By Dr Michelle S Garnett & Prof Tony AttwoodPDA officially stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance, a term coined by Professor Elizabeth Newson in Nottingham, UK, in the 1980s to describe…

Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodIn a previous blog, we discussed how to recognise an autistic girl in the classroom because she is often not discovered until after mental…

By Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodMost children referred for a diagnostic assessment for autism are males, and autistic males with fluent speech will likely be diagnosed, on average,…

By Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodAutistic children tend to need explicit assistance to help develop their understanding of friendship and even how to cope with being with other…

By Dr Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodAutistic individuals generally experience more health issues than non-autistic individuals (Weir, Allison & Baron-Cohen, 2022). Autistic women face a range of health concerns that…

By Dr Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodResearchers and clinicians in the autism area have known about the association between hypermobility and autism for a long time (Tantam, Evered & Hersov,…

By Prof Tony Attwood and Dr Michelle GarnettLast week we discussed the friendship challenges that autistic children can commonly encounter, and programmes that can help. In our blog this week…

By Prof Tony Attwood and Dr Michelle GarnettThe diagnostic criteria for autism include criterion A3, …difficulties in making friends…(APA 2022). We would add from our clinical experience that when friendships…

By Dr Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodThe list of conditions that can co-occur with when a person is autistic is long and can initially appear daunting. In our own…