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Dr Melissa Chapple

@melissachapple.bsky.social
1.4K followers 372 following 24 posts

Primary Care and Mental Health lecturer at University of Liverpool. Autistic academic with ADHD. Interested in the wellbeing and social inclusion of autistic and ADHD adults. #AuDHD

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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
Steven Kapp @drstevenkapp.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
While UK is proposing to narrow diagnoses (!), our new study led by @isaacahuvia.bsky.social: adults w/ self-identified autism had more unmet needs & higher distress, & similar understanding of autism, than officially diagnosed peers. Most wanted formal diagnosis journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Identifying as Autistic Without a Formal Diagnosis: Who Self-Identifies as Autistic and Why? - Isaac L. Ahuvia, Emine Gurbuz, Josephine Cuda, Steven K. Kapp, Abigail Houck, Jacquelyn A. Gates, Jessica...
Background: Adults increasingly self-identify as autistic without a formal diagnosis, yet little research has systematically investigated (a) the unique charact...
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Cinzia Greco @cinziag.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
"Trauma has become the privileged idiom through which individual and collective suffering is expressed" Fassin and Rechtman An insightful article on the misuses of the category of trauma that, for once, acknowledges anthropological and social sciences research on the topic.
theguardian.com
‘They’re selling everything as trauma’: how our emotional pain became a product | Katherine Rowland
In an economy that rewards confession and self-labeling, pain is no longer something to survive – but something to brand, sell, and curate
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John Harris @johnharris1969.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Latest from me: on overdiagnosis, a craze/bandwagon the govt is indulging by commissioning an official review, complete with the clunky blurring of mental illness & neurodivergence www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The right’s callous overdiagnosis bandwagon is rolling. Wes Streeting should not be on it | John Harris
Thankfully, we now know more about conditions such as autism and ADHD. The health secretary must not be part of this attempt to turn back the clock, says Guardian columnist John Harris
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aslynn is just a ghoul 👻 @aslynnromano.com · 15/12/2024
If you're a non-Autistic person & an Autistic person is telling you about something they experience, or struggle with, and it resonates with you... PLEASE, 🚫 Don't say: "Well, we're all a little Autistic." ✅ Do say: "I find that relatable!" we are asking you nicely, plz plz stop saying that.
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
Kathy Leadbitter @kathyleadbitter.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
📣 Post-doc position Are you passionate about improving care for people with a learning disability? Come and work with us! Details 👇 Feel free to dm to discuss. Please share! www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
jobs.manchester.ac.uk
Research Associate on the ‘ICALD’ study:Manchester
The post requires experience of conducting recruitment and data collection in large studies and previous experience of working with or supporting people with learning disabilities and/or people that care for them and support them.
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Caroline Keep @ka83k.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Ok @beilinglaoshi.bsky.social made it back thread of AI detection bias for staff development at universities : First up one of the older studies its a good one. backstage.anthology.com/sites/defaul...
AI is bias with EAL and ND students
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Päivi Butcher AuDHD @finnattentive.eurosky.social · 05/06/2025
#ADHD IS NOT becoming more common "Lead researcher Dr Alex Martin said it was likely to be a case of under-diagnosis of the condition in the first place." That is what we ourselves keep saying. There are a lot of adults around the world struggling, not being recognised as ADHDers. #ADHDAcceptance
bbc.com
Greater awareness behind ADHD surge, study suggests
Study found ADHD is not becoming more common, despite a surge in people being diagnosed.
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
The Liverpool Autism Hub @theautismhub.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT! 🎨 Congratulations to Liverpool Autism Hub art competition winners! A huge thank you to everyone who entered this competition - all the entries were beautifully done. If you would like to see all of the entries, please follow the link: livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
We've had more interest since posting here, but are still short on autistic men and gender minority groups Please consider reposting to your networks
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
📢 We are recruiting for the photovoice study detailed below We especially need: Autistic men Autistic people from gender minority groups Autistic people from global majority/racialised minority backgrounds Screening link: livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Please share!
A University of Liverpool research project advert. The advert asks if you are an autistic adult (over 18) who enjoys photography. We are looking for 8 autistic adults to co-produce a research project with us. One side details who can take part: autistic people over 18, fluent in English, not accessing secondary mental health services currently and no profound and multiple learning disability as defined by the NHS. The other side explains there will be 3 focus groups lasting 1 hour each and 1 one-to-one hour long interview using photographs and co-produced questions. There will then be 3 lots of independent work lasting 2 hours at a time. This will total 10 hours work which will be paid at £25 per hour in line with NIHR guidelines.
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The Liverpool Autism Hub @theautismhub.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
CALLING ALL @liverpooluni.bsky.social NEURODIVERGENT STAFF AND STUDENTS! The Liverpool Autism Hub is running an art competition for Neurodiversity Awareness Week! We are so excited to see all of the creativity! How to enter: livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
We need a few more participants for this study, please consider sharing with your networks Erin is also having a bit of an email issue, so please check your junk email if you sign up and don't hear back
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
We really need a few more participants who were diagnosed as autistic in childhood. Please consider sharing with your networks!
Uni of Liverpool research study poster for the project 'Exploring masking experiences between childhood-diagnosed and adulthood-diagnosed autistic adults' the poster emphasises we are looking for autistic people over 18. The study involves a screening questionnaire and an online interview taking around 40 minutes. Contact hlcwll29@liverpool.ac.uk for more details. Alternatively, there's a QR code on the lower right. The investigators are Connie Wilson and Dr Melissa Chapple
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
The Liverpool Autism Hub @theautismhub.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Please read below a blog about our latest Autism Hub event: www.liverpool.ac.uk/health-and-l...
liverpool.ac.uk
Becoming an Autism Friendly University | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences | University of Liverpool linkedinyoutubeThe Original RedbrickUniversity of Liverpool on FacebookLivUni on InstagramL...
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The Liverpool Autism Hub @theautismhub.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Read what our attendees think of our Autism Hub!
On the top of the page is The Liverpool Autism Hub logo in a white font on a green background. Below this are 2 quotes from attendees of our latest Autism Hub.
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
One of the most bothersome parts of house hunting is how full the online advice is of 'stay away from council housing' followed by tons of stereotypes. As someone who grew up in it and loved it, I had no idea how horrific the stigma was about social housing in the UK. It's shamefully disgusting
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Didn't know where to begin with ADHD reading after diagnosis, but I started here and can't recommend it enough! It's half book, half neurodivergent life planner! It blends research, theory, lived experiences and advice to offer a bit of everything in an ADHD-inclusive format
Picture of the book 'The ADHD Focus Friend: A Planning and Productivity Workbook' by Grace Koelma. It's a very light pink book with black and red writing on the front, and a colourful drawing of a pink-haired woman curled up on an armchair with a black cat, reading a book while listening to something through headphones.
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Rhiannon Corcoran @rhiannoncor.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
This is me, here looking for connections. Love to connect with folk interested in living environment and its impact on us. On understanding the experiences of mental health and wellbeing and public mental health. Also a wildlife, wild spaces and environmental enthusiast.
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Never in my existence did I think I'd overhear someone unironically say 'but it's a spectrum though isn't it' in response to someone pointing out the glaringly obvious fact that autism doesn't lead to nazi salutes but here we are...
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Still caught in a cycle of not knowing what to post here yet so sharing a video from my Instagram account on the sheer neurodivergent joy of this projector which I am currently obsessed with (it's Govee if anyone is curious)
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
📢 We are recruiting autistic and ADHD participants (see attached poster for details). Can be diagnosed or awaiting assessment. For this study AuDHDers are excluded, as we're looking at people with autism OR ADHD, but AuDHD research will follow soon Sharing appreciated!
A University of Liverpool research advertisement looking for a) adults who are ADHD but not autistic and b) adults who are autistic but not ADHD. 

The advert explains the study involves an online interview, where participants will be asked about their neurodivergent condition and specifically about attention, social experiences, sensory and educational needs with an exploration of stigma. 

Participants must be over 18, and can either have a diagnosis or be pursuing one and must speak fluent English. Participants are excluded from this project if they are autistic and have ADHD too. This project is a continuation of work from last year ran by Felicity Chilton, so participants who already took part shouldn't reapply. 

The researchers are Charlotte Burton, Felicity Chilton and Melissa Chapple. Interested individuals should email Charlotte on hlcbart2@liverpool.ac.uk
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
Emily Katy @itsemilykaty.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
New blog post: an autistic guide to Christmas! Let’s see how Bluesky compares to the other place that barely showed these blog links 🙃 www.authenticallyemily.uk/blog/an-auti...
authenticallyemily.uk
An Autistic Guide to Christmas — Authentically Emily
Some people love Christmas and some people hate it. I imagine most of us who celebrate fall somewhere in the middle. There have been Christmases where I’ve felt so excited and full of joy. There was a...
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
R. Brassard Ⓥ @veganrick.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
What went wrong with autism research? Let’s start with lab mice. #AnimalTesting #Autism #Health #Children #AnimalResearch #AnimalWelfare #Science #Vivisection #AnimalRights #EndAnimalTesting www.vox.com/future-perfe...
vox.com
There’s no such thing as an autistic mouse
Animal models of autism haven’t helped autistic people enough. So why do scientists still use them?
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou @jopavlopoulou.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Our team is collecting data on autistic wellbeing, masking and social media- if you are #autistic pls consider taking part redcap.idhs.ucl.ac.uk/surveys/?s=9...
redcap.idhs.ucl.ac.uk
Exploring potential benefits of social media in an autistic adult population.
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
The next Liverpool Autism Hub event will be December 6th from 10.30am and will look at autism inclusive campus spaces Event is hybrid, so share widely. Link to sign up to either in-person or online is here: livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
An advert for the Liverpool Autism Hub at the University of Liverpool, Institute of Population Health.

The advert is green, with a navy blue strip at the bottom containing the University logo in white.

Advert details that the hub is open to everyone looking to learn about autism and aims to be a safe space. The next event is Friday 6 December 10.30 until 13.30, at the School of Law and Social Justice for in-person attendance. The event will include how University campuses can become autism-inclusive, a discussion of our recent research, a discussion of what matters to you and what you'd like to see us research. The event is also a chance to meet like-minded people.

The advert contains a QR sign up code, the link in the post can be used for the same purpose.
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
I'm Melissa and I won't get into Uni of Liverpool (did all my degrees there, now I work there...)
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MissHalcyon @misshalcyon.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Courtesy of @autisticbooks.bsky.social, I have picked out 12 books by Autistic authors you should totally read for 2025! We've got great picks like... - Stories of Autistic Joy - Atypical Love (about ND love) - Lavender Clouds (about Autism + ADHD + mental health) - and more! bit.ly/4fGcOGE
theautisticadult.org
12 Months of Autistic Books by Autistic Authors for 2025
Want to read Autistic authors more this year? We’ve got one for every month of 2025!Reading books is a fantastic habit to have, but what about broadening your horizons to include specifically Autistic...
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
josefina🧋 @jmartinic.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
could my mutuals please repost this so I can find more of you from twitter? I’m josefina and I tweet (?) about autism, history (esp. histmed & material history), higher ed, disability, visual arts, cats, accessibility, japan, etc. I am currently grieving the loss of my Nala 💔 so please bear with me
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Sarah Boon - Author @saraheboon.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Young, autistic and ADHD: moving into adulthood when you’re multiply neurodivergent. Growing up unknowingly AuDHD was more difficult than it should have been. So I wrote a book about all the things I needed to know for this generation of AuDHDers to benefit from! ⬇️ tr.ee/Iq6REy-s_V
A copy of ‘Young Autistic and ADHD’ be held by my hand from my POV
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🌞 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐢𝐳𝐚 @academicaries.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
If anyone’s looking for alternatives to GoodReads, I highly recommend StoryGraph. It’s owned by a black woman, and the platform is so much more accessible and easy to use.
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Got my ADHD report, struggling to follow how I can have 'severe impairment' ADHD but 'high functioning' autism when the assessments largely covered the same experiences. It's almost as if functioning is dynamic across time and place and that severity scales tell us absolutely nothing 🫠
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Mubashar “Mubs” Iqbal @mubashariqbal.com · 11/11/2024
Starter packs are genius, but I was surprised there wasn't a list of them for people to find. So I built it: blueskydirectory.com/starter-pack... The website monitors the packs being shared and adds the ones it finds to the database. Missed your stater pack? Message me and I'll get it added.
blueskydirectory.com
All - Bluesky Directory
A curated collection of all things relating to the Blue Sky social media platform.
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Reposted by Dr Melissa Chapple
MissHalcyon @misshalcyon.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
Added a few more dozen people to this! We've got everything from authors to scientists to illustrators. Take a look! ❤️ go.bsky.app/87LQhiP #ActuallyAutistic #Autism
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Mitchell Epner @mitchellepner.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
For new BlueSky users, please consider flipping the toggle to require Alt Text on all photos that you post. I did it when I started here and it did not take long to get used to it. It helps to make this community more inclusive.
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Laura Crane @lauramaycrane.bsky.social · 23/10/2024
The first paper reports on interviews with early career and established researchers about the challenges and opportunities of participatory research: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
Participatory autism research: Early career and established researchers’ views and experiences - Hannah Pickard, Elizabeth Pellicano, Jacquiline den Houting, Laura Crane, 2022
Despite more autism research taking place than ever before, there is a disconnect between the current landscape of autism research and what autistic people and ...
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
I've had a lot of new followers today, I tried to draft an introduction but I can't keep anything concise to save my life (I'm AuDHD) and the Other Place killed my love of text-based social media so I'm out of practice and rarely know what to post now! This messy thought dump will have to do for now
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Dr Melissa Chapple @melissachapple.bsky.social · 18/10/2024
Erin, a 3rd year student whose project I'm supervising, is looking for autistic women in the UK to discuss their post-diagnostic experiences The full eligibility criteria and sign up is available here: qualtricsxmcvmfqqjlj.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Sharing appreciated!
A University of Liverpool research advertisement for the project ‘Post-Diagnostic Support for Autistic Women: An Exploration of Support Needs and Existing Provisions.'The advert explains that eligible participants will be asked to take part in a 40-60 minute online interview with the researcher about their support needs and post-diagnostic experiences. You can email Erin for more details on hlegallw@liverpool.ac.uk
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AutAngel CIC @autangel.bsky.social · 25/09/2024
In memory of Steve Silberman, we are sharing free recordings of our two online events with him until the end of October. If you would like to watch them, you can find them on our website. Scroll down the page to AutAngel News and Updates. www.autangel.org.uk
autangel.org.uk
AutAngel
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 24/09/2024
Anyone who says they want to see the “complete and total eradication of grief” vastly overrates what bots will be able to do but also speaks to how tech solutionists misunderstand what it means to exist in the world. A hollow amalgam of a loved one’s utterances can never replace what is lost.
theguardian.com
Back from the dead: could AI end grief? – video
Tech entrepreneur Justin Harrison is on a mission to fundamentally change how we experience loss, using artificial intelligence to recreate the essence of dead loved ones from their digital footprint....
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Stimpunks Foundation @stimpunks.org · 17/09/2024
This systematic review reports a clear preference among autistic adults for autistic-led, peer-led post-diagnostic support. There was also a preference for online communication, written communication, and asynchronous communication. stimpunks.org/2024/09/17/p...
stimpunks.org
Participant preference was for autistic-led peer support.
This systematic review reports a clear preference among autistic adults for autistic-led, peer-led post-diagnostic support. There was also a preference for online communication, written communication,...
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Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice. @journalautism.bsky.social · 17/09/2024
Post-diagnostic support for adults diagnosed with autism in adulthood in the UK: A systematic review with narrative synthesis journals.sagepub.com...
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Laura Crane @lauramaycrane.bsky.social · 15/09/2024
Our new paper, evaluating Community Involvement Statements in @journalautism.bsky.social. TLDR: while the statements led to an encouraging increase in the reporting of community involvement, researchers tended to retain decision-making power and were vague when reporting on community involvement.
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