Newsletter: Spring 2025
Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the autism@ICN newsletter! Our new autism database coordinator, James Ursell, will be sending out information about the research day in the coming weeks (see ‘Research Day 2025’ for more information).
To hear more about the latest news from autism@ICN, follow us on X.
What do you think?
If you have any comments on the newsletter, for example, what is good about it or what can be improved, please email your feedback to [email protected].
The autism@icn newsletter aims to highlight events related to autism that are taking place (or have taken place). If you have anything you want to include in the next newsletter, please email [email protected].
Research Days 2025
If you are registered on the autism@ICN database, you may receive an email from James, the autism database coordinator, in the next few months inviting you to take part in the 2025 autism@ICN Research Days (beginning in May). This will be very similar to research days that have taken place in previous years: participants will come to the ICN for a day of studies and will be reimbursed for their time as well as for their lunch and reasonable travel expenses. More information about the studies that will be included and how long the research day will take will be sent out in the coming months.
If you are interested in participating in the 2025 Research Days and/or you would like to register on the database, you are welcome to email James at [email protected] to express your interest. We look forward to hearing from you!
Latest findings
Is time travel possible?
To hear more about the latest news from autism@ICN, follow us on X.
What do you think?
If you have any comments on the newsletter, for example, what is good about it or what can be improved, please email your feedback to [email protected].
The autism@icn newsletter aims to highlight events related to autism that are taking place (or have taken place). If you have anything you want to include in the next newsletter, please email [email protected].
Research Days 2025
If you are registered on the autism@ICN database, you may receive an email from James, the autism database coordinator, in the next few months inviting you to take part in the 2025 autism@ICN Research Days (beginning in May). This will be very similar to research days that have taken place in previous years: participants will come to the ICN for a day of studies and will be reimbursed for their time as well as for their lunch and reasonable travel expenses. More information about the studies that will be included and how long the research day will take will be sent out in the coming months.
If you are interested in participating in the 2025 Research Days and/or you would like to register on the database, you are welcome to email James at [email protected] to express your interest. We look forward to hearing from you!
Latest findings
Is time travel possible?
If you have participated over the last few years in one of our research days, you may have taken part in this study!
What if you could time travel back to relive your favourite experiences or fast-forward to see what your future might look like? It turns out, our brains can do something pretty close to that! We can mentally time travel by thinking about our past, present, and future selves. But did you know that autistic people might experience this mental time travel in a unique way? Let’s dive into how our minds explore time and what makes this so fascinating!
In a recent study at the lab, Nevin Ozden and colleagues explored how autistic and non-autistic people think about themselves in terms of both their personalities (psychological traits, like being "happy" or "clumsy") and their physical traits (like being "tall" or "bald") and how these change over time.
In the first part of the study, participants were presented with psychological words and asked how well these words related to them in the past, present, and future. Participants then had to remember the words and the time conditions in which each word was presented. How quickly they responded and how accurately they remembered the words were recorded. The second part of the study was the same but presented with physical words.
What if you could time travel back to relive your favourite experiences or fast-forward to see what your future might look like? It turns out, our brains can do something pretty close to that! We can mentally time travel by thinking about our past, present, and future selves. But did you know that autistic people might experience this mental time travel in a unique way? Let’s dive into how our minds explore time and what makes this so fascinating!
In a recent study at the lab, Nevin Ozden and colleagues explored how autistic and non-autistic people think about themselves in terms of both their personalities (psychological traits, like being "happy" or "clumsy") and their physical traits (like being "tall" or "bald") and how these change over time.
In the first part of the study, participants were presented with psychological words and asked how well these words related to them in the past, present, and future. Participants then had to remember the words and the time conditions in which each word was presented. How quickly they responded and how accurately they remembered the words were recorded. The second part of the study was the same but presented with physical words.
We found that on average, autistic participants were just as accurate as non-autistic participants when remembering words that they'd judged in the past and present conditions, but found it harder to remember which psychological words they had judged in the future condition. These findings suggest that autistic people might think about their future selves in a unique way - they expect that their personality is less likely to change and will be more similar to how they are now. The study also found a connection between future thinking and mentalizing, which may play a role in how we see ourselves in the future.
In a follow-up study, Nevin will examine how potential differences in future thinking may influence the educational experiences of autistic people, through a series of semi-structured interviews, asking people about their personal stories. If you would like to take part in this study, please look out for James' email about the upcoming Research Days in May and June!
In a follow-up study, Nevin will examine how potential differences in future thinking may influence the educational experiences of autistic people, through a series of semi-structured interviews, asking people about their personal stories. If you would like to take part in this study, please look out for James' email about the upcoming Research Days in May and June!
Spotlight on...
The autism@ICN team is a diverse group of researchers interested in understanding autism. In each newsletter we highlight the role of one of our team members. In this issue, it’s Nevin Ozden!
Nevin (left) is a graduate student supported by the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye. She is working on her PhD under the supervision of Dr Sarah White and Dr Sam Gilbert. Her research is all about understanding how people think about themselves, including understanding other people’s thoughts (mentalizing) and being able to mentally travel through time both to the past and the future. Such mechanisms involve shifting one's perspective to different views.
Nevin has used a detailed plan outlining specific tasks to look into these abilities in both autistic and non-autistic adults during coordinated testing in 2024. Given her teaching background, she is particularly interested in how these cognitive mechanisms influence the educational experiences of autistic individuals. Therefore, she will participate in coordinated testing again in 2025 to ask you about your views.
Fun fact: "It’s all about walking! I have a habit of walking without stepping on the lines and syncing my steps with the person next to me—though I do feel a little disappointed if I mess it up!"
For more information about the autism@ICN team, please click here.
Events
Farewell to Gillian Hughes and welcoming our new autism@ICN research coordinator: James Ursell!
We are sad to see Gillian Hughes leave the lab and thank her for all her hard work, including fulfilling her role as Autism Research Coordinator for autism@ICN. We wish her well in her future endeavours! James Ursell (right) will be taking over as our new research coordinator who joined Sarah White’s lab in 2024.
Farewell to Gillian Hughes and welcoming our new autism@ICN research coordinator: James Ursell!
We are sad to see Gillian Hughes leave the lab and thank her for all her hard work, including fulfilling her role as Autism Research Coordinator for autism@ICN. We wish her well in her future endeavours! James Ursell (right) will be taking over as our new research coordinator who joined Sarah White’s lab in 2024.
Antonia Hamilton has been named as a Fellow of the Association of Psychological Science
Congratulations to Dr Antonia Hamilton (left), group leader of the Social Neuroscience group, who has been named as a Fellow of the Association of Psychological Science! The Fellow Status is awarded to those who have made great contributions to scientific research and diversity and inclusion within the psychological science field.
Congratulations to Dr Antonia Hamilton (left), group leader of the Social Neuroscience group, who has been named as a Fellow of the Association of Psychological Science! The Fellow Status is awarded to those who have made great contributions to scientific research and diversity and inclusion within the psychological science field.
Fragile X International (2024)
Publication highlight
About half of people with fragile X syndrome are also autistic. Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition often described in terms of its challenges, such as intellectual disability and social anxiety. A recent paper turns this on its head, led by parents and caregivers of people with fragile X syndrome in collaboration with researchers, including our own Dr Katherine Ellis as senior author. Katherine contributed to the scientific discussion of the available evidence, outlining the strengths associated with fragile X syndrome, and reflections on how a medical model of disability may have contributed to the research gap on the positive attributes of those with fragile X syndrome.
The paper focuses on how medical practitioners can provide a more complete and accurate diagnosis of fragile X syndrome to families, recognising both the strengths and challenges experienced by this community. Fragile X syndrome has many personal strengths, such as strong long-term memory, honesty, humour, sociability, and kindness but such characteristics are often overlooked in medical descriptions. Negative experiences at diagnosis can also have long-lasting effects on families. Therefore, the paper advocates for a more holistic view where professionals can provide a more accurate and empowering diagnosis by focusing on the strengths and positive aspects of fragile X syndrome.
The article hopes to inspire further research and clinical practices that celebrate the unique strengths of people with fragile X syndrome and promote a more inclusive and supportive society.
Click here to read the original paper.
The paper is:
Herring, J., Johnson, K., Scerif, G., Weight, E., Richstein, J., Crawford, H., Robinson, H., Gawarammana, R., & Ellis, K. The joys of fragile X: Understanding the strengths of fragile X and delivering a diagnosis in a helpful, holistic way. Neurodiversity, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241287685
For a complete list of publications from the autism@ICN group, click here.
Thank you for your continued support of our research! Please get in touch if you have any further thoughts or suggestions.
About half of people with fragile X syndrome are also autistic. Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition often described in terms of its challenges, such as intellectual disability and social anxiety. A recent paper turns this on its head, led by parents and caregivers of people with fragile X syndrome in collaboration with researchers, including our own Dr Katherine Ellis as senior author. Katherine contributed to the scientific discussion of the available evidence, outlining the strengths associated with fragile X syndrome, and reflections on how a medical model of disability may have contributed to the research gap on the positive attributes of those with fragile X syndrome.
The paper focuses on how medical practitioners can provide a more complete and accurate diagnosis of fragile X syndrome to families, recognising both the strengths and challenges experienced by this community. Fragile X syndrome has many personal strengths, such as strong long-term memory, honesty, humour, sociability, and kindness but such characteristics are often overlooked in medical descriptions. Negative experiences at diagnosis can also have long-lasting effects on families. Therefore, the paper advocates for a more holistic view where professionals can provide a more accurate and empowering diagnosis by focusing on the strengths and positive aspects of fragile X syndrome.
The article hopes to inspire further research and clinical practices that celebrate the unique strengths of people with fragile X syndrome and promote a more inclusive and supportive society.
Click here to read the original paper.
The paper is:
Herring, J., Johnson, K., Scerif, G., Weight, E., Richstein, J., Crawford, H., Robinson, H., Gawarammana, R., & Ellis, K. The joys of fragile X: Understanding the strengths of fragile X and delivering a diagnosis in a helpful, holistic way. Neurodiversity, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241287685
For a complete list of publications from the autism@ICN group, click here.
Thank you for your continued support of our research! Please get in touch if you have any further thoughts or suggestions.
