About CARES

Mission

The mission of CARES is to co-create rigorous, ethical, and community-rooted research in collaboration with autistic individuals—especially those historically excluded from academic spaces. Through art, storytelling, and relationship-centered research, we generate new knowledge about autistic lives, identities, and needs. CARES centers autistic leadership in all areas of inquiry so that research about us is no longer done without us.

We recognize that formal research training is only one kind of knowledge. Lived experience, embodied insight, and alternative ways of knowing are equally valuable. We welcome autistic collaborators—including those with intellectual disabilities as well as non-speaking individuals—to join us as researchers, artists, organizers, and community leaders.

Goals

  • Conduct research that is rigorous, ethical, and grounded in autistic wisdom and lived experience

  • Create inclusive, safe, and accessible environments that honor diverse communication and support needs

  • Support autistic people in building skills across research, advocacy, and creative expression

  • Normalize inclusive, participatory practices across the field of autism research

  • Stay responsive and evolve through continuous community feedback, reflection, and care

Acknowledging Our Starting Point

CARES is a new and growing initiative. We’re building slowly and intentionally, knowing that we won’t get everything right the first time around—and that’s okay. We are committed to transparency, feedback, and course correction as we grow. This is a learning space where we honor imperfection and practice accountability.

Funding and Compensation

CARES was honored to receive initial support through start-up grant funding from the Communication Development Center. This funding allows us to pay collaborators for their time, labor, and creativity.

We are committed to pursuing ongoing funding so that collaborators continue to be fairly compensated for their work. We also recognize the long-standing exploitation of disabled people through unpaid or sub-minimum wage labor and pledge to resist replicating those harms. Our team members will always have the option to be credited as authors on publications or public-facing work they contribute to.

Where We Are Now

CARES is currently led by one PhD student and supported by a growing network of collaborators, artists, and advocates. We are starting small—working in relationship, building trust, and laying the foundation for sustainable, community-led research. Over time, we aim to expand to include more collaborators, diversify our research projects, and create non-traditional pathways into participatory research and advocacy.

As we grow, I hope to bring in more autistic collaborators, expand into new research areas, build bridges across academic and community spaces, and co-create training pathways for those interested in doing participatory research.

CARES is about growing something rooted, reciprocal, and real—and we’re just getting started. This is research grounded in care, led by community, and built for transformation.