Jude Brown qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1993 and has over 30 years’ experience working with a wide range of communication differences across age ranges. This has included assessment, diagnosis and intervention. Jude has specialised in autism for the last 20 years, and is part of a diagnostic team. She was awarded her PhD in 2014, titled “An exploration of social communication in the clinical and educational settings”. 

She joined the National Autistic Society (NAS) in 2015 and is Head of Evidence and Research. She leads a department that is responsible for developing accurate, up-to-date, evidence-based information about autism that is shared internally and underpins the work of the charity, nationally and internationally. She also oversees the Research team, which is responsible for partnership research projects and internal evaluations, ensuring autistic participation is at the core of everything the National Autistic Society does.