Talks at the Autism Research Centre
Weekly seminars
The ARC hosts weekly talks during term time, featuring both our own research and presentations from invited external speakers. Some sessions are open to the public to attend online. Email us support@autismresearchcentre.com sign up to receive email alerts when new events are announced.
You can view some of our past talks on our Youtube channel.
The Cambridge Autism Research Annual Lectures
The ARC hosts an annual Open Autism Research Lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge, featuring leading speakers and scholars who are autistic or parents of autistic children.
Watch highlights from previous years below.
5th Annual Cambridge Autism Research Lecture, presented by John Harris
On 15 October 2025, we welcomed John Harris for a special talk about his recent book, Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in 10 Songs. In this memoir, John shares the deeply personal journey of how music opened up new worlds to his autistic son, one song at a time. John is a distinguished journalist, critic, and author, best known for his regular column in The Guardian, where he writes on politics, culture, and music.
4th Annual Cambridge Autism Research Lecture, presented by Daniel Tammet
In July 2024, we welcomed essayist, poet, novelist, translator, autistic savant and synesthete Daniel Tammet to talk about is book Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum. In this talk, Daniel explores the tired stereotypes of autism. His stories reach across the divides of age, gender, sexuality and nationality to draw out the inner worlds of his subjects. Telling stories as richly diverse as the spectrum itself, this illuminating, life-affirming work of narrative nonfiction celebrates the power and beauty of the neurodivergent mind, and the daring freedom with which these individuals have built their lives.
‘Lessons from a lifetime of leading with autism’, presented by Holden Thorp
In June 2024, Holden Thorp joined us to talk about ‘Lessons from a lifetime of leading with autism’. Holden was chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, provost of Washington University in St. Louis, and now Editor-in-Chief of Science. Although he had trouble with social interactions throughout life, particularly in large groups as UNC Chancellor, he was not diagnosed as autistic until age 53 while considering whether to become a chancellor again. His journey to the neurodiversity movement involved consulted with many outstanding experts on autism and reflections on challenges autistic leaders face.
‘Dying Young and Misunderstood: Autism in Adulthood’, presented by Elizabeth Weir for TEDxCambridgeUniversity
Autism in adulthood is often overlooked, leading to worsened physical and mental health outcomes. In this TEDx talk, Elizabeth argues for a reformation of current support systems to increase safeguarding and support for neurodiverse communities. Elizabeth Weir is a postdoctoral researcher at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge and a Rokos PDRA Fellow at Queens’ College. Elizabeth strives to fill gaps in current research by highlighting the needs of understudied and underserved groups within the autism community, including middle-aged and older people, those with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and those assigned female at birth.
Content warning: This talk discusses adverse life experiences, including several forms of abuse, mental health symptoms, substance use, and suicidality. The presentation slides also include use of bright colours and several images at once.