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This isn't one of my studies but I thought it sounded super cool and relevant to our community, so I'm reposting:
University College London (partnering with Autistic Psychedelic Community) is currently seeking autistic participants interested in completing a questionnaire exploring the self-reported benefits and challenges of naturalistic psychedelic use.
Any self-diagnosed and/or clinically diagnosed autistic adults who have experience with psychedelic compounds are welcome to participate.
Aim: The current study aims to further our understanding of the experiences of autistic people who have used psychedelic drugs.
What you'll do: This study requires you to fill out a one-off pseudonymous online survey that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Contacts for further information:
The study is being conducted by researchers from the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London.
Jack Stroud - [email protected]
Charlotte Rice - [email protected]
Prof Sunjeev - [email protected]
Prof Will Mandy - [email protected]
Link to survey
University College London (partnering with Autistic Psychedelic Community) is currently seeking autistic participants interested in completing a questionnaire exploring the self-reported benefits and challenges of naturalistic psychedelic use.
Any self-diagnosed and/or clinically diagnosed autistic adults who have experience with psychedelic compounds are welcome to participate.
Aim: The current study aims to further our understanding of the experiences of autistic people who have used psychedelic drugs.
What you'll do: This study requires you to fill out a one-off pseudonymous online survey that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Contacts for further information:
The study is being conducted by researchers from the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London.
Jack Stroud - [email protected]
Charlotte Rice - [email protected]
Prof Sunjeev - [email protected]
Prof Will Mandy - [email protected]
Link to survey
Participant Information Sheet
UCL Research Ethics Committee Approval ID Number: 20251/001
PLEASE SAVE A COPY OF THIS INFORMATION SHEET
Title of study: Autism and Psychedelics - Exploring the Experiences of Psychedelic Use in Autistic People
Department: UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology
Name and Contact Details of the Researcher(s):
1. Introduction
You are being invited to take part in a research project which is being conducted by University College London (UCL) as part of the researchers’ doctoral thesis. Before you decide to continue, it is important that you understand why it’s being done and what taking part will involve. Please take some time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact us using the above email addresses if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part, and be aware that your participation is completely voluntary. Due to the survey design we recommend using a laptop or device with a larger screen for ease of completion.
2. What is the project’s purpose?
The current study aims to further our understanding of the experiences of autistic people who have used psychedelic drugs.
3. Why have I been chosen?
To take part you must be at least 18 years old, have a good understanding of the English language, have been given a diagnosis of autism by a healthcare professional and/or self-identify as autistic, and have used any classic psychedelic (for example, LSD or LSD derivatives, ‘acid’ (e.g. 1P-LSD, 1CP-LSD), ayahuasca, DMT, 5-MeO DMT, mescaline (peyote, San Pedro), magic mushrooms (psilocybin)), MDMA or ketamine at least once.
4. Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you will be asked to electronically give consent which confirms for us that you agree to take part in the study and understand what this means. You can withdraw from the study, at any time without giving a reason. If you are a UCL student please do not feel under any obligation from UCL staff to participate.
5. What will happen to me if I take part?
This study requires you to fill out a one-off pseudonymous online survey that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey asks you to answer questions about your background, autism, mental health and psychedelic drug use. It then asks about how you think the psychedelic experiences have impacted your life, autism and mental health. For example you will asked questions like, ‘during your psychedelic use did you experience loss of time and space’ and ‘please describe any changes in your mental health that you attribute to the selected psychedelic experience’. There will be different formats of question including multiple choice and free text responses. The free text questions and some of the demographic questions are optional whereas most of the multiple choice questions require responses. You will not be able to proceed without answering for questions that require responses.
You can withdraw from the study at any point by exiting the survey before pressing the submit button (which appears following the final question).
We are aware that psychedelic experiences can be incredibly varied and are interested in hearing both positive and negative experiences, or anything in between.
6. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
Please be aware we will be asking questions about psychedelic experiences, mental health and historical drug use and that some people may find answering these distressing. As this is an online survey we are unable to provide support to people who are experiencing current mental health difficulties. We do not advocate or endorse the use of psychedelics or any other illegal drugs, which can have harmful health, social and occupational consequences. If you would like to find out more about mental health or reducing problematic drug use and how to seek support please follow this link: Mental Health and Problematic Drug Use Support Links. You can exit the survey at any time. We appreciate the time you dedicate to this project.
7. What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Whilst there are no immediate benefits for those people participating in the project, it is hoped that you will leave with the knowledge that you have contributed in some of the following ways:
● Autistic people are often overlooked in psychedelic research and we hope this research will contribute to understanding this under-researched area
● You inform the scientific community about autistic people’s experiences of psychedelics and their impact
● Your personal experience helps shape better theories about the relationship between psychedelic drug use, autism and well-being in autistic people
● The project has the potential to inform the development of future studies looking at wellbeing in autistic people
8. What if something goes wrong?
If you wish to raise a complaint then please contact Professor Sunjeev Kamboj (the Principal Investigator for the study) at [email protected]. If you feel that your complaint has not been handled to your satisfaction, you can contact the Chair of the UCL Research Ethics Committee at [email protected].
9. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?
The data you provide is very valuable to us. The data we will be collecting is considered pseudonymous. This is because although we will not collect data which could directly identify you (such as your IP address or date of birth) will be collecting demographic data (such as age and ethnicity) which if collated could present a small risk of identification. To prevent identification through collation of demographic data we will only publish demographic information online in broad categories (for example age in 10 year bands). All data will be stored on the secure UCL network.
Due to the fact no directly identifying information is collected it is not possible to remove your responses once submitted, as we would be unable to identify which response was yours. So by submitting your completed survey you are consenting to take part in the study. If you do not submit the survey and then close the webpage, this will be considered as a withdrawal of consent and this data will be deleted prior to analysis.
The survey includes some open questions about your experiences where you can respond in free-text boxes. Please do not include any identifying information such as names, places, physical appearances etc. We will screen these responses for any potentially identifying information and delete this prior to analysis, data sharing and publication. The publication of study results will not include any data that can identify you. Brief, fully anonymised, quotes will be used in disseminated reports. Please be aware these free-text boxes are optional.
The data we collect from this study will help to advance the scientific understanding of autistic people’s experiences of psychedelic drug use. To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the pseudonymised data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses. In addition, the fully anonymised free-text responses, following screening to ensure removal of any identifying information, will also be made freely available online. The findings of the study will be published in publicly available doctoral dissertations which will be available online approximately 18 months after data collection.
10. Limits to confidentiality
Confidentiality will be respected unless there are compelling and legitimate reasons to believe that you or someone is in serious danger or at risk of imminent harm. In such cases the University may be obliged to contact relevant statutory bodies/agencies.
11. What will happen to the results of the research project?
The results will be presented as scientific papers in peer reviewed journals, at conferences, and in student dissertations. You will not be able to be identified in any reports, publications, talks or media. The findings will be published on the UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit’s website. The data we collect from this study will help to advance the scientific understanding of autistic people’s experiences of psychedelic drug use. To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the fully anonymous data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses. In addition, the fully anonymised free-text responses, following screening to ensure removal of any identifying information, will also be made freely available online. The findings of the study will be published in publicly available doctoral dissertations which will be available online approximately 18 months after data collection.
12. Local Data Protection Privacy Notice Notice:
The data controller for this project will be University College London (UCL). The UCL Data Protection Officer provides oversight of UCL activities involving the processing of personal data, and can be contacted at [email protected]. This ‘local’ privacy notice sets out the information that applies to this particular study. Further information on how UCL uses participant information can be found in our ‘general’ privacy notice (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/privacy/general-privacy-notice).
The information that is required to be provided to participants under data protection legislation (GDPR and DPA 2018) is provided across both the ‘local’ and ‘general’ privacy notices. For this study, the categories of personal data collected will be as follows: Gender; Age; Ethnicity; Sexual Orientation or Sex Life; Mental Health and Drug Use information. Collection of such demographic information is important to our research because it helps us understand whether the respondents are representative of the autistic population as a whole and how people with different demographics might have different experiences.
The survey aims to find out about psychedelic use so we need to ask participants about this. We ask about mental health because we know that psychedelic use is associated with changes in mental health and we want to know autistic peoples experiences of mental health after using psychedelics. The lawful basis for processing your personal data is the performance of a task in the public interest, and for scientific and historical research or statistical purposes. You can provide your consent for the use of your personal data in this project by confirming your consent below. Your personal data will be processed so long as it is required for the research project. Data will be pseudonymous from point of collection. If you are concerned about how your personal data is being processed, or if you would like to contact us about your rights, please contact UCL in the first instance at [email protected].
To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the fully pseudonymous data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses.
13. Contacts for further information
The study is being conducted by researchers from the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London.
If you would like more information or if anything is unclear, please contact the researchers using the contact details above. If you decide to take part, please save a copy of this information sheet.
Thank you for considering taking part in this research. If you have any questions arising from the Information Sheet, please contact the researcher to ask them before you decide whether to join in.
UCL Research Ethics Committee Approval ID Number: 20251/001
PLEASE SAVE A COPY OF THIS INFORMATION SHEET
Title of study: Autism and Psychedelics - Exploring the Experiences of Psychedelic Use in Autistic People
Department: UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology
Name and Contact Details of the Researcher(s):
- Jack Stroud ([email protected])
- Charlotte Rice ([email protected])
- Prof. Will Mandy ([email protected])
- Prof. Sunjeev Kamboj (email: [email protected])
1. Introduction
You are being invited to take part in a research project which is being conducted by University College London (UCL) as part of the researchers’ doctoral thesis. Before you decide to continue, it is important that you understand why it’s being done and what taking part will involve. Please take some time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact us using the above email addresses if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part, and be aware that your participation is completely voluntary. Due to the survey design we recommend using a laptop or device with a larger screen for ease of completion.
2. What is the project’s purpose?
The current study aims to further our understanding of the experiences of autistic people who have used psychedelic drugs.
3. Why have I been chosen?
To take part you must be at least 18 years old, have a good understanding of the English language, have been given a diagnosis of autism by a healthcare professional and/or self-identify as autistic, and have used any classic psychedelic (for example, LSD or LSD derivatives, ‘acid’ (e.g. 1P-LSD, 1CP-LSD), ayahuasca, DMT, 5-MeO DMT, mescaline (peyote, San Pedro), magic mushrooms (psilocybin)), MDMA or ketamine at least once.
4. Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you will be asked to electronically give consent which confirms for us that you agree to take part in the study and understand what this means. You can withdraw from the study, at any time without giving a reason. If you are a UCL student please do not feel under any obligation from UCL staff to participate.
5. What will happen to me if I take part?
This study requires you to fill out a one-off pseudonymous online survey that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey asks you to answer questions about your background, autism, mental health and psychedelic drug use. It then asks about how you think the psychedelic experiences have impacted your life, autism and mental health. For example you will asked questions like, ‘during your psychedelic use did you experience loss of time and space’ and ‘please describe any changes in your mental health that you attribute to the selected psychedelic experience’. There will be different formats of question including multiple choice and free text responses. The free text questions and some of the demographic questions are optional whereas most of the multiple choice questions require responses. You will not be able to proceed without answering for questions that require responses.
You can withdraw from the study at any point by exiting the survey before pressing the submit button (which appears following the final question).
We are aware that psychedelic experiences can be incredibly varied and are interested in hearing both positive and negative experiences, or anything in between.
6. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
Please be aware we will be asking questions about psychedelic experiences, mental health and historical drug use and that some people may find answering these distressing. As this is an online survey we are unable to provide support to people who are experiencing current mental health difficulties. We do not advocate or endorse the use of psychedelics or any other illegal drugs, which can have harmful health, social and occupational consequences. If you would like to find out more about mental health or reducing problematic drug use and how to seek support please follow this link: Mental Health and Problematic Drug Use Support Links. You can exit the survey at any time. We appreciate the time you dedicate to this project.
7. What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Whilst there are no immediate benefits for those people participating in the project, it is hoped that you will leave with the knowledge that you have contributed in some of the following ways:
● Autistic people are often overlooked in psychedelic research and we hope this research will contribute to understanding this under-researched area
● You inform the scientific community about autistic people’s experiences of psychedelics and their impact
● Your personal experience helps shape better theories about the relationship between psychedelic drug use, autism and well-being in autistic people
● The project has the potential to inform the development of future studies looking at wellbeing in autistic people
8. What if something goes wrong?
If you wish to raise a complaint then please contact Professor Sunjeev Kamboj (the Principal Investigator for the study) at [email protected]. If you feel that your complaint has not been handled to your satisfaction, you can contact the Chair of the UCL Research Ethics Committee at [email protected].
9. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?
The data you provide is very valuable to us. The data we will be collecting is considered pseudonymous. This is because although we will not collect data which could directly identify you (such as your IP address or date of birth) will be collecting demographic data (such as age and ethnicity) which if collated could present a small risk of identification. To prevent identification through collation of demographic data we will only publish demographic information online in broad categories (for example age in 10 year bands). All data will be stored on the secure UCL network.
Due to the fact no directly identifying information is collected it is not possible to remove your responses once submitted, as we would be unable to identify which response was yours. So by submitting your completed survey you are consenting to take part in the study. If you do not submit the survey and then close the webpage, this will be considered as a withdrawal of consent and this data will be deleted prior to analysis.
The survey includes some open questions about your experiences where you can respond in free-text boxes. Please do not include any identifying information such as names, places, physical appearances etc. We will screen these responses for any potentially identifying information and delete this prior to analysis, data sharing and publication. The publication of study results will not include any data that can identify you. Brief, fully anonymised, quotes will be used in disseminated reports. Please be aware these free-text boxes are optional.
The data we collect from this study will help to advance the scientific understanding of autistic people’s experiences of psychedelic drug use. To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the pseudonymised data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses. In addition, the fully anonymised free-text responses, following screening to ensure removal of any identifying information, will also be made freely available online. The findings of the study will be published in publicly available doctoral dissertations which will be available online approximately 18 months after data collection.
10. Limits to confidentiality
Confidentiality will be respected unless there are compelling and legitimate reasons to believe that you or someone is in serious danger or at risk of imminent harm. In such cases the University may be obliged to contact relevant statutory bodies/agencies.
11. What will happen to the results of the research project?
The results will be presented as scientific papers in peer reviewed journals, at conferences, and in student dissertations. You will not be able to be identified in any reports, publications, talks or media. The findings will be published on the UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit’s website. The data we collect from this study will help to advance the scientific understanding of autistic people’s experiences of psychedelic drug use. To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the fully anonymous data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses. In addition, the fully anonymised free-text responses, following screening to ensure removal of any identifying information, will also be made freely available online. The findings of the study will be published in publicly available doctoral dissertations which will be available online approximately 18 months after data collection.
12. Local Data Protection Privacy Notice Notice:
The data controller for this project will be University College London (UCL). The UCL Data Protection Officer provides oversight of UCL activities involving the processing of personal data, and can be contacted at [email protected]. This ‘local’ privacy notice sets out the information that applies to this particular study. Further information on how UCL uses participant information can be found in our ‘general’ privacy notice (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/privacy/general-privacy-notice).
The information that is required to be provided to participants under data protection legislation (GDPR and DPA 2018) is provided across both the ‘local’ and ‘general’ privacy notices. For this study, the categories of personal data collected will be as follows: Gender; Age; Ethnicity; Sexual Orientation or Sex Life; Mental Health and Drug Use information. Collection of such demographic information is important to our research because it helps us understand whether the respondents are representative of the autistic population as a whole and how people with different demographics might have different experiences.
The survey aims to find out about psychedelic use so we need to ask participants about this. We ask about mental health because we know that psychedelic use is associated with changes in mental health and we want to know autistic peoples experiences of mental health after using psychedelics. The lawful basis for processing your personal data is the performance of a task in the public interest, and for scientific and historical research or statistical purposes. You can provide your consent for the use of your personal data in this project by confirming your consent below. Your personal data will be processed so long as it is required for the research project. Data will be pseudonymous from point of collection. If you are concerned about how your personal data is being processed, or if you would like to contact us about your rights, please contact UCL in the first instance at [email protected].
To improve the transparency of scientific research on autism and psychedelics, we will make the fully pseudonymous data we collect in this study freely available online. Data in the form of numerical values from questionnaires will be made openly available so other researchers can confirm our statistical analyses.
13. Contacts for further information
The study is being conducted by researchers from the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London.
- Jack Stroud - [email protected]
- Charlotte Rice - [email protected]
- Prof Sunjeev - [email protected]
- Prof Will Mandy - [email protected]
If you would like more information or if anything is unclear, please contact the researchers using the contact details above. If you decide to take part, please save a copy of this information sheet.
Thank you for considering taking part in this research. If you have any questions arising from the Information Sheet, please contact the researcher to ask them before you decide whether to join in.
