Neurodiversity Matters: Monique Botha on funding priorities and community justice

Why is the funding agenda for autism research so far from what the communities concerned want? There’s a long tradition of prioritising neurobiological and genetic work over qualitative, but how did it get this way? Sohail interviews Dr Monique Botha about citational justice, emotion in research, participatory research accessibility, and why letting community-led neurodivergence research out of its silo would benefit neurotypical and neurodivergent populations alike. 

Dr Monique Botha (they/them) is an Assistant Professor in the University of Durham’s Department of Psychology, where they are completing a Leverhulme Fellowship begun in their prior role at the University of Stirling titled “Fragile Knowledge: Dehumanisation & Interpretation Bias in Autism Research”.  They are a Community Psychologist with a focus on autism, social psychology, equality, and mental health. They are passionate about producing research that can help autistic people of all ages to live equitably in communities.   

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