Abstract

Abstract:

Autistic people deserve to live long, healthy and creative lives of their own design.

We know, however, that Autistic people are often constrained by a range of social, economic and other environmental disadvantages and barriers, which prohibit them from enjoying a good life that they have the right to expect.

Recent years have seen an explosion of new research into how we can make a meaningful difference to the life experiences of Autistic people and effectively tackle these inequalities, exclusions and injustices.

In this talk, Liz Pellicano will consider how we can make progress towards genuinely knowing autism and supporting flourishing Autistic lives.

She will discuss some of the key fundamental dimensions, which might be considered a crucial component part of a good, or flourishing, life for Autistic people – and ask what it is we currently know about these dimensions from current research; what we don’t know but could straightforwardly find out; and in what ways we will need radically to innovate to make new discoveries.

Speaker Biography:

Professor Liz Pellicano is committed to transforming autism science so that it more accurately reflects everyday autistic life. She is Professor of Autism Research at University College London (UCL), having recently been Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Previously, she was Director of the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) at UCL Institute of Education. Her most recent research identifies ways to bridge the gap between lab and life and open up research to greater involvement of Autistic people themselves, with the aim of generating scientific discoveries that bring real benefits to Autistic people and their families.