It has been considered sensible practice over the history of scientific research that psychological research should be done without the active involvement of those people who the research could influence. For example, dyslexic people did not take part in research on dyslexia, and autistic people did not take part in research which could potentially affect their lives. However, this trend is beginning to change as researchers consider the benefits of the insight that such people can bring to their conditions.
More and more often studies that look at learning difficulties are now directed by people who have learning difficulties, and this is increasingly true of autism. This could have both positive and negative influences on the research. One of the positive aspects of it would be that the research would be actually be conducted by people who have genuine experience of having the disorder, and therefore understand it on a much deeper level than someone who just knows about autism from studying it.
Autistic people often have different sensory experiences to people who do not have the condition. They are often extremely sensitive to touch and some sounds cause them pain. If the person in control of the research has first-hand experience of the condition it could allow for more insightful analysis.
Of course it’s worth also pointing out that one of the most important points about scientific research is that it needs to produce impartial results. It’s possible that someone who has autism may view it in a different way. This could make them take a different approach to it than someone who is basing their opinions on science. We must evaluate further whether it is a good idea to have people who suffer with a condition conducting research on it.
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