{"id":1697,"date":"2026-01-12T10:24:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T10:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/autism-at-manchester\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2026-01-12T14:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:34:06","slug":"winter-roundup-toolkit-evaluation-cafe-autistique-and-whats-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/autism-at-manchester\/2026\/01\/12\/winter-roundup-toolkit-evaluation-cafe-autistique-and-whats-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Roundup: Toolkit Evaluation, Caf\u00e9 Autistique, and What\u2019s Next"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Welcome\u00a0to\u00a0Autism@Manchester\u2019s\u00a0winter round up, reflecting on\u00a0our\u00a0autumn\u00a0activities as we\u00a0look forward to the new semester.<\/p>\n

Toolkit project\u00a0<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve\u00a0been continuing\u00a0my role as co-production officer and research associate thanks to\u00a0support from\u00a0the\u00a0NIHR Three School\u2019s\u00a0Mental Health<\/a>\u00a0PPIE\u00a0funding. This\u00a0is allowing\u00a0autistic individuals\u00a0to evaluate\u00a0our\u00a0Autism@Manchester\u00a0Research Involvement Toolkit<\/b>. We are also exploring the suitability of\u00a0the toolkit\u00a0materials for\u00a0allistic people\u00a0with\u00a0mild to moderate mental health conditions\u00a0who are interested in research.\u00a0This project is led by Dr Kelly Birtwell,\u00a0Research Fellow with the School for Primary Care\u00a0at The University of Manchester\u00a0and Professor Emma Gowen at the School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester\u00a0in partnership with\u00a0Dr Alice Dunning\u00a0(and previously Dr Helen Quirk)\u00a0at the\u00a0School of Medicine and Population Health,\u00a0<\/b>University of Sheffield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During 2024 \u2013 2025, we\u00a0developed a\u00a0four-module\u00a0Autism@Manchester\u00a0Research Involvement Toolkit<\/b>\u00a0aimed at supporting people who would like to get involved\u00a0with\u00a0research either\u00a0as\u00a0participants (volunteering to take part in research project) or as advisors\u00a0(through\u00a0Patient and Public Involvement\u00a0and Engagement).\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been continuing to work with\u00a0Professor Emma Gowen,\u00a0doctoral student, Elizaveta Nosova, and Matthew Jackson\u00a0from the University Library\u2019s\u00a0e-learning team to integrate suggestions from autistic advisors into\u00a0the\u00a0Toolkit.\u00a0Once the evaluation process\u00a0of this\u00a0is complete, we look forward to sharing\u00a0this\u00a0free\u00a0online\u00a0resource with\u00a0you soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9\u00a0Autistique\u00a0<\/h2>\n

On 3 December we\u00a0held a\u00a0Caf\u00e9\u00a0Autistique<\/b>\u00a0event\u00a0at the Contact Theatre\u00a0with talks from\u00a0Niamh Farrell\u202fand Busra\u00a0Besdere, PhD students here at The University of Manchester.\u00a0If you missed the live event, you\u00a0can\u00a0find slides,\u00a0audio\u00a0and video recordings here:\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Autist\u00edque | University of Manchester.<\/a>\u00a0Talks last around 15 minutes at these events, allowing plenty of time for questions\u00a0from the audience\u00a0(please note,\u00a0questions\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0recorded). All are welcome to these events, but we especially encourage autistic people to join us.\u00a0You can watch a short reel made by\u00a0Aahana Singh on our\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0page to get an idea of how these events work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"photographNiamh Farrell\u202fdiscussed\u00a0her findings from interviews with autistic transgender individuals,\u00a0who\u00a0reflected\u00a0on\u00a0barriers they face\u00a0day to day.\u00a0This\u00a0included\u00a0the experiences of people who felt\u00a0that\u00a0they had to hide their autistic identity\u00a0to\u00a0receive\u00a0appropriate gender\u00a0clinic\u00a0care due to prejudice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"photographBusra\u00a0Besdere\u00a0also used interviews and analysis of qualitative data in their talk,\u00a0which explored\u00a0primary school teachers\u2019 views\u00a0around\u00a0supporting the mental health of autistic students in schools.\u00a0Teacher\u2019s\u00a0lived experience\u00a0of supporting autistic\u00a0pupils\u00a0showed a\u00a0range of\u00a0knowledge and various\u00a0strategies but\u00a0also\u00a0indicated\u00a0that teachers wish to receive more specific training on supporting mental\u00a0health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I look forward to reading their dissertations and publications in the future.<\/p>\n

\"photograph‘Bee Merry’ <\/strong>was spotted in Albert Square in December. Christmas may be over, but we’re here for festive puns.<\/p>\n

Other news<\/h2>\n

Looking forward to this semester,\u00a0Professor Emma Gowen and Dr Amber\u00a0Ruigrok\u00a0are\u00a0launching a new autism\u00a0unit\u00a0for\u00a02nd\u00a0year\u00a0Psychology undergraduate students. The unit is co-produced and co-delivered with autistic people\u00a0and Emma and Amber would like to express\u00a0their\u00a0thanks to those that have contributed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the help of\u00a0our\u00a0second-year\u00a0intern,\u00a0Matthew Kasper,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0pulling together news from our colleagues and partners for the Winter newsletter. Watch this space\u00a0for more\u00a0research and teaching\u00a0updates\u00a0next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Related<\/h1>\n

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My experience as the Autism@Manchester co-production officer<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
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Contact Us<\/h4>\n

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+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

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The University of Manchester
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