DrSebastian Trew

Dr Sebastian Trew is an autism researcher with lived experience, a disability practitioner, and a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University. His work sits at the intersection of disability, family wellbeing, and child protection — with a sustained focus on improving outcomes for autistic individuals, young people in care, and families navigating complex systems.

Seb has built a distinctive research program examining how autism shapes identity, relationships, and family adaptation — including qualitative work on the lived experiences of autistic adolescents and fathers raising autistic children. His research is published in leading international journals including Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Autism, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, and Disability & Society.

He has contributed to securing over $3.3 million in competitive research funding across projects addressing trauma-informed education, family violence, child sexual abuse prevention, and disability inclusion. A decade of frontline practice — including roles as Disability Practitioner, Team Leader, and Youth Worker — grounds his research in real-world experience and gives him a insightful capacity to conduct sensitive research with children, young people, and families.

Seb holds a PhD in Social Work (Australian Catholic University, 2022), a Master of Human Rights (Curtin University), and a Graduate Certificate from the Autism CRC Sylvia Rodger Academy. He holds teaching appointments at Deakin and Griffith Universities.