Scientific Network Educational Autism Research

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Lindmeier
• Subject Area: General Education and History of Education
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 530948278

The aim of the project is to establish a scientific network for autism research in educational science in German-speaking countries. It is intended to contribute to the national and international networking of scientists in all career phases who are conducting research in this field but have not yet collaborated. In particular, autistic researchers should be offered a forum. In the field of autism research in educational science, an exchange on an international level seems to be particularly fruitful, because research is more advanced, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. The flexible organizational framework offered by scientific networks should make it possible to link up with interdisciplinary, international developments that seem particularly relevant for the establishment of autism research in educational science in German-speaking countries: 1.The concept of neurodiversity, which is of great importance in Neurodiversity Studies as well as in Critical Autism Studies, will be reflected (difference-)theoretically and discussed with regard to its importance for the development of an educational autism research. Autism research in educational science will thus be placed in the larger context of an educational science that deals with 'embodied learning' or 'embodied education' from a social and cultural science perspective, taking into account current neuroscientific findings. The social neurodiversity movement of experts from their own experience is pushing for participatory educational autism research that takes into account the neurodivergent perception and special interests of autistic people and makes their biographical experiences heard. The project therefore involves several autistic researchers (as network members and speakers) and aims to work on both topics in a participatory way. In particular, the network will establish connections to the emerging international empirical neurodiversity research and develop concepts for empirical research projects in German-speaking countries. Since the transformation processes outlined above are being pursued much more systematically in the Anglo-Saxon world than in the German-speaking world, the proposed DFG network on autism research in educational science will engage in scientific exchange with selected experts from the Anglo-Saxon world - among other things, to intensify international and interdisciplinary scientific communication and to gain important impulses. The network is to be built up in orientation to the English-speaking autism-related scientific networks and to be maintained permanently through the creation of digital communication structures.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Participating Person: Dr. Marek Grummt