CBPR projects usually work with communities defined by ethnicity, geography, or occupation. This paper describes the development of a community-academic partnership that addressed research needs of the autistic-self advocates, a community not defined by the typical characteristics mentioned above. The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) formed in response to the misalignment of researcher’s priorities and the needs of those involved in Autism advocacy. AASPIRE has since developed a collaborative partnership model to conduct CBPR projects. This paper reviews the methods of forming this partnership, focusing on the complexity of working with a “community” that is not local or whose members have diverse communication needs. In conclusion, the authors suggest that AASPIRE’s strategies may be helpful to other CBPR partnerships working with similar advocacy communities.

Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., McDonald, K., Dern, S., Ashkenazy, E., Boisclair, C. … Baggs, A. (2011). Collaboration strategies in nontraditional community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons from an academic-community partnership with autistic self-advocates. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 5(2), 143-150. Full Text.