Professor Laura Crane

Professor Laura Crane

School of Education
Professor of Autism Studies
Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER)

Contact details

Email
l.crane@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Laura holds a Chair in Autism Studies within the School of Education, where she is Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER). The goal of Laura's work is to conduct research on topics that matter to autistic people and their allies, through working in collaboration with them. In this regard, Laura's research interests are wide-ranging, and she has published extensively in the fields of education, healthcare, and criminal justice.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Psychology, 2010
  • MSc in Research Methods in Psychology, 2006
  • BSc (Hons) in Psychology, 2005

Biography

Laura completed her BSc (2005), MSc (2006) and PhD (2009) in Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her PhD research focused on autobiographical memory in autistic adults. Following completion of her PhD, she undertook a range of research and teaching roles at various London-based universities, including UCL, City, Goldsmiths and LSBU. 

In 2017, Laura was appointed as Associate Professor at UCL’s Institute of Education, based within the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE). She was promoted to Professor of Autism Research and Education in 2023.

In 2024, Laura moved to the University of Birmingham’s School of Education, in the Department for Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs (DISN). Laura was appointed to the role of Chair in Autism Studies and Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER).

Teaching

MA Inclusion

Postgraduate supervision

Laura welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral students who are keen to pursue research that matters to autistic people and their allies, and that meaningfully involves them in knowledge co-creation. Laura’s main area of focus is autism education, and she is especially keen to hear from those with personal and/or professional connections to the field of autism education research.

Other activities

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2023
  • UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor, 2021
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2020

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Peachey, M & Crane, L 2024, '"I Don’t Understand Their Sense of Belonging": Exploring How Non-Binary Autistic Adults Experience Gender', Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0071

Han, E, Scior, K, Grace, K, Heath, E, Dufresne, S & Crane, L 2024, ''Who, When, How to Share': Pilot study of a new disclosure decision-making programme for autistic adults', Autism: the international journal of research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231221685

Ashworth, M, Heasman, B, Crane, L & Remington, A 2024, 'Evaluating the Impact of an Online Autism Training on Changing Employers’ Autism Knowledge and Commitment to Inclusion in the Workplace', Neurodiversity.

Norris, JE, Nicholson, J, Prosser, R, Farrell, J, Remington, A, Crane, L, Hull, L & Maras, K 2024, 'Perceptions of autistic and non-autistic adults in employment interviews: The role of impression management', Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, vol. 112, 102333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2024.102333

Davies, J, Redmayne, B, Allain, L, Portway, L, Mandy, W, Cooper, K & Crane, L 2024, 'The co-design and initial evaluation of a peer support program for autistic young adults', Autism in Adulthood.

Irvine, B, Elise, F, Brinkert, J, Poole, D, Farran, EK, Milne, E, Scerif, G, Crane, L & Remington, A 2024, '‘A storm of post-it notes’: experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD', Neurodiversity. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241229004

Davies, J, Remington, A, Buckley, C, Crane, L & Smalley, K 2023, ''It seems like a luxury to be able to offer that': Factors influencing the implementation of annual health checks for autistic people in England', Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231182011

Han, E, Scior, K, Heath, E, Grace, K & Crane, L 2023, 'Development of stigma-related support for autistic adults: Insights from the autism community.', Autism, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 1676 - 1689. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221143590

Norris, JE, Prosser, R, Remington, A, Crane, L & Maras, K 2023, 'Disclosing an autism diagnosis improves ratings of candidate performance in employment interviews', Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231203739

Cook, JM, Crane, L & Mandy, W 2023, 'Dropping the mask: It takes two.', Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231183059

Ashworth, M, Heasman, B, Crane, L & Remington, A 2023, 'Evaluating a New Supported Internship Programme for Young Autistic Adults without Intellectual Disability.', Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231214834

Grace, K, Remington, A, Davies, J & Crane, L 2023, 'Evaluating measures to assess loneliness in autistic adults', Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231217056

Chapter

Davis, R, Laurie, M & Crane, L 2023, Autism and Inclusive Practice. in G Niolaki, K Carr-Fanning & A Terzopoulos (eds), Psychology and Educational Inclusion: Identifying and Supporting Learners with SEND.. 1 edn, Open University Press.

Review article

Davies, J, Cooper, K, Killick, E, Sam, E, Healy, M, Thompson, G, Mandy, W, Redmayne, B & Crane, L 2024, 'Autistic identity: A systematic review of quantitative research', Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3105

Linden, A, Best, L, Elise, F, Roberts, D, Branagan, A, Tay, YBE, Crane, L, Cusack, J, Davidson, B, Davidson, I, Hearst, C, Mandy, W, Rai, D, Smith, E & Gurusamy, K 2023, 'Benefits and harms of interventions to improve anxiety, depression, and other mental health outcomes for autistic people: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials', Autism, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 7–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221117931

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Autism; special education