How to Participate
① Info & Consent
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Read the information on our website and the information sheets/consent we have shared via email.
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If you want, you can talk to someone in your family about the project or contact us if anything is not clear.
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If you are happy to participate, you can complete the digital consent form (see email). There is no obligation to submit work just because you’ve signed up!
② Make your Contribution at home
You can make a short story/voice note (3 min max), or you can use our Inspiration Page here for prompts and ideas. You can spend as much or as little time as you like—it’s your project.
You may want to add a description to your artwork including any information about you or the art that you think would be useful for others to know.
③ Submit Your Work
• Deadline: 30 April 2026.
• Send it via email, WE transfer, or post. See details below and in email.
⓸ The Exhibition
Your submissions will feature in an exhibition at The Exchange (Strand, London) in early June. If you want, you can join us in person or view the gallery online.
Online Sessions (Optional)
Join our team and artist Charlie Murphy for a 1-hour workshop. Ask questions, see examples, or just listen in to get some ideas.
We will run a few sessions between February and April if you could use some extra support.
BASIS - CANVAS
British Autism Study of Infant Siblings
Collecting Adolescents’ Narratives Visualised through Art and Stories
CANVAS: Your story about Neurodivergence
For 20 years, you’ve helped us understand neurodiversity in the lab. Now, we want to hear from you in a different way. CANVAS is a creative project for adolescents and their families around the question: What is your experience being part of a neurodiverse family?
There are no right or wrong answers—just your perspective.
The Essentials
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Who: Families who previously took part in BASIS or STAARS and have at least one family member with an autism/ADHD diagnosis.
Any family member (12+) can participate—parents, siblings, and the original participant.
Not sure if you are eligible? Send us an email at cbcd-superstaars @ bbk.ac.uk
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What: Share your story through art, writing, music, gaming, or media. It can be something new or something you’ve already created.
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Where: Your work will be featured in a London exhibition at The Exchange (King's College London) and in our online gallery.
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Why: To show the world your lived experience and help researchers focus on what actually matters to neurodivergent families.
FAQs
We understand that all this information might be a little overwhelming. If anything is unclear, please reach out to us and we are more than happy to help! We will add to this page whenever we can to provide additional information based on participant questions and feedback.
🏠 Who in our family can participate?
If one of your children previously participated in BASIS/STAARS and someone in your family has a diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD, any person 12+ (parents and siblings, with or without a diagnosis) can participate in the project.
🫱🏽🫲🏾 Can we work together?
Yes! You can submit individual pieces, or work on a joint project as a family. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to participate—if you are part of a BASIS/STAARS family and are 12+, you are welcome.
👩🏼🎨 Do I have to be "artistic"?
Not at all. We aren’t looking for masterpieces; we are looking for your story. Whether it’s a short story, a doodle, a poem, a photo, or a screenshot from a game, it is all valuable.
Do I have to create something from scratch?
Not at all! You might have already written a story, created a social media post, produced music or a video.
You can submit anything you have already created that fits with our question of neurodiversity experiences.
💬 Can I add an explanation of my artwork?
Absolutely! We love to hear what your artwork represents or means to you, but this is up to you. You can also add your name, age and diagnosis for example, but only if you want! You can keep it anonymous if you prefer.
📦 How do I submit my work?
For smaller files, please email these straight to our email address. For bigger submissions, you can use WE transfer (instructions in email). If you make a physical piece of art, you can either take a photo/video of it and send this to us digitally, or we can support you to post it to us, just get in touch!
👤How is my privacy protected?
You are in total control of your identity:
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Anonymity: You can choose to be completely anonymous. Only the research team will know who created the art.
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Identification: If your art includes faces or full names (yours or others), we will double-check with you and may require extra consent forms from others who can be identified.
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Choice: On your consent form, you can choose exactly where your work is shown (In-person, Online, and/or in Scientific Publications).
🤷🏽 What if I change my mind?
You can withdraw at any time. If you have not submitted anything by 30 April 2026, we assume you no longer want to take part.
If you’ve already submitted work but change your mind, let us know by 30 April 2026. After this date, we begin printing and building the exhibition, so removal may be more difficult, but we always try our best.
💷 Is there a cost to participate?
No. Participation is free. Please note that we currently cannot cover travel costs to the London exhibition, but the full gallery will be available online for everyone to see. Also, if you need art/craft resources for your artwork, but need some extra support to get these, please get in touch and we will do our best to support you.
Meet the Team
We are a team of researchers, an artist and a public engagement expert, under the guidance of the BASIS/STAARS Principle Investigators: Prof. Emily Jones - King's College London/Birkbeck, Prof. Tony Charman - King's College London, Prof. Mark Johnson - Cambridge. We also collaborate with therapists and a co-creation group including autistic people and people with ADHD to create our materials and make sure we best get your voices heard. Together we are hoping to inspire you to create something for our project that we can share with the broader community and that can inspire our further research.
Tessel has been working with the BASIS/STAARS team for the past 10+ years. Some of you might have seen her during the toddler or mid-childhood visits at King's College London. She is very interested in hearing how your family’s journey has evolved over the years and loves being part of this opportunity to reconnect with some of you through this project.
Julia is a research assistant who has worked on the latest mid-childhood follow-up, StayCool, at Birkbeck. She brings a wealth of experience in supporting families through the research process and is here to help you with any questions you have.
Charlie is an artist and art producer who develops a wide range of "art-science" projects. Her projects often invite people to creatively explore their experiences through different materials and participatory activities. She will share examples to help you get started through a series of online sessions. You can find examples of her projects at https://www.charliemurphy.co.uk and www.brainsinadish.org.
Leigh specialises in creating meaningful interactions between researchers and the public. She has extensive experience in designing "co-creation" projects—collaborative spaces where participants, including for example neurodivergent young people, can contribute their insights as equal partners in the creative process.