Ways to Make Autism Research More Diverse and Inclusive

In 2010, psychologists Joseph Henrich, Steven Heine and Ara Norenzayan famously noted that most participants in behavioral studies are ‘WEIRD’: They hail from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic societies. More than a decade later, this is still a huge problem in autism research— at least if we want our findings to apply to the full range of people within the autism community. To address the lack of diversity and inclusion in autism research, in 2020 my colleagues and I formed the U21 Autism Research Network, a collaboration among seven research groups around the world. Last year, we hosted an international panel discussion with autistic people and autism researchers, who highlighted ways to improve diversity and inclusion in the field. There were several top takeaways from that meeting. Read More