(Joint first author.) There have been multiple calls to improve autistic people with CSN’s representation in autism research (e.g. Lord et al., 2022; Thurm et al., 2022; Tomlinson et al., 2014), and it is easy to understand why. The support autistic people with CSN receive is delivered by people that must make choices about the care their clients, pupils or loved ones receive, on behalf of the person receiving the care. However, these staff, carers and parents are often working from outdated knowledge. More research about autistic people with CSN, their needs and the services they use could update this knowledge and influence practice, thus improving the quality of these people’s lives. This can only happen, however, if the research is high quality, rigorous and attends closely to potential harms to its participants – and if it includes autistic people with CSN, and the services that support them. In this editorial, we aim to frankly discuss the logistical and ethical challenges of doing such research – specifically related to the doing of research in service settings – by drawing on experience doing research in UK support services for autistic people with CSN. Donald (2025) worked in specialist education settings for children; and Sutherland (2025), supervised by Fletcher-Watson, in day-support services for adults. We end with recommendations for future practice and a call for more, better-quality research involving autistic people with CSN.