The Onset of Fatigue In Autistic Young People
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative exploration of the onset of fatigue and journey to a specialist paediatric fatigue service in young people with Autism/suspected autism
IRAS ID
351920
Contact name
Manuela Martinez-Barona Soyer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 29 days
Research summary
Autistic young people are overrepresented across services in the UK, such as gender identity clinics (Di Ceglie et al., 2014), mental health services (Gerritsen et al., 2021), and physical health settings (Lipsker et al, 2018). An audit of the specialist paediatric fatigue service at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, results found 40% of children and young people initially referred to the service were identified as having suspected autism during their assessment process or already had a diagnosis of autism, with the majority of these young people being secondary school aged. Though there is a wealth of autism research, currently research investigating the experiences of fatigue in autistic populations is lacking. Furthermore, within the literature investigating onset of chronic fatigue, there is much debate about cause of the condition as well as factors associated with onset. This study intends to bridge the gap within existing research by exploring the factors associated with onset of fatigue in a population of 13–18-year-old autistic (suspected autistic) young people with chronic fatigue. Additionally, the study aims to understand the young people’s pathway of referral to a specialist paediatric chronic fatigue service including services accessed and duration from onset to diagnosis.
The intended outcome of the study is to gain a better understanding of any unique onset factors that autistic people share when initially presenting with fatigue and what they attribute these onset factors to. This could have practical implications for the assessment process and identification of fatigue in autistic young people. Furthermore, by understanding the pathway to a specialist paediatric fatigue service this will provide an understanding of the services accessed prior to a specialist service, providing this insight may also have practical implications for the identification of fatigue and potentially reducing the timeframes of the referral process for young people.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/WM/0174
Date of REC Opinion
8 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion