News and Events
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Oct 2025
Autism Experts Urge Texas to Halt Execution of An Autistic Man Pleading his InnocenceSimon Baron-Cohen and other autism specialists caution that Robert Roberson’s autism may have led to his behaviour being misunderstood during his original trial. He was convicted for alleged shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis which is now criticised as flawed and outdated. They are urging Texas officials to reconsider his appeal of innocence to avoid the tragedy of his execution, scheduled for October 16th 2025.
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Researchers find different genetic profiles in autistic children: one tied to early diagnosis and infant communication difficulties, the other to later diagnosis, adolescent social and behavioural challenges, and higher rates of ADHD, depression, and PTSD.
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Life-saving opportunities to prevent suicide among autistic people are being missed because systemic barriers make it difficult for them to access NHS support during times of mental health crisis, according to new research.
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Sep 2025
Art Exhibition: Collaboration with Alice Nicholls and MODO galleryThe ARC partners up with autistic artist Alice Nicholls and MODO Gallery to present In Your Hands – a free, two-week exhibition celebrating autistic creativity, launching 6pm on 25th September 2025 at MODO Gallery, Cambridge.
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Jul 2025
What Do We Actually Know About Autism? The Jordon B Peterson Podcast with Simon Baron-CohenIn this episode of Jordan Peterson’s podcast, Simon Baron‑Cohen explores the challenges and strengths of autistic people, highlighting how many excel in systemising and pattern recognition, while struggling with cognitive but not affective empathy.
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Jun 2025
Placenta and hormone levels in the womb may have been key driver in human evolutionThe placenta and the hormones it produces may have played a crucial role in the evolution of the human brain, while also leading to the behavioural traits that have made human societies able to thrive and expand, according to a new hypothesis proposed by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
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May 2025
Titans of Science podcast featuring Simon Baron-CohenIn this episode of The Naked Scientists podcast, host Chris Smith engages in a conversation with Simon Baron-Cohen. The discussion delves into Baron-Cohen’s career, research theories, and the evolving understanding of autism.
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Researchers from the Autism Research Centre presented findings at the European Parliament, highlighting the need for an EU-wide autism strategy and better policy coordination to address urgent service access challenges for autistic people, as part of the AIMS-2-TRIALS initiative.
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Jan 2025
People who are autistic and transgender/gender diverse have poorer health and health careAutistic transgender/gender diverse individuals are more likely to have long-term mental and physical health conditions, including alarmingly high rates of self-harm, new research from the University of Cambridge suggests.
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Jan 2025
Sex differences in brain structure present at birthSex differences in brain structure are present from birth, research from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge has shown.
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Simon Baron-Cohen presents work from his lab showing how levels of prenatal sex steroid hormones, such as androgens and estrogens, are associated with typical individual differences in empathy, systemising and autistic traits, and are elevated in autistic people.
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Nov 2024
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Rubik CubeTalks and demonstrations exploring the intersections of play, education, mathematics, neurodiversity, and child development, from Simon Baron-Cohen, Paul Ramchandani, Jenny Gibson, Imre Leader, Jim Hogan, Max Park with his father Schwan Park
