C&T works with the University of Kent to explore the relationship between creativity, participation, and autism, combining academic research with applied, practice-led enquiry. This collaboration focuses on how creative processes, performance, and digital tools can support communication, agency, and alternative forms of expression for autistic people, particularly within educational and community settings.

The partnership is informed by the expertise of Professor Nicola Shaughnessy, whose internationally recognised research in applied theatre, performance, and neurodiversity provides a critical framework for the work. Her scholarship supports a reflective and ethical approach, ensuring that creative activity is grounded in lived experience, respect, and co-production rather than deficit-based models.

Together, C&T and the University of Kent develop and test creative methodologies that value difference, sensory awareness, and non-verbal communication. These approaches feed directly into programme design, artist training, and evaluation, strengthening C&T’s wider commitment to inclusive practice. By bridging academic insight and real-world delivery, the partnership contributes to a growing body of knowledge on creativity and autism, while shaping practical tools and models that can be used by artists, educators, and organisations seeking more inclusive ways of working..