Nikki Botting

Barriers and Facilitators of Healthcare Access for Autistic Children in the UK: a Systematic Review - Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Background Individuals with autism are more likely to suffer from various physical and mental health problems and experience disparities in effectively accessing healthcare services. This review aims to identify studies that report on the experiences of autistic children, their parents/carers, and the healthcare professionals treating them; to develop an understanding of the facilitators and barriers to healthcare access in order to inform policies and practice to improve access to healthcare for autistic children in the UK. Methods A total of 3069 records were screened, and 24 studies were included; six quantitative, four qualitative, and fourteen mixed-methodology studies. Results Professional and parental knowledge about autism, sensory issues, challenging behaviour, system-level barriers, patient-provider-parent communication issues, lack of person-centred care, stigma, and culture emerged as significant barriers to accessing healthcare for autistic children. Conclusions Families of autistic children experience several barriers to accessing healthcare. Recommendations for those planning services and clinicians are discussed.

My recent PhD grad Dr Tonia Babalola has also recently published these 2 papers relevant to this #autism #healthcare link.springer.com/article/10.1...

openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/35...

#Parents! #Caregivers! Was your #child born just after #lockdowns in 2021 (July to Oct?)

We need your help with a #study looking at post-pandemic #talking and #thinking skills 😊

Free tablet for taking part.

Also check out our new website: bornincovidyear.co.uk

Stage scene

Here again at the beautiful Georgian Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds to see @blackeyedtheatre.bsky.social
#Sherlock #SherlockHolmes #Moriaty

If you are the parent of an #autistic child and would like to help to shape #research please contact Mariana.

You don’t need to be an expert in anything except your experience of being a parent of an autistic child!

Your views will help to make our research relevant and family-friendly.

#autism

Big shout out to @petefirman.bsky.social who we saw tonight at Theatre Royal #BSE. Very #funny and very good #magic

#theatre #comedy

Great few days in beautiful #neuchatel discussing and evaluating the world leading #language #research from @nccrlanguage.bsky.social - worth a follow 😊

Donate to families who need it the most with ShareTheMeal! Help fight hunger by donating to families who need it the most. Join ShareTheMeal — part of the UN World Food Programme — now.

Just a shout out for the UN world #food app

sharethemeal.org/now?adjust_t... #ShareTheMeal and help #children in need with a tap. ShareTheMeal here:

Congratulations to everyone getting A level results today! Every year I post the fact that I got BCD, didn’t get my university of choice, but met my husband at uni & I’m now a full professor doing a job I love. So if you didn’t get what you wanted, don’t despair! There are many different pathways 😊🎓

Hamlet by Red Rose Chain theatre. Giant ghost puppet and scared soldiers.

Yet another amazing production from @redrosechain.bsky.social at @suttonhoo.bsky.social

#Hamlet #Shakespeare #theatre

Also lovely to see @proflucydipper.bsky.social here now! Please give her a follow! #linguistics #aphasia #psychology #SLPeeps #BlueSkySpeechies

Very pleased to see @helensc.bsky.social and my methodological paper on changes in #likelihood status for #siblings of children with communication difficulties published 😊 #devlangdis #autism

Thanks to funding from the Heather van der Lely Foundation.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

@nationalrail.bsky.social @greateranglia.bsky.social drone flying over the tracks filming people entering and leaving the station at #Stowmarket feels like an intrusion of privacy. Is it allowed?

Families needed for a study about children’s talking and thinking. Are talking and thinking skills different in children who were born after Covid lockdowns? Was your child born in England between July 19th 2021 and October 19th 2021? If they were, you could take part in our study. Your child would play fun talking and thinking games with a researcher over Zoom. We would see your child three times for about 45 minutes each time. You would fill in some questionnaires about your household which will take 1.5 hours. If you take part in our study you get a free Amazon Fire tablet! If you have any questions or want to sign up you can contact bicycle@citystgeorges.ac.uk.

🌟We are looking for children turning 4 years old to participate in our study 🚲🎉 If your child was born in England just after lockdowns ended (between July 19th and October 19th 2021) you could take part and get a free Amazon Fire Tablet! 🖱️Sign up here: cityunilondon.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Marking the end of #AphasiaAwarenessMonth, the Dara project has a new website dara.org.uk

Dara is undertaking new research into accessible #datavis for people with #aphasia and #DLD.

@daraprojectcity.bsky.social

Me (Emma) with the title slide “barriers to recognition of mental health problems in neurodivergent young people: Findings from a nationally representative cohort”

Grateful for the opportunity to share some of my research at #NDAS2025 yesterday! Huge thanks to the organisers and to all the inspiring speakers who made it such a great day.

Today at #NDAS2025: using #AI for systematic literature review quality assessments with Dr Nick Behn, and checking methodology and designing animated online tasks for kids with Professor @steer-rhinos.bsky.social

Very proud of lab members Sana and Hannah, who gave excellent presentations at #NDAS25 today

@psychologyuea.bsky.social PhD student Louise Glanville poster on experience sampling in schools #NDAS25

Brilliant use of videos to give voice to non-speaking children’s experiences, presented by Prof Nicola Yuill of
@acornsussex.bsky.social at #NDAS2025.

brilliant #NDAS25 neurodev conference @citystgeorges.bsky.social with @profnikkibotting.bsky.social @helensc.bsky.social and all behind the scenes, great methods informed by autistic voices. Next year @durhamdevsci.bsky.social

Five people are standing in an office, smiling at the camera.

Proud to share that I passed my PhD viva yesterday with minor corrections 🥳. Huge thanks to @suereviews.bsky.social and @profnikkibotting.bsky.social for such a constructive and positive examination experience and to Dr, Themis Karaminis for chairing.

Thanks to all our presenters and those who attended.

Thanks also to @profnikkibotting.bsky.social Martina Curtin & Amanda Comer for sharing their research journey and experiences

This week our department hosted the impact event which showcases some of the research we do at City and the impact it has for SLTs and people w communication difficulties @citystgeorges.bsky.social www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

Yes yes yes! I tell my students this all the time and my co-PI and I read out everything aloud to each other as part of the writing process 😊 Congrats to your daughter!

Antonia Hamilton giving a talk at EDAI on imitation

This afternoon @antoniahamilton.bsky.social is talking about imitation and #autism and brain pathways. #EDAI2025

Slide by Michael Lombardo showing that different autistic profiles respond differently to early years intervention.

It would have been interesting to have heard more about this result - different autistic profiles respond differently to intervention.

Still some places left at #NDAS2025 conference - £65 and £55 for students including lunch and wine reception!

Fab keynote speakers on #neurodivergence and #school

Parallel sessions on #neurodiversity / #neurodevelopment and #autism #cognition #methology #sleep #mentalhealth #widerexperiences

Researcher Michael Lombardo at EDAI conference

Speaker (Michael Lombardo) talking about autism at the EDAI conference

Michael Lombardo talking about changes in #autistic related terminology over time #EDAI2025

Need to consider development, disability and difference because #autism is so broad and there are many different types of people.

Delighted to be at the EDAI conference #Barcelona listening to @sakshighai.bsky.social and @tonycharman.bsky.social

#autism #digital #wellbeing

I *do* love this!