Characterised by social communication difficulties, restricted and repetitive behaviour and sensory anomalies, Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that can impact how people perceive the world around them and interact with others (Lei et al., 2023).
Whilst it is estimated that around 1 in 100 children are autistic, many remain undiagnosed with evidence of increasing waiting times between initial referrals and appointments for suspected autism (World Health Organisation, 2023). According to data published by NHS England, between July and September 2023, children and young people waited on average nine months following their initial referral in comparison to an average of seven months in the same period in the previous year. (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2023).
Furthermore, there is increasing evidence of under-diagnosis and misdiagnosis among autistic females (Harrop et al. 2024). Previous research suggested that the prevalence of autism in boys and girls was at a ratio of about four to one, however recent meta-analytical studies suggest that the sex ratio is closer to three to one (Harrop et al. 2023).
This World Autism Acceptance Week (2 April to 8 April 2024), we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website, and to share with your networks.
Together we can work towards ‘sharing best evidence, improving practice’ to help create a society that works for autistic children and young people.
The resources listed below build upon our previous catalogues of resources for World Autism Acceptance Week 2023 and World Autism Acceptance Week 2022.
Upcoming events
- Adolescent issues for Autistic teenagers – Prof. Tony Attwood, 20 June 2024 9am UK
Autistic teenagers experience greater challenges during adolescence than their typical peers. Professor Tony Attwood explores these challenges and provides strategies to improve coping mechanisms, resilience, and connection with peers. - Autism; The origins of the special interest and misuse of the interest – Prof. Tony Attwood, 2 July 2024 9am
Prof. Tony Attwood will discuss the stages in the development of special interests, their sequence, and the reasons why special interests occur as part of the overall profile of Autism.
Resources
Podcasts
- NEW Podcast ‘Neurodiversity, Autism and Healthcare’ with Professor Jonathan Green
- NEW Podcast ‘The Relationship Between Social Camouflaging in Autism and Safety Behaviours in Social Anxiety’ with Dr. Jiedi Lei
- Podcast ‘Oxytocin Administration, Neural Sensitivity, and Autism’ with Dr. Matthijs Moerkerke
- Podcast ‘Categorical versus Dimensional Structure of Autism’ with Dr. Tom Frazier
- Podcast ‘Depression in Autism and ADHD: What do we know?’ with Dr. Lucy Livingston
Topic Guide
Open Access papers from ACAMH journals
- ACAMH Featured CAMH journal Debate Paper ‘Debate: Neurodiversity, autism and healthcare’, (July 2023), Jonathan Green
- CAMH journal Commentary ‘A spectrum for all? A response to Green et al. (2023), neurodiversity, autism and health care’, (July 2023), Andrew Whitehouse
- CAMH journal Commentary ‘Reviewing neurodiversity, autism, and healthcare by Jonathan Green (2023) from an autistic perspective’, (July 2023), Rhiannon Hawkins
- CAMH journal Debate Paper ‘Responses to commentaries – neurodiversity, autism and healthcare’, (December 2023), Jonathan Green
- CAMH Debate Paper ‘How far can we modify the expression of autism by modifying the environment?’, (December 2023), Laurent Mottron, David Gagnon
- CAMH Original Article ‘‘We wait and we wait’—caregiver perspectives on autism spectrum disorder services in the Western Cape Province of South Africa’, (March 2024), Sarosha Pillay, Madeleine Duncan, Petrus J. de Vries
- JCPP Original Article ‘The roles of sensory hyperreactivity and hyporeactivity in understanding infant fearfulness and emerging autistic traits’, (January 2024), Nisha Narvekar, Virginia Carter Leno, Greg Pasco, Jannath Begum Ali, Mark H. Johnson, Tony Charman, Emily J. H. Jones, The STAARS Team
- JCPP Original Article ‘Age effects on autism heritability and etiological stability of autistic traits’, (January 2024), Miriam I. Martini, Agnieszka Butwicka, Ebba Du Rietz, Aleksandra Kanina, Mina A. Rosenqvist, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Mark J. Taylor
- JCPP Editorial Perspective ‘Bridging the translational neuroscience gap in autism – development of the ‘shiftability’ paradigm’, (December 2023), Tobias P. Whelan, Eileen Daly, Nicolaas A. Puts, Ekaterina Malievskaia, Declan G.M. Murphy, Grainne M. McAlonan
- JCPP Original Article ‘Testing the social motivation theory of autism: the role of co-occurring anxiety’, (December 2023), Eloise Bagg, Hannah Pickard, Manting Tan, Tim J. Smith, Emily Simonoff, Andrew Pickles, Virginia Carter Leno, Rachael Bedford
- ACAMH Featured Paper from the JCPP ‘Understanding the relationship between social camouflaging in autism and safety behaviours in social anxiety in autistic and non-autistic adolescents’, (August 2023), Jiedi Lei, Eleanor Leigh, Tony Charman, Ailsa Russell, Matthew J. Hollocks
- JCPP Research Review ‘A systematic review and meta-analysis of sex differences in narrow constructs of restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests in autistic children, adolescents, and adults’, (July 2023), Hannah Edwards, Sarah Wright, Cora Sargeant, Samuele Cortese, Henry Wood-Downie
- JCPP Original Article ‘The influence of loss to follow-up in autism screening research: Taking stock and moving forward’, (July 2023), R. Christopher Sheldrick, Jessica L. Hooker, Alice S. Carter, Emily Feinberg, Lisa A. Croen, Jocelyn Kuhn, Elizabeth Slate, Amy M. Wetherby
- ACAMH Featured Paper from the JCPP ‘Co-development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autistic trait trajectories from childhood to early adulthood’, (June 2023), Amy Shakeshaft, Jon Heron, Rachel Blakey, Lucy Riglin, George Davey Smith, Evie Stergiakouli, Kate Tilling, Anita Thapar
- JCPP Original Article ‘Mediation of 6-year mid-childhood follow-up outcomes after pre-school social communication (PACT) therapy for autistic children: randomised controlled trial’, (April 2023), Sophie Carruthers, Andrew Pickles, Tony Charman, Helen McConachie, Ann Le Couteur, Vicky Slonims, Patricia Howlin, Rachel Collum, Erica Salomone, Hannah Tobin, Isobel Gammer, Jessica Maxwell, Catherine Aldred, Jeremy Parr, Kathy Leadbitter, Jonathan Green
- JCPP Advances Original Article ‘Longitudinal analysis of sensory responsivity from infancy to school age in children at high and low familial likelihood for autism’, (February 2024), Jaclyn Gunderson, Frank Symons, Nidhi Kohli, Rebecca Grzadzinski, Casey Burrows, Annette Estes, Stephen Dager, Joseph Piven, Jason Wolff, IBIS Network
- JCPP Advances Research Review ‘Neurobiology of cognitive abilities in early childhood autism’, (January 2024), Kristina Denisova
- JCPP Advances Original Article ‘Trajectories of adaptive functioning from early childhood to adolescence in autism: Identifying turning points and key correlates of chronogeneity’, (December 2023), Yun-Ju Chen, Eric Duku, Peter Szatmari, Mackenzie Salt, Isabel Smith, Annie Richard, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Tracy Vaillancourt, Anat Zaidman-Zait, Terry Bennett, Mayada Elsabbagh, Connor Kerns, Stelios Georgiades
- ACAMH Featured Paper from JCPP Advances ‘Diagnostic certainty during in-person and telehealth autism evaluations’, (October 2023), Natasha N. Ludwig, Calliope Holingue, Ji Su Hong, Luther G. Kalb, Danika Pfeiffer, Rachel Reetzke, Deepa Menon, Rebecca Landa
- ACAMH Featured Paper from JCPP Advances ‘Three year outcomes in infants with a family history of autism and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’, (August 2023), Tony Charman, Greg Pasco, Alexandra Hendry, Tessel Bazelmans, Nisha Narvekar, Amy Goodwin, Hanna Halkola, Mary Agyapong, Rebecca Holman, Jannath Begum Ali, Mutluhan Ersoy, Mark H. Johnson, Andrew Pickles, Emily J. H. Jones, The STAARS Team
