Creative Approaches to Participatory Research Toolkit
Case Study: Using Reflective Dialogue with the Autistic Community
Overview
For her PhD research, Ellie Horton worked with a group of autistic Participatory Action Research (PAR) group members to develop an innovative method for gathering data with autistic people. The group engaged in reflective dialogue to discuss their experiences of mental health throughout university. The group, consisting of seven autistic students and recent graduates, met online over four months, ensuring flexibility and implementing reasonable adjustments such as transcription, members contributing via email or chat and recording meetings to promote inclusivity.
How the Method Worked
In the meetings, group members shared their own experiences of mental health through university. When adopting traditional qualitative research methods, discussions in interviews or focus groups typically take place with ‘participants’ and researchers analyse and generate themes, interpreting the meaning attached to them by participants. Within this innovative method, the traditional research process was turned on its head as the PAR group members started with identifying important themes to embody their experiences of mental health challenges and support needs. The group then populated each themes over several meetings with information discussed to illustrate examples. The researcher supported the conversations but did not lead them. This meant that autistic people were in control of what was shared and discussed. Meetings were recorded and transcribed and refined into themes in coproduction with the PAR group. Information was later shared in webinars with university staff and other autistic students to help make real changes in mental health support.
Why it Matters
Using reflective dialogue helped balance the usual power differences between researchers and participants. Group members said the process made them feel heard, valued, and better able to understand their own experiences. It also helped build a sense of community, as people realised others had been through similar things.
💬Participant Reflections
❝ I found the reflective discussions very useful in various ways. For example, sometimes it is difficult to verbalize or even recognize some of the experiences we have.
For a number of reasons, it can be very confusing to understand what it is we feel or whether what is happening is okay or not.
… Reflective discussions help explore mental health, understand the experience, talk about it, share it, and ask for support.
It is also comforting sometimes to know that you are not alone, others have similar experiences at times. To learn about how others cope with it or what solutions they have developed.❞
-Anita
❝Being part of the research group has allowed my thoughts and opinions to be heard from within the group and the wider audience that we have presented to at webinars.❞
-Max
Reflective dialogue was found to be a powerful tool in giving autistic people real control in research, makes findings more relevant, and creates a more respectful, empowering environment.
🔗For more details of using this method, please see articles below: