Staff and students from the Department of Psychology have launched a public engagement initiative called the Liverpool Autism Hub.
The initiative aligns with the vision of the Institute of Population Health to embrace diversity and inform research and clinical practice.
The Liverpool Autism Hub aims to:
- Disseminate their research findings.
- Obtain feedback from the autistic community on what is important to them, to generate community-led research.
- Bring the autism community in Liverpool together by facilitating the communication and connections between autistic people, relevant charities, autism support groups, educators and clinicians.
Staff and students working to make the Liverpool Autism Hub possible include Dr Idalmis Santiesteban (Lecturer and autism researcher, Department of Psychology), Mrs Marilla Bianco (PhD student working with autistic adults, Department of Psychology), Dr Jennifer Kirton (Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Primary Care and Mental Health) and Miss Lily Doran (BSc Psychology Undergraduate student interested in autism research).
Dr Idalmis Santiesteban has helped to launch the Liverpool Autism Hub.
Dr Idalmis Santiesteban said: "The autism hub gives us a great opportunity to connect with the communities that will ultimately benefit from our research. We hope to see it grow and foster connections between its members as well as guide our future research questions."
Following the launch, attendees gave the following feedback about the Liverpool Autism Hub:
“I love hearing about your research and learning about places we can be sign posted to.” Hannah, volunteer for an autism community group.
“It’s great to know that there is information for all sort of things, like where we can go for support.” Jo, Parent/ carer of an autistic child.