Changing our perspectives one clay model at a time

We made a little bit of history today. After seven years, guided by the talent and energy of our five Neurodivergent Co-Researchers, we shared early clinical outcome data from the first independent clinical investigation of the Davis Autism Approach showing it helps improve adult psychological wellbeing, mental health and quality of life.

And, importantly, the lives of our participants are changing in ways that matter to them.

A little background…..
This is the first study into the effectiveness of the Davis Autism Approach, which was designed by Ron Davis, an Autistic engineer based in California. Davis designed an intervention that utilised three-dimensional clay modelling of abstract life concepts to target what he believed were the sensory, cognitive and functional barriers inherent in Autism but without seeking to change the person’s fundamental personality. Davis argued that Autism was not an intellectual or cognitive impairment but a problem of integration because an Autistic person had not been able to individuate and integrate new information and experiences into their life in the same way as people who were not Autistic.

What did we do?
We completed a series of qualitative clinical case studies in a mental health clinic and collected quantitative data for a single-arm pilot study, in conjunction with mental health researchers at ACU.
We presented some of the qualitative case-study thematic analysis of data collected from children, teens and adults at the APS Clinical Psychology Conference in May.
Today we shared some of the early statistical analysis for our adult participants indicating improvements in self-concept, mental health (psychological distress, anxiety and social anxiety) and quality of life.

What do our Autistic and Neurodivergent Co-Researchers say?
The Co-Researchers reported they found the Davis approach appealing because it was designed by an Autistic man but also powerful, yet gentle and respectful of their unique talents and the way they want to operate in the world. Some of their lives have changed substantially, and dramatically, for the better. Several participants, coincidentally, coined the same phrase - the program had shifted intractable functional and mental health difficulties but it had not, in any way, changed their core self or their unique ‘essence’.

What next?
We have established the basis for a randomised controlled pilot study to really pull apart what is happening with this novel but simple method.
And that is a credit to the adventurous spirit of our Co-Researchers, because there is a huge unmet need for feasible developmentally based mental health programs that actually work and in the way that Autistic and Neurodivergent adults want, need and deserve. 

By Dr Jacinta Ryan