Autistic Voices in Geoscience: Lessons to enhance inclusive practice

Autism is a lifelong developmental condition which impacts how individuals communicate and interact with the world around them and is simultaneously recognised broadly as a form of neurodivergence and protected legally as a disability (e.g. U.K. Equality Act 2010). Autism frequently remains under-represented and un-disclosed in academia, despite it having no impact on intelligence. In fact, many autistic traits such as problem-solving skills and thinking ‘outside the box’ should be conducive to success in academia.

The field of Geoscience is currently facing significant scrutiny for a lack of diversity. This study contributes to this by investigating the experiences of geoscience students in U.K. higher education, using a novel qualitative methodology designed to be inclusive for autistic participants. Forty self-identified autistic geoscience students took part in semi-structured asynchronous discussions over a period of one month, sharing their self-perceptions, experiences of learning in geoscience, university life, support in higher education, and other issues that they wished to discuss.

Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, generating three themes: (1) Being me; (2) Interacting with the world around me; (3) Facilitating change. Participants stressed the need to recognise the diversity of autistic experiences, and suggested a number of recommendations that would improve their learning and wider higher education experiences, including training to enhance the fundamental understanding of autistic people. The outcomes of this study can help provide actionable recommendations for educators and institutions to better address the challenges faced by autistic learners. This will ultimately facilitate better inclusivity in geoscience-based higher education and lead to improved success and well-being for autistic people in the geosciences.