English Version
Heureka! is a forum for participatory autism research. In this forum, autistic and non-autistic people collaborate on designing autism research that can make the highest possible contribution to improving living conditions of autistic people and their families.
Aims
Information
Our goal is to communicate findings from current autism research and discuss how they are relevant for the everyday lives of autistic people and their families.
Participation
Autistic people and their families should have the opportunity to play a more active role in designing autism research. Also professionals who work with autism (psychologists, physicians, educators) should be involved. Using surveys and focused discussions we aim to develop research questions that are of theoretical significance and of practical value for life with autism.
Research
We also want to do actual research. Autistic people and their families will be able to participate in regular surveys via a secure research platform.
Who we are
We are an association of autistic people, their families, and professionals who work with autism (among others in the areas of psychology, medicine and education). Researchers from LMU Munich provide the institutional framework of the project. The Heureka! research forum consists of the following sections:
Forum
The forum represents the core of our network. Anyone who wants to participate can contribute something. The number of participants is steadily growing; currently around 200 people are taking part. Members are primarily autistic people and their families, but also professionals working with autism.
Advisory board
All important decisions are taken within the whole forum, where everyone can contribute. The advisory board deals with smaller – mainly organisational – issues. It consists of autistic people and their families as well as representatives of relevant professions.
Institutional framework
Our participatory research project is located at the department of psychology of the LMU Munich aIt is managed by:
PD Dr. Tobias Schuwerk (LMU Munich)
Dr. Hanna Thaler (LMU Munich)
Prof. Dr. Leonhard Schilbach (LMU Munich/LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf)
Participate
The more people will join our developing forum, the more we expect it to flourish. If you approve of our aims or would like to participate, just click the “Subscribe” button below to sign up as a supporter of Heureka!. Follow the instructions to get added to our mailing list. Signing up is voluntary and does not involve any duties or costs. You can change or cancel your subscription at any time.
After signing up, you will receive regular updates about the progress of our project. The language of these updates is German. We will also invite you to participate in small, optional surveys about your experience with autism research and related topics. Additional updates will be sent out regarding other relevant information, e.g. upcoming events such as research-focused discussion groups or workshops, and opportunities to participate in studies. If you change your mind and no longer want to receive messages from us, you can request being deleted from our mailing list at any time. The mailing list is anonymous. As a default, other subscribers do not see your email address or your name.