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Lived Experience Shaping Research
Our Managing Director, Andreia Costa, brings her lived experience as a neurodivergent person and parent into healthcare research, helping ensure community voices are heard and represented. At Neurodiverse Voices Connect, we believe lived experience can help shape more inclusive, relevant and meaningful research — and we encourage others to discover how their voice can make a difference too.
If you are interested in contributing to research, visit our Research Opportunities page, where we share current studies and projects looking for participants. From surveys and interviews to opportunities to contribute your experiences and perspectives, there are different ways to get involved. Keep an eye on the page for new opportunities and find a study that speaks to you — your experience could help shape the research of tomorrow.
Character Strengths in Autistic Young People
This was the first research study Andreia joined as the mum of an autistic daughter — and it changed how she saw her daughter. Dr Jiedi Lei’s research challenges traditional deficit-focused approaches by recognising and celebrating the character strengths of autistic young people. For Andreia, it was also the beginning of a passion for research and using lived experience to help shape a more strengths-based, inclusive future.
Understanding Pain in Autistic Young People
Dr Eri Ichijo’s research explores how autistic people experience, express and communicate pain, recognising that pain may not always be communicated verbally or through expected behaviours.
For Andreia, as the mum of an autistic daughter with speech and language delay, this research is deeply important. Understanding how her daughter communicates pain — and how she experiences and responds to it — could help families and professionals recognise pain more effectively and ensure autistic young people receive the right care and support.
Bringing Lived Experience into Women’s Health Research
Andreia was invited by Dr Kirralise Hansford to share her lived experience as a neurodivergent woman with researchers studying period pain and reproductive health conditions, including adenomyosis. Her contribution helps highlight why research must consider the experiences of neurodivergent women and how they may experience, communicate and seek support for pain differently.
ADR Pathways – Improving Access to Support
Andreia was part of the Advisory Board for Dr Simona Skripkauskaite’s ADR UK project, contributing her lived experience as a neurodivergent parent. The research explores how neurodivergent children and young people with mental health conditions access education, social care and health services, and where gaps or delays may exist.
For Andreia, this work is especially meaningful because it brings lived experience directly into the research process, helping shape evidence that could ultimately improve how neurodivergent children, young people and their families access the support they need.
NIHR BRC: Oxford Health Neurodiversity Conference 2025
Andreia led the planning and organisation of Oxford’s first Neurodiversity Conference, inspired by her lived experience as a neurodivergent person and parent. Hosted by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford Health, the sold-out two-day event brought together over 120 researchers, clinicians, organisations and neurodivergent people, creating a space where research and lived experience had an equal voice.
For Andreia, the conference represented what meaningful inclusion can look like: bringing communities and researchers together to connect, learn from one another and help shape a more neuro-affirming future.
AIM
Adaptive Innovative Methods
Andreia was delighted to contribute to the launch of the AIM Digital Community, sharing her lived experience perspective alongside researchers, clinicians and others working to improve psychological treatments for children and young people.
Her contribution highlighted the importance of lived experience in shaping research — ensuring that the voices of those directly affected are not only heard, but meaningfully included in conversations about developing more effective, accessible and relevant mental health support.
Through opportunities like this, Andreia continues to advocate for meaningful collaboration between lived experience, research and practice.
