Autism, Neurodivergence, Support Needs and Inclusion — What’s New in June
This month's research roundup from Ann Memmott highlights a diverse collection of new studies exploring Neurodivergence across the lifespan. Topics include Autism and screen use, ethical approaches to involving young people in research, Neurodivergent experiences in legal education, ADHD and menstrual health, anxiety in older Autistic adults, dyspraxia, animal-assisted therapy, and ongoing questions around ADHD identification and diagnosis.
Screen time and Autism
There is a lot in the media and in Politician’s minds about the alleged dangers of too much screen time, e.g. watching TV or viewing tablets and phone screens. This is especially common when it’s discussions around Autism, with some teams even making guesses that more screen time causes Autism.
Van Esselt discusses how useful technology is, as an Autistic person, and encourages us to think more carefully about what we believe. A more useful framework that asks Autistic people, and properly involves them in research, is recommended.
Discourse on screen use in autism is largely dominated by risk-oriented, deficit-based, and alarmist narratives, often structured around the time-based construct of “screen time.”… I outline six key principles for a neurodiversity-affirmative research agenda: (1) adopt terminology that captures how and why digital media is used (e.g., “screen use” or “digital media engagement”); (2) examine the reasons, functions, and contexts of this use; (3) assess both potential benefits and risks in relation to the contextual factors that shape them; (4) evaluate outcomes that center autistic people’s autonomy, agency, and well-being; (5) acknowledge and respect neurodivergent developmental pathways and preferences; and (6) employ participatory and mixed-method approaches. Together, these principles can inform research, recommendations, and policies that enable more context-sensitive decisions and support autistic individuals to use screens in ways that enhance their development, mental health, and well-being on their own terms.
van Asselt, A. (2026). Beyond Screen Time: A Neurodiversity-Affirmative Research Agenda for Screen Use in Autism. Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581261452097
Ethical Considerations in Adolescent Involvement in Health Research
Relevant to all, and certainly a good checklist for any research involving our own Autistic and Neurodivergent young people.
This chapter outlines essential principles and practical guidance for ensuring the ethical and safe involvement of adolescents in health research. It emphasises the need for researchers to recognise adolescents’ rights to both participation and protection, while ensuring that the right to participation does not get overshadowed by their right to protection. The chapter begins with a discussion of core ethical principles, such as respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. This is followed by guidance on seeking informed consent and assent using clear, accessible, and age-appropriate consent materials to help adolescents fully understand their rights and the scope of their involvement. The next section in the chapter describes safeguarding measures for risk assessment, prevention, and mitigation in adolescent involvement. It includes examples from real-world projects to demonstrate how researchers can anticipate and effectively address potential ethical challenges.
Warraitch, A., Wacker, C., Bosqui, T., Mukesh, A., Johnson, R., & Hadfield, K. (2026). Ethical Considerations in Adolescent Involvement in Health Research. A Comprehensive Guide to Adolescent Involvement in Health Research, 87–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-25882-3_4
Psychotherapy guidelines - fully involving neurodivergent people in their design.
In this letter to the Editors of Autism journal, Cobbaert and team take a look at the world of Psychotherapy guidelines ‘Competence Frameworks’.
There’s often little to no evidence of Neurodivergent people being involved in shaping and final design of these. As a result, there can be a wide range of harmful practices such as inappropriate normalistion-goals, and the therapist failing to understand that the person is responding to very real concerns such as sensory pain and overwhelm.
The team ask good questions about whether we are really seeing improvement, or whether it is a sign of compliance and masking. Important points for all to consider, when asking questions of any Psychotherapist.
Cobbaert, L., Camin, M., Schweizer, K., Kapp, S. K., Gorrie, L., Maloney, E., Moses, A., Thomas, K. S., Baruta, K., Fidock, E., Leong, D.-J., White, M., & Pavlopoulou, G. (2026). Towards Neurodiversity-Affirming, Co-Produced Competence Frameworks in Psychotherapy: An Autistic-Led Call to Action. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261457948
What are you thinking? A study of how accurate the guesses were, from Autistic and nonautistic people.
De Laet and team take a look at the Double Empathy Theory proposed by Damian Milton. Milton’s theory was around whether Autistic people find it easier to empathise with other Autistic people, and likewise whether nonautistic people find it easier to empathise with nonautistic people. Here, the team were looking for evidence of empathy. But, they are apparently testing the ability to guess general thoughts and opinions about a game people were learning, which arguably isn’t the same thing.
In this study, a total of 106 adults, both with and without autism, watched videos featuring individuals with and without autism, who were filmed while they got to know each other. Afterwards, those filmed individuals rewatched their own videos and indicated the thoughts they had during the interactions.
The pairs of people in the videos were one Autistic person and one nonautistic person. The team decide to use eight items from a questionnaire they don’t make public, so we currently cannot see the questions, nor how clear the questions were for Autistic respondents. They decide that the Autistic people tested were worse than the nonautistic people at e.g. guessing what someone in the video felt about learning the game rules, and therefore it does not prove the Double Empathy Theory. Likewise, they say that there was no proof that Autistic people could spot other Autistic people.
I’m not sure what we’ve proved or disproved here. To their credit, they give a long list of limitations, though they haven’t thought of some possible ones, in my view: Sensory factors, for example, or the video ‘watchability’ to Autistic eyesight and ways of thinking. There could be limitations around Autistic masking, given that all the Autistic people in the video are trying to work with nonautistic people as partners. Whilst they mention this, arguably this is a very major factor; if I’m working with a nonautistic person who isn’t known to me, I am far more likely to ‘mask’ being Autistic, and it also alters how I’m thinking during that interaction.
Wisely, they request that further research is done.
De Laet, H., Nijhof, A. D., & Wiersema, J. R. (2026). Inferring Thoughts by and of Individuals With and Without Autism: An Empathic Accuracy Study. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 13623613261451897. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261451897
Legal Careers: Neurodivergence, Universities and the law professions
Langley & Griffiths discuss their experiences of how easy, or otherwise, it is for neurodivergent people to succeed in legal training and future careers in the law, and the use of a new toolkit for teaching neurodivergent legal students. They also e.g. discuss the problems of the media portraying Neurodivergent lawyers as successful, perhaps leading to a belief that there are no major barriers to overcome.
Interesting to read of a new collaborative network between Universities teaching law, so that there’s better information. Much needed, from my own past research in the field of law and its understanding of Neurodivergent people.
A very interesting read, with a lot to think about.
Langley, K., & Griffiths, E. (2026). Project Neurodiversity: law, learning, and the value of difference. The Law Teacher, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2026.2677438
Menstrual (period) health and ADHD – what do we know?
Kennedy and team’s research on this is valuable. How much do hormone changes each month, and the other challenges of periods, affect ADHD life? Another research area where we need all the information we can get, so we can get the right support, advice and/or medical treatments for those in need of this.
“Hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle are known to affect the brain, but little is understood about how they influence Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. To learn more, we reviewed all published research on the connection between menstrual health and ADHD….
…After screening, 20 studies were included. These studies involved people aged 13-49… From these studies, six main patterns emerged: (1) ADHD symptoms in people with other menstrual health conditions; (2) Links between painful, heavy, and irregular periods and ADHD symptoms; (3) Worsening of ADHD symptoms at different phases of the menstrual cycle; (4) Menstrual side effects of certain ADHD medications (e.g., Concerta); (5) Attention problems linked to menstrual pain; (6) Early trials of ADHD interventions tailored to menstrual cycles.
…Overall, this review shows growing evidence that menstrual health and ADHD symptoms may be connected. More rigorous and inclusive research is needed to better understand these links and to design interventions that help people manage ADHD symptoms that change across the menstrual cycle”
Kennedy, G., Baran-Goldwax, M., & Lippé, S. (2026). Menstrual health and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms: A scoping review. Women’s Health, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057261460285
Dyspraxia (DCD) and coping with life
In this early viewing of an article in production, Gentle and team look at the differences between what Autistic adults with a dyspraxia diagnosis do to cope with life, versus the coping strategies that parents thought that dyspraxic younger members of the family were using.
Results from the 90 adults suggests they use very different coping strategies to those anticipated by the parents. Perhaps not helpful that the word for ‘different’ is written as ‘maladaptive’. Society knows very little about the lived experience and needs around dyspraxia. If a way of coping is working for someone, and not doing any harm to them or others, it’s not ‘maladaptive’. Surprising to see them listing e.g. sarcastic humour used in stressful situations as ‘maladaptive’, for example. Still useful for a look at how people are coping. The final article may have different wording, so one to keep an eye on.
Findings highlight the need for tailored interventions that promote adaptive coping and acceptance in adults with DCD overall.
Gentle, J., Payne, J., & Martel, M. (2026). Coping with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Comparative Study of Adults and Parents Social Science Research Network, pre-print. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6914524
What do we know about anxiety in middle aged and older autistic adults?
Eshetu and team have a look at information on over 5000 adults aged 50-91. They tested for anxiety, and for Autistic traits. Out of the 5000+ people, 66 were likely Autistic. They also measured how anxious they were all feeling. Amongst the likely-to-be-autistic group, around 86% were anxious at a fairly low level, 12% were more anxious, and 2% showed rising anxiety levels.
Overall, the likely-to-be-autistic adults in the group were more likely to show additional anxiety and rising anxiety than others. A useful study for teams looking for ways to spot potentially Autistic individuals, and put in the best support for people in middle age and older years.
Eshetu, A., Ghai, S., Corbett, A., Ballard, C., Hampshire, A., O’Nions, E., Mandy, W., Stott, J., John, A., & Stewart, G. R. (2026). The association between autistic traits and trajectories of anxiety in middle-aged and older adults: an 8-year growth mixture model analysis. Nature Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00654-0
Animals as ‘therapy/intervention’ for Autism. What do we mean?
Banks reviewed 46 research studies looking at animal therapy/ intervention for Autistic people. Having worked with some animal assistance charities, I can affirm the accuracy of their findings. I also had ethical concerns about the treatment of the animals, in some cases. The result of their search is fairly alarming:
Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) research involving Autistic participants has grown over the past decade… Findings show that current literature overwhelmingly centers on the use of a medical model of disability [something ‘wrong’ with the person and it needs fixing], rarely gathers data directly from people with lived experience, and continues to perpetuate ableist goals of symptom reduction. These patterns demonstrate how these studies not only contribute to intervention science, but also reinforce harmful narratives about Autistic bodies, behaviors, and culture. Implications for social science research and social work practice is discussed.
Banks, T. (2026). Assessing Animal-Assisted Intervention Research Literature Through the Lens of Critical Disability Theory: A Critical Literature Review. Affilia. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099261458770
ADHD – how many have been found or potentially missed from diagnosis, over time?
Rarely a day goes by without someone popping up on media to claim that there are too many ADHD diagnoses. More research showing that the exact opposite is true.
Our findings indicate that ADHD has a lower rate of diagnosis in England compared to global estimates of ADHD prevalence. Despite sharp increases in diagnosis since 2010, and especially since 2020, these findings indicate that ADHD remains predominantly identified earlier in life, with very limited diagnostic reach into older adulthood. As such, the majority of people with ADHD, particularly adults, may be under-recognised in England. These findings show inequalities in access to diagnostic assessments for ADHD in England, particularly in older people.
John, A., Stewart, G. R., Mandy, W., El Baou, C., O’Nions, E., Corrigan, L., Shelford, H., Saunders, R., McKechnie, D. G. J., Suh, J. W., Pavlopoulou, G., Asherson, P., Agnew-Blais, J., & Stott, J. (2026). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adults in England, 2000–2025: Recorded Prevalence and Diagnostic Trends in a Population-Based Observational Study Using Routinely Collected Primary Care Data. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 101740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101740
