{"id":263,"date":"2026-01-20T15:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/?page_id=263"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:29:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:29:32","slug":"the-autism-community-research-network-acorns","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/the-autism-community-research-network-acorns\/","title":{"rendered":"The Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull has-custom-content-position is-position-bottom-center\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);min-height:840px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-235 size-large\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-26-1024x684.png\" style=\"object-position:49% 56%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"49% 56%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-26-1024x684.png 1024w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-26-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-26-768x513.png 768w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-26.png 1059w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-10 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-d89aad35 wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-xx-large-font-size\">The Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-section-5 has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained is-style-section-5--1\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(360deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7ee84d44 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is ACoRNS?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southampton.ac.uk\/research\/institutes-centres\/autism-community-research-network-southampton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)<\/a> is a research-practice partnership that aims to improve the lives of autistic children and young people within education through addressing the marginalisation and underrepresentation of their views and experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Working together with special and mainstream educational settings from early years through to Higher Education we:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-large-font-size\">focus on the transitions and trajectories of autistic children and young people<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-large-font-size\">decide what questions can be addressed by research and that matter to practitioners and the autism community<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-large-font-size\">put children\u2019s voices and experiences at the centre of our work through using collaborative, creative and participatory methods <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-large-font-size\">make a difference to practice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Of course, we would not be able to do this work without our generous funders:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.southampton.ac.uk\/research\/impact-acceleration-accounts.page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of Southampton (Impact Acceleration Fund)<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.froebel.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Froebel Trust<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UKRI (ESRC)<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/councils\/esrc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESRC Festival of Social Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">We know that the language and terminology we use matters and say more about that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/acorns-soton.org.uk\/language.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">We really welcome your interest and ideas so please contact us using the form at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e4081522 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(172deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c846a0056fa5f3fe432e97f731687aed\">Have a look at some of our projects<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-18114817649f1c731ec0fda4890a8962\"><br><strong>&#8216;I Am&#8217; Digital Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-b24eaa46cf1343c48a36a68dbf92653a\"> is an inclusive, strengths-based method for enabling the voices of children and young people, especially those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to be shared within their transitions. This method uses digital filmmaking processes to create a short (3-5 minute) video with the child or young person so that they can contribute their perspectives to transition planning.&nbsp;<br><br>This approach uses a strengths-based framework to guide children, and those who support them, through the process of creating their own story, and helping them to present their \u2018best self\u2019 to other people so that they have autonomy over what information is shared. You can learn about the &#8216;I Am&#8217; Digital Stories project by clicking on the link below.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cbfe54cd050dac924d9a1ae31051eb6b\"><br><strong>FIZZAC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2f6721d4d1469253a1a761e10f9a5cf6\">is a research group made up of six autistic girls and one researcher\/ex-teacher. While the primary to secondary transition for autistic children has been the focus of research, much of this focuses on the views of teachers and parents.&nbsp;Opportunities for autistic young people to share their stories in a meaningful way are rare.&nbsp;Even more rare are the voices of autistic girls who are less likely than boys to have been identified as autistic by the time they transition to secondary school. You can explore their stories by clicking on the FIZZAC link below.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2b744c157f2a566c6fb32793fe28e839\"><br><strong>The<\/strong> <strong>School Daze Comic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-93818759c0ca7af47b100acd8af8e603\">is a new comic co-produced with autistic students from New Forest School to support transitions to secondary school. The comic tells the story of Lee Mouse, who is getting ready for his first day at secondary school. The storyline reflects the voices and experiences of autistic students, as well as some of the strategies that they identified that support their well-being at school. These include having positive and understanding relationships with staff members, a safe space to go to decompress, and an opportunity to talk through worries and fears. You can download the comic by clicking on the School Daze Comic link below.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-259 size-large\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Designer-13-1024x683.png\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Designer-13-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Designer-13-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Designer-13-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Designer-13.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#aa7f45\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color has-x-large-font-size wp-elements-ea4f537ba56ff545cb07f406a57d10f4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/digital-stories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8216;I Am&#8217; Digital Stories<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"937\" height=\"703\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-74 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/11\/A-school.jpg\" style=\"object-position:10% 18%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"10% 18%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/11\/A-school.jpg 937w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/11\/A-school-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/11\/A-school-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 937px) 100vw, 937px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#b59a80\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color has-x-large-font-size wp-elements-909d4ebc329b535cf69368da84af9504\"><a href=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/fizzac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FIZZAC- Tell your story!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"460\" height=\"653\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-260 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-20-at-13.17.20.png\" style=\"object-position:62% 9%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"62% 9%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-20-at-13.17.20.png 460w, https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-20-at-13.17.20-211x300.png 211w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#d0c5b0\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color has-x-large-font-size wp-elements-00fd0ae88ee35a306cb5488daac116f2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1_nQvU4Ts44kLTD-rdkVVmLx4YUy1sACS\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">School Daze Comic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4984ab98feab76a8b6d358ae9340c422\"><br>Get in touch via the contact form below<\/h2>\n\n\n<style id=\"wpforms-css-vars-164-block-06b686ee-ecb9-43f5-aa4e-b12fa09ae05b\">\n\t\t\t\t#wpforms-164.wpforms-block-06b686ee-ecb9-43f5-aa4e-b12fa09ae05b {\n\t\t\t\t--wpforms-field-background-color: #FFFFFF;\n--wpforms-field-text-color: #111111;\n--wpforms-field-menu-color: #111111;\n--wpforms-button-background-color: #503AA8;\n--wpforms-button-text-color: #FFFFFF;\n--wpforms-field-size-input-height: 43px;\n--wpforms-field-size-input-spacing: 15px;\n--wpforms-field-size-font-size: 16px;\n--wpforms-field-size-line-height: 19px;\n--wpforms-field-size-padding-h: 14px;\n--wpforms-field-size-checkbox-size: 16px;\n--wpforms-field-size-sublabel-spacing: 5px;\n--wpforms-field-size-icon-size: 1;\n--wpforms-label-size-font-size: 16px;\n--wpforms-label-size-line-height: 19px;\n--wpforms-label-size-sublabel-font-size: 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wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-164-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-164-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" aria-errormessage=\"wpforms-164-field_3-error\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-164-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; display: inline !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; z-index: -1000 !important; padding: 0 !important; } #wpforms-164-field_4-container input { visibility: hidden; } #wpforms-conversational-form-page #wpforms-164-field_4-container label { counter-increment: none; }' ) );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.head.appendChild( style );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.currentScript?.remove();\n\t\t\t\t} )();\n\t\t\t<\/script><\/div><!-- .wpforms-field-container --><div class=\"wpforms-submit-container\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"wpforms[id]\" value=\"164\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_title\" value=\"\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_url\" value=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/263\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"url_referer\" value=\"\"><button type=\"submit\" name=\"wpforms[submit]\" id=\"wpforms-submit-164\" class=\"wpforms-submit\" data-alt-text=\"Sending\u2026\" data-submit-text=\"Submit\" aria-live=\"assertive\" value=\"wpforms-submit\">Submit<\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-content\/plugins\/wpforms-lite\/assets\/images\/submit-spin.svg\" class=\"wpforms-submit-spinner\" style=\"display: none;\" width=\"26\" height=\"26\" alt=\"Loading\"><\/div><\/form><\/div>  <!-- .wpforms-container --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is ACoRNS? The Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS) is a research-practice partnership that aims to improve the lives of autistic children and young people within education through addressing the marginalisation and underrepresentation of their views and experiences. Working together with special and mainstream educational settings from early years through to Higher Education [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-263","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"mfb_rest_fields":["title"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/263\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.soton.ac.uk\/child-youth-psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}