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Brian Irvine

@brianirvine

Happy wanderer. Mentor. Researcher. Fool.

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19.10.2023
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Latest posts by Brian Irvine @brianirvine

"...all these attempts at Windows of Safety can’t be done alone, ... Autistics need not only to protect one another, which we do as fiercely as possible, but we need our allies, too, to help us create sanctuary"

Let's practice niche construction & build Cavendish Space
stimpunks.org/glossary/cav...

04.03.2026 15:06 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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No, autistic people are not β€˜mind blind’ – here’s why The idea that autistic people lack a β€˜theory of mind’ has shaped ASD research for 40 years. The evidence never supported it – and it’s time to move on.

There’s a good piece in The Conversation on the issues with ToM as a concept in describing autism (and it refs our Geoff Bird’s work)

01.03.2026 07:09 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Delighted to have our new paper, β€œEliciting the views of autistic adolescents attending specialist schools on what friendships mean to them”, published in @journalautism.bsky.social! 🧡

#autres #openaccess

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

31.01.2026 15:11 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

Alongside the government's #SENDwhitepaper the The Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group have published their recommendations for mainstream education.

assets.publishing.se...

25.02.2026 12:00 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

So chuffed to have arrived at #A-Fest; amazing speakers lined up including the brilliant @petewharmby.com and @dean-beadle.bsky.social

24.02.2026 09:23 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It is!

19.02.2026 23:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

All hail the sacrificial pancake; without your rubbery pile non other would be crispy.

17.02.2026 19:42 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Today, UCL turns 200. πŸŽ‰ For two centuries, our community has opened doors, challenged convention and pushed the boundaries of knowledge across every discipline. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UCL story, here’s to the next century. ✨

#UCL200 #LoveUCL

11.02.2026 08:04 πŸ‘ 139 πŸ” 80 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 26

Today, Nate on VR and autism research was brilliant. Will post it on YouTube early next week.

05.02.2026 16:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Understanding neurodivergent attention profiles to harness learning Tickets, Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite Eventbrite - UCL Centre for Research in Autism & Education CRAE presents Understanding neurodivergent attention profiles to harness learning - Thursday, February 26, 2026 at UCL Institute of Education, London, England. Find event and ticket information.

Understanding neurodivergent attention profiles to harness learning:
An evening exploring how learners process information. For educators & inclusion professionals.
With drinks & nibbles.

Thursday, 26 Feb 2026
6:30pm
UCL IOE, London
Free
Sign-up

04.02.2026 14:47 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It really is very good.

04.02.2026 17:11 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Universities need to get a grip on reasonable adjustments Jim Dickinson examines new research on access at universities, and asks why improved attitudes toward disabled students have yet to translate into reliable, systemic support

Need to sort your act out #Universities

wonkhe.com/blogs/univer...

31.01.2026 11:50 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Autism, Neurodivergence, Support Needs and Inclusion β€” What’s New in December and January β€” Neurodiverse Connection In this research roundup, Ann Memmott brings together recent papers from December and January exploring Autism and other Neurodivergent conditions, with a particular focus on support needs, inclusio...

ndconnection.co.uk/blog/autism-... Latest research roundup for autism, neurodivergence generally, and the best/most debate-worthy of the papers. This one, a double issue Dec 25/Jan 26.
The studies span education, healthcare, social work, mental health, relationships, and the built environment.

31.01.2026 16:35 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

New headphones with dynamic adjustment. Now noise cancellation stops when I start doop-dooing along.
I think it thinks I’m talking to folk.

I do this a lot.

28.01.2026 10:11 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Western Steps: I Travel With Autism... Here's a quick one, featuring all the usual trimmings where I share this ebook about how I travel with autism.

I am very lucky to have lovely gems passed to me.
And I do like an ebook with wry comments in the footnotes.

bribrithewriter.com/f/western-st...

21.01.2026 15:29 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Are we getting better at identifying and diagnosing neurodivergent girls and women? Insights into sex ratios and age of diagnosis from clinical population data in Scotland - Donald Maciver, Anusua Sin... This study examined differences in referral and diagnosis based on sex recorded at birth (hereafter, β€˜sex’), using case notes from 408 individuals diagnosed by ...

doi.org/10.1177/1362... Useful study - are we getting better at finding e.g. autistic women and girls? Yes.
408 people in Scotland.
The lifespan male-to-female ratio was approaching equal numbers of each. Do have a read of the detail. So much for 'it's a boy thing', eh?

20.01.2026 15:50 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

That’s a must read…

30.12.2025 20:21 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Worth remembering:

β€œSEND is a construct.

It’s a convenient fiction. And it’s a neatly-boxed label designed to solve a problem the education system created, and refuses to take responsibility for.”

TY @kieranrose.bsky.social

theautisticadvocate.com/there-is-no-...

30.12.2025 14:07 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Celebrating CRAE's Leadership Transition Join us to celebrate outgoing CRAE Director Anna Remington, and to welcome incoming Director, Mel Romualdez, to the helm!

Come celebrate CRAE's leadership transition with us! Join us on 15th Jan to celebrate Anna's 9 years as Director, and to welcome Mel to the helm. Free tickets (must be pre-booked) available here:

30.12.2025 13:00 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Celebrating CRAE's Leadership Transition Join us to celebrate outgoing CRAE Director Anna Remington, and to welcome incoming Director, Mel Romualdez, to the helm!

Come celebrate CRAE's leadership transition with us! Join us on 15th Jan to celebrate Anna's 9 years as Director, and to welcome Mel to the helm. Free tickets (must be pre-booked) available here:

17.12.2025 20:39 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

#WakeUpDeadMan
According to the Vicar 8/10 for ecclesiastical accuracy; odd obsession with perma-chasubles.

12.12.2025 21:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

DON'T MISS this qualitative analysis which found that autistic adults face a conflict between balancing their desire for social connection with their limited energy for engaging in social experiences.

FREE until 25th November

www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...

24.11.2025 14:27 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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β€œTrapped in a No-Win Situation”: A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Loneliness | Autism in Adulthood Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...

A qualitative analysis by @kanabaletti.bsky.social et al found that autistic adults face a conflict between balancing their desire for social connection with their limited energy for engaging in social experiences.

FREE until 25th November

www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...

14.11.2025 09:26 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Understanding the experiences of Black, autistic university students with Jada Brown (6-Nov-25)
Understanding the experiences of Black, autistic university students with Jada Brown (6-Nov-25) Jada Brown shares her work on 'Understanding the embodied experiences of Black, autistic university students in the UK.'

New #CRAEwebinar
Last week Jada Brown shared her work on 'Understanding the embodied experiences of Black, autistic university students in the UK.' It was a brilliant webinar.
And it's now up on YouTube.

10.11.2025 17:04 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Understanding the embodiment of UK Black, autistic university students Jada Brown will consider what it might be like to navigate university as an autistic person who is also marginalised by their Blackness.

Today's #CRAEwebinar
Experiences of navigating university as an autistic people who are also marginalised by their Blackness

'Understanding the embodied experiences of Black, autistic university students in the UK' with Jada Brown.

Thur 6th Nov 4pm gmt

06.11.2025 07:07 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Mel is fab 😁

27.10.2025 18:21 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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New CRAE Director Dr Anna Melissa (Mel) Romualdez appointed as new Director of the UCL Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) We are delighted to announce that Dr Anna Melissa (Mel) Romualdez will take o…

Big CRAE news!
From January 2026, @melromualdez.bsky.social will be taking over as CRAE Director, when @annaremington.bsky.social steps down after almost 9 years at the helm!

Read about the news here
crae.ioe.ac.uk/dr-me...
1/2

27.10.2025 17:19 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Book Launch: Neurodivergent Education and Lifelong Learning
Book Launch: Neurodivergent Education and Lifelong Learning YouTube video by Neurodivergent Education Books

πŸ—žοΈ NEWS πŸ—žοΈ
We are also sharing the book launch events! Dr Krysia Waldock @krysiawally.bsky.social and I are so excited about co-edited collections that we are sharing the launches of them too - in video format!

25.10.2025 10:28 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Mobilising Specialist Autism Mentoring in UK Universities When entering higher education in the UK, students get offered a needs assessment through the Disabled Students Allowance. For autistic students, disclosure often results in the option for a Specia…

New #CRAEresearchSummary
@brianirvine.bsky.social considers the role of framing and reframing in Specialist Autism Mentoring at UK Universities

24.10.2025 07:50 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œTrapped in a No-Win Situation”: A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Loneliness | Autism in Adulthood Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...

Our paper has recently been published in @Autism in Adulthood:
β€œTrapped in a No-Win Situation”: A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Loneliness
tinyurl.com/2yeuch6j @craeioe.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @lauramaycrane.bsky.social @annaremington.bsky.social

20.10.2025 09:05 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0