Objective
Current autism screening tools could be improved. They have typically been developed without input from autistic people or clinicians – limiting accessibility, relevance, and clinical applicability – and validated mainly on white males, reducing effectiveness for women and ethnic minorities. Screening tools also generally rely on subjective reports, which are prone to bias and recall errors, and may not necessarily capture the features that most reliably identify autism. As a result, current tools are contributing to over 125,000 unnecessary referrals in England each year, causing long delays in diagnosis – reaching 18 years in certain areas – and costing the NHS £200 million. AutismScreeningTool (AST) directly addresses these issues. Building on 15 years of research, we have co-designed a smartphone app with lived-experience experts that extracts objective movement-based indicators, and can distinguish autistic from non-autistic people with ≥91% accuracy across genders and ethnicities. This Proof of Concept project will advance AST from a validated research innovation to a scalable healthcare product through four aims: 1) engaging a UK-wide healthcare provider network, embedding clinician feedback to ensure seamless integration; 2) validating and refining the algorithm, interface, and support module to maximise efficacy across diverse populations; 3) consolidating commercial and regulatory foundations; and 4) delivering a targeted marketing and dissemination strategy to promote uptake. Delivery will be strengthened by links with Autistica (charity), University of Birmingham enterprise and national healthcare providers. Through these partnerships, AST will reduce unnecessary referrals, reduce healthcare service costs, and provide more efficient and equitable diagnostic access.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
B15 2TT Birmingham
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.