My autism activities
I specialize in the conceptual history of autism in (child) psychiatry.
My doctoral thesis focused on early psychiatric theories of autism. It discussed three psychiatrists who wrote about autism early on: George Frankl (1897-1975), Hans Asperger (1906-1980) and Leo Kanner (1894-1981). They described autism as (also) a contact disorder.
The title of my dissertation is Solitary Persons? The Conceptualisation of Autism as a Contact Disorder by Frankl, Asperger, and Kanner. If can be freely downloaded as a whole from the university repository. It is also available as paperback or e-book.
I offer coaching sessions in English for autistic students at the University of Groningen at all levels (Ba, Ma, PhD). I do so through my company Verder met autisme (Forward with autism).
I am chair of the Dutch autism foundation Autisme Digitaal, which I founded with my twin brother. This is an autistic-led foundation. Autism Digital develops websites and presentaties about autism in adulthood and organizes groups for autistic adults.
I am in the editorial board of the Wetenschappelijk Tijdschrift Autisme (WTA). This is the only scientific autism journal in the Dutch language. The WTA targets anyone who has affinity with or interest in autism. The journal publishes original articles, research reports and describes new developments. The WTA is a peer-reviewed journal that appears four times a year.