Laura joined CRAE in 2015 and became Professor of Autism Research and Education and our Deputy Director until, in 2024, she became the Director of ACER at the University of Birmingham. She remains an Honorary Professor here at CRAE.
Laura’s research focuses on understanding the educational experiences of autistic children and young people (in mainstream and special schools), and identifying evidence-based ways to support pupils, their families and their educators.
Laura also has expertise in the following areas: (1) examining the diagnostic and post-diagnostic experiences of autistic people, their families, and the professionals who work with them; and (2) promoting access to justice for autistic people. Laura’s early work centered on cognition and autism, with a particular focus on autobiographical memory.
Laura has received a number of awards for her work. This includes the UCL Provost’s Prize for Public Engagement (2018), the UK research charity Autistica’s Inaugural Community Engagement Award (2018) and a British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (2017).
Central to all of Laura’s work is a commitment to the involvement of the autistic and broader autism communities in the research process; ensuring that research has a strong participatory ethos and is of direct and practical relevance to those it affects.
Recent publications
Journal articles
- Richards, N., Pellicano, E., Han, E., Spiegler, J., & Crane, L. (2026). Transition Out of School for Autistic Young People: An Umbrella Review. Review of Educational Research.
https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543261442123 - Linden, A., Norbury, C., McCabe, M., Saul, J., Killick, E., Sam, E., Dufresne, S., Elise, F., Gurusamy, K. S., & Crane, L. (2026). Language interventions for autistic people: An online survey of community member views and priorities. JCPP Advances.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70125 - Cooper, K., VanDaalen, R. A., Burnley, A., Allain, L., Beresford, B., Crane, L., Islaam, L., Morales, M. V., Portway, L., Redmayne, B. J. M., Russell, A., & Mandy, W. (2026). Assessing the feasibility of a co-produced peer-group intervention for supporting wellbeing during the transition to adulthood among autistic 16–25-year-olds (ATAG): a randomised controlled feasibility trial. EClinicalMedicine, 94, 103859–103859.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.103859 - Eadon, L., Peruzzo, F., & Crane, L. (2026). Active Learning for Autistic Learners: Enabling or Disabling?. Active Learning in Higher Education, 27(2), 241–252.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874261429882 - Boyle, L., Perepa, P., Thalia, K., & Crane, L. (2026). Autism in Viet Nam: A systematic scoping review. Autism, 30(4), 1073–1087.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261425838 - Halsall, J., Robinson, E., Cook, A., Halsall, A., & Crane, L. (2026). Eliciting the views of autistic adolescents attending specialist schools on what friendships mean to them. Autism, 30(3), 812–827.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251414302 - Pender, R., El Baou, C., O’Nions, E., Spector, A., Buckman, J. E. J., Richards, M., Pilling, S., John, A., Stott, J., Saunders, R., Crane, L., & Mandy, W. (2026). Symptom change in depression and anxiety during psychological therapy for autistic adults. Nature Mental Health, 4(2), 279–287.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00567-4 - Cresswell, H. & Crane, L. (2025). ‘I think your child might be autistic’: A qualitative survey study examining how school staff broach initial interactions with parents whose children may be autistic. British Journal of Special Education, 53(1), 41–50.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.70067 - Grace, K., Remington, A., & Crane, L. (2025). “Trapped in a No-Win Situation”: A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Loneliness. Autism in Adulthood.
https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581251382389 - Scheeren, A. M., Nieuwenhuis, S., Crane, L., Roke, Y., & Begeer, S. (2025). Masking, social context and perceived stress in autistic adults: An ecological momentary assessment study. Autism, 29(12), 3002–3013.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251353358 - Gallagher, L., Crane, L., Dinneen, T., Ibrahim, N., Mulryan, N., Bolshakova, N., Harris, A. G., O’Rourke, L., & Pellicano, E. (2025). Examining the barriers and facilitators to mental health service provision for autistic people in Ireland: a survey of psychiatrists. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 42(3), 182–190.
https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.9 - Dexter, S., Remington, A., McAuley, R. J., Willans, A., Gross, J. B., Culmer, K., Littlebury, N., & Crane, L. (2025). Special school staff perspectives on how careers guidance is provided to their autistic young people. British Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 2036–2058.
https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4169 - Robinson, E. & Crane, L. (2025). Examining the impact of drama‐based sessions on the social emotional well‐being of Autistic pupils in a special school: A multi‐informant qualitative study. British Journal of Special Education, 52(2), 157–170.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.70000 - Ashworth, M., Heasman, B., Crane, L., & Remington, A. (2025). Tracking the long-term outcomes of a supported employment internship programme for autistic adults without a learning disability. Neurodiversity, 3.
https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241311472 - Cooper, K., Burnley, A., Allain, L., Beresford, B., Crane, L., Morales, M. V., Portway, L., Redmayne, B. J. M., Russell, A., & Mandy, W. (2024). Autism Transition to Adulthood Groups (ATAG): protocol for a feasibility RCT of a new peer-group intervention to promote successful transition to adulthood for autistic young people. BMJ Open, 14(11), e089802–e089802.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089802
Preprints
- Hobson, H., Pearson, A., Linden, A., Manning, C., Sedgewick, F., Crane, L., & Poole, D. (2025). Open data in autism research: the views of autistic people and parents of autistic children.
https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/7djhq_v1 - Pender, R., El Baou, C., O’Nions, E., Spector, A., Buckman, J. E. J., Richards, M., Pilling, S., John, A., Stott, J., Saunders, R., Crane, L., & Mandy, W. (2025). Depression and anxiety symptom change during psychological therapy for autistic clients: Evidence from national healthcare records in England. Research Square.
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5880564/v1
Other outputs
- Deal, A., Magiati, I., Tan, D., Crane, L., Edwards, C., Adams, D., Arnold, S., Han, E., Hearst, C., Price, J., Heyworth, M., Johnston, A., & Mandy, W. (2026). Exploring and Navigating Autistic Identity in Adolescence: A Scoping Review and Environmental Scan of Experiences and Support Resources. Open Science Framework.
https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/52qhf - Bagnall, R., Crane, L., Mattison, M., & Maras, K. (2025). Examining cross-examination with autistic mock-witnesses. Open MIND.
https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/2ugzq - Fletcher‐Watson, S., Joseph, H., Crane, L., Pavlopoulou, G., Lukito, S., Funnell, E., Alcorn, A. M., & Crompton, C. J. (2025). Applied Principles for Inclusive Practice in Neurodevelopmental Research: A Selection and Report of Illustrative Case Studies. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 12(1), 7–7.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-025-00318-1