Reducing barriers for autistic women

In this webinar we showcase the work of our practitioner students and the ways in which their research can inform work in the community and improve real-world understanding of the barriers experienced by autistic women. There will be time for some Q&A at the end of the webinar.

Autistic women & masking (Dr Barbara Sandland)

Barbara is a neurodivergent Research Fellow within the Autism Centre for Education and Research, having also completed her Masters and PhD at the University of Birmingham. Prior to entering academia, Barbara was a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator within mainstream secondary schools. Drawing on examples from her own research, Barbara will explore what we mean when we refer to ‘masking’, how it relates to autistic women (and beyond) and explore recommendations for both autistic and non-autistic people to reduce barriers experienced by autistic women.

Autistic women accessing maternity services (Sara King)

Sara is an autistic Doctoral Researcher within the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER), having also completed her PGDip in Autism (Adults) at the University of Birmingham. Her PhD explores the autistic experience of maternity services and maternity staff experience of supporting autistic people. Sara is autistic and works as an autism trainer and specialist autism mentor, committed to helping improve services.

Sara is also Vice Chair of Maternity Autism Research Group (MARG), an autistic led collective with an aim to improve the experiences of autistic people accessing services related to pregnancy and early parenting by signposting information and resources. Find out more about Sara's work and research on her website.

Practitioner papers associated with this webinar:

King, S. (2023). Research in progress: how do maternity services support autistic women and birthing people and staff and what improvements could be made? Good Autism Practice, 24(1).

Sandland, B. (2018). Understanding the ‘Mask’ in Autism: Girls’ perspectives and the impact of wearing it. Good Autism Practice, 19(1).