Dr Mary Doherty is an autistic Consultant Anaesthetist and Clinical Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. She is the founder of Autistic Doctors International and developed the Autistic SPACE framework for meeting the needs of autistic people in healthcare. Her research interests include healthcare for autistic people and experiences of autistic medical students and doctors, and she is currently exploring the experiences of autistic psychiatrists. As mother of 2 autistic young people, Mary is passionate about optimising mental and physical health for the autistic community. She believes that moving from traditional deficit framing of autism to a neurodiversity affirmative approach is the way forwards.