Tony Attwood

With a career spanning five decades, Professor Tony Attwood is considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Born in Birmingham, England, in 1952, Tony first became interested in psychology at the age of 14 years. It was a great advantage to have a clear ambition while studying at school and university. His professional qualifications are an honors degree in psychology from the University of Hull (1973); a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Surrey (1975); and PhD from the University of London (1984), with Professor Uta Frith as his supervisor.

It was a chance encounter in 1971 that first sparked Tony’s interest in what is now called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While volunteering during the summer vacation at a special school, Tony met the two young autistic children whose interests, abilities and challenges fascinated and touched him, and ignited his determination to become a clinical psychologist specializing in autism. His teenage ambition has been fulfilled, leading to international recognition in the area of autism, and providing ongoing personal and professional satisfaction.

Over the intervening 50 years, while working as a clinician in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, Tony has been able to gain experience of the full age and ability range of the autism spectrum, from infants to those in their 90s, and from those whose abilities, behavior and daily life are profoundly affected by autism, to those whose expression of autism is very subtle, such that they have been able to achieve highly successful careers and long-term relationships. The many years of clinical practice, and also having close and extended family members with ASD, have provided Tony with the opportunity to observe the long-term development of children and adults on the spectrum.

Tony started his diagnostic and treatment clinic for children and adults with Asperger’s syndrome in Brisbane in 1992. Some years later, he moved the clinic to his home in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Soon after that, he became a Senior Consultant at the Minds and Hearts clinic in central Brisbane, established by Dr Michelle Garnett, www.mindsandhearts.net. While continuing to run clinics, Tony also spends considerable time travelling both nationally and internationally to present workshops and seminars. He also writes and contributes to books and evaluates research studies.