Will Mandy
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Will Mandy is Professor of Neurodevelopmental Conditions in the UCL Division of Psychology. He is a clinical psychologist and autism researcher, whose work aims to help improve the life chances and wellbeing of autistic people. His research focuses on enhancing understanding and diagnosis of autism, as well as the development of new interventions. He has a particular research interest in improving identification and support for autistic girls and women, who are currently at high risk of going unnoticed and unhelped by clinical and educational services. He also works on understanding wellbeing and mental health problems of autistic people. This includes research on the prevalence and causes of mental health problems in autism; and investigation of how these can be addressed via psychological interventions. He has developed and trialled various interventions, including those to help young autistic people transition from primary to secondary school and to adulthood, and to teach children about their autism diagnosis, with an emphasis on fostering their sense of self-worth and pride. In his research he looks to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders, particularly autistic people and their families.
Will Mandy joins the Paris IAS in November 2025 for a one-month writing residency.
Research topics
Neurodiversity paradigm; conceptualisation of autism; sex/gender differences in autism; mental health of autistic people.
What is autism?
Autism as a concept and clinical phenomenon is currently undergoing dramatic evolution, driven by an interaction between scientific discovery and social change. Amid this ongoing, kaleidoscopic transformation, there is no consensus about how to answer the question ‘what is autism?’, which means there is also no consistent answer to the question ‘who is autistic?’. This project contributes to efforts to accomplish a shared definition of autism that is meaningful to autistic people, professionals who seek to support them, and wider society. To this end, this research project delineates two broad approaches to defining autism. First is the medical model, grounded in realist epistemology, that posits autism to be a brain-based disorder that can be accurately observed and identified, given sufficient empirical evidence. Second is a neurodiversity approach, grounded in phenomenology, that emphasises autism as a social identity. This project aims to chart the implications of these different ways of understanding autism, and to explore the potential for their integration.
By addressing in this way the question of ‘what is autism?’, this project can contribute to contemporary debates on: who gets to decide who is autistic?; what is the legitimacy of self-identification in the absence of clinical diagnosis?; is autism one thing, or many?; and why does the diagnosed prevalence of autism keep rising?.
Key publications
Will Mandy. "The old and the new way of understanding autistic lives: Reflections on the life of Donald Triplett, the first person diagnosed as autistic". Autism, 27(7), 1853-1855, 2023.
Will Mandy, Emily Midouhas, Mariko Hosozawa, Noriko Cable, Amanda Sacker, Eirini Flouri. "Mental health and social difficulties of late-diagnosed autistic children, across childhood and adolescence". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022.
Julia Cook, Laura Hull, Laura Crane, Will Mandy. "Camouflaging in autism: A systematic review". Clinical Psychology Review, 102080, 2021.
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