autistic – Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Making waves in autism awareness: A review of The…

Cover image: ‘Chess’, an enigmatic dog spirit from The Stimming Room (2024).
Spoiler alert: the following article discusses plot points for The Stimming Pool.

At the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) in August, I had the opportunity to attend a screening of The Stimming Pool, a groundbreaking documentary-fiction hybrid film from the UK co-created with Autistic artists. I attended a sensory-friendly session, which was a first for me as a frequent cinema-goer.

News

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.

Autism perspectives

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

Events

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.

OTARC Seminar Series

Autism and self harm: Developing a better assessment tool

This talk contains content about self harm.

Victoria Newell will :

review the prevalence of suicidality in Autistic people and self-harm as a risk factor
review existing self-harm assessment tools in Autistic and general population adults
discuss preliminary findings to develop a self-harm assessment tool with and for Autistic adults using focus groups and cognitive interviews
discuss what’s next – exploring measurement properties using an online survey.

OTARC Seminar Series

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.

Study summary

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.

Learning with OTARC

Facing Stress: Coping Strategies, Resilience and Mental Health Outcomes…

Coping Strategies, Resilience and Mental Health Outcomes in Autistic Adults

There is consensus surrounding the poor mental health outcomes experienced by many in the Autistic adult population. While the non-autistic literature suggests that high stress represents a key contributor to poor mental health and well-being, individual resources such as coping and resilience have the potential to mitigate the negative effects of stress, accounting for individual differences across mental health outcomes. Despite emerging research showing high stress in Autistic adults, investigations of coping and resilience in this population remain limited.

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