Projects and Links

Please note that we provide these links as useful information on relevant research initiatives and local and national support groups, but it does not imply we have a connection or endorse particular services.

Acorns Southampton – The ACoRNS Sussex sister organisation.

Projects

Current projects involving ACoRNS members include:

Our Stories

The Our Stories project is a new ESRC grant (Feb 2021 – Jan 2022) held by Professor Sarah Parsons (Education) and Dr Hanna Kovshoff (Psychology), University of Southampton and Professor Nicola Yuill (ChaTLab, Psychology), University of Sussex.

It will investigate new ways of using shared video stories developed in Southampton to support participation of autistic individuals in their health, education and social care when they may not necessarily verbalise their experiences.

The Sussex side of the project consists of 2 sub-projects:

Time for Autism (with Brighton and Sussex Medical School): This will involve 3-4 volunteer families to make videos providing perspectives to support transitions that take place in healthcare, and liaison with medical students on best practices. This works is in tandem with the BSMS project.

Just Right (with Sadie Gillett, Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service): Just Right is an emotion regulation scheme developed and implemented across schools in Brighton & Hove. It focuses on using calming techniques to support moment-to-moment transitions in the school settings, supporting all children to be ready to learn.

Playing A/Part

Playing A/Part is an interdisciplinary collaboration of drama, media arts and psychology working with autistic girls and a steering group of autistic women to investigate the different faces of autism and marginalised gender identities. Improvisatory performance and interactive media are used as creative tools for exploring the lived experiences of this community.

Research Links

ChaT Lab – the Children and Technology Lab at the University of Sussex.

Local Links

East Sussex Parent Carer Forum – for parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex.

Time for Autism – an autism education programme for medical students at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS).

Amaze – for families with disabled children and young people in Sussex.

mASCot – a parent peer to peer Autism Support Network for families in Brighton & Hove.

National Links

The National Autistic Society – a charity providing information, support and services for people with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and their families.

Speech and Language UK – a children’s communication charity offering help and advice to parents and practitioners.

Act for Autism – an organisation supporting and empowering people involved with autism.

Team Domenica – a social enterprise charity working to help people with learning disabilities discover their career potential, to create employment opportunities and remove barriers to work in local communities.