Roadmap to strengthen autistic co-production and co-leadership in autism research

This roadmap addresses the gap between the autism research sector’s stated commitment to autistic involvement and what actually happens in practice. Autistic people continue to report limited influence, barriers to research leadership, and experiences of tokenism, even as commitment to co-production grows.

What the project did

A co-design process combined a literature and environmental scan with co-design workshops, interviews, and survey validation involving autistic people, researchers, funding bodies, universities, and other research stakeholders.

What it found

Barriers and enablers to autistic co-production and co-leadership operate across four areas: funding; knowledge, education and information; culture and systems; and connections and partnerships. The report provides 14 recommendations for universities and research institutions, funding bodies, government, researchers and research teams, Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs), journals, and community members, families and community organisations.

Why this matters

Research is more relevant, ethical, and impactful when autistic people are genuine partners and leaders throughout the research process. This roadmap moves the sector from stated commitment toward coordinated, system-wide implementation.

Learn more

The full report is available on the Autism CRC website.