What’s New in January
Ann Memmott picks out some of the current big debates on Autistic lives, and showcases new and important research from teams and academics working within the field.
Social communication and understanding in Autism and ADHD
After nearly 100 years of assuming that, for example, Autistic people have ‘broken’ social communication skills, and that there is only one true way to socialise, more and more research is encouraging people to think again. The team undertaking this review give a number of useful suggestions for improving future research, and state:
…research could move away from classifying social cognition from “impaired” or “intact” to understanding the nuances of different forms of sociality and social cognition in neurodivergence
Bölte S. (2025). Social cognition in autism and ADHD. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 106022. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106022
Do supported internships for Autistic adults work?
A few companies offer supported ‘internships’ to Autistic adults, some offering low, or no, wage, but a chance to gain skills and experience. This study presents a very mixed, and concerning, set of results.
“…we asked 27 autistic adults without a learning disability (whose average age was 23 years) doing internships to complete five online surveys at three timepoints: before the internship, six months after the internship and 12–24 months after the internship. The surveys asked about employment (for example, if they had a job and how much they earned), daily living skills, their own confidence in their ability to succeed, how satisfying their life is and their mental health. Two years after the internship, more people had jobs and earned more money. The group’s daily living skills improved, but there were no changes in their confidence in their ability to succeed, how satisfying their life was or their mental health overall.”
Ashworth, M. C., Heasman, B., Crane, L., & Remington, A. (2025). Tracking the long-term outcomes of a supported employment internship programme for autistic adults without a learning disability. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241311472
Race and racism in education for Autistic students
In this study, Scott-Ugwuegbula takes a look at the important topic of intersectionality and prejudice in the lives of Black Autistic people trying to achieve a good education. The paper also explores the misunderstandings around different cultures and how people communicate, play and perceive the world. All of this has an impact on diagnostic accuracy and support services. This is an important read for teams supporting Black autistic young people.
“In recent years, improvements have been made in the early identification of autism within racially and ethnically diverse populations. However, most autism research focuses on predominantly white, middle-to-upper-class populations, neglecting the experiences of Black individuals. This study centers on the educational experiences and feelings of belonging among Black autistic people, exploring how intersecting identities of race and disability create unique forms of discrimination. Understanding the intricate interplay of the identities of multiply marginalized individuals is crucial for alleviating challenges and fostering an inclusive educational environment.”
Scott-Ugwuegbula, N. Z. (2024). Deconstructing the Power Imbalances of Academic Learning: Race and Racism in the Educational Experiences of Black Autistic Students. Accessed from https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/09bc5a22-7a43-4935-82ac-bccbc6c2dad6
Autism and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
How many Autistic people also have ARFID? This research found that 16% of people with ARFID were also Autistic and 11% of Autistic people also had a diagnosis of ARFID. It is a useful paper for all involved in Autistic lives, especially those in eating disorder clinics and wards.
It may be beneficial to consider screening Autistic individuals for ARFID and vice-versa. Future research should further investigate co-occurrence across ARFID profiles, gender, and ethnicity.
Sader, M., Weston, A., Buchan, K., Kerr-Gaffney, J., Gillespie-Smith, K., Sharpe, H., & Duffy, F. (2025). The Co-Occurrence of Autism and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): A Prevalence-Based Meta-Analysis. The International journal of eating disorders, 10.1002/eat.24369. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24369
Echolalia
For Autistic children and young people, echolalia, repeating words or phrases, is often seen as a ‘problem’ to be solved. This research challenges that assumption, noting that it can be enjoyable and entertaining for the individuals, as well as a way to practise and expand language skills.
McAllister, M. L., McFayden, T., & Harrop, C. (2025). Reports of Echolalia and Related Behaviors in Autism From Parents, Teachers, and Clinicians: Evidence From the Simon Simplex Collection. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 10.1002/aur.3298. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3298
Stimming: good or bad?
For many decades, teams have focused on stopping Autistic individuals from ‘stimming’ also known as ‘self-stimulatory behaviour’. These behaviours may include things like repeated hand flapping, finger positioning or rocking. There has been a belief that these behaviours serve no purpose, may be damaging, lead to social exclusion and should therefore be prevented. Unfortunately, very few teams thought to ask Autistic people why they were stimming but in this first study, the Autistic experiences and perceptions of stimming are explored.
Stimming, or repetitive self-stimulatory behaviour, is commonly seen in autistic people and is believed to help with self-regulation. However, the views of autistic people on stimming are not well represented in academic research…. Most participants felt that stimming played a key role in their friendships and connections with other autistic individuals and that it helped them understand each other's emotions…. Given the potential importance of stimming as social communication within the autistic community, interventions to enhance social and communication skills in autistic individuals should consider ways to incorporate stimming. A better understanding of the important roles stimming plays in autistic people's lives is beneficial for the well-being of autistic individuals.
Morris, I. F., Sykes, J. R., Paulus, E. R., Dameh, A., Razzaque, A., Esch, L. V., Gruenig, J., & Zelazo, P. D. (2025). Beyond self-regulation: Autistic experiences and perceptions of stimming. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241311096
Notably, a second, new research paper consulted with 170 Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) practitioners, and found that most ABA teams are still routinely targeting Autistic stimming for reduction or elimination. This is very concerning, given that many ABA teams are telling others outside of the industry that they definitely don’t do this anymore.
Morris, I. F., Sykes, J. R., Paulus, E. R., Dameh, A., Razzaque, A., Esch, L. V., Gruenig, J., & Zelazo, P. D. (2025). Beyond self-regulation: Autistic experiences and perceptions of stimming. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241311096
Positive aspects of being a parent of an Autistic child
Curley and team look at the positive aspects of being a parent of an Autistic child.
…immense joy and satisfaction in witnessing their child’s achievements. Studies exploring the positive aspects of parenting typical children spotlighted experiences of unconditional love between parent and child, joy in watching a child learn and grow, and feelings of pride… Joyful moments are a positive psychology construct protecting the mental health of parents of ASD children… In addition, some parents have sought to cultivate moral principles and virtues that focus more on psychological growth, developing inner strengths such as courage, hope, perseverance, and optimism, instead of placing pressure on their children to fit social norms or expectation.
Curley, K., Hughes, R., & Kotera, Y. (2025). Stressful but Not Unhappy: A Review of the Positive Aspects of Parenting a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children, 12(1), 107. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/1/107
What does music mean for Autistic adults?
From decades working with Autistic individuals, I have seen so many benefit from access to music of choice. It is good to see this work by Korošec and team, exploring the benefits of enjoyment of music.
[Music] supports autonomy by allowing autistic adults to customize the activity to their current needs and giving them a space where they get to be their authentic selves. It supports their need for competence by helping them manage their surroundings, emotions, and attention; develop new or existing skills; and satisfy their curiosity. Finally, it supports relatedness by fostering a sense of connection with others, whether through shared interests, opportunities to meet new people, or sharing meaningful experiences with people close to them. However, it can [be a problem], especially when the person does not have much control over how, when, and where they engage with music.
Korošec, K., Backman Bister, A., & Bojner Horwitz, E. (2025). “A space to be myself ”: Music and self-determination in the lives of autistic adults. Psychology of Music, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356241305558
Therapies for Autistic people: which adaptations are useful?
Paynter and team recruited 130 Autistic adults, asking them to rate 55 adaptations to therapy sessions. Which adaptations were useful and which were not?
The table of results is interesting, with over 8 out of every 10 rating the following paraphrased examples as helpful:
Not insisting on eye contact
Providing good advance information, for example, location details, details about who they will meet
Option to adjust lighting
Reassurance that the therapist knows a lot about autism
Reassurance that the therapies and questionnaires were developed by or with autistic people
Being able to book online or by text rather than by phone
Individual therapy sessions, not group sessions
Sending the questions they’ll be asked in advance
Most Autistic people consulted found the following things unhelpful in a therapy setting:
Group therapy
Telephone based therapy
Family members/ partner being involved in the session by the therapist
Short sessions
Paynter, J., Sommer, K., & Cook, A. (2025). How can we make therapy better for autistic adults? Autistic adults’ ratings of helpfulness of adaptations to therapy. Autism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251313569
