Who benefits from autism research? And to what extent is it participatory and/or emancipatory?: A brief follow-up to Pellicano, Dinsmore and Charman (2014)

It was pointed out in a survey of the autism community in the UK that, despite the welcome increase in the amount of research on autism, and the amount of funding provided for autism research, ‘there was a clear disparity between the United Kingdom’s pattern of funding for autism research and the priorities articulated by the majority of participants’ in the survey (PDC study; Pellicano, Dinsmore and Charman, 2014, p. 756). More recently, in an editorial in Autism, Liz Pellicano and various other colleagues, announced a new era for autism research following the recommendation of the US Government’s Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) that ‘autism-related research funding in the United States should increase further still, doubling by 2020’. Pellicano et al. (2018) pointed out that the IACC called for more research that directly affects the lived experiences of autistic people. Although the IACC call was not for research in areas prioritised by the autism community, if the call is heard and acted upon there should be a greater focus on what is important to the community. There is no US equivalent of the PDC study, nor a UK equivalent of the US government body’s call for more research of direct benefit to autistic people

Are the “Autistic Traits” and “Broader Autism Phenotype” Concepts Real or Mythical?

The concepts “autistic traits” and “broader autism phenotype” are not officially recognised by the diagnostic authorities. The broader phenotype of autism is regarded as a sub-clinical presentation of behaviours or traits qualitatively similar to features associated with autism and often referred to as “autistic traits”. We consider how the concept of a broader autism phenotype originated, undertake a brief review and comparison of the theoretical perspectives on autism and “autistic traits”, analyse the statement sets in four instruments used for identifying so-called “autistic traits”, and review the justifications for a broader autism phenotype. We conclude that the concept of “autistic traits” arises from a misuse of language, that the absence of autistic traits indicates that there is no such thing as a “broader autism phenotype”, and that apparent evidence for the existence of a broader phenotype is more likely evidence for the population of autistic people being larger than suspected

A treatise on language methods and language-games in autism

Although it is generally understood that autism is a developmental disability affecting social learning, my social constructionist perspective suggested to me that, strangely, current theories aimed at explaining the nature of autism appeared not to fully reflect the essential social aspects of autism. Given that typically developing human beings become fully socialised through learning a first language, it appeared to me that autism research has, especially of late, failed to give sufficient attention to language despite Kanner’s advice. In researching this thesis I have sought to make a contribution to knowledge of my subject by: (1) developing a synthesis of current knowledge of autistic language methods as a practical framework to guide future research focused on language in autism; (2) critiquing ‘established’ autism theory; (3) drawing attention to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s neglected contributions to the philosophy of mind; and (4) reviewing the contribution of ‘alternative’ theory, including Wittgenstein’s criteriological theory, to an understanding of autism. My research has involved reviewing: (a) the literature on autistic language methods; (b)Conversation Analysis of autistic conversation; (c) narrative writing by authors diagnosed or retrospectively diagnosed with autism; and (d) existing autism theory. I conclude that there are specific features of talk and writing that reflect autism with some features of autistic writing being a ‘mirror image’ of features of autistic talk. A further, important, conclusion is that there are strengths as well as weaknesses associated with autistic talk and writing i.e., from a linguistic stance, it is wrong to regard autism as a disability; rather, it involves a different way of communicating – both verbally and in writing – than is seen in typically developing people. I also conclude that alternative theory has much to contribute to an understanding of autism, and that the atypical nature of autistic social development results in autistic people failing to fully come to terms with language-games

Examining intellectual ability, not social prowess: removing barriers from the doctoral viva for autistic candidates

The doctoral viva voce (‘viva’) has been variously described in the literature as mysterious, unpredictable and potentially frightening for students. Here we present a set of reasonable adjustments designed to remove social barriers from existing viva process for the benefit of autistic doctoral viva candidates. Our objective is to ensure that autistic students, who experience atypical differences in social interaction, social communication, and social imagination, are examined on intellectual ability, not social prowess. Recommendations are based on our many years of work with autistic adults in higher education and elsewhere and relevant literature. It is our view that these proposals could also benefit non-autistic doctoral candidates. Key proposals are to allow candidates the choice of a ‘virtual viva’ via electronic mail; to prepare a ‘needs assessment’ pre-viva; and to ensure that those involved understand autism sufficiently to appreciate issues specific to the individual and their viva. Academic rigour and integrity would not be compromised but the playing field might be flattened

General Practitioner autism training and mandatory medical training: a cross-sectional study of GPs’ knowledge, attitudes and practices

Numerous physical conditions appear with increased frequency in autistic individuals in comparison to their non-autistic peers. These co-existing conditions are known to lead to higher morbidity, lower quality of life, and lower life expectancy in autistic adults. There is substantial evidence in the literature that many, if not most, General Practitioners (GPs) in the United Kingdom do not have the necessary understanding of autism to enable them to offer the same standard of service to their autistic patients that their non-autistic patients receive. This research project was set up, inter alia, to explore the attitudes of GPs to the introduction of autism training and the contentious issue of making GP training on any subject mandatory rather than voluntary. We wanted to better understand how autism training for GPs might be developed to maximise "take-up" and “buy-in” given that the demands on their time, including training demands, are such that autism is only one of many conditions vying for training time and mandatory training is anathema to many GPs. Key findings were that nearly three quarters of our respondents strongly agreed that training in autism is important for GPs, the same percentage of our participants had received little or no formal autism training, and there was a general dislike of any training being made mandatory. Training should be focused on barriers faced by autistic people in accessing healthcare as well as on autism as a medical condition. No respondent had received a significant level of training in autism although 40% of participants who had received training had been trained by an autistic individual

Overcoming obstacles to IPv6 on WLCG

The transition of the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) storage services to dual-stack IPv6/IPv4 is almost complete; all Tier-1 and 94% of Tier-2 storage are IPv6 enabled. While most data transfers now use IPv6, a significant number of IPv4 transfers still occur even when both endpoints support IPv6. This paper presents the ongoing efforts of the HEPiX IPv6 working group to steer WLCG toward IPv6-only services by investigating and fixing the obstacles to the use of IPv6 and identifying cases where IPv4 is used when IPv6 is available. Removing IPv4 use is essential for the long-term agreed goal of IPv6-only access to resources within WLCG, thus eliminating the complexity and security concerns associated with dual-stack services. We present our achievements and ongoing challenges as we navigate the final stages of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 within WLCG

Taxonomic Distinctness of Demersal Fishes of the California Current: Moving Beyond Simple Measures of Diversity for Marine Ecosystem-Based Management

BACKGROUND: Large-scale patterns or trends in species diversity have long interested ecologists. The classic pattern is for diversity (e.g., species richness) to decrease with increasing latitude. Taxonomic distinctness is a diversity measure based on the relatedness of the species within a sample. Here we examined patterns of taxonomic distinctness in relation to latitude (ca. 32-48 degrees N) and depth (ca. 50-1220 m) for demersal fishes on the continental shelf and slope of the US Pacific coast. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD) changed with latitude and depth. AvTD was highest at approximately 500 m and lowest at around 200 m bottom depth. Latitudinal trends in AvTD were somewhat weaker and were depth-specific. AvTD increased with latitude on the shelf (50-150 m) but tended to decrease with latitude at deeper depths. Variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD) was highest around 300 m. As with AvTD, latitudinal trends in VarTD were depth-specific. On the shelf (50-150 m), VarTD increased with latitude, while in deeper areas the patterns were more complex. Closer inspection of the data showed that the number and distribution of species within the class Chondrichthyes were the primary drivers of the overall patterns seen in AvTD and VarTD, while the relatedness and distribution of species in the order Scorpaeniformes appeared to cause the relatively low observed values of AvTD at around 200 m. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These trends contrast to some extent the patterns seen in earlier studies for species richness and evenness in demersal fishes along this coast and add to our understanding of diversity of the demersal fishes of the California Current

PDRs4All IV. An embarrassment of riches: Aromatic infrared bands in the Orion Bar

(Abridged) Mid-infrared observations of photodissociation regions (PDRs) are dominated by strong emission features called aromatic infrared bands (AIBs). The most prominent AIBs are found at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.2 $\mu$m. The most sensitive, highest-resolution infrared spectral imaging data ever taken of the prototypical PDR, the Orion Bar, have been captured by JWST. We provide an inventory of the AIBs found in the Orion Bar, along with mid-IR template spectra from five distinct regions in the Bar: the molecular PDR, the atomic PDR, and the HII region. We use JWST NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS observations of the Orion Bar from the JWST Early Release Science Program, PDRs4All (ID: 1288). We extract five template spectra to represent the morphology and environment of the Orion Bar PDR. The superb sensitivity and the spectral and spatial resolution of these JWST observations reveal many details of the AIB emission and enable an improved characterization of their detailed profile shapes and sub-components. While the spectra are dominated by the well-known AIBs at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.7 $\mu$m, a wealth of weaker features and sub-components are present. We report trends in the widths and relative strengths of AIBs across the five template spectra. These trends yield valuable insight into the photochemical evolution of PAHs, such as the evolution responsible for the shift of 11.2 $\mu$m AIB emission from class B$_{11.2}$ in the molecular PDR to class A$_{11.2}$ in the PDR surface layers. This photochemical evolution is driven by the increased importance of FUV processing in the PDR surface layers, resulting in a "weeding out" of the weakest links of the PAH family in these layers. For now, these JWST observations are consistent with a model in which the underlying PAH family is composed of a few species: the so-called 'grandPAHs'.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, to appear in A&

A far-ultraviolet-driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk

Most low-mass stars form in stellar clusters that also contain massive stars, which are sources of far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation. Theoretical models predict that this FUV radiation produces photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) on the surfaces of protoplanetary disks around low-mass stars, impacting planet formation within the disks. We report JWST and Atacama Large Millimetere Array observations of a FUV-irradiated protoplanetary disk in the Orion Nebula. Emission lines are detected from the PDR; modelling their kinematics and excitation allows us to constrain the physical conditions within the gas. We quantify the mass-loss rate induced by the FUV irradiation, finding it is sufficient to remove gas from the disk in less than a million years. This is rapid enough to affect giant planet formation in the disk