Call for Abstracts and Contributions
Author Guidelines
We are now accepting abstract submissions to the 14th Autism-Europe International Congress. The congress will take place during the 11th – 13th September in Dublin, Ireland. In 2025, our hosts are AsIAm from Dublin and the overall theme of the congress is Quality of Life: Research, Policy & Practice. We encourage submissions from people with lived experience and from across all disciplines (e.g. science, arts, humanities, social science etc.). Submissions can be made by individuals or multiple authors.
Topics for submission
We have been guided by our Scientific Committee to create a diverse and exciting programme that will include presentation topics on the following:
- Improving physical and mental health (Including topics relating to both physical and mental wellbeing and access to the health care system)
- Understanding ageing in autistic people
- Supporting autistic people to thrive and find meaning in life (Including topics such as interests, joy, leisure & creative arts)
- Vocation and employment
- Creating safe and autism friendly environments (Including topics such as sensory, motor, socially safe, & predictable spaces).
- Accessing learning across the lifespan (Including topics such as access to education from early childhood to higher education, ongoing access to lifelong learning and formal and informal coaching)
- Gender and sexuality (Including topics relating to gender identity and expression, sexuality and sexual diversity)
- Embracing intersectionality and underrepresented perspectives (Including topics relating to communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in research, policy and/or practice)
- Accessing housing and autonomous living
- Autism and overlapping neurodivergence
- Autistic communication and autistic interaction
- Advancing rights: from advocacy and activism to policy changes
For research abstracts, you can make a submission on a topic that may fall outside of those listed above, which will be reviewed for inclusion as either an oral or poster presentation.
Contact: aec.abstracts@abstractserver.com
Abstract submissions – general provisions
You can submit:
- an abstract in the form of a research submission,
- an abstract as the example of delivering practice or a personal account.
You can write your abstract in a style of your choosing but it must be within the 250 words
Research submission
For research submissions, there are no restrictions in terms of the discipline in which the research is based or the methodology you have used but we expect there to be a central question or issue set out that you have looked to address with your chosen approach. We also expect that your abstract will address the potential impact of the research on the lives of autistic people
We encourage you to use the suggested headers in the next section to complete your submission. We ask researchers to submit both a plain English/lay summary of their research and a scientific abstract. Each should be no longer than 250 words.
Example of delivering best practice or personal account
You are also invited to submit an abstract that is an example of delivering best practice (whether that is in health, education, family services or adult services). You can also submit an abstract that is a personal account (e.g. as an autistic adult or family member). The practice and personal accounts do not have to be based around a research question and so the submission and review will be different. We ask that practice and personal accounts fall under one of the listed topics.
If you are unsure which type of submission you should make, please email the Scientific Committee
Submission process – how to write an abstract?
For research submissions the following headings can be used as a guide, if appropriate for your submission.
INTRODUCTION & CENTRAL QUESTION
(e.g. Why did you undertake this study or action? What does your contribution specifically seek to address or propose? What is the background to this field? Is there a specific section of the autism community that your research focuses on?)
METHODS/APPROACH
(e.g. When, where and how was the study undertaken? Did you include autistic people in the design process? What experimental methods did you adopt?)
OUTCOME
(e.g. What did you find? What was the impact of your study? Were the results as you predicted?)
DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS
(e.g. What might your study or action imply and what is the potential impact on the lives of autistic people? What does this mean for the autistic community, professional practice, or society as a whole? How do you interpret your findings in the context of previous research? What are the next steps?)
We ask that all submissions include the practical impact of the work e.g. concrete conclusions or tips that can be used personally or in practice to benefit the lives of autistic people.
If this is the first time you have submitted a research abstract and you have questions about what should be included please email the Scientific Committee for guidance.
Submissions sharing examples of best practice or a personal account
You will be asked before submitting to select which topic your abstract relates to (you may pick more than one, if appropriate). We have provided some guidance below as to the headers or content you may want to include.
In terms of submissions around practice, you will be asked to indicate in the comment/remark section which field you work in (health, education, family services, adult services or other). For practice and personal submissions, in the main body of your text please feel free to use the headers below as a guide:
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
(e.g. there were was a lack of local provision; I changed my gender)
WHAT YOU DID OR EXPERIENCED
(e.g. we established a service to diagnose adults; I set up an autistic peer support network)
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES?
(e.g. the finances are not there to support our service; I have not received adequate mental health support for my eating disorder)
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BENEFITS?
(e.g. we have trained local professionals in our methods; I have met like-minded people online)
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
(e.g. we are planning to set up a new school; I am planning to go to university next year).
We ask that all submissions include the practical impact of the work/personal account e.g. concrete conclusions or tips that can be used personally or in practice to benefit the lives of autistic people.
All abstracts need to be anonymous when they are being reviewed, so please do not include your name, the names of others, the names of institutions or places in your abstract. Names will be included elsewhere in your submission.
Please do not include information that is highly sensitive in nature (e.g. that may involve previous or ongoing court cases). Lived experience abstracts often focus on personal and, potentially, emotive topics. If there are issues raised as a consequence of writing your abstract, then we encourage you to discuss these with people that you feel comfortable with or to contact a local or national autism organisation for advice. You can also email the Scientific Committee for guidance.
For both Research and Best practice/personal submissions, we ask that submissions include potential trigger warnings from the list below:
Sexual assault; Abuse; Child abuse, paedophilia and incest; Self-harm; Suicide; Eating disorders, body hatred and fat phobia; Violence; Death and dying; Pregnancy and childbirth; Mental illness; Racism and racial slurs; Sexism and misogyny; Transphobia and transmisogyny; Homophobia and heterosexism
This allows us to support our reviewers who may not wish to read abstracts based around certain challenging topics.
NB. It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract. Any error in spelling, grammar or scientific fact will be reproduced as typed by the author.
Deadline
Abstracts must be submitted no later than 11.59pm on 10th January 2025.
Abstracts submitted after the abstract deadline will be rejected. It is possible to modify your abstract until the submission deadline.
Rules for Abstract Submission
1. Online submission only
Authors who wish to present a paper (either oral or poster) must submit an abstract online via the abstract submission page of the congress website. Any abstracts sent by post, fax or e-mail will not be accepted. The registration may be done after abstract acceptance notification (a short window for registration will be provided after notification).
2. Abstract text
All abstracts must be written in English. The text should lie within the indicated frame on the form. The abstract should contain neither illustrations nor tables. No identifying features such as names of authors, names of participants, hospitals, medical schools, clinics, services, associations, countries or cities may be listed in the title or text of the abstract.
The abstract title and text are limited to 250 words. A “blind” selection process will be used. Authors’ data is needed for the congress registration and the accepted presentations that will be included in the Book of Abstracts.
3. Disclosure of potential conflict of interest
This is a mandatory requirement for all authors of all submissions. All authors, including all co-authors, submitting abstracts are required to disclose their sources of contributed support (commercial, public, or private foundation grants).
Authors are also required to signify whether there may be a real or perceived conflict of interest.
Disclosures will be included in the congress programme and must also take place at the time of presentation (both orally and in writing).
Acceptable language
Autism-Europe and AsIAm operate on the principle of respect for diversity. We feel that it is important to use language that people are comfortable with. However, there are some terms that are likely to cause offense and it is advisable to avoid using.
When submitting abstracts and preparing the presentations and posters, please keep in mind the following guidelines: Within Autism-Europe, the acceptable terms are: ‘autistic person/people’ as the most commonly preferred term by autistic adults, ‘people on the autism spectrum’ as the most preferred term amongst autistic adults, families and professionals and ‘person with autism’ in order to keep in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that utilises person first language throughout.
Some people refer to themselves and one another as an autist / autie / aspie. Whilst we accept that people may wish to refer to themselves and each other in this way, it is often less acceptable when used by a ‘neurotypical’ person.
Please do not use the following terms/expressions that are likely to cause offense:
1. Suffers from or is a victim of autism. Consider using the following terms instead:
• is autistic
• is on the autism spectrum
• has autism / an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) / an autism spectrum condition (ASC) (Note: The term ASD is widely used by many professionals, you may prefer to use the term ‘autism spectrum condition’ or ‘on the autism spectrum’ because it avoids the negative connotations of ‘disorder’.)
2. “Kanner’s autism”
3. “Asperger’s syndrome is a rare/ mild form of autism”
4. “Autism is a disease/ illness”: consider using the following instead:
• autism is a disability
• autism is a condition
5. Retarded/ mentally handicapped/ backward: these terms are considered to be derogatory and offensive. Consider using the following terms instead (where it is appropriate to do so):
• people with a learning disability
• people with a developmental disability
• people with an intellectual disability
6. Normally developing children/ adults: consider using the following terms instead:
• neurotypical (Note: This term is only used within the autism community so may not be applicable in, for example, the popular press.)
• typically developing children / adults
Review process
Each submitted abstract will be reviewed by at least two individuals. These will include autistic people, researchers, practitioners, members of the congress Scientific Committee, members of Autism-Europe and family members and carers.
Submissions will be scored against three criteria:
1. Quality of the work – For research abstracts that could mean an assessment of the scientific methodology – e.g. the use of a randomised control design, a large sample size, inclusion of the pupil voice in your findings. For practice abstracts, that could mean how you have used evidence-based approaches or you designed multidisciplinary service for diagnosis. For a personal account it could mean how a number of different perspectives have been synthesised.
2. Novelty and innovation – For research abstracts that could mean that this a new question that has been posed or that your design was based on a consultation with autistic people. For practice abstracts, that could mean you have decided to use technology to reach more of the community or you have developed or adapted a tool not used before in your country. For a personal account it could mean how this has been an often-unheard voice or opinion, or that you have chosen to take a position on a topic that is controversial.
3. Impact on the community or field – For research abstracts that could mean that your results have led to, or you have demonstrated a clear route to, positively benefiting the community. For practice abstracts that could mean your service has led to more autistic adults into employment or you have trained a large number of new professionals in your region. For personal abstracts that could mean your views have been heard by, or you plan for them to be heard by, individuals who decide on policy or that your experience has led to improvements in your life and/or the life of those around you.
Once the reviewers’ scores and comments have been received, those who score above cut off (agreed by the congress Science Committee) and who have selected “oral presentation” in the submission phase will be discussed in terms of them making an oral presentation in the programme. All those remaining will be invited to make a poster presentation.
Those submissions that score below a certain cut off, or that have been flagged by reviewers, will be checked by a member of the congress team to confirm that they should not be included in the congress programme.
The Scientific Committee welcome submissions that represent the broad and diverse experiences of autistic people across the community. In instances where there is a large number of high-scoring submissions, they will weight submissions in order to ensure that representation across the community is captured.
Notification of abstract selection
Notification of abstract selection will be sent to the submitting author by e-mail no later than Friday 7th March 2025.
Withdrawal
Only the submitting author may request the withdrawal of an accepted abstract. Requests for withdrawals must reach the congress organisers in writing by e-mail. It is the responsibility of the author to check whether the congress organisers have received their withdrawal message to avoid the risk of the abstract being printed in the programme.