Health and wellbeing

We aim to understand factors that influence the health and wellbeing of Autistic people. These help to inform and enhance supports and practices across the lifespan.
Research theme leader:
Associate Professor Darren Hedley
Researchers:
Katy Unwin, Simon Bury, Cheryl Dissanayake, Amanda Richdale, Lauren Lawson
We achieve these aims through advocacy and policy development, academic research, and working with Autistic people.
We have:
- trained the workforce to better support the health and wellbeing needs of Autistic workers
- developed suicide prevention tools and education programs
- delivered training to allied health professionals
- conducted research in the areas of anxiety, depression, sleep, and suicide prevention.
The high rate of suicide and co-occurring health and other conditions makes the Autistic community a priority group for action. Policies that improve access to high quality allied healthcare delivered by a trained and experienced workforce are critical. This work needs to be underpinned by high quality research that meets the priorities and goals of Autistic people.

The Suicide Response Project (SRP)
The SRP provides tips for the general public on how to detect and respond to suicide risk in others.
Facing Stress: Coping Strategies, Resilience and Mental Health Outcomes in Autistic Adults
Watch Dr Melanie Muniandy discuss the research conducted as part of her PhD, where she examined coping strategies and resilience, and their associations with stress, mental health and well-being in Autistic adults. A broader synthesis of the research findings will be presented, followed by a discussion on potential future empirical and clinical directions in the field.
- Suicidal behaviours and prevention in Autistic youth - AUTISM ADVOCATE Parenting Magazine
- Research to reduce insomnia in Autistic adults - La Trobe News 2023
- What are ‘masking’ and ‘camouflaging’ in the context of Autism and ADHD? - The Conversation
- Suicidal behaviors and prevention in Autistic youth - Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine Inc.
- Cracking Autism’s sleep conundrum - Spectrum News 2022
- Website to prevent suicide - La Trobe News 2021
- Autistic children’s sleep problems linked to behavioral regulation issues - Spectrum News 2021
- Strategies for helping Autistic children (and their families) get a good night's sleep - ABC Life 2019
- Landmark summit on Autism health care kicks off - Spectrum News 2019
The Campbell Collaboration
The Campbell Collaboration promotes positive social and economic change through the production and use of systematic reviews for evidence-based policy and practice. Associate Professor Darren Hedley conducted a systematic review of interventions for anxiety in Autistic children.