News – Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Vale Steve Silberman

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Image credit: Frank Lanza.

Content warning: This article contains historical information and views on autism that may be upsetting to some readers.

Steve Silberman, who changed autistic lives with Neurotribes, has died. He captured ‘a civil rights movement being born’

Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes, a groundbreaking history of autism that fundamentally changed how society understood autistic people, has died, aged 66.

While many people write about a community from the vantage point of an outsider, few can be credited with making the world a better place for that community. Silberman, whose death has left many of us truly devastated, was one of those few.

Vale Dr Sylvia Walton AO (1941 – 2024)

The La Trobe University community has lost one of its most steadfast contributors – former La Trobe University Chancellor and long-serving Council member – Dr Sylvia Walton AO, who died on Saturday 27 January 2024.

Sylvia’s time at La Trobe University spanned many years: she completed her Bachelor of Education in the 1970s, joined the Council in 1993, was elected Deputy Chancellor in 1997, and succeeded Professor Nancy Millis as Chancellor in 2006. She was also Chair of the Equity, Access and Personal Welfare Committee for a long period.

Critical paper and policy brief: Suicide and Autistic people

Content warning: The following blog post contains content about suicide.

Autistic people face a heightened risk of suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviour, and premature mortality by suicide Autistic people face when compared to the general population.

We recently published a critical paper on suicide mortality rates in Autistic people and a corresponding policy brief to inform public health policy in the future.

Busting the myth of the Criminal Autistic Psychopath

Content warning: This post discusses violence, discrimination, and negative attitudes about Autistic people. If you are in Australia and find this post distressing, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online. Lifeline offers language support services. For non-urgent information about autism, call the Australian national autism helpline on 1300 308 699.

In the media, it’s not uncommon to see news stories linking autism and violent, criminal behaviour. One well-known example is the Sandy Hook tragedy, when Adam Lanza – who was autistic – gunned down elementary school students in the United States. One can also find autism crime stories in Australia. For example, when a teenager stabbed a religious leader in Sydney, the teen’s parents’ suggested that he might be an undiagnosed autistic person. In 2022, a 13-year-old Autistic child in the state of Victoria found himself facing criminal charges after the police encouraged him to commit terrorist outrages.

So, are Autistic people more likely to commit crimes, especially violent ones? ¹

Reflections on INSAR 2024 – Melbourne/Naarm

That’s a wrap on INSAR 2024!

May has been a very busy month for OTARC, welcoming the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. There were over 1,200 attendees from more than 20 countries over the four days of the meeting. Our researchers spent four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, colloquially known as ‘Jeff’s Shed’ by locals, to delve into autism research from around the globe.

We kicked things off with three pre-conference workshops on 15th May.

Finding him among the living

Content warning: The following seminar contains content about suicide.

Any mother would die for their child, but how do you live for them?

Dr Jessica Revill is a psychologist and parent survivor to the loss of her Autistic son Gregory. She wrote the memoir of his death “Find him Among the Living” in 2020. In her book, her investigations into the mental health system, suicide and Autism revealed not a ‘broken system’ but an absent one. Coming from the perspective of both lived experience and research raises questions about the following:

Is the health care’s separation of health from mental health helping or hindering suicide prevention?
Doctor education and disability.
Public health’s approach to prevention comparing preventing road deaths versus suicide deaths.
A mental health curriculum in schools. What would that look like?
How does de-institutionalization help or hinder the mental health of people with disabilities and mental illness?
Non-clinical support systems.
The emergency room.

Neuroaffirming care values the strengths and differences of autistic…

Full title: Neuroaffirming care values the strengths and differences of autistic people, those with ADHD or other profiles. Here’s how

We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and other profiles were categorised by what they struggled with or couldn’t do.

The concept of neurodiversity, developed by autistic activists in the 1990s, is an emerging area. It promotes the idea that different brains (“neurotypes”) are part of the natural variation of being human – just like “biodiversity” – and they are vital for our survival.

This idea is now being applied to research and to care. At the heart of the National Autism Strategy, currently in development, is neurodiversity-affirming (neuroaffirming) care and practice. But what does this look like?

International women’s day 2024

On the eve of #IWD2024, we pay tribute to some of the leading women of #OTARC who have pioneered research in #Autism & who continue to inspire generations of women in research and education. Watch this space for our #womenofotarc series #autismresearch pic.twitter.com/8K9m5GsXOQ
— Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) (@OlgaTennison) March 7, 2024

Could supporting self-determination help Autistic adults improve their quality…

Full title: Could supporting self-determination help Autistic adults improve their quality of life?

This is a summary of the latest paper by PhD candidate Helen Andrews – “The Relationship Between Autistic Traits and Quality of Life: Investigation of Indirect Effects Through Self-Determination“. This paper was the outcome of their honours project, supervised by Dr Simon Bury and Associate Professor Darren Hedley.

OTARC Director’s report February 2024

A fresh year has begun and the second year of our re-imagined OTARC! I hope you were all able to have at least a little down time over the holiday period.

At OTARC, the hallways are buzzing again. This time, the office re-shuffle is in full swing! Creating neurodiversity-affirming workspaces is an idea gaining traction in the broader community and at OTARC, we aim to practice what we preach. This includes attention to smaller details such as dimmable lighting, provision of headphones for staff in shared office spaces and fidget toys at meetings. But it is also some of the bigger things like understanding our own and other’s preferred working and communication styles and advocating for space planning that accounts for neurodiversity. Credit is due to our Centre Manager, Doug Scobie, for steering this process. As you’ll see in this month’s newsletter, OTARC has been on the forefront of research to understand what leads to employment success for Autistic people. We hope to enact findings from this research in our day-to-day practice.

Steve Silberman, who changed autistic lives with Neurotribes, has died. He captured ‘a civil rights movement being born’

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