AE’s 14th International Congress 2025, Dublin – abstracts and recordings

Day 1:

• Maja Toudal: Energy accounting – Neurodiversity-affirming stress management and burnout prevention
• T. Waisman: When research, policy, and practice become a beacon in a volatile world
• Sue Fletcher-Watson: Neurodiversity: Liberation and Inclusion for all Autistics

Day 2:

• Mary Doherty: Optimising health and healthcare for autistic people: insights from autistic doctors
• Bernadette Grosjean: Working together: how what I learned as an autistic psychiatrist enables me to be an advocate inside a profession known for its resistance to change
• Jeroen Dewinter: Exploring the sexual health and wellbeing of autistic people: from here onwards
• Kara Dymond: Access, agency, and wellbeing: Possibilities for neurodiversity-affirming classrooms & transformational teaching
• Joris Lechêne: Decolonising and reindigenising autism

Day 3:

• Wenn Lawson & Peter Vermeulen: Self-compassion in autism. Being kind and caring for yourself and your mental health
• Jessica Eccles: Beyond the neurotype: brain and body in Autism
• Liz Pellicano: Autistic autonomy: Independence, inter-dependence and quality of life
• Mary Doherty, Eva Roth: Adventures in co-production: A conversation on participatory autism research

Michael Ryan: Mindfulness session: Grounding and arrival

Panel 1 (Thursday):

• Ilaria Basadonne: Inequalities in accessing diagnosis and mental health care
• Romane Garcia, Alexandra Brodard: Improving access to healthcare for autistic patients
• Davida Hartman: Transforming autism assessments (identifications): a neurodiversity-affirmative approach across the lifespan
• Frances Saunders: Increasing access to autism assessments for children

Panel 2 (Thursday):

• Rachel Moseley: Suicidality in autistic people: a mixed-methods approach to contributing factors
• Themistoklis Pantazakos: Designing neurodiversity-affirmative mental health interventions for autism
• Ilse Noens: Insights into lived experiences of suicidality and development of guidelines and tools
• Anne Kirby: A community-driven study to understand influences on suicide prevention

Panel 3 (Thursday):

• Jeanne O’Sullivan: Autism and intellectual disability: a CPD to raise understanding of health needs
• Sara King: How do maternity services support autistic women and birthing people?
• Jennifer Anne Kirton, Thomas Mohaupt & Claire Newey: Autistic Communication Tool for use in primary health care interactions
• Helen Taylor: Acceptability and feasibility of a primary care health check for autistic adults

Panel 4 (Friday):

• Rebecca Ellis: Menstruation and autism: a qualitative systematic review
• Maria Garrido Salcedo: A pilot program for promoting gynecological health in autistic women and complex support needs
• Ailbhe McKinney: Timing of puberty in neurodivergent and neurotypical girls and the relationship with mental health
• Claire Planner: General practice support for autistic adults: findings from a realist review

Panel 5 (Friday):

• Alison Lane: Understanding emotion regulation in autism: a multi-stakeholder investigation revealing shared perspectives on support needs
• José de Giorgio Schoorl: Preserving well-being and self-determination in autistic children, facilitating parents to break free from modern society’s behavioral focus
• Amy Coggeshall Laurent: Energy: meeting the regulatory needs of autistic people in accessible, authentic, and validating ways
• Anita Gardner: Advancing mental health for autistic communities: innovations and insights from the Oceanic region

Panel 6 (Friday):

• Jessica Paynter: Autistic adults’ ratings of helpfulness of adaptations to therapy for their mental health
• Katri Friman: Supporting change and improving the wellbeing of autistic and other neurodivergent people with Revion Rehabilitation during imprisonment.
• Ruth Vidriales: Health, quality of life, and personal outcomes in autistic adults with intellectual disabilities: challenges and support needs
• Themistoklis Pantazakos: Neurodiversity proponents’ views on developing emancipatory autism psycho-education

Panel 7 (Saturday):

• Joanna Lawicka: Trauma treatment and mental health care programme for people on the autism spectrum – a chance for health and a better life
• Amy Pearson: “It’s a long process, and a long journey”: Autistic adults’ experiences of support and recovery after experiencing intimate violence and abuse
• Katrine Callander: Navigating complexity: autistic women’s lived experiences of trauma and reclaiming agency
• Sabrina Lasevitch: Re-enchanting the clinic by decolonizing autism: decolonial archetypal psychology for autistics in peripheral capitalist countries

Panel 8 (Saturday):

• Elizabeth Sheridan + Eziafakaku Nwokolo: Best practices for diagnosing autism: the importance of culturally sensitive, person-centered, and evidence-based autism assessments
• Lisa J Krijnen: Assessing autistic identity using a self-report questionnaire: evaluating the Dutch version of the Social Identity Questionnaire
• Christopher Atkins + Joanna Panese: The Affinity programme. A national free goal-directed, time-limited online programme for addressing concerns identified by autistic people and families
• Gina Gomez de la Cuesta: An international evaluation of the Brick-by-brick® programme (LEGO brick-based therapy) in 7 countries

Panel 9 (Saturday):

• Cristina Imaguire: ‘It’s not about being Instagram perfect’: Can playfulness improve well-being and understanding of autism in relationships between social care staff and autistic adults?
• Orlaigh Byrne: Breaking barriers: The experience of autistic therapists
• Niels Bilenberg: Complete spectrum of physical comorbidities with autism spectrum disorder in a nationwide cohort
• Anke Scheeren: Masking, social context and perceived stress in autistic adults: An ecological momentary assessment study

Panel 1 (Friday):

• Claire O’Neill: Thriving and meaning for autistic teachers: a creative and embodied approach
• Elinda Ai Lim Lee: Applying the job demands-resource model to support autistic employees in flexible working arrangements
• Claire Gleeson: Autistic women in the workplace: understanding their journeys and experiences

Panel 2 (Friday; entire panel in one recording):

• Tracy Turner: Exploring the worklife experiences of UK autistic women
• Anne Marie McDonnell: Co-creating employment pathways through partnership: facilitating autistic students in National Learning Network to transition to jobs and careers with Mr. Price Branded Bargains
• Rob Sheridan: Future expectations: a qualitative exploration of perceptions and expectations of autistic adults regarding the IMPACT programme
• Lars Veerhoff: Navigating career shocks: the school-to-work transition for autistic emerging adults.

Panel discussion: The Role of Businesses in Building Autism-Accessible Workplaces and Society
(Friday; entire panel in one recording):

• Niamh Biddulph — Congress Scientific Committee & An Post
• Carolann Lennon — CEO, Salesforce Ireland
• Moyagh Murdock — CEO, Insurance Ireland
• Representative from AIB

Panel 4 (Saturday):

• Agnieszka Siedler: Preparing teachers for effective learning support in early autism education
• Anna Cook: An innovative specialist centre model on autistic pupils’ success in mainstream schools
• Nadia Chabane: A training program for professionals in the education sector: an inclusive strategy
• Mandira Hiremath: Improving neurodiversity awareness in school students: a scoping review

Panel 5 (Saturday):

• Isabella Sasso: Why autistic students struggle with school attendance despite wanting to learn
• Mary Mitchell: Building pathways to success: empowering autistic people through adult education
• Elle Drohan: Harnessing Autistic Learners’ Absorbing Interests to optimise curriculum access
• Sinead Mcnally: Understanding the experiences of autistic pupils in primary and secondary schools

Sinead Rhodes / Iona Beange: EPIC Think Learn: Translation of co-produced research into services and resources for neurodivergent children and young people

Sofie Boterberg: Motor challenges in autistic children: prevalence and association with autism characteristics

Monique Mitchelson: Being autistic and ADHD: what is it like being an AuDHD’er?

Karen Leneh Buckle: Understanding and supporting autistic inertia

Panel 1 (Thursday):

• Peter Vermuelen, Marcia Verhulst: Becoming an autism ambassador: from self-advocacy towards advocacy
• Ken Richman: Understanding the Distinctively Social Injustice related to Autistic Masking
• Adela Santos: Autistic women in the exercise of full rights through participatory research
• Activate Project
• Nicolas Joncour: Non-speaking autism and independent living

Panel 2 (Thursday):

• Tara O’Donnell-Killen: Leveraging Health Tech to Revolutionise Accessibility: Advocacy ally
• Chloë Keegan: Addressing public attitudes: to enhance autism inclusion and rights in Ireland
• Laura Crane: Court and tribunal proceedings involving autistic adults in England and Wales
• Monique Botha: Imagined futures: addressing systemic ableism in autism research

Panel discussion: Creating Responsive Public Services in the Context of Shifting Demographics
(Thursday; entire panel in one recording):

• Laura Crane
• Sharon Barry
•  Bernadette Grosjean
• Wenn Lawson

Barbara Sandland, Andrea MacLeod: Universal Design for Learning principles for postgraduate researchers

Paula Prendeville: Implementing organisational change using SPACE to support neurodivergent adults

Daniel Poole: Data sharing in autism research with autistic people and parents of autistic children

F. Jones: Qualitative methods for eliciting the ‘voice’ of nonspeaking neurodiverse young people