Exploring ways to make research papers for accessible to the wide non scientific autism community

a. Background People on the autism spectrum their families and other non academic stakeholders should be able to access what has been researched in autism this helps to dispel myths and gives them tools to argue for better... [ view full abstract ]

a. Background
People on the autism spectrum their families and other non academic stakeholders should be able to access what has been researched in autism this helps to dispel myths and gives them tools to argue for better services. existing research publications often contain complicated terminology and a dense written style which can prevent non scientist understanding the information.
 b. Methodology
An online survey was carried out (140 participants), asking the autism community about accessibility of research papers presented at a major Autism conference. Based on the results of the survey, a pilot study is being undertaken to make a small set of papers accessible, in order to increase engagement with the non academic autism community

c. Results
Results indicated that a main barrier to access was the cost of journal subscriptions. The preferred formats to increase research accessibility were easy-read versions (84%) and infographics (42%). Topics that people most wanted to hear about were , memory and learning (65%), and adult outcomes (59%)

Experiences of creating accessible translations of research papers will be shared along with the lessons learned from this experience and possible ways forward.

d. Conclusions 
Research is an important tool to improve our understanding of autism and ways in which the lives of autistic people can be improved. The results of research should be available to all. Our study offers suggestions regarding how to help make this happen.

There are no ethical issues that I am aware of and no conflicts of interests. [ view full abstract ]

There are no ethical issues that I am aware of and no conflicts of interests.