Language, interests and autism: A tribute to Dr. Dinah Murray (1946-2021), an autism pioneer.
Autistic people must lead autism research and practice, not just participate in it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Vanegas (2021) wrote a tribute to Dr. Dinah Murray. She was an autistic pioneer who pushed for autistic-led research.
The paper is not a study with numbers. It is a story that reminds us to follow the rule 'nothing about me without me.'
What they found
The article says autistic people must shape autism science, not just be subjects in it.
It claims this shift will make research kinder and more useful.
How this fits with other research
Mathur et al. (2026) extends this call. They give a step-by-step plan for ABA teams to sit with autistic critiques and change practice.
Dinishak et al. (2023) also extends the idea. They show how reading autistic autobiographies during study planning keeps targets socially valid.
Pellicano et al. (2011) is a predecessor. They asked for autistic voices in research ten years earlier, but without Murray's activist story.
Why it matters
You can act on this today. Before your next autism project, invite an autistic co-reviewer. Share your goals and ask what feels respectful or harmful. One hour of real talk can steer your study toward social validity and away from stigma.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
So much has changed in our understanding of how autism impacts our lives. We still have a long way to go, however, until it becomes the norm that the principle of 'nothing about me without me' is upheld throughout autism research and autism practice. Autistic researchers and practitioners will play a central role in delivering this vision. Currently, the autistic community is mourning the passing of one such person, a true pioneer, Dr. Dinah Murray. It is fitting that we pay a tribute to her achievements and contributions, for these have enriched our lives and over-laid the autism landscape with understanding, acceptance, action and advocacy.I am not proposing that we change those opening paragraphs, just that we duplicate and adjust the text in the abstract as well. I think that reading this on the journal page would help people decide if they want to read the full letter, by giving them a bit more of a taste of the rest of the piece. I don't think it matters that the text will be repeated in the main article - this is a common practice for things like letters to the editor and commentaries.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2021 · doi:10.1177/13623613211034072