Our Research

Kingwood is committed to research in pursuit of better ways to support people with autism and Asperger's to achieve what they want from their lives. We call this Action Research and it's structured around discovering what actually works in helping the people we support accomplish their goals.

Together with assistance from the people we support, we aim to generate and capture learning on new ways of doing things and to share this information with others who have a professional interest in autism. Where no evidence exists, we endeavour to undertake research to discover what’s right. Our intention is to go on breaking new ground, to build on our experience and learning so far and to continue to strive for excellence in everything we do.

Right now our research programme is primarily focused on two key areas:

• providing an evidence base for the design of homes for people with autism and Asperger's
• the development of interventions in community settings for adults with autism which allow them to live more fulfilled and purposeful lives

The early outputs from this research are already being put to valuable use across the services we provide, such as by using the knowledge gained to date in the planning and modification of the properties in which the people we support live.

Since 2009 Kingwood has organised a series of lectures concerning research and practice, delivered by some of the UK’s leading researchers and practitioners in the field of autism. Lectures are delivered in the autumn and winter and are intended for families, professionals, service commissioners and interested members of the public. Entry is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more information about our next lecture please go to the Kingwood Lecture Series page.

In addition Kingwood supports Autistica, a charity which raises funds for medical research into the causes of autism. Both Kingwood and Autistica are committed to improving quality of life through increased knowledge and better understanding of a condition which affects more than half a million people in the UK today.

Please take a look at the documents below for further information about Kingwood research.

Printable documents

Towards best practice in supporting people with Aspergers syndrome - A guide to principles and practice from The Kingwood Trust

During the last ten years there has been an explosion of national interest in the range of conditions known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exemplified by the passing of legislation for a specific condition for the first time in the UK with the Autism Act 2009. National strategies have been written in England, Wales and Scotland and advice on good practice prepared. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) published clinical guidelines for children with autism in 2011 and will publish guidelines for adults with autism in 2012. Asperger syndrome (AS) is an autism spectrum disorder and thus falls within the scope of all these initiatives.

However in searching for guidance to support change in practice at Kingwood it was found that:

• Specific research evidence of effectiveness of initiatives and interventions in adults with Asperger syndrome is weak.

• Publications mainly concern themselves with issues facing the whole autism spectrum. Kingwood feels that a dedicated focus on Asperger syndrome is needed to ensure this group does not get lost in the overall consideration of ASD and to ensure its specific needs are addressed.

The guide will be used by Kingwood and will be disseminated widely to local authority and clinical commissioning consortia as well as to service providers in the field. View the guide here.

‘A Life in the Community’ - with updated forword by Dr Lorna Wing and Eileen Hopkins

In 2001 Kingwood participated in a steering group for a major piece of research to explore the issues faced by people with autism and their families, identify good practice and develop a set of recommendations that would contribute to improvements across agencies at all levels. A copy of this report can be viewed here, together with a revised foreword by Dr Lorna Wing and Eileen Hopkins which looks at what's changed since the findings from the research were first published. Read revised report.

Post Action Reviews (PARS)

At present, there is little knowledge available on what makes a home for adults with autism work successfully for both tenants, support staff, family and friends. Without this information it’s likely that the design of houses and flats lived in by people with autism and Asperger's will fail to meet their needs, resulting in undesired stress and frustration.

To support the development of new buildings and help improve existing ones, Kingwood commissioned a range of work to expand the knowledge base and use this information to help raise standards and improve the quality of living throughout accommodation where people with autism live. As part of this research we commissioned two Post Action Reviews(PAR’s) of existing buildings that are home to some of the people Kingwood supports. Our aim was to discover, what about the processes and designs used in the past has been successful and which areas should we avoid in the future? Kingwood is already using the results of this work to inform the development of new services.

The following reports describe the outcome of this research in more detail.

PAR 1 - This report contains a record of the Post Action Reviews (PARs) undertaken for the Development Process and Design of Property A, South Oxfordshire and the Design of Property B, West Oxfordshire. The focus of the PARs was the capture of learning from the two facilities to inform future developments both locally and nationally.

PAR 2 - This report contains a record of the Post Action Reviews (PARs) undertaken for the Design of Property A, South Oxfordshire and the Design of Property B, West Oxfordshire. The focus of the PARs was the capture of learning from the two facilities to inform future developments both locally and nationally.

Kingwood’s next lecture series

Since 2009 Kingwood has organised a series of lectures concerning research and practice, delivered by some of the UK’s leading researchers and practitioners in the field of autism. Lectures are intended for families, professionals, service commissioners and interested members of the public. Entry is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more details and to book a place see our lecture series page.

Further reading - you may be interested in the following publications:

Autism and Asperger Syndrome – Simon Baron-Cohen, Oxford University Press
Autism, A Short Introduction – Uta Frith, Oxford University Press
Living in the Community – Housing Design for Adults with Autism - Royal College of Art/Kingwood Trust

Kingwood has a lending library with a small selection of books which you are wecome to borrow. Please contact us for details.