Who we are
The Autism@UL Special Interest Group (SIG) is a group of individuals and organisations from UL and the broader community who are passionate about autism, neurodiversity and fostering inclusive environments. The Autism@UL SIG is led by the group’s co-founders, Dr. Michelle O’Donoghue (School of Allied Health) and Dr. Cristiano Storni (Interaction Design Centre - Department of Computer Science and Information Systems) and includes UL staff and students, representatives from local organisations, and members of the local community. We include autistic people, family members, friends, advocates, allies and researchers, with many members wearing several ‘hats’. Within UL we include senior Principal Investigators, early career researchers and PhD students from across the University’s faculties and institutions including the Bernal Institute, CSIS, Education, Health Research Institute, the School of Allied Health, KBS and PESS.
Our vision
We endeavour to spearhead and contribute to initiatives and research that promote inclusion and foster neurodiversity-affirming environments. The Autism@UL SIG provides a community of practice through which we can support each other and support good practice and research with impact. This aligns with the University of Limerick’s strategic, mission-oriented challenge for an Inclusive society. We want UL to be an all-inclusive campus as well as a centre of excellence in research on autism in collaboration with autistic researchers. We want to better understand the challenges that autism creates in University life, including the needs but also the opportunities of students and staff diagnosed with autism at UL, as well as the needs of UL staff or students with a diagnosis in their family. We also want to promote and support multidisciplinary research on autism, especially identifying and addressing questions of importance to the autism community. We want to adopt, improve, and expand existing frameworks for an autism friendly university making UL an example for Irish Universities and Universities worldwide, and promote the idea of a certified Inclusive University that does not only cater for the needs, but also taps into the talents, of individuals with autism.
See our mission