When Is Engagement ‘Good’? Values and Integrity in Community-Engaged Autism Research

Community engagement (CE) in autism research has been promoted as “good practice,” and is described through approaches such as co-production, participatory action research, and community-based participatory research. Although CE can enhance relevance and trust, its potential burdens or harms are rarely examined or disclosed to community members, and it is often implemented without evaluating its processes or outcomes. Limited attention is also given to values: the axiological foundations of CE and whether engagement is conducted with integrity. This perspective introduces an axiological lens to CE in autism research by arguing that researchers’ value commitments shape not only why engagement occurs but also how it unfolds and whom it benefits. After reviewing assumptions about CE being good practice, the costs and burdens associated with CE, and the lack of axiological analysis in autism research, it is argued that evaluating both processes and outcomes is essential. It then presents an “axiology of integrity,” which positions success in CE as coherence between stated values and actual research practices. Drawing on empirical and reflective scholarship, key process and outcome dimensions for evaluating CE are presented, and a seven-step framework to help researchers articulate their axiological perspectives is shared. This perspective contributes to sparse scholarship on axiology in autism research and offers a value-driven approach for strengthening CE with and for Autistic people and communities.