References for the 'Let's Talk Neurosense' podcast
K.J. Elphinstone, 2nd April 2026

The podcast is available on Substack, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. References for the episode are below. In case anyone would like to listen to the earlier podcast Katy was responding to, the episode featuring Uta Frith is available here.

AIMS-2-TRIALS. (n.d.). About AIMS-2-TRIALS. URL: https://www.aims-2-trials.eu/about-aims-2-trials/ Large European autism research programme centring biomarkers, stratification, and tailored interventions. This €115 million programme focuses on the biology of autism, biomarkers, tailored treatments, and the development of new medicines, and is funded through the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking with support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, EFPIA, Autism Speaks, and SFARI.

Arqueros, M. et al. (2025). Camouflaging and suicide behavior in adults with autism: a mixed methods systematic review. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050656525000124 Up-to-date review showing a consistent association between masking or camouflaging and suicidality risk in autistic adults.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network. (n.d.). StopTheShock: The Judge Rotenberg Center, torture, and abuse. URL: https://autisticadvocacy.org/actioncenter/issues/school/climate/jrc/ Autistic-led advocacy source on restraint, seclusion, aversives, and electric shocks used on disabled people, including autistic people.

Autism Education Trust / National Autistic Society. (n.d.). School adjustments guidance. URL: https://www.autism.org.uk/learn/knowledge-hub/professional-practice/adjustments-sensory Source on adjustments such as reducing sensory load, modifying lighting, and allowing ear defenders, which can help autistic pupils remain regulated and in school.

Autism Speaks. (n.d.). Federal advocacy. URL: https://www.autismspeaks.org/federal-advocacy Indicates that its advocacy helped drive over $5.2 billion in federal autism-related funding since 2006, alongside a focus on treatment-oriented and biomedical autism research and lobbying activity.

Autistica. (n.d.). Good practice: research toolkit. URL: https://www.autistica.org.uk/our-research/research-toolkit/good-practice Inclusion-focused guidance on participatory and respectful autism research practice centred on accessibility and involvement. Shows the comparatively small scale of Autistica’s funding, with total income of £1,845,400 for the year ending 31 March 2025.

Autistica. (2026). Our response to the government’s interim report into assessment and support. URL: https://www.autistica.org.uk/news/interim-report-assessment-diagnosis Current source warning that the present autism debate is becoming more polarised and that needs are not being met.

Bahner, J. (2022). Nothing about us without … who? Disability rights organisations in collaborative governance. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48694938 Contemporary article on the continuing relevance and limits of ‘nothing about us without us’ in disability politics.

Blanchard, A. et al. (2021). Risk of self-harm in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. URL: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2785235 Major meta-analysis showing sharply elevated odds of self-injury and suicidality among autistic people.

Bonello, C. (2022). Autistic Not Weird 2022 autism survey. URL: https://autisticnotweird.com/autismsurvey/ Large community survey often cited for the finding that only a small minority of autistic respondents wanted a cure, while the great majority did not.

Botha, M. et al. (2022). A qualitative investigation of autistic community connectedness. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9597163/ Source on how finding other autistic people can bring recognition, relief, belonging, and a sense of community.

Broderick, A. A. (2022). The autism industrial complex. URL: https://cjds.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cjds/article/download/896/1122 Critical-disability source on autism as a site of branding, lobbying, marketization, and capital investment.

Brown, H. et al. (2024). Updated systematic review of suicide in autism: 2018–2024. URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40474-024-00308-9 Review source for elevated suicide risk in autistic populations.

Britannica. (n.d.). Mammal. URL: https://www.britannica.com/animal/mammal Authoritative source illustrating that categories do not require uniformity, as mammals share core features despite wide variation.

Caldwell-Harris, C., & Schwartz, A. (2023). Listening to autistic voices regarding competing for social status. URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38142445/ Source on autistic sociality and reduced engagement with status competition and hierarchy.

Cascio, M. A., Weiss, J. A., & Racine, E. (2020). Person-oriented ethics for autism research: Creating best practices through engagement with autism and autistic communities. Autism. URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/psych/research/autism/creative-approaches-participatory-research-toolkit/cascio__weiss_et_al_ethics_in_par.pdf Argues for more respectful, participatory, and person-oriented approaches to autism research ethics.

Chen, Y. et al. (2024). Sensory processing differences and mental health in autism. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735824001375 Links sensory differences with internalising and externalising distress in autistic people.

Chevallier, C. et al. (2012). The social motivation theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007 Proposes that autistic people may respond differently to social reward and status cues.

Cooper, K. et al. (2023). Positive autism identity and community solidarity. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613221118351 Shows that autism identity and community belonging are linked to improved wellbeing.

Corden, K. et al. (2021). Personal identity after an autism diagnosis. URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699335 Explores identity development and self-understanding following diagnosis.

Council for Exceptional Children. (2020). Position on restraint and seclusion procedures in school settings. URL: https://exceptionalchildren.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Restraint%20and%20Seclusion-2020.pdf States that restraint and seclusion should be eliminated wherever possible and not used as behaviour-change strategies.

Davies, J. et al. (2024). Autistic identity: A systematic review. URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.3105 Review of autism as both a personal and social identity.

Douglas, S., & Sedgewick, F. (2024). Experiences of interpersonal victimization and abuse among autistic people. Autism, 28(7), 1732–1745. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613231205630 Review source for elevated exposure to bullying, abuse, and victimisation in autistic populations.

Dwyer, P. et al. (2024). A trans-diagnostic investigation of attention, hyper-focus, and monotropism in autism, attention dysregulation hyperactivity development, and the general population. Neurodiversity. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330241237883 Current source on hyperfocus and monotropism as central features of autistic attention.

Dwyer, P. et al. (2025). Investigating autistic hyperfocus and monotropism: Limited convergence of event-related potentials, laboratory tasks, and questionnaire responses. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 127, 202683. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050656525001555 Source on the tendency to go deeply into things and on difficulties with disengaging or shifting focus.

Feldman, J. I. et al. (2020). Relations between sensory responsiveness and features of autism in children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7690864/ Source on hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory-seeking as common and non-mutually-exclusive patterns in autism.

Elphinstone, K. (2022). Twitter poll on attitudes toward self-diagnosis in autism. URL: https://x.com/KatyElphinstone/status/1609150432302989312 Poll with 960 respondents, where 86% viewed self-diagnosis as valid, and over half of those respondents who thought it was valid reported being formally diagnosed themselves.

Fletcher-Watson, S., & Bird, G. (2020). Autism and empathy: What are the real links?. Autism, 24(1), 3–6. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11092219/ Corrective source against simplistic low-empathy stereotypes, relevant to questions of moral concern and social justice orientation.

Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press. URL: https://academic.oup.com/book/32817 Foundational source on testimonial and hermeneutical injustice – being wronged in one’s capacity as a knower.

Gagnon, D. J., Mattingly, M. J., & Connelly, V. J. (2017). The restraint and seclusion of students with a disability. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317593864_The_Restraint_and_Seclusion_of_Students_With_a_Disability_Examining_Trends_in_US_School_Districts_and_Their_Policy_Implications Examines patterns of restraint and seclusion affecting students with disabilities.

Gesi, C. et al. (2021). Gender differences in misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis in adults with autism. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8306851/ Strong paper showing later diagnosis and greater diagnostic delay in females.

Government Accountability Office. (2020). K-12 education: restraint and seclusion data issues. URL: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-345.pdf Shows restraint and seclusion disproportionately affect students with disabilities and highlights oversight concerns.

Greenberg, Y. D. M. et al. (2024). Moral foundations in autistic people and people with ADHD. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11092219/ Source relevant to the claim that autistic people often place strong emphasis on fairness and justice.

Griffiths, S. et al. (2019). The Vulnerability Experiences Quotient. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6851759/ Source linking autistic people’s greater exposure to adverse experiences with anxiety and depression.

Grinker, R. R. (2020). Autism, “stigma,” disability: A shifting historical terrain. Current Anthropology. URL: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/705748 Critical-historical source on stigma, pathologisation, and the long tendency for experts to speak for autistic people.

Guthrie, J. (2023). Work on ‘the trauma of the everyday’. URL: https://autism.org/autism-and-trauma-research-updates/ Conceptually relevant source for framing chronic, cumulative autistic distress.

Ilioska, I. et al. (2023). Connectome-wide mega-analysis reveals robust patterns of hypo- and hyperconnectivity in autism. Biological Psychiatry. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322322018522 Strong current source for autism showing both hypo- and hyperconnectivity across brain networks.

Inckle, K. (2023). Who is “Us” in “Nothing About Us Without Us”?. Disability Studies Quarterly. URL: https://dsq-sds.org/article/id/706/ Disability-studies piece on why disabled people challenged research traditions that produced knowledge about them without them.

Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism – interim report. (2026). Interim report. UK Government. URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69cbdb2369dd81b3f213c660/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-ADHD-and-autism-interim-report.pdf Current policy source on how tying support and accommodations to diagnosis creates demand, bottlenecks, repeated retelling of distress, and fragmented pathways.

Izuma, K. et al. (2011). The social neuroscience of reputation. Current Biology. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211012474 Source relevant to claims about public visibility, reputation management, and charitable giving.

Kaundinya, A. et al. (2025). Sensory responses in autistic individuals – a narrative review. URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sen2.70018 Recent review describing autism in terms of both hyper- and hypo-reactivity across sensory domains.

Kohn, A. (1986). No Contest: The case against competition. URL: https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/case-competition/ Framing source for the argument that competitive systems structurally generate winners and losers and undermine cooperation.

Mansour, H. et al. (2025). Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in autistic people. URL: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/343485378/1-s2.0-S0272735825000881-main.pdf Current source on the overlap between autism and PTSD, including diagnostic overshadowing concerns.

Markram, H., & Markram, K. (2010). The intense world theory of autism. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3010743/ Core source for framing autism in terms of overwhelming intensity and hyper-reactivity.

Mazzucato, M. (2018). The value of everything. URL: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1111128/the-value-of-everything-by-mariana-mazzucato/9780141980760 Foundational source for the argument that contemporary systems often socialise risks while privatising rewards and rewarding extraction over care.

Micai, M. et al. (2023). Prevalence of co-occurring conditions in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37913872/ Broad source on the prevalence of psychiatric, neurological, medical, and developmental co-occurring conditions in autism.

Milton, D. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: The ‘double empathy problem’. Disability & Society. URL: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62639/1/Double%20empathy%20problem.pdf Foundational source for the argument that autistic–non-autistic communication difficulties are mutual, not one-sided deficit.

Minutoli, R. et al. (2026). Female gender and autism: underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12812640/ Recent source on girls and women being diagnosed later, misread, or given alternative or subthreshold diagnoses.

Murray, D., Lesser, M., & Lawson, W. (2005). Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism, 9(2), 139–156. URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1362361305051398 Classic monotropism source for depth of focus, intensity, and difficulty shifting attention or state.

NHS England. (n.d.). Operational guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. URL: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/operational-guidance-to-deliver-improved-outcomes-in-all-age-autism-assessment-pathways-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards/ Official context on diagnostic variation, under-recognition, and demographic patterning.

NHS inform. (n.d.). Myths about autism. URL: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/brain-nerves-and-spinal-cord/autism/myths-about-autism/ Public-facing source stating that autism is not something with a ‘cure’ and that many autistic people regard it as integral to identity.

Pellicano, E. et al. (2023). Autistic adults’ experiences of interpersonal violence. URL: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10164483/2/Pellicano_ACCEPTED%20Autistic%20adults%20experiences%20of%20interpersonal%20violence%20FINAL%20%20Clean.pdf Qualitative source on repeated victimisation, coercion, and abuse among autistic adults.

Prosser, R. et al. (2025). Post-traumatic stress disorder in autistic and non-autistic adults. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12923627/ Source showing greater PTSD symptom severity in autistic people and reinforcing the autism–trauma overlap.

Ratto, A., Bascom, J., daVanport, S., Strang, J. F., Anthony, L. G., Verbalis, A., Pugliese, C., Nadwodny, N., Brown, L., Cruz, M., Hector, B. L., Kapp, S. K., Onaiwu, M. G., Raymaker, D. M., Robison, J. E., Stewart, C., Stone, R., Whetsell, E., Pelphrey, K., & Kenworthy, L. (2023). Centering the inner experience of autism: development of the self-assessment of autistic traits. Autism in Adulthood, 5(1), 93–105. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10024271/ Describes the development of Dr Ratto’s SAAT measure as a self-report tool designed to capture the inner experience of autism, using autistic-led and participatory methods rather than relying only on externally observed traits.

Roman-Urrestarazu, A. et al. (2021). Association of race/ethnicity and social disadvantage with autism prevalence and access to services among school pupils in England. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8008434/ Strong source for the claim that race, ethnicity, and deprivation shape recognition and access to autism services in England.

Russell, G. et al. (2024). A systematic review of late diagnosis in autism. URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.3278 Source on the psychological costs and prolonged marginalisation associated with delayed recognition, especially in women.

Snyder, W. et al. (2020). Behavioural profiling of autism connectivity abnormalities. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7001469/ Additional source on distinct behavioural correlates of hyperconnectivity and hypoconnectivity in autism.

TES. (2026). Why Uta Frith is wrong about girls and autism. URL: https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/why-uta-frith-wrong-about-girls-and-autism Recent directly responsive piece on the girls and women issue within this specific public debate.

Turnock, A. et al. (2022). Understanding stigma in autism: a narrative review and theoretical model. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8992913/ Review source for autism-related stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and dehumanisation.

Uisma, S. et al. (2025). Autistic young adults’ experiences of epistemic injustices in healthcare interactions. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12665047/ Empirical source on autistic people not being believed, discounted, or misunderstood as knowers.

University of Cambridge. (n.d.). Autistic defendants are being failed by the criminal justice system. URL: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/autistic-defendants-are-being-failed-by-the-criminal-justice-system Evidence that autistic people are often not recognised as credible or appropriately supported in systems of authority.

Wagner, A. P. (2019). The boy who felt too much. URL: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557117/the-boy-who-felt-too-much-by-lorri-antoniotti-wagner/ Readable companion source to the Intense World framing, especially alongside Markram and Markram.

Wilson, A. C. et al. (2023). Cognitive profile in autism and ADHD: a meta-analysis of performance on the WAIS-IV and WISC-V. URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11110614/ Source for the ‘spiky profile’ idea – uneven strengths and weaknesses rather than a flat deficit picture.