Autism Studies in Education (AutiSE)
In our research group “Autism Studies in Education” (AutiSE) at the University of Education Freiburg, we approach autism research from an educational science perspective.
We are interested in how autism-related practice is shaped in educational organizations – especially with regard to inclusion and exclusion. In doing so, we decidedly turn away from a deficit-oriented perspective on autism spectrum.
In our research projects and initiatives we…
- analyze the role of autism in education that is informed by interdisciplinary perspectives from education, sociology, psychology
- broaden the horizon of autism research by pursuing international and cross-cultural comparisons
- focus on ethnographic, discourse-analytical and participatory approaches that enable the reconstruction of practices and discourses.
We aim to further develop and strengthen the educational practice and methodology related to autism. We strive to create a space for these conversations through (inter)national collaborations and look forward to exchange and cooperation.
Im Forschungsbereich "Autism Studies in Education" (AutiSE) an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Freiburg beschäftigen wir uns mit Autismusforschung aus einer erziehungswissenschaftlichen Perspektive.
Wir interessieren uns dafür, wie sich die autismusbezogene Praxis in Bildungs- und Erziehungsorganisationen konturiert – vor allem mit Blick auf Ein- und Ausschluss. Dabei wenden wir uns dezidiert von einer defizitorientierten Perspektive auf Autimus-Spektrum ab.
In unseren Forschungsprojekten und -aktivitäten...
- untersuchen wir die Rolle von Autismus im Kontext (schulischer) Bildung und Erziehung und nehmen dafür Bezug auf interdisziplinäre Perspektiven, u.a. der Pädagogik, Soziologie und Psychologie
- streben wir eine internationale und kulturvergleichende Forschung an, die die Praxis des Autismus im Spiegel des globalen Kontexts analysiert
- fokussieren wir auf ethnographische, situations- und diskursanalytische und partizipative Zugänge der Sozialforschung, die die Rekonstruktion von Praktiken und Diskursen ermöglichen.
Wir wollen Forschungsbeiträge leisten, um die pädagogische Praxis und Methodologie im Bereich Autimus in Bildung und Erziehung weiterzuentwickeln. Wir sind offen für (inter)nationale Kooperationen und streben an, einen Raum für kritische Diskurse im Kontext von Autismusforschung zu schaffen.
Contact us
Email: autism_studies@ph-freiburg.de
Phone: +49 176 682 215
University of Education Freiburg | Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg
Kunzenweg 21
79117 Freiburg
Publication: Assigned Territories: On the Nexus of Diagnosing and Distancing in Inclusive Schools Through Goffman’s Lens (Restayn, Moore & Köpfer 2025)
News & Events
Lecture Series:
Autism Studies in Education - Methodologies | Critique | Representation
May 11, 2026 | 4-6 pm
Guests: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patty Douglas (Queen's University): "Unfixing Autism: Re•Storying Methodology as Movement" & Prof. Dr. Michael Orsini (University of Ottawa): "Unknowing Autism: Education as a Site of Neuronormative Resistance"
“Epistemic justice in Critical Autism Studies (CAS) – A reflection on the methodological doxa”
Abstract: The field of autism research has long been dominated by clinical knowledge production. More recently, this pattern orients towards the social model of disability (Milton 2023). Methodologically, the shift is echoed by a focus on participatory autism research: As a counter-model to the objectifying and dehumanizing tendencies (Botha 2023) it aims to include the priorities of the Autistic Community (Kapp 2019) at all levels of the research process—in the hope of establishing epistemic justice (Fricker 2023).
In this regard, the “Participatory Zeitgeist“ (Palmer et al. 2019) can be stated as the new doxa (Bourdieu 1980) in the field of Critical Autism Studies—centering the autistic knowledge (Ryan & Milton 2023). With this approach, the binary between non-/participatory implies an alignment with the opposition non-/critical. However, this can reinforce the naturalization of difference and eclipse other methodological approaches that are also committed to the idea of epistemic justice—but doubt that the perspective of those involved in a situation can directly reveal its situatedness (Clarke 2005). The latter seems to be important as it is simultaneously argued that the critical component of CAS lies in the fact that “[i]t takes the focus off the autistic person and their ‘personal troubles’ and recognizes the socially situated nature of public issues facing autistic people” (Ryan & Milton 2023: 3f.).
Against this background, Broderick and Roscigno (2025: 629) identify as neglected component the “paradigmatic concern or interest in knowledge creation/production and its processural relation to reality constitution”. Based on previous work and discussion in our AutiSE research group, this paper gathers positions and contributes to the issues raised by (a) reconstructing notions of the ‘critical’, (b) discussing ambivalent labels of neurodiversity/neurodivergence as a pre-reflective paradigmatic underpinning of the non-/participatory distinction and (c) deriving methodological implications for research in CAS.
Here you can find our pre-recorded paper presentation (podcast).
