Anne V. Kirby

Autism researchers! If you (like me) are scrambling to get INSAR submissions in. Please also consider signing up BY TOMORROW as a reviewer. Having more reviewers will make lighter work for everyone, and you'll get to have a say in what is presented at the conference! insar.confex.com/insar/2026/c...

Things today's White House autism announcement did not do:

-Discuss strategies to increase supports and services for autistic people/families
-Highlight why autistic people and families deserve respect, not pity or fear
-Endorse one speck of autism research that is not dangerous pseudoscience

In our focus groups with trans community members, gyms were also highlighted as places they didn't feel safe.

Restricted access to health-promoting activities is one of the many ways that discrimination impacts health.

hello, i am an Autistic psychiatric nurse practitioner who is specialty trained in the diagnosis of autism

you can pay me to do that professionally in NH, MA, CT, & NY

...AND if you're just looking for permission to believe what you already know to be true - please believe it

it's you who knows &

Our new article is out! We also have a free bullet-point summary version available online. aaspire.org/2025/09/09/n...

Unveiling health disparities: Diagnostic prevalences in a transgender cohort versus matched controls Importance Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals are at risk for discrimination and inequities across legal, social, and medical contexts. Population-level resources have rarely been used f...

What started as a project to examine disparities in risk of suicidal ideation and attempts turned into a collaborative effort to explore a much wider range of diagnostic disparities experienced by trans and gender diverse individuals in Utah. Available now:
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

To speak or not to speak: Why many aid groups are silent about the Trump cuts Charities usually like to talk to the public about their good works. In the wake of the Trump aid cuts, there's a new approach: "anticipatory silence." It's controversial.

Charities usually like to talk to the public about their good works. In the wake of the Trump aid cuts, there's a new approach: "anticipatory silence." It's controversial.

Autism in Adulthood is recruiting 6 new Deputy Editors/Editors to help us respond to the huge rise in submissions. More info at drive.google.com/file/d/1cdgs.... If interested, please send a c.v. and a short statement about your interest to autisminadulthood@pdx.edu. Or talk to me at #INSAR2025.

Group photo of 19 people and a service dog posing in a Moroccan restaurant. Most of the people are Autism in Adulthood Editorial Board Members.

@autisminadulthood.bsky.social annual Editorial Board dinner at #INSAR2025 (with a few guests). What a phenomenal team! Hard to believe that 7 years ago we showed up to INSAR with our first little Preview Issue. I so appreciate all the people who have made our journal into what it is today.

the more democrats concede to the republican war on trans people, the more that signals to the public that trans people are a problem and should be stigmatized.

Opinion | Trump’s War on D.E.I. Is Really a War on Civil Rights The genius of the right-wing crusade against D.E.I. is that the term is amorphous enough that it can mean many different things to many different people.

"[For the Right], D.E.I...is the mere presence of a woman or nonwhite person or disabled or transgender person in any high-skilled, high-status position. And their alternative isn’t some heretofore unknown standard of merit; it is the reintroduction of something like segregation."

(gift link)

Seems like a good time to re-share our research about the trans community and suicide risk. Not surprisingly, the community told us that anti-trans policies contribute strongly to their suicidality.
#transrights
#suicideprevention

Large black cat lounging on his back with paws in the air, on a flowered bedspread.

I've been fostering a cat who was in an LA shelter when they had to clear out to make space for displaced pets.
Salem 😻

Are AI influencers the latest feature of modern life to make us unhappy? | The National Rather than pay real-life influencers to promote their products, some companies are turning to artificially generated people

I recently contributed to the conversation on #AIInfluencers. Are these digital personas reshaping happiness in the modern world?

Spoiler: I don't think we know yet.

www.thenationalnews.com/future/techn...

#AI #AIEthics #SocialMediaEthics #DigitalLife

Close-up photo of black and white cat with big round eyes.

Cat resting on a colorful cushion. Cat is white and gray with stripes, eyes narrowed, one paw sticking out.

Calico kitten partly hidden behind a sheet. Eyes looking straight at the camera.

I started fostering cats. Here are some I've had the pleasure to hang out with recently. Hopefully more soon! #cats

Can't wait to check this out!

Autistic Narratives of Sensory Features, Sexuality, and Relationships Research about the experience of sexuality and intimacy for autistic people has largely excluded the potential influences of autistic sensory features, which are highly common. The aim of this study w...

Interesting #research Sarah Gray did for her doctoral capstone looked at autistic people's descriptions of their #sensory experiences and how they related to their sexuality and relationship experiences. #autism @autisminadulthood.bsky.social (& it won an award!)
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Sensory experiences of children with autism spectrum disorder: In their own words First-person perspectives of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are rarely included in research, yet their voices may help more clearly illuminate their needs. This study involved phenomenol...

I also got a chance years ago at @uncchapelhill.bsky.social to ask autistic children themselves about their sensory experiences.
I still love this project (despite my outdated language use at the time). #autism #sensory #research @journalautism.bsky.social
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Sensory features in autism: Findings from a large population‐based surveillance system Sensory features (i.e., atypical responses to sensory stimuli) are included in the current diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Yet, large population-based studies have not examined the...

In a large multi-state study, we looked at how common sensory features are among autistic children. About 3/4 have sensory differences documented, but we also noted potential disparities in identification (lower for girls & POC). #autism #sensory #research
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

A 20‐year study of suicide death in a statewide autism population Scientific Summary Growing concern about suicide risk among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) necessitates population-based research to determine rates in representative samples and to...

In the first U.S.-based population study of #autism and suicide death, we found autistic Utahns at increased risk of dying by suicide. This was mostly driven by higher risk for autistic v. non-autistic females. It's time to update this with new data! #research
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We asked trans people directly why they're at elevated risk for suicide & what is needed for suicide prevention
Published in an awesome trans-led journal: BATS
bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org/article/3/1-...
#transrights #suicideprevention #research
@saltysicky.bsky.social @annadocherty.bsky.social

To get some action going on my new Blue Sky account, I'll share a few of my publications in this thread 🧵
All open access (free to read)
#autism #transrights #suicideprevention @universityofutah.bsky.social

Hello blue sky!