Publication of the Spectrum 10K Consultation report

On Thursday 30th January Spectrum 10K published the findings report of the Spectrum 10K Consultation designed, delivered and reported on by Hopkins Van Mil and Leneh Buckle in 2023. The report is available in full, as an Executive Summary and in an Easy Read version. As Spectrum 10K publishes this findings report it has also announced that it is closing the Spectrum 10K study. The reasons for this are explained in a statement on the Spectrum 10K website and in a blog by Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen the Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University who led the study.

Henrietta and Leneh, who co-led the design of the consultation with autistic people, want to thank all those who took part in the process. Your commitment to sharing your opinions and providing clarity on key elements of autism research has been invaluable. It has informed the detailed work Spectrum 10K researchers have been doing over the last sixteen months to review the findings and identify how they will use them to shape future autism research. In his blog Simon Baron-Cohen has said,

 “The consultation for Spectrum 10K was co-designed by autistic people and co-led by an autistic researcher. I think this is a very important principle for what we aspire to achieve in terms of engagement with autistic people going forward. I hope that this project leads to a new culture around the way we do autism research, with co-design at its heart.”

The legacy of the views expressed in this consultation is far-reaching. Your views have been heard and are making a difference to future autism research.

If you have any questions about how the findings in the consultation report are being used, or the closing of the Spectrum 10K study please contact Spectrum 10K at info@spectrum10K.org.