Research 101 is a training course designed by and for autistic people. The purpose of the course is to educate autistic people who are not academics or professional researchers, so they can be more informed about research and collaborate with academic teams effectively. In this way, Research 101 training can help increase capacity for participatory practices - where academics partner with non-academic community members - in autism research. About Research 101 Autistic people advocate for participatory approaches to autism research [1]. Participatory approaches emphasize direct engagement of the community of interest to generate action for change according to the community’s priorities and incorporating the community’s views about how it is done and implemented. Creating supportive environments has been proposed as part of the solution to the lack of participatory autism research [2]. One aspect of a support environment is research literacy [2]. This training has been created to assist autism researchers to develop the research literacy of potential autistic collaborators in research [3]. Throughout this training we refer to autistic collaborators as Autistic Community Partners (ACP). We suggest that Research 101: Collaborating in Participatory Autism Research be delivered by lead researchers, in partnership with an autistic researcher on the team, if possible. The materials in the manual are meant as a guideline and facilitators should feel free to adapt and modify the materials to suit their audience. The slides provided can be used as is, but customization and examples from your own work may make the training more meaningful to participants. The slides include suggested speaker notes that can be changed based on your customization. Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., McDonald, K., Dern, S., Ashkenazy, E., Boisclair, C., Robertson, S., & Baggs, A. (2011). Collaboration strategies in nontraditional community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons from an academic−community partnership with autistic self-advocates. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 5(2), 143. Fletcher-Watson, S., Adams, J., Brook, K., Charman, T., Crane, L., Cusack, J., Leekam, S., Milton, D., Parr, J. R., & Pellicano, E. (2018). Making the future together: Shaping autism research through meaningful participation. Autism, 1362361318786721. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318786721 Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A Ladder Of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944366908977225 Meet the Team The Research 101 research team and co-design groups Research Design Read about the development of Research 101 Taking Part in Evaluation Invitation to participate in evaluation of the training course Funders We are grateful to the following project funders: Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, University of Bristol, the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund grant, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a generous donation in memory of Jo Richardson, and the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre. Download Research 101 Resources Download Research 101 training manual and supporting resources for free. This article was published on 2024-08-27
