31/12/2025
Delighted to hear that the contribuition
Dr Judith Gould has made to the world of autism has been recognised in this years Honours List! Almost everything I have learned about autism I owe to this inspirational lady and her colleague, the late wonderful Dr Lorna Wing! Many years ago, when I worked for the National Autistic Society, I was privileged to work with these two amazing professionals as part of their newly created Multidisciplinary Diagnostic Clinic (now The Wing Centre) in Bromley, Kent. This was the first of its kind at the time. Back then, their work changed our whole thinking about the complexity of autism, and … as a result of their research, diagnostic systems were introduced to the now well recognised concept of autism being a ‘Spectrum’. Without this conceptual change, the majority of those now diagnosed autistic, would simply not be recognised as such. In addition to this, there is no doubt that their work spearheaded a greater understanding of autism and girls, without which, there would still be a whole population of women and girls struggling to understand their differences. Back then, Lorna and Judy were pioneers, and if I am truly honest, such was their understanding and knowledge on the subject at the time, much of the research undertaken now only serves to confirm all the things they were talking about in the 80’s and 90’s. I owe my whole career to the inspiration and impact Judy and Lorna made on my professional life along with the wonderful learning opportunities afforded to me during my time with the National Autistic Society. This recognition is so well deserved and I feel very privileged to have benefited from knowing this wonderful lady!
