Campus Belonging

Advancing Post-Secondary (PS) Opportunities for Autistic Students

Our Purpose & Mission: This study aims to develop and refine ‘on the ground’ guidelines and strategies to better support Canadian autistic PS students

Our Research Questions

  1. What beneficial supports are being offered to autistic students on Canadian PS campuses?
  2. What are the experiences of current and former autistic PS students?
  3. What infrastructure (e.g., organizational resources and personnel) are required to implement needed PS supports for autistic students?

Our project draws heavily on tenets from community-based participatory research (CBPR) & appreciative inquiry.


Community-Based Participatory Research 


 "By participatory research, we mean incorporating the views of autistic people and their allies about what research gets done, how it is done and how it is implemented (Cornwall & Jewkes, 1995)"

(Fletcher-Watson et al., 2019, p. 943)


Engaging autistic individuals as co-researchers is crucial to ensuring that autism research focuses on 'issues of immediate practical concern' to improve autistic well-being, as defined by them (Pellicano et al., 2014) and for promoting research impact use. Thus, our tam is committed to: 

  1. Amplifying autistic perspectives within academic research, and 
  2. Supporting the development of knowledgeable autistic co-researchers. 


Our study includes leadership from autistic researchers and autistic lay people. These perspectives will inform research practices and will work hard to ensure that the story we are telling with our research is one that the autistic community is proud of and believes in. 


Appreciative Inquiry 


Our approach blends appreciative and responsive frames for inquiry to build relationships, to develop trust in one another and the research study, as well as to create a community dedicated to learning. AI is grounded in social constructionist thought and is based on the simple assumption that every community, organization, and group has strengths that can be used as the starting point for creating positive change (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2008). AI utilizes interviewing and storytelling to facilitate the process of discovering the strengths and positive aspects of the group, community, or organization under investigation to promote positive change (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2008). 

WHO ARE WE?

Heather Brown (Ph.D., Autistic Researcher), Jackie Ryan (Ph.D. Candidate, Autistic Researcher) and Emily - Courtney Coombs (RA, Autistic Researcher) of the AIDAN Lab will be taking on directorial roles as lead facilitators of the Autistic Community Partners group. Their role will be as direct overseers of the development of the advisory board, administrative liaisons and connections to the greater research project.

Team Leads

Team Members

Autistic Community Partners: Facilitators

Research Assistants

Our Autistic Community Partners

The Role of the Autistic Community Partners

The term of an Autistic Community Partner member will start in July 2023 and go until November 2024.

  • The collective will consist of a small group of autistic adults (4-5 members).
  • The aim of the Autistic Community Partners is to provide feedback, input, and engage with the Advancing Post-Secondary Opportunity for Autistic Students study. 
  • The members will also be given the opportunity to take on a larger role which may include interviewing participants, data analysis, and sharing the study findings.

Responsibilities: 

  • Attend virtual meetings via the video conferencing platform Zoom;
  • Participate in relationship building with other members and research team;
  • Establish an effective process to work collaboratively to complete assigned tasks;
  • Reviewing research plans and finalizing research questions 
  • Attend 6 hours of "Research 101 Training"; this is a pilot project that focuses on research training for autistic persons.

Optional Tasks

  • Helping recruit participants
  • Reviewing and providing feedback on data summaries
  • Reviewing and evaluating the story that are findings will tell about autistic post-secondary students
  • Sharing story publicly (through conferences, presentations and publications)

Our Meetings

Attend virtual meetings

After 3 training sessions that are 2 hours in length, research team meetings will be held approximately once per month for 60 minutes on Wednesday Afternoons 

  • 2:30pm - 3:30 pm PST
  • 3:30pm - 4:30pm MST
  • 5:30pm - 6:30pm EST

Autistic Community Partners FAQ's

What Are We Looking For?

All members must:


  • Identify as being on the autism spectrum, 
  • Be of adult-age (18 years or older), 
  • Be Canadian citizens (or permanent residents), 
  • Be willing and able to attend scheduled meetings,
  • Be willing and able to complete the training required,
  • Have time to review documents and provide feedback outside of scheduled meetings


What Skills Do I Need?

three friends having a smiling causal coversation

We DO NOT require:

  • Previous research experience; 

We DO require:

  • That you feel comfortable reading research-related documents (i.e., late high school or university-level reading skills) 
  • Demonstrate a willingness to work collaboratively with a diverse team of researchers, autistic advocates, and student team members

The Autistic Community Partners collective welcomes members of all genders, ethnicities, races, sexualities, abilities and disabilities, etc. 


Members will not be limited by gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality, communication skills/preferences, mobility, abilities, or disabilities. 


If you need accommodations to participate, please let us know.

What Qualifications Do I Need?

We DO NOT require Autistic Advisory Board Members to have: 


  • A postsecondary degree;
  • An academic title or position


How Much Financial Compensation is There For This Role?

A stipend/honorarium payment of $150 per month from July 2023 to November 2024 (direct deposit).

When Will This Work Take Place?

The term will start in July 2023 and go until November 2024


Those who do not take part in the optional tasks will be expected to engage once per month. 


Those who do participate in interviewing, data analysis and or dissemination will be contacted more regularly. 

References:

Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science & Medicine (1982), 41(12), 1667-1676. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00127-S


Cooperrider, D.L., Whitney, D., & Stavros, J.M. (2008). Part1: Essential elements of appreciative inquiry in Appreciative inquiry handbook: For leaders of change (2nd ed., pp. 36-39). Crown Custom Publishing. 


Fletcher-Watson, S., Adams, J., Brook, K., Charman, T., Crane, L. Cusack, J., Leekam, S., Milton, D., Parr, J.R., & Pellicano, E. (2019). Making the future together: Shaping autism research through meaningful participation.

Autism, 24(4), 943-953. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1362361318786721 


Pellicano, E., Dinsmore, A., & Charmna, T. (2014). What should autism research focus upon? Community views and priorities from the United Kingdom. Autism, 18(7), 756-770.

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