Dr Aimee Grant
Senior Lecturer and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at Swansea University
Science and Engineering
Aimee is Autistic, Disabled and a wheelchair user. She is unapologetic about calling out ableism and other forms of discrimination, whether directed at herself or others. Embracing her identity as an openly Autistic and Disabled woman, Aimee makes herself visible in public arenas and has subsequently been interviewed by several media outlets, including the BBC, New York Times, and Nature.
In 2021, Aimee began investigating the maternity experiences of Autistic people, an inquiry which highlighted the need for improved and better-tailored maternity information. Accordingly, Aimee secured funding to pay for the collaboration of Autistic parents and Autistic health professionals (with participation from Disabled Persons Organisations Autistic UK and Autistic Parents UK) to develop a collection of over 100 videos called Autistic pregnancy, birth and beyond: your questions answered.
Aimee leads a £2.4M Wellcome Trust funded project to better understand the health of Autistic adults “from menstruation to menopause”. Fully co-governed by a Community Council of Autistic people, this project provides insights into the lives of Autistic women and others with wombs, and adds to the evidence-base for best practice in participatory health research.
Aimee co-founded the Autistic Health Research Network and is the research lead for the Maternity and Autism Research Group; both groups aim to reduce the health inequalities Autistic people face. Her experience has made her a trusted advisor for many third-party sector groups, such as Breastfeeding Network, Lactation Consultants GB, Birth Companions and Sands. She has also informed NHS Autism training and service development.
Additionally, Aimee has presented her research to many academic groups both nationally and internationally. Through her provision of specialist training for health professionals in the UK, Australia, and USA, she hopes to facilitate better healthcare for Autistic people.
In addition to her research, Aimee has written scientifically about being Autistic, founded the (international) Autistic Women in Academia Support Network, developed a peer mentorship program for UK-based Autistic women academics.
“I’m delighted to be recognised for my Disability research and advocacy. I absolutely acknowledge that it isn’t safe or possible for every Disabled person to speak out about ableism they’ve encountered, because of this I aim to shed light on the everyday difficulties that Disabled people in the UK face.”
Disability Power 100 2023 profile information has been self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.
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