Margaret F. (Meg) Gibson

When Autistic children or adults depart suddenly from supervised settings and relationships without permission or notice, this departure can be referred to as elopement. This project will address a gap in our knowledge of Autistic elopement that has excluded the perspectives of Autistic people themselves. It will characterize the factors that contribute to Autistic people’s decisions to elope and to understand their subjective experiences of elopement. This research will also generate knowledge about helpful and harmful responses to elopement and support the development of improved policies and practices that may be applied in contexts such as schools or interactions between first responders and Autistic people.

• Objective 1 (O1): To learn what factors Autistic people report have influenced their decisions to elope and examine how who they are (demographics) and where they are (setting) can influence elopement. Our O1 research questions are: a) Are there commonalities in the factors that contribute to the decision to elope, or are they highly individual and contextual? b) How do Autistic people’s demographic identities (e.g., gender, race, age, class) relate to eloping? c) How does the setting Autistic people are in (e.g., classroom, group home, family home, public space) relate to eloping?
• Objective 2 (O2): To investigate the meaning and impact of elopement for Autistic people using both narrative interviews and photovoice methods. Our O2 research questions are: a) What are Autistic people’s subjective experiences of elopement? b) What can Autistic people’s stories and images of elopement tell us about how elopement relates to identity, emotion, and well-being?
• Objective 3 (O3): To characterize Autistic people’s experiences with others (e.g., first responders, family members, educators, service providers) during and after elopement, and to develop guidelines for improved policies and responses. Our O3 research questions are: a) What experiences have people had with first responders when they eloped, and when they returned? b) What experiences have people had with others, such as family members or teachers, when they eloped, and when they returned? c) What responses from others have been helpful, unhelpful, or harmful?

Communications

This project has received funding from a SSHRC - Insight Grant (2023-8), and ethics approval from the University of Waterloo Research Ethics Review Board, #45592, and the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board, #H23-02932. There are four co-investigators on this grant: Trish Van Katwyk (Renison U. College/ University of Waterloo), Aimee Morrison (University of Waterloo), Edwin Ng (Renison . College/ University of Waterloo), and Tina Wilson (University of British Columbia). 

Neurodiversity matters: An ethnographic investigation into discourse, practice, and identity is community-engaged, collaborative research study about the way people are using the language and ideas of “neurodiversity”. We want to know more about how people with different identities and experiences understand and use the term “neurodiversity”, whether this understanding makes them do things differently, and how they think other people, texts, and organizations are using “neurodiversity”.

While the term “neurodiversity” emerged from autism activism and critical disability scholarship over twenty years ago, more people, books, websites, and blogs, have been using the term, often in different ways. “Neurodiversity” is often used to challenge mainstream beliefs about people who have been diagnosed or labelled, but as more people use the term, a wider range of meanings and practices may be associated with it.

In this project we are learning from people who have lived and professional experiences with neurodiversity language and ideas. We ask questions about how these ideas influence people’s identity or practices, and what opinions and experiences they associate with “neurodiversity”. In addition to doing interviews, we are also observing selected public events (such as conferences and rallies) and examining texts (including articles, books, websites, and social media) to see how these terms and ideas are being used.

This research starts from a critical disability studies perspective that seeks to challenge ableism and values the voices of people with lived experiences of disability and labelling. This project helps us understand a range of different perspectives and beliefs that surround neurodiversity, and explore alternative ways of responding to differences between people.

We conducted interviews with people from three different groups:

• people who identify as neurodiverse, neurodivergent, neuroqueer, neuro-atypical, autistic, or another related term;
• people who are professionals and service providers who draw upon ideas of “neurodiversity” in their work in autism or other disability-connected fields;
• family members of people who identify with or are labelled as neurodiverse, neurodivergent, or autistic.

We are also doing a discourse analysis of social media, academic articles, and organizational documents.

Please visit our Instagram at @neurodiversity_matters, Facebook, and Linktree for more information. 

Communications

Principal Investigator: Margaret F. Gibson, MSW, PhD, Associate Professor, Social Development Studies and the School of Social Work, Renison University College at the University of Waterloo, margaret.gibson@uwaterloo.ca. Please contact if you have questions about the project or for information on updates, publications, and other results. 

Co-Investigators: Patricia Douglas, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Brandon University; Julia Gruson-Wood, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph; Izumi Sakamoto, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.

Learning Access: an investigation into female students' experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-related accommodations in Ontario universities is a research study created through a partnership between DiverseMinds magazine, an online magazine created by and for neurodivergent women, and an academic research team led by Principal investigator Dr. Margaret Gibson.

While ADHD is one of the most common reasons that undergraduate students seek academic accommodations, there is little research on how accommodations practices and systems are working for female students with ADHD. The team interviewed 26 female participants across 14 universities, coming from a diverse range of identities, experiences, campus size, university location, and program. These students looked for, received, or used academic accommodations related to ADHD in Ontario universities.

Results will help us learn about the supports that have been working well, and where students have encountered barriers. The research seeks to inform university administrators, educators, and accessibility service workers in creating more equitable and supportive systems. Findings will also be shared with the community of neurodivergent women through DiverseMinds magazine, to help people in navigating systems and advocating for themselves.

This research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) through the Partnership Engage Grant program (award 892-2023-0028). This study has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through, a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board, protocol #45643. Collaborators on the project inlude Dr. Ami Tint and Dr. Virginie Cobigo at the University of Ottawa.

Reimagining Care/Work Policies, led by Dr. Andrea Doucet at Brock University, funded by a SSHRC Partnership Grant. Within the project, my work is focused on research with parents who identify as 2SLGBTQ, and parents who identify with disability (whose children may also identify with/ live with disability). We have been doing interviews with parents about how they decide who does what in their households, and how workplaces, systems such as healthcare and education, and other social policies could support them and their families. These interviews also consider the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected parents and families.

You can learn more about that project at its updates here: https://rcwproject.ca/. Other resources: https://familydemic.wnpism.uw.edu.pl/. 

Re•Storying Autism is a multimedia story making project that brings together Autistic and Neurodivergent people, family members, educators, practitioners and artists in Canada, England, Aotearoa and beyond to rethink research, education, health and services in ways that desire difference. Autistic and other Neurodivergent students often experience misunderstanding, stigma and violence at school. Our critical and creative research explores new practices to (re)value difference, understand parallel histories of racism and ableism and centre disability justice. This project has invited differently positioned people to create digital stories or short films about their experiences, ideas, and imaginings about autism and education. This project also created a Zine workshop where people created digital art and text about the COVID-19 pandemic and autistic thriving.

To learn more about the project and see examples of the videos and zines, visit: https://www.restoryingautism.com/

Re•Storying is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant 435-2019-0129.

Selections from full CV noted below (not exhaustive)

Selected Research Grants

Principal Investigator. 2023-2028. “Eloping: Autistic people’s perspectives on departure and well-being.” SSHRC Insight Grant. Co-Investigators: P. Van Katwyk, E. Ng, A. Morrison, and T. Wilson. $210,675.

Principal Investigator. 2023-2024 (extended to 2025). Collaborators Dr. V. Cobigo (U. Ottawa) and Dr. A. Tint (U. Calgary). “Learning access: An investigation into female students’ experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-related accommodations in Ontario universities”. SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant. Partner organization: Diverse Minds magazine. $23,375.

Co-Investigator. 2020-2027. “What is the best policy mix for diverse families with young children? Reimagining childcare, parental leave, and employment policies.” Principal Investigator Andrea Doucet, Brock University. SSHRC Partnership Grant. $2,499,444. 
 

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Gibson, MF., Urquhart, B., McGonegal, J., livingstone, b., & Monroe, H. E. (2025). “The Paradigm Shift Is Happening Without Them”: Interviews on Service Providers and Neurodiversity. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 1-17​​​. doi: 10.1177/10443894251407390

Urquhart, B., Chan, L., Gibson, MF., livingstone, b., & Monroe, H. E. (2025). ‘The refusal to fit into boxes’: Interview findings on ADHD and neurodiversity. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies. doi: https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v14i4.1300

Gibson, MF., livingstone, b., Doucet, A., & Cooper, J. (2025). LGBTQ+ parents’ care and work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Canadian mixed-methods study. J. of Homosexuality.

Gibson, MF., livingstone, b., Easton, S., Monroe, H., and Gruson-Wood, J. (2025). Texts and effects: Interview findings on neurodiversity and representation. Neurodiversity, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330251350740. 

Gibson, MF.., livingstone, b., Monroe, H., Leo, S., Gruson-Wood, J., & Crockford, P. (2024). Observing neurodiversity, observing methodology: Ethnography in pandemic times. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241266200

livingstone, b., Gibson, MF., Douglas, P., Leo, S., and Gruson-Wood, J. (2023). Weighing in: Academic writers on neurodiversity. International Journal of Disability and Social Justice 3(3), pp. 72-98. DOI: 10.13169/intljofdissocjus.3.3.0072 

Williams, C. W., Gibson, MF., Mooney, E. S., Forbes, J. R., Curling, D., green, d. c., Ross, L. (2023). A structural analysis of gender-based violence against sexual minority women and trans people. Affilia, 38(3), 350-366. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099231155887

Gruson-Wood, J., Reid, K., Rice, C., Haines, J., Chapman, G., Gibson, MF. (2022). The Game of Queer Family Life: Exploring 2SLGBTQI+ parents' experiences of cisheteronormativity, racism, and colonialism through digital storytelling in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Homosexuality. 2022 Dec 8:1-29. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2022.2132581. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36480036.

Harrison LN, Neiterman E, MacEachen E, Gibson MF. (2022). Navigating return to sex: A qualitative Reddit analysis of parents' perceptions about the timing of resuming sex after a birth. Sex Reprod Healthc. 2022 Dec 34:100782. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2022.100782. Epub 2022 Sep 16. PMID: 36179395.

Shields, R., Easton, S., Gruson-Wood, J., Gibson, MF., Douglas, P., and Rice, C. (2022). Storytelling methods on the move. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Special issue on Critical Autism Studies: Methodological Incursions, Eds. R. Roscigno & A. Broderick. DOI: 10.1080/09518398.2022.2061625.

Gibson, MF. (2021). The helpful brain? Translations of neuroscience into social work. The British Journal of Social Work, 51(7), pp. 2665-2679. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa119 

Douglas, P, Rice, C., Runswick-Cole, K., Easton, A., Gibson, M. F., Gruson-Wood, J., Klar, E., & Shields, R. (2019). Re-storying autism: a body becoming disability studies in education approach. International Journal of Inclusive Education. DOI:10.1080/13603116.2018.1563835

Gibson, M. F. & Douglas, P. (2018). Disturbing behaviors: Ole Ivar Lovaas and the queer history of autism science. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 4(2), 1-28. http://www.catalystjournal.org. https://doi.org/10.28968/cftt.v4i2.29579

Ross, L. E., Gibson, M. F., Steele, L., Williams, C. W., & Daley, A. (2018). In spite of the system: a mixed methods analysis of the mental health service experiences of LGBTQ people living in poverty in Ontario, Canada. PLOS ONE 13(8): DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201437.

Journal Editorials 

Karandikar, S., Gibson, M. F., & Diaz, M. (2025). Unyielding: Words under fire. Affilia, 40(3), 337-340. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08861099251339915 

Gibson, M. F., Diaz, M., & Karandikar, S. (2025). What are we even here for? AI, critical feminism, and social work scholarship. Affilia, 40(1), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099241295959

Diaz, M., Gibson, M. F., & Karandikar, S. (2024). Are we bridging the gap? The social work practice of critical feminism. Affilia, 39(4), 589-593. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099241276567 

Karandikar, S., Murshid, N. S., Gezinski, L. B., Williams, C. C., Chen, X., Gibson, M. F., Diaz, M., & Kanuha, V. K. (2024). Doing the messy work: Critical feminism and academic leadership in social work. Affilia, 39(3), 385-389. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099241253868

Gibson, M. F., Diaz, M., & Karandikar, S. (2024). Critical feminism under critical conditions: Violence, silence, and resistance. Affilia, 39(2), 197-201. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099241245167
 

Books and/or Chapters

Gibson, M. F. (Forthcoming). Following neurodiversity: trends and tactics along the quest for better worlds. In Disability in turbulent times: Pursuing the generative tensions of critical disability studies. Edited by Katherine Runswick-Cole, Patty Douglas, and Harriet Cameron. Elgar Press.

Douglas, P., Rice, C., Gibson, M., & Hastie, J. (Forthcoming). Beyond ‘inclusionism’: Unmaking and remaking autism in education through creative research. Practicing the social, Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Gibson, M. F. & Gruson-Wood, J. (2022). 2SLGBTIQ+ families in Canada. In Albanese, P. (Ed.), Canadian Families Today, 5^th Edition, pp. 46-69. Don Mills, Canada: Oxford University Press. https://learninglink.oup.com/access/albanese5e 

Gibson, M. F. (2021). Forming the chart: texts, actions, and differences. In Daley, A. and Pilling, M. (Eds.), Interrogating Psychiatric Narratives of Distress: Documented Lives, pp. 33-55. Palgrave MacMillan.

Gibson, M. F., Daley, A., & Pilling, M. (2021). Concluding thoughts. In Daley, A. and Pilling, M. (Eds.), Interrogating Psychiatric Narratives of Distress: Documented Lives, pp. 165-172. Palgrave MacMillan.

Pilling, M., Daley, A., Gibson, M. F., Ross, L. E., & Zaheer, J. (2018). Assessing insight: determining agency and autonomy. In Kiltay, J.M. & Dej, E. (Eds.), Containing madness: gender and ‘psy’ in institutional contexts, 191-214. Palgrave Macmillan.