Hull et al. · 2017
Creators, ideas & research
Expand your
learning.
No single creator, article, or website can show you every autistic life—including mine. These are a few voices and pieces of research that I have personally chosen as places to begin.
Autistic voices to follow
Build a feed with more than one experience.
I am one white, low-support-needs autistic creator. Following people with different races, cultures, disabilities, genders, communication styles, and support needs gives all of us a wider understanding of autistic life.
Including someone here does not mean I agree with every post they have ever made. These are simply creators I handpicked to help you begin expanding your feed.
01TikTok
Savant Devereaux@savanttheeprodigy02TikTok
ilovelife._.999@ilovelife._.99903TikTok
Jean@onegreenjellybean04Instagram
ooo@yessitsne05Instagram
Saffy@neurosparklysaffy06Instagram
Athina Jade@lifethroughdyspraxia07Instagram
Kenna Bethany@kenna_bethany08Instagram
Kaishawna@kaishawna_music09Instagram
King Castro@fizzonthego10Instagram
Tychelle@childofautism11Instagram
Kaligirwa@blackspectrumscholar12Instagram
Evie@autistic_stitch13Instagram
Autism in Black® · Maria Davis-Pierre@autisminblack14Instagram
Sher@sherlove971
Savant Devereaux@savanttheeprodigy02TikTokilovelife._.999@ilovelife._.99903TikTokJean@onegreenjellybean04Instagramooo@yessitsne05InstagramSaffy@neurosparklysaffy06InstagramAthina Jade@lifethroughdyspraxia07InstagramKenna Bethany@kenna_bethany08InstagramKaishawna@kaishawna_music09InstagramKing Castro@fizzonthego10InstagramTychelle@childofautism11InstagramKaligirwa@blackspectrumscholar12InstagramEvie@autistic_stitch13InstagramAutism in Black® · Maria Davis-Pierre@autisminblack14InstagramSher@sherlove971Know a creator I should learn from? Thoughtful recommendations are always welcome through my comments and DMs.
From my UW–Madison reading list
Research that shaped my thinking.
Across research projects for psychology courses at UW–Madison, I became especially interested in masking, suicidality, autistic expertise, stimming, sensory experiences, and the history of common autism interventions.
I handpicked these articles because they helped me question who defines progress, whose experiences count as evidence, and what support looks like when autistic quality of life—not appearing less autistic—is the goal.
Read the article
Hull et al. · 2018
Measuring Autistic Camouflaging
This article introduced the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire, which examines compensation, masking, and assimilation. It is more technical, but I included it because it shows how researchers have tried to turn autistic people’s lived experiences into something that can be studied.Higgins et al. · 2021
Defining Autistic Burnout Through Lived Experience
This study worked with people who have lived experience to develop a clearer definition of autistic burnout. I chose it because autistic people should help shape the language and research used to describe our lives.Cassidy et al. · 2020
Do Suicide-Assessment Tools Understand Autistic People?
This research found that autistic adults may interpret commonly used suicide-assessment questions differently than researchers intend. I chose it because responsible research requires more than applying a tool to autistic people—it requires asking whether that tool actually understands us.Hedley et al. · 2022
A Suicide Measure Designed With Autistic Adults in Mind
This article presents an adapted measure of suicidal ideation developed specifically for autistic adults. It gives greater attention to the difference between suicidal intent and non-suicidal self-injury. I included it because autistic-informed research can be both more respectful and more accurate.Anderson · 2022
Autistic Experiences of Applied Behavior Analysis
This study centers autistic adults describing their experiences of ABA, including how its goals, methods, and power dynamics affected them. I chose it because conversations about an autism intervention should include the people who experienced it—not only the professionals who delivered or studied it.Lovaas · 1987
Behavioral Treatment and Normal Educational and Intellectual Functioning in Young Autistic Children
This historically influential paper helped shape early ABA and defined success partly through children becoming indistinguishable from their peers. I included it as context for where that goal came from—not as a recommendation—because understanding an intervention’s history helps explain why many autistic people question what it asks them to change.Gillespie-Lynch et al. · 2017
Whose Expertise Is It?
This research compares how autistic and non-autistic people understand autism and argues that autistic adults are critical autism experts. I chose it because Annika Unmasked is built around the idea that autism conversations should be shaped by people who live them.Kapp et al. · 2019
“People Should Be Allowed to Do What They Like”
This study explores autistic adults’ descriptions of stimming as regulation, expression, and a way to manage intense emotion or sensory input. I chose it because support should not automatically treat visible autistic movement as a behavior that needs to disappear.DeJesus et al. · 2020
Dance and Autism: A Systematic Review
This review examines research on dance-based interventions and reported outcomes for autistic people. I included it because my proposal asked what support might look like when movement and quality of life—not appearing less autistic—are treated as meaningful starting points.Pfeiffer et al. · 2011
Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Interventions in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
This small study compared sensory-integration and fine-motor interventions for autistic children. I chose it as an early piece of evidence to read critically—not a universal answer—when thinking about individualized sensory support.Posar & Visconti · 2018
Sensory Abnormalities in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
This review describes hyperreactivity, hyporeactivity, and sensory-seeking across different senses. I included it because sensory needs are not side details of autistic life; they can shape eating, movement, routines, communication, and whether an environment feels possible.Read with curiosity
One source is never the whole conversation.
This list reflects research that mattered to me; it is not a promise that I endorse every word or conclusion. Compare sources, listen to autistic people, and stay willing to update what you think you know.
How I think about responsible content →