Autistic Workplace Inclusion: How work culture shapes belonging

The education sector is the most popular field for autistic graduates in the UK to enter –but what actually supports their access and success at work?

In a three-year research project in the department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology at UCL, I'm asking

1. What does inclusion and exclusion look like for autistic educators in UK schools?

2. What are the most effective strategies for autistic staff inclusion, as understood by autistic and non‑autistic school leaders and teachers?

Autistic teachers do an excellent job, yet the school workplace can still present significant barriers. At the same time, schools face real pressures around time, staffing, and resources. Any inclusion approach must be both meaningful and feasible in practice.

Working with an amazing group of autistic educators and researchers, we're aiming to develop feasible inclusion measures that schools can take back to their settings and implement.

Last year, we asked autistic staff about their inclusion and exclusion, and the results from this research are now available open access here.

Using this research, we're now working with school leaders and teachers on identifying inclusion measures, and I look forward to sharing updates on strategies we identify.