Message from our Acting Director

The academic year 2018-2019 has been one of (temporary!) change for the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE).

In 2019, we were delighted to welcome the newest member of the CRAE team, baby Finn, when CRAE Director Anna Remington welcomed her first child. We all send our warmest congratulations to Anna and her husband Aaron on this exciting news.

Whilst Anna has been on maternity leave, CRAE continued her commitment to developing our participatory research agenda, working closely with the autistic and broader autism communities across a range of CRAE projects.

In our 2018-2019 annual report, you can read about some of the exciting projects we have been working on, as well as our engagement activities, over the past 12 months. CRAE’s work could never be achieved without the support of our wonderful partners, collaborators, colleagues and friends. We are particularly indebted to The Pears Foundation, Ambitious about Autism, and Autistica, as well as UCL Institute of Education, for their encouragement and support of our work.

Most importantly, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the autistic people, families, schools and charities who have contributed to our work, attended our events, or engaged with our centre. Without you, we would not be able to produce our crucially important research, all of which aims to make a genuine positive difference to the lives of autistic children, young people and adults.

It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to oversee CRAE in Anna’s absence. We hope you enjoy finding our more about our research and engagement activities over the past 12 months in this report…

Laura

A bit more about CRAE’s Acting Director Laura Crane

Laura joined CRAE in 2015, and holds the role of Associate Professor and Deputy Director of CRAE. Laura’s research focuses on understanding the educational experiences of autistic children and young people (in mainstream and special schools), and identifying evidence-based ways to support pupils, their parents and their educators. Laura is passionate about engaging education professionals in research - supporting them to identify priorities for research and co-designing research studies that positively impact on pupil outcomes and wellbeing.

Laura also has expertise in the following areas: (1) examining the diagnostic experiences of autistic people, their families, and the professionals who work with them; and (2) promoting access to justice for witnesses on the autism spectrum (in both the criminal and family justice systems). Laura’s early work centered on cognition and autism (with a particular focus on autobiographical memory).

Central to all of Laura’s work is a commitment to the involvement of the autistic and broader autism communities in the research process; ensuring that research has a strong participatory ethos and is of direct and practical relevance to those it affects. Laura is also a strong advocate of public engagement and community outreach; ensuring that research is accessible to autistic people, their families, and the professionals who work with them.

You can find out more about Laura and her research here: https://crae.ioe.ac.uk/portfolio/laura-crane/