Autism Research Network

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Autism research network

Autism centre for research on employment

A ground-breaking new project that aims to help people with autism into work has been given a huge funding boost. The Autism Research Network (ARN) has recently been awarded a grant of £65,000 from the Department of Health’s Autism Innovation Fund. Dr Beatriz Lopez and her team will be working in partnership with Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council, Hampshire Police, Autism Hampshire, and the Department of Work and Pensions to set up an Autism Centre for Research on Employment (ACRE). For more information please visit our website.

Current research projects

How does autism develop over time?

Autism is a genetic developmental disorder yet very few studies have investigated how autism develops over time. Examining how autism develops across the lifespan is important to predict outcomes. This study offers an innovative approach to establish how the three main areas of difficulty in autism, (i) repetitive behaviours, (ii) sensory impairments and (iii) social difficulties, unfold over time. The findings from this study will enable us to understand which difficulties present at different points in the life-span.

Barriers to employment in autism

Despite the many qualities of autistic people, many find it difficult to find a job, hold a job and switch jobs often. This study investigates the main barriers people with autism encounter when accessing the job market, why they find it difficult to retain a job and what has been the impact of the Adult Autism strategy. In particular, this study focuses on the extent to which employers make reasonable, necessary adjustments in the workplace for people with autism. This project is the result of a collaboration with the Wales Autism Research Centre, Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council.

Prosody and auditory processing

Speech and language difficulties are one of the defining characteristics in autism spectrum conditions. However, explanations of exactly why this is the case are still contradictory. One of the factors that seems to be crucial for language is prosodic ability, yet this ability has not been sufficiently researched in autism. We are currently running a series of studies to explore the role that different acoustic parameters play in speech perception and production in order to establish their relationship with speech and language difficulties in autism.

Eye-tracking in autism

Tracking eye-movements helps us to find out where people preferentially attend to when looking at a picture or a film. Tracking eye-movements is possible by using a camera that tracks the cornea as it is searching a visual display. This research study investigates where autistic people look when looking at videos of people performing everyday simple actions like reaching out for something. Understanding attentional preferences of autistic people gives us valuable information about attentional patterns and social understanding.