The backbone of our operation is the reading sessions. The aim of these reading sessions is to bring our members into contact with autism researchers in Flanders, and to make the autistic voice heard in that research. The sessions are one of the ways in which we help shape participatory autism research. Indeed, autism researchers indicate that the feedback from our members during these sessions has a strong influence on their research. This can range from adjusting their experiments to be more accessible to autistic subjects, to adjusting their research question so that the research better reflects the actual questions autistic individuals have in their daily lives. We encourage researchers to share their research as early as possible in our reading sessions because the impact is obviously greatest in the latter case.

 

Reading sessions are completely online. In each reading session we discuss one study and twelve LAVA members are present. The latter read a text provided by the researcher prior to the session. During the session, the researcher will give another short presentation of 15 minutes, after which each LAVA member will have the opportunity to formulate comments or questions. At the end of the session there is room for group discussion and the researcher can already take an initial reflection on the impact of the session on the research.

 

Below you will find more about the reading sessions we already had in the past and you will also find the links to the texts we may have published about it. Are you interested in attending a reading session: that is only possible if you are a member (and therefore autistic), see Contact Form where you can request your membership.

 

Are you interested in presenting and discussing your research as an autism researcher in a reading session? Please contact: academic@lavavzw.be