Dr Monique BothaAcademic

Biography

Dr Monique Botha is an Associate Professor in Social and Developmental Psychology at Durham University's Department of Psychology, based in the Centre for Neurodiversity and Development. They are a Community Psychologist specialising in neurodivergence, equality, and mental health, with research spanning stigma, dehumanisation, minority stress, masking, and the double empathy problem. Their doctoral research at the University of Surrey (2016–2020) investigated autistic community connectedness as a buffer against minority stress on mental health, and they subsequently held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Stirling before winning a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for a three-year project entitled 'Fragile Knowledge: Dehumanisation and Interpretation Bias in Autism Research'. Botha has argued that dehumanising language in the scientific literature about autistic people facilitates maltreatment and legitimises violence, and is known for applying the minority stress model to autistic populations. They co-founded the Community Against Prejudice Towards Autistic People (CAPTAP) and the STARTS collaborative research network in Scotland.

References

1. 1.Dr Monique Botha – Durham University staff page — Current role, research focus, career history (PhD Surrey 2016–2020, ESRC fellowship at Stirling, Leverhulme fellowship), and research interests
2. 2.Monique Botha – Google Scholar profile — Confirms Associate Professor title at Durham University, verified Durham email, and citation count exceeding 5,900
3. 3.Cherishing Compassion While Autistic and Marginalized – Thinking Autism Guide (Sept 2025) — Confirms Associate Professor title, Centre for Neurodiversity and Development affiliation, co-founding of STARTS and CAPTAP, and research themes
4. 4.CAPTAP – Community Against Prejudice Towards Autistic People — Confirms Botha co-founded CAPTAP with Eilidh Cage and Kayden Stockwell following the May 2021 INSAR conference
5. 5.Stirling Autism Research – News

Expertise

Cited on

• Learning disability & autism

Stated areas of expertise

• Autism and neurodivergence
• Minority stress and mental health
• Stigma and dehumanisation in research
• Autistic identity and community connectedness
• LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent health
• Participatory and community psychology

Notable achievements

• Awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for the three-year project 'Fragile Knowledge: Dehumanisation and Interpretation Bias in Autism Research' Source ↗
• Co-founded the Community Against Prejudice Towards Autistic People (CAPTAP), a network of over 250 scholars and autistic people focused on reducing stigma and systemic inequality Source ↗
• Co-founded the STARTS (Striving to Transform Autism Research Together, Scotland) collaborative research network with Dr Eilidh Cage and Dr Catherine Crompton Source ↗
• Published 'Extending the Minority Stress Model to Understand Mental Health Problems Experienced by the Autistic Population' in Society and Mental Health (2020), a widely cited paper applying minority stress theory to autism Source ↗
• Google Scholar profile records over 5,900 citations to their work as of 2026 Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4m births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability”

  associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University · Learning disability & autism · 27 Aug 2026 · Trump attacks Tylenol as officials unveil highly contentious conclusions on autism ↗

• “There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4 million births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability. This suggests no causal effect of paracetamol in autism.”

  associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University · Learning disability & autism · 27 Aug 2026 · Experts alarmed as Trump pushes unproven link between Tylenol and autism ↗

• “This study included Dr Monique Botha from our Department of Psychology, working alongside researcher Taylor Burns.”

  Department of Psychology, Durham University · Learning disability & autism · 27 Aug 2026 · Identity distress drives poor mental health in autistic people ↗

Source references

1. Trump attacks Tylenol as officials unveil highly contentious conclusions on autismtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Experts alarmed as Trump pushes unproven link between Tylenol and autismtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Identity distress drives poor mental health in autistic peopledurham.ac.uk · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/monique-d-botha/
• ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5935-9654published here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-botha/
• Websitehttps://durham-repository.worktribe.com/person/2916443/monique-botha
• Press office emailpsychology.office@durham.ac.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.