Welcome!

About Stirling Autism, Research (STAR):

The Stirling Autism Research (STAR) team currently consists of a group of autistic and non-autistic autism researchers based at the University of Stirling, Scotland. We aim to do ethical, rigorous and inclusive autism research, that will ultimately make a meaningful difference in autistic people’s lives. We are passionate about autism research that makes a meaningful difference, and we have a particular focus on wellbeing. We believe that autism research can and should play a positive role in autistic people’s lives, and we acknowledge our responsibility as researchers in the narratives surrounding autism and autistic people. Our research includes topics such as:

  • mental health, wellbeing and quality of life
  • community connectedness and autistic identity
  • autism acceptance, stigma and minority stress
  • camouflaging/masking
  • ageing
  • future thinking (thinking about the future), prospective memory (remembering to remember) and metacognition (thinking about thinking)
  • executive function (e.g. planning, decision making, behaviour regulation)

Our STAR values underpin our research and ethos, and are:  Humility – We learn from each other and the wider autistic community, accepting that we might sometimes get things wrong, or have done so in the past, but we are always prepared to develop, listen, and respect. Compassion – We promote positive wellbeing both within our team and through the research we do. Inclusion – We are welcoming and are inclusive of all intersections of identity. We also work together to achieve our aims and create an environment where everyone’s contributions are valued. You can find out more News about our current and past projects. If you are interested in taking part in our research, please email us (autismresearch@stir.ac.uk) or use the contact form.