Ashley E Robertson

Coventry University | CU · Centre for Innovative Research Across the Life Course

There have been few examples of inductive research in sensory reactivity, particularly in relation to autistic traits among the general population. This study used a mixed methods approach to explore the nature of sensory experiences among people with different levels of autistic traits. Participants completed the Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire and...

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) tend to have sensory processing difficulties (Baranek et al. in J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47:591-601, 2006). These difficulties include over- and under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli, and problems modulating sensory input (Ben-Sasson et al. in J Autism Dev Disorders 39:1-11, 2009). As those with...

Anxiety is a common problem in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the evidence for the use of psychosocial interventions to manage anxiety in this population. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was the primary intervention modality studied. A comprehensive systematic se...

It has been well established that individuals with autism spectrum disorder report unusual experiences with sensory stimuli compared with typically developing individuals. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the nature of such experiences. A focus group was conducted with six adults with a diagnosis of autism or Asperger syndrome. Dat...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disorders which are thought primarily to affect social functioning. However, there is now a growing body of evidence that unusual sensory processing is at least a concomitant and possibly the cause of many of the behavioural signs and symptoms of ASD. A comprehensive and critical review of the phen...

Background: Autistic adults experience more frequent suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties than non-autistic adults, but research has yet to explain how these experiences are connected. This study explored how anxiety and depression contribute to suicidal thoughts according to the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide for autistic and non-aut...

Background Autism and autistic traits are risk factors for suicidal behaviour. Aims To explore the prevalence of autism (diagnosed and undiagnosed) in those who died by suicide, and identify risk factors for suicide in this group. Method Stage 1: 372 coroners’ inquest records, covering the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2017 from two region...

Traditionally, priorities for research, public policy and practice have not been decided by autistic people and those who support them. This has resulted in a lack of research relevant to the day to day lives of autistic people. To address this, INSAR’s 2021 policy brief aimed to identify the top 10 priorities to prevent suicide in partnership with...

The current study explored whether people who camouflage autistic traits are more likely to experience thwarted belongingness and suicidality, as predicted by the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS). 160 UK undergraduate students (86.9% female, 18-23 years) completed a cross-sectional online survey from 8th February-30th May 2019 i...

This study explored whether the Interpersonal Theory of suicide informs our understanding of high rates of suicidality in autistic adults. Autistic and non-autistic adults (n = 695, mean age 41.7 years, 58% female) completed an online survey of self-reported thwarted belonging, perceived burden, autistic traits, suicidal capability, trauma, and lif...

Until recently, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours have not received extensive attention in autism research. The extant research evidence indicates high rates of self- harm and suicidality in autistic people, but little research exploring why, or how this could be prevented. This special issue brings together a guest editorial team of auti...

Background: Autistic adults are more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts and behaviours but there is little research to explore the underlying reasons. It is unclear whether self-report suicide scales that have been designed for non-autistic people accurately measure suicide risk constructs in autistic people. Therefore, this study explored, for...

Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by differences in social communication and social interaction as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviours (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Research has suggested that 50% of adults with autism meet criteria for an anxiety disorder diagnosis (Russell et al., 2...

Previous research shows that autistic people have high levels of co-occurring mental health conditions. Yet, a number of case reports have revealed that mental health conditions are often misdiagnosed in autistic individuals. A total of 420 adults who identified as autistic, possibly autistic or non-autistic completed an online survey consisting of...

Framed by Self-Determination Theory, this investigation explored student experience as they engaged in their physical education (PE), health and well-being (HWB) curriculum in Scotland for the first time. We aimed to uncover the features of various learning environments that appeared to impact upon student motivation in PE over the period one acade...

Background A high proportion of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also meet criteria for anxiety disorders. Few studies have explored the experience and impact of anxiety in autistic adults using qualitative methods. Methods Seventeen semi-structured interviews with either autistic adults (n = 10) or the supporters of adults with a d...

Background: It is now well established that both a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or an increased level of autistic traits results in increased reporting of sensory difficulties (Robertson & Simmons, 2013). Typical olfactory symptoms reported by individuals with ASD include difficulties in tolerating “perfumed” environments like ph...

Background: A recent review demonstrated that sensory issues are common in ASDs, albeit heterogeneous in their nature (Ben-Sasson et al., 2009). This review substantiated accounts that have been written by people with ASD (e.g. Grandin & Scariano, 1996; Williams, 1998), in which the authors describe overwhelming responses to certain stimuli. In ord...

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are common developmental disorders thought to affect more than 1% of the UK population (Baird et al, 2006, The Lancet 368, 210). Whilst the current official diagnostic criteria for ASD concentrate on signs and symptoms associated with social behaviour, it is also well known that sensory difficulties are a major fact...

Background: There is a variety of evidence (e.g. parent reports, first-hand accounts and experimental data) which suggests that individuals with ASD show atypical responses to sensory stimuli. Following on from our previous study (Robertson & Simmons, IMFAR, 2009), in which we found a strong positive correlation between score in the Autism Spectr...

Background: There is a variety of evidence which suggests that individuals with ASD show atypical responses to sensory stimuli. Is there a correlation between the degree to which ASD-like traits are displayed in an individual and the level of atypical sensory responses experienced? Objectives: * To construct a sensory questionnaire that could...

Background: Few theories of the neural basis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) adequately address the well-known and oft-reported symptoms of hyper- and hypo-sensitivities in different sensory modalities (see Robertson & Simmons, this meeting). We argue that the existence of chronic levels of internally-generated neural noise in affective pathway...

Background: A variety of evidence, e.g. parent reports, scientific data and personal accounts, have shown that there appears to be problems processing sensory stimuli in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). We constructed a questionnaire to investigate this in children with ASD and those with developmental disorders (DD). A qualitative, open approac...