Ailbhe McKinney's Avatar

Ailbhe McKinney

@ailbhemckinney.bsky.social

Post-doctoral researcher on the START trial University of Oxford https://startproject.info | PhD about the transition to adolescence in neurodivergent girls (puberty, camouflaging) |

127 Followers  |  485 Following  |  4 Posts  |  Joined: 15.09.2025  |  1.5032

Latest posts by ailbhemckinney.bsky.social on Bluesky

White to red faded background with doodle of a pile of books. Title is in a banner “New book: Autism and pregnancy.”

White to red faded background with doodle of a pile of books. Title is in a banner “New book: Autism and pregnancy.”

Doodles of parents with babies along the top. Image of a book cover with multiple pregnant people on it.

Aimee wrote a book! Aimee (our lead investigator) has been doing research on Autistic people’s maternity experiences since 2021. She wrote a book which is aiming to be easy to read.

Doodles of parents with babies along the top. Image of a book cover with multiple pregnant people on it. Aimee wrote a book! Aimee (our lead investigator) has been doing research on Autistic people’s maternity experiences since 2021. She wrote a book which is aiming to be easy to read.

Autistic people said they didn’t get enough information about pregnancy.
This book…
Shares experiences from Autistic people about what to expect
Has tools to try when things are difficult
Gives scripts for when it’s hard to know what to say
Reinforces the important bits in summaries 
Has top tips from Autistic midwives
Has a birth plan template

Autistic people said they didn’t get enough information about pregnancy. This book… Shares experiences from Autistic people about what to expect Has tools to try when things are difficult Gives scripts for when it’s hard to know what to say Reinforces the important bits in summaries Has top tips from Autistic midwives Has a birth plan template

Topics include:
Pregnancy
Sensory experiences
Staying healthy in pregnancy
Appointments and information
Pregnancy complications & pregnancy loss
Birth
Where to give birth
Giving birth & pain relief
What happens after you give birth
When baby has arrived
Baby’s care, sleep & feeding
Your emotions

Topics include: Pregnancy Sensory experiences Staying healthy in pregnancy Appointments and information Pregnancy complications & pregnancy loss Birth Where to give birth Giving birth & pain relief What happens after you give birth When baby has arrived Baby’s care, sleep & feeding Your emotions

The Autism friendly guide to pregnancy, birth and the fourth trimester is published today!

Below you can see some information about the book (1 of 2)

There's a 20% discount code if you buy from Jessica Kingsley Publishers - %AGRANT20

21.10.2025 11:19 — 👍 21    🔁 8    💬 2    📌 0

Yay Claire!! so deserved

01.10.2025 22:16 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Preview
Autistic people could teach Donald Trump a thing or two about focus, facts and empathy | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett While not without its challenges, autism isn’t a curse to be cured of, as the likes of the President and RFK Jr want us to believe, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

👇

28.09.2025 09:30 — 👍 6    🔁 3    💬 1    📌 1
Preview
Demystifying Emotion-Processing: Autism & Alexithymia Connor Keating considers whether emotion-processing differs between autistic and non-autistic adults after controlling for alexithymia.

If you haven't already done so, do sign up for next week's #CRAEwebinar

Demystifying Emotion-Processing: Autism & Alexithymia with @connortkeating.bsky.social

Thur Oct 2nd 4pm bst

22.09.2025 09:29 — 👍 8    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

Thank you for your interest. I used the RCAD and the ASC-ASD as measures of mental health, I used the age of first period as a proxy for timing of puberty. I am very interested in replicating these findings although research can take years and also requires funding, but hopefully I can :)

19.09.2025 08:11 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Post image

A bit late, as I just joined Bluesky but-

Really enjoyed #AECongress25 in Dublin last week and met wonderful people

Here I am presenting preliminary findings (early results needing replication) showing neurodivergent girls may be more likely to experience early or late puberty

15.09.2025 20:58 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0

Hi everyone, finally joined Bluesky.

Finished my PhD at Edinburgh and now working with Dr Alex Hendry on the START trial at Oxford

Lost my Twitter login—sorry if I missed your messages!

15.09.2025 20:48 — 👍 11    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

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