Institute for Social Justice
Neurodiversity and learning disabilities
Working with people with lived experience of neurodiversity and learning disabilities.
Research in the context of neurodiversity and learning disabilities takes place across the University, including the arts, education and psychology.
Activity in this area often follows an ethos of co-production, engaging people with lived experience as participants and co-researchers.
Our research seeks to impact on policy and practice, working in partnership with schools, the charity and arts sectors and local authorities. Together we aim to develop innovative practice that increased inclusion and opportunities while addressing marginalisation and stigma.
Our current projects are:
Creative Doodle Book: Inclusive Community Arts during Physical Distancing
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The disruption caused by COVID-19 has forced many community groups to drastically adapt or even suspend their activities. This has been particularly impactful on organisations working with people with learning disabilities.
The Creative Doodle Book is a hands-on resource developed by Professor Matthew Reason in collaboration with Mind the Gap Theatre Company to support inclusive socially distanced community arts practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021 over 3,500 Creative Doodle Books were distributed to arts organisations, schools and other community groups. We also ran over 115 online workshops, including with over 20 learning disability organisations across the UK. You can read more in our project report or watch a short film about the Creative Doodle Book.
The project received UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council funding under their COVID-19 urgent calls programme.
Schools and SENs
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We have 2 research projects related to the participation of young people with special educational needs in mainstream schooling in York.
They are both collaborative projects with young people and community partners, seeking to raise awareness of some of the challenges that young people with SEN experience in school, and aiming to bring about positive changes to school experiences:
- AIMSS: Autism Inclusive Mainstream Secondary Schooling
- STEPS: School Transition Experiences for Pupils with SENs
To find out more about these projects, visit Schools and Young People with SENs.
"I'm Me": Peer and Creative Research with Learning Disabled and Autistic Artists
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I'm Me is an AHRC funded project lead by Professor Matthew Reason that will work with learning disabled and autistic artists as peer and creative researchers to explore questions of identity, representation and voice.
I'm Me will engage with insights emerging at the intersection of identity between learning disability and artist. It will do so through the use of peer research techniques, through working with people with lived experience and insider knowledge, and the use of creative research methods. In particular, we will work through a reflexive methodology based on the Creative Doodle Book, a resource that uses open and playful tasks to encourage reflective self-expression. Through this approach the perceptions, insights and creative understandings of the peer researchers will be at the heart of both the process and the outcomes.
I'm Me will be conducted in collaboration with Mind the Gap and in partnership with a network of 6 disability arts companies: About Face, Confidance, Hijinx, Lung Ha, Open Theatre and Under the Stars. It will run from May 2023 to June 2025.
Participatory Sandbox
The Participatory Sandbox is a collaborative project between York St John and the Matthew’s Hub autism charity.
It seeks to co-develop a new model for participatory research that targets key challenges around power, identity and communication.
The project is lead by Dr Brett Heasman.
York Autism Community of Practice
York Autism Community of Practice was established in 2013, in collaboration with NHS York Hospitals Trust.
They meet quarterly to provide research-informed professional development and networking opportunities for regional practitioners and community partners with an interest in autism. The Community of Practice's members include health professionals, adult social care practitioners, university researchers, local authority managers, and autistic adults and carers.
We pride ourselves on being a respectful, collaborative, and proactive group with a desire to see positive change for autistic young people and adults in the York area and beyond.
To find out more, visit the York Autism Community of Practice website.
Research on Neurodiversity, Wellbeing and Counselling
Research on Neurodiversity, Wellbeing and Counselling (RNWC) combines expertise in knowledge, research and practice related to building more enabling psychological environments in a number of contexts.
To find out more, visit Research on Neurodiversity, Wellbeing and Counselling.
