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We're interested in the role that social interactions play in all aspects of human development. Our research —&²Ô²ú²õ±è;informed by our community and academic collaborations â€” aims to support families, children and professionals in education, employment and care environments. 

Research  |  Collaborations  |  Staff  |  Resources

Research

Taking an interactionist approach to development and diversity

The study of the process of development and its variability lies at the heart of our research. We use a range of methodological approaches and techniques that emphasise the role of social interaction and everyday experiences in development, rather than focusing on individuals alone.

We study the process of development from early infancy through adolescence to older age groups. We are also interested in neurodivergent participants, people with intellectual disabilities and other conditions; their relationships with other people and also with the physical world.

We involve community members or community-based organisations in our research; whether this is to co-develop research questions, seeking their advice on the design and protocols for our studies, or drafting actions resulting from our research. One outcome of these collaborations has been the creation of the Autism Centre for Research on Employment.

Our research centre is committed to address social problems, enhance the local and wider community, and improve educational and diversity policy and practice. We achieve this by:

• Using a community-based research approach to ensure the views of the community are reflected at all stages in the research process
• Creating opportunities to disseminate, and discuss, research findings within community settings
• Developing sensitive and meaningful research paradigms and methods capture heterogeneity in development across the life-span 
• Co-developing resources to meet the needs of educational and diverse communities
• Facilitating collaborative partnerships between scientists and community organisations 
• Shifting psychological practices that reproduce stigma and limit our understanding of the capabilities of neurodiverse populations
• Implementing best practices in the workplace and education

Staff

Collaborations

We collaborate with several autism community-research groups. These collaborations are further supported by a thriving research culture, resulting from academic collaborative networks. Our research collaborations have enabled us to secure funding to advance developmental and diversity theory and improve educational practice and outcomes for children and neurodiverse populations.

Our community collaborations

• , National Institute for Health Research
• Government bodies including the Department of Health and NHS England
• Charities such as ,  and 
• Councils and schools across Southampton, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú and Hampshire county
• Business and industry such as IBM
• Research networks including practitioners, schools and families such as the Autism Research Network,  and . 

Our academic collaborative networks

• , City University of New York 
•  (Princeton University, Stanford University, and several African Universities)
•  network. 

Resources

Members of our team have developed a series of resources which draw directly from our research. From online toolkits, lay summaries of autism research, or guidelines on how to include autistic people in the research process.