Closing the knowledge gap

Research

There's still much that science doesn't yet know about adults with ADHD and/or autism. Here I'll keep you posted on my PhD. I'm also spotlighting a few ongoing studies, in case you'd like to take part and contribute yourself.

PhD research

KU Leuven · started 1 December 2025

Tangled Roots: Attachment and Trauma in the Context of ADHD and Autism

Supervisors: Prof. Saskia van der Oord and Prof. Ilse Noens (KU Leuven). Researcher: Aileen Doyle.

current step · literature review on the topic last updated · July 2026

More about this step

I set out to do a literature review on what science has already written about trauma in combination with ADHD/autism, but ran into the problem that all these terms are defined in wildly different ways across the field. As a result, the topic of my first article is now the taxonomy of ADHD, autism and trauma. Knowing how to define and delineate something before you research it is essential!

Participate in research

Note: both studies below are run in Belgium/the Netherlands and recruit locally.

FANN research

Girls and women with autism

Contribute to projects or surveys from the interdisciplinary FANN network, aimed at improving diagnosis and treatment.

external · ongoing view projects ↗

KU Leuven · coping with stress

Young people aged 16 to 25 with autism

Research into how young adults can better cope with stress, looking at breathing, heart rate and lifestyle (researcher: Esther).

external · ongoing more info ↗

Publications

Reserved shelf

Deliberately still empty. Publications will appear here as soon as there are any.